We were in search of a dog pack for multiday trips. We wanted a pack that came with a harness, a handle, and removable saddlebags. In other words, we wanted a multi-functional dog pack. After doing our research, we decided upon Ruffwear’s Palisades pack. Poppy wore this harness and dog pack on day hikes and multi-day backpacking trips for over a year and a half before we wrote this review. Our verdict: Ruffwear’s Palisades Pack is an oversized adventure pack made for dogs that can carry a heavy load.
Product details:
Price: USD $149.95
Comes in 1 color: Red Currant
Available is 3 different sizes. Size guide available here: https://ruffwear.com/pages/palisades-pack-fit-guide
For reference, Poppy’s measurements are as follows:
Back length (from withers to base of tail): 21 inches
Chest: 27 inches
Neck: 17.5 inches
Weight: 50 lbs
We purchased the “small” for Poppy.
Design and features: 4/5
This pack has the largest capacity out of all the packs made by Ruffwear. According to Ruffwear’s website, the “small” weighs 1.75 lbs and has a 14 L capacity.
The saddlebags detach from the Webmaster harness frame. The Webmaster harness on this pack has been modified with 4 added attachment points to connect the saddlebags onto the harness. We love how this is a multi-functional piece of gear that can be used as either a pack or harness. If we need to take a break, we can easily detach the saddle bags from the harness so that Poppy doesn’t have weight on her.
The harness has 5 points of adjustments to customize the fit for your dog: two adjustable straps at the front of the harness around the dog’s neck, one strap behind the dogs front arms, one strap around the girth of the dog’s mid-section, and one strap between the dog’s legs.
The harness has a very durable padded handle along the dog’s back. The handle sits below the dog’s shoulders and is excellent for assisting or lifting your dog. This is the best handle I have seen on a harness.
For attaching a leash, there is a sturdy aluminum D-ring that sits right above the handle. There is also a webbing loop that can be used as an attachment point.
The harness features a light loop for attaching Ruffwear’s Beacon light (sold separately). The light loop is located right at the base of the handle.
The harness and saddlebags have reflective piping that shine when hit by a light source.
External gear loops are located on top of the saddlebags. These can be used to attach items to the outside of the pack.
The saddlebags have internal straps that can be tightened if the pockets are not fully loaded. This ensures the items in the dog’s pack are held tight and minimizes the items from shifting.
There are 2 small straps with buckles located on the bottom of the saddlebags that clip onto the harness. This keeps the saddlebags close to the harness and prevents the saddlebags from bouncing around when the dog is walking or running.
The pack comes with 2 collapsible water bladders that fit perfectly into 2 internal pockets.
Each saddlebag has 3 zippers/compartments (for a total of 6 separated compartments).
Because of its large size, Ruffwear does not make this pack in smaller sizes (XXS or XS).
The pack is water-resistant, but not waterproof. The main compartments of the saddlebags also have a drainage hole for water to escape in case something spills inside the pack or in case water gets into the saddlebags. All dog backpacks should be waterproof since dogs are close to the ground and will likely be crossing streams and lakes if they are backpacking.
The straps on the harness and backpack could use more padding as there is very minimal padding to keep the backpack in place.
Ruffwear also needs to expand the sizes they offer. Our friend who has a 20lb dog wears the same size as Poppy who is a 50lb dog...that just doesn't seem right! More sizes would allow a better fit for dogs.
Fit: 3/5
We used the size chart listed on Ruffwear’s website to determine the appropriate size to purchase for Poppy. Unfortunately, Poppy is between a small and medium (her girth is 27 inches). Ruffwear recommended sizing down to a small. After trying on the medium, we decided to go with their recommendation of size “small” as the medium was not proportionate to her body even though it fit. More specifically, if we went with the medium, the back girth strap would sit where here tummy tucks in and we thought this was too low on her.
The harness fits Poppy nicely in most areas, but it is a snug fit in one area. We had to expand the bottom strap between her front legs all the way to prevent the straps behind her arms from rubbing. If she wears this harness/backpack on multi-day trips, the straps do rub her raw behind her arms and cause chaffing. There was still plenty of room to adjust/expand the 2 straps around her girth (this is how we knew that the small was the correct size for her), but the bottom strap that goes between her legs is fully stretched out. Poppy is deep chested and this bottom strap was the only strap that needed to be longer so that it wouldn't cause chaffing. In the future, we recommend that Ruffwear make this strap longer or creates a “long” version of this harness for dogs with deep chests or long bodies.
The harness is adjustable at five points: 2 points around the collar area, 1 point between her legs, 1 point around her middle girth, and 1 point on her back girth. Use the adjustment points to ensure the right fit for your dog. It may take a few uses to hone in and fine tune any harness so that it fits correctly. I have noticed that some humans fail to adjust the neck area (not just on this harness but on other harness as well) which leads to the harness sitting either too high or too low on the dog’s neck. Take the time to get to know your gear and experiment with the adjustment points to see how it affects the position and fit of the harness. If your dog can wiggle out of a harness, or if your dog chokes on the harness when it pulls, it is very likely that you have not fitted the harness correctly.
The saddlebags on this pack are very large and perfect for multi-day backpacking trips, especially if you have bulky items. The saddlebags secure well onto the harness and we have never had an issue with the saddlebags detaching. If you are looking for a day pack, we would recommend a smaller pack as the Palisades Pack would be too big for just a day hike. We have never loaded Poppy’s backpack with more that 5 lbs, as we do not want her to get injured. We recommend starting with no load at first (just get your dog used to the pack) and then slowly adding weight as your dog gets used to carry his or her own load.
Functionality: 3/5
This pack is made for multi-day backpacking adventures. We love how the saddlebags detach so that we can use the harness on its own for a day hike when we want Poppy in a harness. The handle on the harness/pack is very useful when we need to assist Poppy over boulders or when we need to carry her. The pockets in the pack are great for separating her gear and keeping everything organized. We also love how we can tighten the saddle bags if they are not fully loaded. The pack is great for active medium-to-larger sized dogs that can carry some weight.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest issues we have with this pack is that it shifts: one side ends up being higher and one side ends up being lower. We have even gone so far as to weigh the contents of each saddlebag to make sure both sides weigh the same and we have found that it still shifts. We bought Ruffwear’s Brush Guard (sold separately) and attached it onto this harness/pack in hopes that it would prevent the shifting. However, it didn’t fix the problem. Eventually the pack does shift and we have to continuously re-position the saddlebags. This is a problem because the uneven weight distribution can affect the way the dog walks and can lead to strain or injury. In order to fix this, Ruffwear needs to add more padding throughout the harness (especially at the bottom, to secure the straps and prevent chaffing) and make the saddlebags adjustable so that the pack sits correctly on the dogs sides (see Mountainsmith dog packs for an example of a dog backpack that does not shift and has lots of padding).
Quality: 4/5
We have used Ruffwear’s Palisades Pack on numerous backpacking trips for the past year and a half. The harness is heavy duty and extremely durable; while the harness looks like it is used, after 1.5 years of adventures, the seams, stitching, and material are in great shape. The saddlebags are showing signs of wear (see photo below), but overall the saddle bags are holding together. For the cost of this pack, I wish the saddlebags were holding up better.
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