One of my New Year's resolutions for 2012 was to get out to a state park at least once a month, and I'd like to start taking Brewer along. I live in Minnesota, so we won't be running into any extreme terrain anytime soon...think rolling hills, river bluffs, and the occasional waterfall.

The few threads I have read on this forum have been really helpful in pointing me to trusted brands backed by user experiences (Ruff Wear, Granite Gear, Nordkyn, EzyDog, etc). The one area where I feel that I need more info / feedback on is what gear suits my / Brewer's needs.

Given that we will be initially exploring Minnesota / Wisconsin, I anticipate us to have a pretty quick pace ranging from a brisk walk to a 85-90% run depending on the trail condition and grade...weather might play a factor as well.

With that said, I feel that the setup needs to be lightweight and not hinder too much on Brewer's natural range of motion. I'd also like for the pack to have storage for both food and water, with a little extra room for misc. gear. According to the MN DNR, the leash needs to be no longer than 6ft in length.

If all goes well, maybe we can start bring Brewer on our camping excursions???

Not sure if it matters, but Brewer is between 2-3 years of age and currently weighs ~50lbs. He may fill out some more but that is dependent on his diet and eating habits (you may have seen my post under "what are you feeding your dog"...

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I can answer this
i would still point you to Ruff wear on the pack.
http://www.ruffwear.com/Singletrak-Pack?sc=2&category=13
this pack will work for your running but still holding water.
i also love the leashes with locks on them.
http://www.ruffwear.com/The-Roamer-Leash-trade_5?sc=2&category=15
http://www.ruffwear.com/Knot-a-Leash_3?sc=2&category=15

shop around for the best deals on the RW stuff, backcountry K9 will have sales.

Welcome from Wisconsin!

We use Ezydog Harnesses and leashes, and we love them. They hold up very well, and if they don't they have the best customer service I've ever dealt with! I've also heard really great things about their packs.

If you are going hiking and trail running, are you looking for hands free type set-up? Such as the Omnijore Joring belt system by Ruffwear? I've seen it and tried it and it's pretty comfy, but the quick release buckles are the smaller ones than the ones compared to the skijoring/canicross belts from Alpine Outfitters or Adanac Sleds.

The Ruffwear Omnijore system comes with everything: belt, harness and leash. But the harness doesn't have a pack you could attach it to. However, that doesn't mean you could buy a pack and use the Omnijore system with it.

I also have the Palisades Pack by Ruffwear for both Ginger and Storm. Ginger is 52 lbs, and she has the medium Palisades Pack, and I feel it's a bit big for her. The harness is on almost the tightest setting, and the packs itself seems quite a bit big and baggy for her. You won't want to pack the pack with more than 20-25% of their body weight (I think those percentages are correct - maybe it's 15-20%) so keep that in mind also. Brewer may be able to downsize to a small and you'd still have lots of room for food and water in the pack.

As for belts, Adanac is more of a slim and lightweight design whereas Alpine has a light neoprene padded belt. I do like both, as each has it's own pros and cons.

A fabulous place to get harnesses, leads, etc is EzyDog.com.

jbealer wrote:

I can answer this
i would still point you to Ruff wear on the pack.
http://www.ruffwear.com/Singletrak-Pack?sc=2&category=13
this pack will work for your running but still holding water.
i also love the leashes with locks on them.
http://www.ruffwear.com/The-Roamer-Leash-trade_5?sc=2&category=15
http://www.ruffwear.com/Knot-a-Leash_3?sc=2&category=15

shop around for the best deals on the RW stuff, backcountry K9 will have sales.

Yes, I am slowly becoming a believer of Ruff Wears gear, and the Singletrak is one of the few packs that I have been eyeing up! I like the minimalist approach, yet it still has some room for food / gear. I will have to check out their leashes for daily walking and slower paced hikes...

cmanding wrote:

If you are going hiking and trail running, are you looking for hands free type set-up? Such as the Omnijore Joring belt system by Ruffwear? I've seen it and tried it and it's pretty comfy, but the quick release buckles are the smaller ones than the ones compared to the skijoring/canicross belts from Alpine Outfitters or Adanac Sleds.

The Ruffwear Omnijore system comes with everything: belt, harness and leash. But the harness doesn't have a pack you could attach it to. However, that doesn't mean you could buy a pack and use the Omnijore system with it.

I also have the Palisades Pack by Ruffwear for both Ginger and Storm. Ginger is 52 lbs, and she has the medium Palisades Pack, and I feel it's a bit big for her. The harness is on almost the tightest setting, and the packs itself seems quite a bit big and baggy for her. You won't want to pack the pack with more than 20-25% of their body weight (I think those percentages are correct - maybe it's 15-20%) so keep that in mind also. Brewer may be able to downsize to a small and you'd still have lots of room for food and water in the pack.

As for belts, Adanac is more of a slim and lightweight design whereas Alpine has a light neoprene padded belt. I do like both, as each has it's own pros and cons.

Claudia, thank you for the response.

I think you bring up a great idea with the hands free system. I know I would definitely appreciate a hands free setup while running and tackling more difficult terrain. When I get a chance, I will be sure to check out the Omnijore by Ruff Wear and the belts from Adanac and Alpine.

MicroBrewer wrote:

Yes, I am slowly becoming a believer of Ruff Wears gear, and the Singletrak is one of the few packs that I have been eyeing up! I like the minimalist approach, yet it still has some room for food / gear. I will have to check out their leashes for daily walking and slower paced hikes...

I have also seen the Singletrak pack, and I do like it for the same reason that it has a low profile. However, that's all it holds - the Platypus water bottles. So it's great for trail running where you would only be concerned about carrying water on the lighter side when running. The Palisades pack is good for longer hikes when water and food should be packed.

For me, (as I said before, I have the Palisades packs for my 2) prefer to have the pups carry all the food: my food, their food, and hubby's food. And hubby and I carry the water. My sandwich doesn't get smashed in my pack, it's easier to get my food/snack from their pack vs taking my pack off and getting my food out...and it's easier for them on the hike without the water weight.

Just some things to think about...

Oh, I forgot to mention....when ordering Ruffwear gear, I find it to be a little on the big side. Ginger is 52 lbs and I ordered the medium size according to their sizing chart for the Palisades pack and she is almost on the smallest adjustment. I also have the medium collar for Ginger and she is almost on the smallest adjustment. Storm is 76 lbs, and wears the same medium collar by Ruffwear and still has lots of room to adjust bigger even when he measured on the high end of the measurement sizing for medium.

I also know of another male husky with a medium Singletrak pack and he's about 50-55 lbs and he has the pack adjust on the smallest adjustment.

So, when ordering Ruffwear, you might want to order a size down according to their sizing chart.

Below is a quick list of measurements that I have taken:

Neck - 23"
Mid Rib - 10.5"
Mid Section (Girth) - 27.5"

This is the first time I have taking these measurements...do they seem inline?

I will have an exact weight on Thursday after I take him to the vet to say hi to one of the leaders of MUSHR, but I haven't seen any noticeable changes since he registered in at 50lbs.

Storm's neck is 16.5" (not measuring fur) and his girth is 31-32". His neck from base of breast bone to base of neck measures 22" - his weight is 76 lbs. I have a large Palisades pack for him, but he also weight around 90-100 lbs during last summer. I don't know how his pack will fit now, but the packs are big on the size large. I almost want to pack size on the medium for Storm.



I haven't tried this yet, but since the packs are detachable from the harness, I'm assuming I could just clip the medium packs to his large harness if he doesn't fit the medium in the harness for the Palisades pack.

cmanding wrote:

Storm's neck is 16.5" (not measuring fur) and his girth is 31-32". His neck from base of breast bone to base of neck measures 22" - his weight is 76 lbs. I have a large Palisades pack for him, but he also weight around 90-100 lbs during last summer. I don't know how his pack will fit now, but the packs are big on the size large. I almost want to pack size on the medium for Storm.



I haven't tried this yet, but since the packs are detachable from the harness, I'm assuming I could just clip the medium packs to his large harness if he doesn't fit the medium in the harness for the Palisades pack.

Hmmm,

My neck measurement was from center of shoulder blades to top point of breast bone (11.5" x 2 = 23"). This seems to be line with your 2nd neck measurement you have listed. Is your first neck measurement considering only the neck?

Mid-Rib is from top point of breast bone to the end of the sternum.

Mid-Section (Girth) is taken at the widest point of his rib-cage.

I will take the measurements a 2nd time to see if I can get the a bit more dialed in.

Thanks again for the feedback!

My two cents:
Omnijor leash is too long for your 6ft requirements. I just picked up an omnijor system and only did so because I can get it at such a discount. I got it mostly for the lead and human belt. I plan on replacing the harness with a custom xback style once Appa stops growing so dang much. I like the custom harnesses a lot more. There are other options for hands free systems, but almost all are a bungee type lead, and will extend beyond 6ft.

I have a palisades pack (medium) for my 75lb malamute, and it's looking a little small on him, mostly in length. I plan to upgrade his pack to a large in April when they release the new palisades pack they showed at OR this month. The changes are quite nice. Which also means you can probably pick up the old (current) model at a discount around April.

Riley,

If you're getting a large for Appa, can I buy your medium? The large is pretty big on Storm, so I'll be selling my large Palisades pack - which I have only used twice! I know you can get a nice discount on RW, but if you are interested in swapping packs, let me know - Storm's large for Appa's medium - unless Appa's pack is really worn down, then I'll get a new one for Storm.

PM

rileyflorence wrote:

PM

Did you not get my PM?

I did, check yours. I responded there.

got it - it was crossed with my last post.

i also replied back.

thanks!

Claudia, if that does not work eddy might like it for a good price.....


i mentioned the singletreck for the trail running part. Jack has the Med. Palisades pack (love it) and it is on the smallest it can go and is just right, he is 56lbs. the problem with RW is when the pack gets smaller so does the amount of stuff that can fit in the pack, just to keep that in mind, if you can find a store to try them on and then find the best price online that might be your best bet. I have a belt and custom lines from http://stores.adanacsleds.com/StoreFront.bok
they have been great to work with and could do a custom bungee line that is 6' for you.

Alright, based on your feedback and a bit of research on my end, I have come up with the following options for the items of interest:

Leashes
-Ruff Wear - Knot-a-Leash
-Ruff Wear - Roamers Leash

Harnesses
-Alpine Outfitters - Urban Trail Harness or Custom X-Back (both have their uses)
-EzyDog - Quick Fit Harness

Belts
-Alpine Outfitters - Mushers or Skijor/Canicross Belt
-Adanac Sleds - Updated Canicross Belt

Pros / Cons of getting optional leg loops?

Lines
-Custom 6ft line(s) from Adanac Sleds to work in conjunction with whatever Belt / Harness combo I go with. This is the optimal choice due to MN State Park "Rules".

Packs
-Ruff Wear - Palisades Pack
-Ruff Wear - Singletrak Pack

In general, are there any noteworthy pros / cons with using clips vs. carabiners when it comes to the many connections between owner and husky? I've been noticing some products come with one or the other or having the option to choose between the two...just curious.

Hopefully, I can get around to making some purchases in the near future!

Again, thank you to those providing feedback. This is definitely a first for me, so your responses are greatly appreciated.

Are you looking to have your pup do any kind of pulling? If you aren't anticipating in any pulling activities I'd skip the x-back/custom harness and just use the webmaster that comes with the Palisades Pack. If you want your pup to do some pulling then I'd keep looking into the harnesses built for that.

Our guy has worn his webmaster for long excursions and never had any kind of rubbing or discomfort problems, no hair loss either.

Ok my 2cents

Leashes
i don't have either of those but the RW leash i do have is great!

Harnesses
i would stick with the x-back from alpine

Belts
i wish i had the option of the removable leg loops for skijorring, not sure if its just me but my belt moves off my hips and into my waist and that causes back strain and it sucks, if i had the loops the belt would not ride up on me.
either belt from either place would be good.

Lines
the ones adanac did for me work great, i got the bungee with the chew resistant blue tugline. they are about 9' and i have a built in handle mid way on the blue line with tubing so that i can pull them in close to pass on the trail.

Packs
i love the palisade pack because you can remove the pack and you have a GREAT harness underneath to us so therefor you don't need the other harness options you listed above and you just need this pack and the x-back.
but the singletrak would work great for your runs. maybe get the palisade to start and add in the singletrak later?

i like carabiners better then clips because i have had clips open on me and detach from the dogs! dont ask how it just has happened!

check craigslist as well for RW stuff, in CO it comes up every now and then.

BackCountryK9 has the Palisades Pack on sale!

http://www.backcountryk9.com/Backpacks.aspx

Just might have to pony the $$$ up now...

there might also be a 20% code floating around somewhere as well, i think i lost the email, claudia might have it..... love that pack!

If someone has the 20% code...consider it purchased