Had a little bit of extra scrilla this week and REI didn't have any selection of the items I was after, so I bought my Piggy one of these...


I've read about them here and there but never really thought much about it until today. I had no idea what it was at first. The thing that caught my attention was the feel of it as I moved it to look at the packs. It was literally cool to the touch. So I found a large in the bunch and brought it home. Starting tomorrow I'm going to give this thing a serious test run. Piggy gets hot on the descent of a lot of our hikes. When we've covered 10 miles, still have two to go and it's 80 degrees at 10,000 feet, I hope this will help keep him going just a little bit further.

I figure if going all synthetic worked so well for me, why not try it out and give it a review?



...review to follow in a day or two.

Look at you buying fun things for the dogs and not yourself! I can't wait to hear if it works!.

My 20% went to yet another pair of boots! Let's hope 3rd times a charm...

Can't wait to hear the verdict, I'm really curious about this thing now.

I'm curious too!

Busy day up in here. I did use it this morning with clear skies at 68-70 degrees. The directions say to soak it in water, wring it out and put it on. I used it dry to see what sort of heat management the material has on its own. I will say it's doing better than I expected. On our normal three mile Kosmo outing, he starts shutting down around 1.5 miles with direct sunlight over 50 degrees. Today he went almost the entire walk without collapsing in a shady spot, and his pace never slowed to what I expect. The other factor I can measure is water. Normally in these conditions he will consume half to two thirds of a liter of water when we drop off Kosmo. Today he drank less than 1/3 liter, and didn't bolt for the bowls when we got home.

I know one day does not a review make, but so far this thing has noticeably changed Sioux's warm weather demeanor. One more day of testing dry and towards the end of the week I will try it wet.

Sounds promising!
Thanks for the first 'review'!

my guess is while hiking it might be hard to use it wet unless we have a stream,unless you carry it damp in your pack the whole time....

Sounds very good already, I might have to check something like that out.

We are camping this weekend with our two and our daughter is going to try to buy these for them. How can you use a harness with this? They don't look very secure if used alone, and Skyla can be a wild thing without a secure harness. Will be hiking along a river so no problem with keeping them wet.

http://www.ruffwear.com/Swamp-Cooler-Dog-Cooling-Vest-Sun-Protection-Prevents-Canine-Heat-Exhaustion-from-Ruff-Wear

I would think a harness would go over the swamp cooler....

Thanks!! Hope the harnesses expand enough to fit over it. Really good concept...Hope it works!!!

We use it over our x-back harnesses. We have been using the vests for about 2 years, and it does provide us with an extended dryland schedule. Only downside is that sometimes I've had to stop and re-wet the vest, so if we are not close to a body of water we have to bring extra water for the vests.

I was going to order one of these online in a few weeks- does it follow Ruffwear's tradition of size small is for a 45lb dog? Glad to hear it seems to work!

My 45 lb wears a medium. I think they seem to run a bit small.

Used this weekend and they worked great. Really worth the money. Sized according to girth.Braiden is 29" and wore a medium and he weighs 65 pounds. Fit great . Skyla also wore a medium and her girth is 24" Hiked in 80 degree plus temps with no issues. Carried extra water bottles and rewet. Best invention ever.I want one for me LOL!!!

Alright, after several warm days of normal use and one 10 mile hike in 70(F) degree weather, I have come to a conclusion...

This thing works GREAT and I wish I had bought another when they were $35. There's no doubt in my mind that Supper will need one. The conditions we hit on Saturday were the polar opposite of what we expected (meaning we didn't have enough water). If it wasn't for the Swamp Cooler, I think our trip would have been halved in time and distance. I was worried for a bit because I had forgotten to bring water for the recharge. Already at the trailhead we decided to just see how far we could get.

With our use the 'vest' needed to be re-wet about every 30 minutes/1.5 miles. That's not our usual elevations though, we like to be higher up where it's much much cooler. At about 9,600 feet we started finding snow in the trees. This is how we got through the day. Sioux wore the Swamp Cooler over his x-back and I would just shove handfuls of snow under the thing. Worked brilliantly. He was pulling on the way down, getting up instead of rolling over when told to go, drinking half of his normal water intake and all at about 10-15 degrees warmer than our normal work.

The speed at which this dries out in Colorado air is something to keep in mind. If I were to use all carried water on one of our hikes, I would need to bring along at least an extra two liters. This has made me add yet another factor into my weekly plans; water availability along the trail for this item. But it does make a noticeable difference dry. Maybe because it at least blocks the sun without warming up?


I will buy more of these over time. Construction is good aside from the "light loop" attached to the back. It should be called a "tear off tab".

Thanks for the review!
Good to know that it really does work!...I'm thinking my monster husky will need one....

Thanks for the additional info! I am seriously considering getting one for my boy as we have some hikes planned for the Blue Ridge in the beginning of July and I have been worried about whether or not Dakota could come due to the heat. Still debating this but I'm really leaning toward getting one for him at least.

Do they make one for people too or something similar?

Huskyluv wrote:

Do they make one for people too or something similar?

Indeed they do. But it doesn't usually require water soaking. I learned the way of synthetic clothing through experience. I have one shirt in particular that does amazing things in heat. It's a Columbia polo with "omni-freeze" technology. I don't care what they call it, some of these poly items I own are my most prized inanimate possessions.

Or there are vests similar in nature to the dog version. I just can't remember the brands off hand.

harrise wrote:

Huskyluv wrote:

Do they make one for people too or something similar?

Indeed they do. But it doesn't usually require water soaking. I learned the way of synthetic clothing through experience. I have one shirt in particular that does amazing things in heat. It's a Columbia polo with "omni-freeze" technology. I don't care what they call it, some of these poly items I own are my most prized inanimate possessions.

Would it be similar to a shirt that:

•Stay cool in direct sunlight thanks to a reflective fabric surface which doesn't heat up as readily as standard performance fabric
•Moisture-wicking, quick-drying fabric protects skin from damaging sunlight with a UPF rating of 50+

??

Eddy, how durable would you say the swamp cooler is? I know you haven't had it for long but if you had to guess, how long would you expect it to last with daily use during the warmer months of the year (let's say June - September)? Do you think it would last several years at least with daily use of ~2 miles throughout June - Sept?

I haven't seen one in person to be able to evaluate quality, etc. And at a price tag of $50 I'm not going to buy it if it will only last one year. Your thoughts?

I'd like to order one soon if you think I can at least get a few years out of it. It's getting pretty warm and Dakota was really struggling on our 1.5 mile walk this morning at 75 degrees and 89% humidity. I had to cut my walk short this morning as he did not look like he could do our entire normal walk without seriously overheating.

Val,
ruff wear does have a warranty on their product and i wonder how long the tag says it should last? you could send it back....

let me know if you find a good price as Sierra would like one , Jack on the other hand lays out in the sun

I can't find it for less than $49.95 anywhere, if anyone knows a place it is cheaper I'd like to know also.

Anyone know what kind of warranty it has?

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Thanks Claudia. So I've still got the question about "wear and tear" though. If it isn't expected to last long term then it doesn't help me out.

Eddy, your thoughts please?

I've read tons of reviews and none of them mention how long they've had it for or how well it's held up if they've had it long term. All anyone says in their reviews is the same thing, it works and keeps their dog cool. I did read one review where the person said the vest could be more durable and that theirs got holes quickly. I also read a lot of comments that the vest snags on stuff along trails which would be a major con (have you run into this issue Eddy?). I hate trying to make decisions on relatively expensive items without all the info I need to make a really informed decision. If it were $20 - $30 bucks that'd be one thing but I'm not shelling out $50 every year or two if this thing can't handle serious use long term.

So frustrating, why is there no one who can talk about material quality, durability and product longevity? If anyone finds reviews that mention any of the above please share them.