I have reviewed a number of equestrian subscription boxes at this point… and I’ve been a beauty box subscriber for years and have dabbled in a few other subscription boxes…so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on them. I also really enjoy them! So I was thrilled when I heard there was a new box in town!
The Bit Box from The Modern Horse is both very similar…and at the same time completely different from the others I’ve tried. I was so appreciative of Julie (who lives only about an hour and a half away from me!) for sending me a box to unbox and review. Thank you! This is so exciting to see a new very lux equestrian lifestyle box on the market! Note this is a PR box, so there are a few more items in my box than would be in a normal box, but Julie wanted you to be able to see more of the items that might be in your Bit Box!
A quick run down: The Bit Box is a new subscription service offering luxury equestrian lifestyle in a box curated just for you. Each box is hand picked by Julie and her team based on your questionnaire and no box is the same as another (yup really! No base boxes here!). You can opt out of certain items in your box as well, which is great and very different from most boxes on the market for any product category! It costs $150 a quarter or $500 a year (so $125 a quarter). Each box contains at least $200 worth of products (mine contained about double that, but it did come with extra items). If you’re interested in getting the Summer 2021 box, get your order in now. Box orders for this curation cut off on July 1st!
If you want to watch the unboxing here it is (you may need to turn your volume up…unfortunately the audio was quiet and you can’t really re-shoot a surprise unboxing)! The full review as I always do and photos of everything is below the video.
You can see this box is a lot more sophisticated than your average subscription box AND every single item in the box is something I would want to use (though I’m contemplating throwing a couple items into a giveaway for you guys…but it will be hard to decide what I wouldn’t’ keep!). Now…what do I mean by similar? The excitement of opening a box of new stuff that is a surprise! That is the best thing about subscription boxes after all! The excitement of getting a box full of stuff you don’t need, but probably will want and love…for a little discount! It’s great!
Now that I’ve said that…I don’t “need” anything in this box. Not really. I have hats. I have shirts. I have spur straps. I have water bottles…but I absolutely love what came in the box AND I can and will use each item! That might be a first for a subscription box! I have put the “retail values” below…but note many of them I couldn’t find the exact items for sale anywhere else so I guessed based on related pricing online.
Item Breakdown
K F Clothing Belt – $35 retail – I love this style of belt and this buckle is really cool and unique. I’m super excited about wearing this! And black is perfect. Black goes with everything! I love that I can wear this with my breeches, my jeans or over a dress. Super cute. There were other colors available based on the questionnaire.
Willies Golden Gate Candle and Soap – $12ish retail (exact size of candle not on website) – I like the smells okay, but I’m not in love with either one. I do love bar soap, so I’m happy to get that. The candle has a nice wood wick and smells nice and will be great to travel with. These are nice, but because of the not quite on the mark scents for me, not my favorite items in the box.
Sonoma Apothecary Hand Cream – $8 retail – I love this stuff already. Great hand cream and a really wonderful herbal scent. Feels really nice on the hands and one small pump is all that you need. Perfect purse or tack trunk size. Will be using this one up and maybe ordering more from the brand.
Water Bottle – $30ish retail (best guess) – Lovely clean look water bottle with a really lux texture/feel (I’m obsessed with the way it feels…). Plenty of room to decorate with stickers…or just leave as it is. I can get some use out of this for sure! Nice item.
Spur Straps – $30ish retail (best guess) – again…no idea how much these are retail but basing them off similar “designer” type spur straps I’m guessing. I will absolutely use these. I don’t know about you, but I go through spur straps pretty regularly…so these will be on my boots sooner rather than later. Love them! The only thing that would have made them better is if they were rose gold (because all of Jax’s stuff is rose gold).
Make Up Bag with Goodies – $40ish for the bag and goodies – Okay… so I actually needed a few of these things. Well done! Both masks are perfect…the Liquid IV will go to good use soon since it is hot as Hades right now. You and I and the checkout lady at the grocery store (ha!) all know I need these wipe down towels. Being a horse girl might be glamorous to some people…but I’m always on the smelly side of things (probably because I do all my own grooming and chores – ha!). So these are excellent…and I need to buy some. Great idea. This bag is beautiful too and I love the zipper toggles.
Necklace – $40ish retail (best guess) – I have no idea if this is real silver or not or the brand…so I just winged it on retail. It’s very pretty and so delicate! It did come all tangled up which I had to figure out, but I’ve worn it every day this week so far. It’s subtle and pretty and I’m absolutely in love with it.
Stick N Ball tote + Bag Charm – $45 + $15 retail – I love having this beautiful (neutral!) bag charm to put on any purse. I have only ever seen rather crazy colors of these…so this one is great. I am in love with this tote bag. The leather handles are sooo nice and the bag fabric is very soft and high quality. The gorgeous Stick & Ball logo is a great, subtle nod to equestrian lifestyle. I can carry this around and not scream “I probably smell like a horse,” unlike some other totes I have. Super nice quality item and worth every bit of $45.
Athletic Shirt – $55ish retail (I gave this a best guess median value based on the Lululemon similar shirts being $78, but some knock offs being $30) – I’m wearing this as I type. It’s VERY comfortable and flattering as well. I do think it might be a little heavy for hot summer days (at least in black), but it will get some use! There are other colors available depending on your color selection for your box in the questionnaire (note I selected Black & White and Neutral). I wouldn’t mind having a few more of these in different colors!
Riata Design Hat Coupon – $85 retail (you do have to pay for shipping) – I haven’t received this yet…so no real comment. I actually haven’t heard back from my email to Riata at this point, so I should probably follow up. I’m very excited about getting one of these hats though!
So the value on my box (which was a PR box remember) is certainly over $400…and I would be happy with half of this stuff! Any of these items are available in your box, pending the curation based on your questionnaire (unlike some PR boxes where they throw in stuff “normal” subscribers won’t ever get). I personally think that anytime you get a value of product over what you spend that’s great, but as I’ve said in some other boxes reviews, many times retail values are inflated to make the box seem more valuable than it is. Now in this particular box, there’s no retail values of items being called out (which I actually prefer) and it leave the valuation of the item to you. I don’t feel like I’m being manipulated by marked up retail values on something that I wouldn’t spend half of that for it. That is one of my pet peeves with boxes. Yay! Thank you Julie for not giving into that and assuming your subscribers are not savvy. You could easily put some outrageous retail values on some of this stuff and a lot of people would buy that. Instead The Bit Box is based around quality of items and items that YOU will like. This is not some “you’re getting an AMAZING deal…so who cares if you only like half the stuff” situations… Breath of fresh air.
If I had gotten the hat, necklace, makeup bag with goodies and the water bottle I would have been happy with spending $150 on this. If I had gotten the shirt, belt, bag and soap/candle/hand cream I would have been happy spending $150 on this. I personally was thrilled with the items in this box and would have been happy with smaller curation for the value of the box. I think The Bit Box did an excellent job curating my box. All of the items feel high quality and the only complaint I have on anything is that the candle and soap aren’t my personal scent preferences…but seriously…that’s it! (Well and I would have LOVED one of those leather butler trays in the Instagram photos…but what would I have traded in my box for it…I really don’t know! Ha!).
So sure there are boxes with bigger value/cost ratios than this one, but most of the time those retail values are inflated (sometimes to a silly amount) anyways. And if you have the money to throw out for the yearly box…the value of what you’re getting for $125 is excellent…especially if you like and use everything in the box (which you probably will if you’re honest in the questionnaire)!
I’m was very pleasantly surprised with how excellent this box is and I cannot wait to see what they do going forwards! Very exciting!
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