Lol, I can go without the water bottle if I am carrying the baby. But it gives me the option in the future. This stinks that you both prefer Alpine or Adanac over the Ruffwear system. Given my rush and hubby's thoughts I think I may go with the complete Ruffwear system for now and if I still want something better down the road I'll go for the Alpine set. Hopefully in my rush I'm not making a mistake but I've read so many great reviews of the Ruffwear set.

Thank you both for the input, you're awesome!

And Heather, thanks for the offer but I want to give Scott at Backcountry K9 my repeat business because he's been so incredibly awesome to work with in the past.

Because there haven't been any actual reviews of the Omnijore system I wanted to update with some pics and my thoughts on it because when I was shopping around you can never find pictures showing exactly what you are looking for, so hopefully this will help others who might be in the same position I was when I was shopping.

I have to admit I was strongly second guessing my decision to get the Omnijore system after all your feedback about the Alpine mushers belt being the preferred of the two. I had even made myself believe before I even received the Omnijore that I wouldn't be happy with it, so I went into trying it out with a negative mindset right from the start.

Honestly, I couldn't be HAPPIER! I love the RW Omnijore set and am really happy that I opted for it instead of the Alpine gear after all. I already have a hands free walking lead that I use on a daily basis with my sibe, so I didn't need something that would double for urban use. I don't jog and my sibe is loose leash trained so I have no need for padding or shock absorption in the line for that purpose.



I love the entire Omnijore set from the belt to the harness. I really like how adjustable the Omnijore belt is, it can be adjusted to fit a wide range and therefore can be used by both myself and my husband who are very different sizes! I would not be able to do that with the custom Alpine mushers belt. Another huge thing for me is that the towline on the Omnijore system is able to easily slide side to side as the dog changes direction so that I am always pulled forward rather than being turned to one side or the other like a set connection point on the right or left would do which is how the Alpine belt (and my hands free walking lead) are set up.

This pic shows how the towline connects to the belt and you can see how the towline can slide freely from side to side as the dog turns, changes direction, or simply moves left or right along a trail.


The above photo also shows the quick release lever. That is the ONLY feature of the Omnijore system that I have mixed feelings about. It can be a really great, and in certain conditions necessary, feature but I find myself worrying about accidentally lifting it and having my sibe get loose. It's never happened but I still worry because it is REALLY easy to release. Again, in certain situations that would be vital, like if a person were skijoring and dog and human went around opposite sides of a tree for example.

The towline is awesome, sturdy and well constructed. It's 8 feet long (stretches to 10 feet) and features a talon clip which connects to the harness. What I REALLY love about the towline is that it has TWO handles, yes two! It has a handle at the top where it attaches to the belt, which essentially means you can use it like a normal leash. This has come in extremely handy when I needed to hand the dog off to my husband in places where I had to go downhill abruptly and could not risk falling down especially with a baby on my back. I just had to simply lift up the quick release and my husband was able to take the towline and continue on with the dog using it like a regular leash. That feature alone is awesome. The second handle is a traffic handle located at the other end of the towline where it clips to the harness. You can see the traffic handle in the photos I will post (below) of the harness.

This photo from RW's website shows the two handles and talon clip:


The harness is sturdy and similar in design to how an x-back harness would function. It's built for pulling (obviously) and has a handle on the top/over the back as well as a removable "girth strap" also known as a belly band when talking about x-backs which will prevent your dog from backing out of the harness. My sibe hates the belly band on his custom Alpine Outfitters x-back so we never use the girth strap on the Omnijore harness either. Comparing the Omnijore harness to the custom Alpine x-back, I definitely prefer the Alpine harness as far as construction, comfort, and durability. The Alpine harness is just a much better quality harness and has far more and better padding than the Omnijore harness. However the Alpine is custom fit so it is not adjustable like the Omnijore harness, which if you have a dog that is not done growing or needs to lose considerable weight can be a good thing to have an adjustable harness. The x-back harness does not have a handle on it which the Omnijore harness does, again in certain situations the handle can come in handy if you need to help lift the dog over something or need something quick and easy to grab in the event you need to get control of your dog for whatever reason. The Omnijore harness only comes in one color at this time, the color being red. I actually like the bright red color of the harness for the fact that it makes the dog stand out which, again, in certain circumstances is a good thing when you want people or traffic to notice the dogs presence. I use the Omnijore harness to bikejore with my sibe regularly in our neighborhood at home and I like how the bright red color makes him stand out especially when cars and driving past.

In the Omnijore harness attached to the Springer bike attachment for bikejoring:



Here are top and side views of the Omnijore harness (without the girth strap aka belly band) which also show the location of the traffic handle.






I am also including top and side views of my sibe in his custom x-back for comparison sake.

Thanks for the great review, I decided to get one too based on your review. A little off topic but I'm looking at the same set up for my baby, how much did that setup cost you and where can I find something like it, also does you baby like it?

The bike trailer is an InStep two child trailer which quickly and easily attaches to the bike. My daughter and I both love it. My son is due any day now so soon I will be using it to tow both my kids. The wheels come off the trailer so easily and the trailer collapses flat for easy storage. You can also use the trailer open air (it has mesh to prevent debris from reaching the kids) or with clear flaps closed for a view but weather protection. I believe it was less than $90 for the two child bike trailer.

The bike attachment is a Springer bike attachment. However I did not use the included safety release or line. I replaced that with a bungee cord with carabiners at both ends so that my sibe could not get loose and for added shock absorption, it has worked wonderfully. It looks like the Springer bike attachment costs about $130 these days, I bought mine before the price increase at about $80 a couple years ago I believe.

And, well, you know how much the Omnijore costs already since you just bought one. Hope that helps. I am looking forward to using it for both my kids next winter. Last winter my daughter found it so relaxing that she'd often fall asleep during the bike rides.

Thanks! I'll definitely look into it

If you are going to be biking with your sibe. I would go with what Valerie did as well, and get the Springer. I have one and its so durable and has a lifetime warranty if it ever breaks (if you buy one get one at running k9.com, the staff there is amazing and its ships fast) I bought mine after the price increase and have never regretted it. You will only need to ever buy one so I think its worth it. I just wouldn't get the walky dog, when you are going to be towing your child. The springer has more stability for you and its just over all sturdier to keep everyone safe. I also made it so my dogs don't have the automatic release and I just bought a double neckline from Alpine Outfitters (http://www.alpineoutfitters.net/secure/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=47) one side clips to the springer the other to the harness, and then I use a leash around his collar just in case anything were to ever come done, but I'm super paranoid so I don't know how necessary it is.