- Home
- Ruffwear Palisades Dog Pack
- Review
Gear Review
Ruffwear Palisades Dog Pack
Too many Bells & Whistles??
By WallDiver7
Ranked #157 - Dog Packs and Accessories
May 2, 2009
I like this pack; it has everything you could possibly want in a dog pack and is very well made! For Piper and me it had too many features and, in the small, not enough capacity. The hydration system of the Palisade is just not needed (in fact it takes up valuable pack space which he needs for his food) since I typically backpack in the mountains where my dog has access to many streams. The other feature of little use to us was the compression system. I congratulate RuffWear for coming up with such a well thought out system to cinch down the bags, but we just didn't use it since maximum pack volume allows my dog just enough food for 5 to 6 days (with the bladders removed in a size Small). He needs enough pack capacity to accommodate him for 7 to 9 day trips.
The packs are removable from the harness. At first I thought this was sweet(!), Then I realized it was faster to take the entire pack off of him than it was to unfasten the saddle bags from the base harness (4 clips versus 2). Besides if (and he has in the past) he does a swift water swim across a river, I'd like for him to be as "clean" as possible to avoid hang-ups.
Sizing note: If you’re dog is close to the upper limit for a particular size… go UP one size instead of Down! Piper is a pit-bull hybrid (a nice way of saying he’s a mixed up Pit with taller legs than his true Pit cousins!) with a girth measurement of 29 inches and a neck to tail base length of about 21 inches. The Palisade small really didn’t work and I am planning to return it for a Medium in the Approach.
View Details: Ruffwear Palisades Dog Pack
Helpful Votes: 2 Yes
Change me.
4 Comments Last Reply: May 22, 2010 By: Jake
I have the Medium and it has enough space in it for a 8-10 day trek. I personaly like the extra features and have used them often, including the water bladders. But also some areas we go there isnt many water sources. I do agree about buying a larger bag if your dog is near the limit, I would have liked to know this when I purched it. I can see how some of the extra features could be too much with the small.
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
I take my dog along streams as well. I let the dog drink from the streams, and I get the water in the back. We are both happy!
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
Dude, the cinch system is for when the pack starts to empty (not just for the 1st day when the pack is full!); when your dog eats and it loosens up, you simply tighten it to his body with the handy cinch strap. If you try backpacking with your pack hanging off your back & not cinched properly you'll know what if feels like for your dog when he's hiking home with tons of space for cinching tighter.
Helpful Votes: 1 Yes
Totally disagree on the too many bells & whistles, this is the best dog pack ever made! If you don't like the hydration bladder, simply remove them. Since I'm in the mountains with plenty of fresh water, I use the bladders for my drinking/cooking water when I get to camp.... ....saves me a few pounds & the bladders actually are designed to give your dog extra padding & to help cool them down! Did you read that part? The bladder design is ingenious when you think of it from that point of view, think of all the shock on the dogs spine when you give them no padding in the pack & all the extra heat, the design makes sense when you think about it!
Helpful Votes: 1 Yes