Touring the racks at your local outdoor store for the perfect winter coat for yourself can be cumbersome enough, so how do you know which coat to choose for your dog? Which will be the warmest? The most comfortable? The most weather resistant?
Ruff Wear makes three winter coats, all with a different function and purpose in mind—a soft shell, an overcoat, and a fleece.
Our soft shell—the Cloud Chaser™—is the ultimate in full-coverage weather protection. The fabrics act as a shield against all forms of severe cold weather such as wind, rain, snow, and sleet. It’s flexibility and stretch make it the go-anywhere, in any kind of weather, option.
For a simple, functional solution, choose our K9 Overcoat. The fabrics in this coat are abrasion resistant, warm, and water resistant, making it ideal for use on cold days with slight precipitation.
Our fleece coat—the Climate Changer—makes a great insulating layer. Acting like a “second layer of fur” for your dog, this fabric is warm and comfortable, ideal for cool days with no precipitation.
In order to help our customers further decide the best choice for their dog, we developed this chart outlining the strengths of each of our three canine coats. Now you’ll know which coat suits your dog’s coat the best!
| Cloud Chaser™ soft shell | K9 Overcoat™ | Climate Changer™ fleece jacket | |
| Stretch | ✭✭✭ | ✭ | ✭✭ |
| Breathability | ✭✭ | ✭ | ✭✭✭ |
| Durability (against abrasion) | ✭✭ | ✭✭✭ | ✭ |
| Water-resistance | ✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭ | ✭ |
| Warmth | ✭✭✭ | ✭✭ | ✭✭✭ |
| Windproof | ✭✭✭ | ✭✭ | ✭ |
| Full-body coverage | ✭✭✭ | ✭ | ✭✭✭ |
| Adjustability | ✭ | ✭✭✭ | ✭ |
Key:
✭ – Not ideal
✭✭ - Sufficient
✭✭✭ – Made for It
6 comments
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February 11, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Kerri and Sofie
I have used the Cloud Chaser for my German Shorthair and agree with the fit being no good for this type of dog. Sofie is of course a female so she doesn’t have a pee problem but I have found that snow gets in on the loose underbelly (near her stomach) really easily and gets her cold. Also the material on the underbelly would get wet in snow which in turn also got her wet. Wet + Cold = NO GOOD. I have also found that since the jacket was bought to fit around her deep chest/rib cage, it doesn’t fit the front legs and upper chest. The fit is just “off;” not really fitting the area snug like I would expect but it fits away from the chest and odd. I have tried and tried again with the cloud chaser because I really liked it and wanted it to work well for our snowshoe trips but had to retire it and purchase another brand that fits the rest of her better although it doesn’t have sleeves like the Cloud Chaser (an idea I loved about the CC).
When you say that the new design will be out “next winter” that would be 10-11 correct? I want to make sure so that I don’t keep wasting money on the wrong thing.
December 21, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Meg Haviland
We love our Cloud Chaser jackets. Worn for the first time after the 09 Blizzard. My boys loved them. A little snug on one of my guys, thank god for the stretchy panels. How about repositioning the zipper to start at the tail instead. Just seems like it would be easier to start, kinda tough at the neck.
December 21, 2009 at 10:35 pm
susan
Hi Meg -
Thank you for your feedback on the Cloud Chaser zipper location! We designed the zipper to go from head to tail so that while the dog is in motion, the zipper doesn’t get caught on anything and unzip itself.
One trick we recommend to get the coat on your dog is before you put the coat on, get the zipper started and zip it about 4 – 5 inches, then “lock” the zipper in place by flipping the zipper pull towards the neck of the coat. Then, slide the neck over the dog’s head and one by one, put the dog’s paws through the arm holes. Once the paws and legs are in the coat, grab the zipper and close the zipper completely. Then, don’t forget to “lock” the zipper again by flipping the pull towards the dog’s head. Hope that helps!
December 16, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Robin Raffile
We love your cloud chaser jacket, but we have only one complaint. Zach is a 50 lb male Vizsla, with a chest size 28. The large cloud chaser fits him perfectly in the chest, and covers his butt beautifully. But it is too long in the under side. The material is so long underneath, that it covers his penis. He can’t pee, or if he were to, he would pee inside the jacket!!!! I fixed this problem by gathering up some material, and sewing a dart in the belly area. Otherwise it is the BEST coat we have found for Zach. Perfect for this type of breed.
December 17, 2009 at 2:42 pm
ruffwear
We have recently changed our pattern to address this issue after gathering feedback from our current customers. You will find the belly cut higher on our new Climate Changer™ fleece, as well as the redesign of our Cloud Chaser™ jacket which will be available next winter. Thank you for sharing.
December 17, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Robin Raffile
Yes, we also have the “Climate Changer” fleece, and the “Grip Tex”, and “Sky Liner” Boots. Those all fit perfectly. Except the liner sox, they slip down off the foot inside the boot.
Thanks for a great product.
Robin
P.S. A really thin fleece pull over sweater, that I purchased some where else, worn under the “Cloud Chaser” jacket is great for those extra cold days. A really good Idea for those lean, short hair breeds.