What’s in my grooming box and Noble Outfitters Equinessential Tote Review

As I started taking pictures of my grooming bag last night, I began to look at how much stuff was actually in there. I said to myself “self, you have a lot of stuff and clearly an obsession with buying lots of grooming stuff.”

I like to brush my horse. What can I say?

We’ll start with the Noble Outfitters Equinessential Grooming Tote. The retail on this is $55.00. If you’re thinking to yourself that it’s an expensive grooming bag, well, you’re right, but let me tell you why I think it’s worth it. I bought this with some Christmas money in 2015, so the money didn’t come out of my penny pinching budget. However, I’m here to tell you I’d buy it anyway, even without Christmas money.

It’s no secret that I’m not always the most organized, but if you spend a bit of time around me, I’m constantly going around organizing things. Which means I’m often organizing things that aren’t mine because I really just hate clutter.

7 Reasons I love this bag

Reason number 1
It’s really easy to stay organized. This bag has three main compartments and a ton of pockets. There are two larger compartments and a skinnier center compartment.

It also has pockets on the front and back (which can be seen in my first photo)

Reason number 2
You can fit a ton in this bag. Which is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing because you don’t have to carry more than one thing around, a bad thing because it’s heavy.

Reason number 3
I’ve had it three months and it’s holding up really well. It is expensive, but also well made. The outer is canvas and the inside is polyester. It has plastic inserts in the sides so it’s fairly rigid and not flimsy feeling at all

Reason number 4
The mesh bottom. I still end up with dirt and hair accumulation in the pockets, but since the majority of my brushes are in the larger main compartments, most of the dirt and hair just falls out.

Reason number 5
It has options for carrying. I typically throw this over my shoulder since I do have a lot of stuff packed in it and it is fairly heavy. The shoulder strap is nicely padded. It does have handles though, so you can carry it that way too. The handles can be separated, as there’s a strap that holds them together and comes unsnapped. Best part is if you don’t like the shoulder strap, you can remove it.

Photo from the Noble Outfitters website

Reason number 6
You don’t have to worry about it in the weather. Now, I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out in the rain, but it’s going to withstand a lot more than wood. Since my horses are not on my own property, I only have so much control over the facilities. I don’t have an enclosed tack room and I tack my horse up on dirt. My bag is dusty, but no stitching is rotting and the materials are holding up well.

Reason number 7
All my favorite things are rolled into one bag. Plenty of space? Check. Plenty of compartments so my bag isn’t a black hole? Check. Durable? Check. Not flimsy? Check. Looks nice? Check. Easy to move? Check. See? Plenty of things to love.

Things I don’t love
Overall I really like this bag, but there are a few things I’m not in love with.

1) The main thing would be the price. A retail of $55.00 is fairly high for a grooming tote.

2) Lack of color options. I got this bag before the black/teal and black/purple came out, or at least before they were offered at my local tack store. Even still, only black body colors are available.

3) Larger spray bottles don’t fit very well. Since the sides are rigid, they don’t have a lot of give. So the wider bottles don’t fit quite as well

Overall rating
I’d give this 4 out of 5 stars overall
Price: 3 out of 5
Durability: 4 out of 5
Functionality: 5 out of 5

Now for what’s in the bag. I think you’ll be pretty impressed. It’s a pretty good amount of stuff and it all fits.

In the bag, there’s clearly a lot. Here’s a list:
Brushes:
3 Leistner brushes (Prinz Brush, natural bristle dandy dust brush and natural mixed bristle dandy brush), a Sprenger horsehair brush, two goat hair brushes (Equerry and Salmon I believe) and a small Haas brush (the Daisy Brush).

Curries:
Rubber curry, jelly scrubber and a metal Sprenger curry.

Other tools:
bot knife, Noble Outfitters 5 o’clock hoof pick, Tail Tamer rainbow brush, Shed Flower, two rags, shedding blade, SleekEz, scissors, two tape measures, slick braiding bands and a sharpie.

Products:
Bit Butter, Ultra Shield Fly spray, Canter Mane and Tail, Eqyss Mega Tek, Eqyss Survivor detangler, Healthy Haircare Moisturizer, Triple antibiotic ointment.

Necessities:
Tiny red tin filled with horse treats.

See? I told you I’m actually Mary Poppins.