What backpack/harness do you like to hike with?

Hey guys, title is pretty self-explanatory but when you go hiking with your dogs, do they wear a backpack? Harness? And if so, which ones do you like?

Sometimes I make her wear a backpack, but it's just some generic thing I got at a garage sale for $5. It's a little big for her, so I never make her wear it on long hikes, and I usually just put a small bottle of water and her collapsable bowl in it. I honestly don't like it very much and don't use it too often.

What I really like to have her wear is one of these harnesses (except it's purple and not Lupine):

roman-harness-full by fablethecattledog, on Flickr

I can grab onto the little piece on the back pretty easily, which is nice if I need to snag her for some odd reason. Also if we are scrambling up boulders or on rough terrain, I would be able to grab onto it to help her out, although she has never needed it.

(I just realized that both of those are second-hand items. One from a garage sale and the other from the dog rescue's resale store )

I would really love to get a Ruffwear Webmaster and/or one of their backpacks. But that's a lot of $$. I'll probably end up finding a secondhand one. I'm sure Fable won't mind.

Brisbane usually hikes in a Ruffwear Webmaster harness. He also has a Palisades pack that snaps on top of it, but due to his disc issues, hip issues, and generally being spoiled rotten, he never carries it. He can climb anything I can climb without a rope, but the Webmaster is pretty convenient for the occasional assist.

Ru hikes in a Midnight Pet tiny paracord harness, I've been meaning to find a super tiny Webmaster to try on him because I pick him up by his leash an awful lot. It would be nice to have that extra weasel strap at the back to keep him balanced.

Usually just in our blaze orange Lupine step-in harness. I'd like a proper harness that she can really pull in, but for now it does the job.

I also have a backpack, but it doesn't have a leash attachment, nor is it really made to be used as a harness. It'd be awesome to have one of those ruffwear packs that would do double duty as a pack and harness, though!

I haven't officially been hiking yet with it but I am thinking we will be using our Ruffwear Front Range harness for hiking in the future. I really like it on Jackson thus far but we've only got on short walks.

I just got a ruffwear pack for Ripley I plan to slowly introduce as the warmer months approach. As he gets older, I plan to increase it for hikes and walks to help use up some of his energy and well, just have fun and a way to carry some of the things I plan to take with us.

Doesn't he look thrilled!

Is that the palisades pack? Let me know how you like it! I want to get one for Wilson for longer day hikes and overnight hikes, but I'm just not sure about dropping $150 on it if it isn't gonna work.

I got our Palisades pack at an REI sale for $80. It had been used once and returned a day later because the original purchaser felt it was too heavy by itself. I think the Approach is a little lighter, but I really like being able to take off the pack off the Palisades.

I switch out depending on the day. So we use and like:

Xtra Dog fleece lined harness
Ruffwear Webmaster harness
Ruffwear Approach and Palisade packs
Ruffwear Singletrak hydration pack
Granite Gear pack (older model, not sure it has a name lol)

Hikes of 2 hours or less usually get just a harness or the Singletrak. More than that and we go with a 'real' pack.

Generally Hudson just wears a Lupine step-in harness. But these are less "hikes" and more "walks in the woods with friends." I do make him carry his own poop bag holder though. When I got Hudson, my MIL bought us a dog pack, but it doesn't double as a harness, so we don't use it.

It is, but it's the older version. I have seen the newer one in person though. The biggest differences I notice, is the newer one doesn't have velcro and is held on by tiny clasps [they are a bit of a pain, but do seem to hold the pack better to the harness-less flapping]. I prefer that over the velcro, but I'll get over it for the price...I can't justify 150 on a pack when It's unlikely I'll ever be a hardcore hiker. I may modify this one slightly as it's easy enough to find clasps online and do a little sewing [but we'll see how it is first...may not be a big deal].

The newer one seems to have a bit of a rounder pack build to it, giving it a little nicer look and probably less bulky. I haven't tried this one out yet other than fitting and such, but I think it's going to work just fine and I like the idea of removing just the pack part for pit stops.

For a long time Chalo wore a Freedom harness on hikes, and it was fine for the purpose, but the martingale attachment always bothered me. He has now been wearing the Distance Harness from Howling Dog Alaska for a couple months, and I like it a lot!

We use a Ruffwear approach pack for hiking and I really like it. I want to get a webmaster harness to try on Rhys and see if it holds up to him.