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Recently, I overheard a customer asking a sales person about what type of camping supplies they should buy. The retailer asked, “Are you backpacking or camping?”, and it made me think of the differences between the two activities and why it’s important to consider the type of overnight adventure you are planning before purchasing outdoor gear–yes, even dog gear!
Ruff Wear makes a variety of canine gear for outdoor adventures. But before the first design is drafted, the first stitch is sewn, or the first dog hair is shed on it, our design team determines the use, conditions, and activities for the product being designed. In our pack, bed, and bowl lines, our goal has been to design products ideal for backpacking and camping, with features that complement each activity.
Since backpacking gear requires long hikes over many miles, weight and space were huge considerations in our design plan for backpacking gear. The Highlands Bed™ and Bivy Bowl™ were designed to be lightweight and compact, while capacity was a huge factor in the Palisades Pack™, so your dog can carry it comfortably during multi-day adventures.
Conversely, camping usually allows for a greater number and size of supplies, providing the opportunity for increased sleeping space (our Mt. Bachelor Pad™ comes in a 3′ x 4′ large size), and larger multi-day food and water bowls, such as our Quencher™ bowls.
Here are our recommendations for the best canine camping and backpacking gear options.
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Backpacking Gear List
The Pack – Palisades Pack™
The Palisades Pack is our largest capacity pack; with enough room for a bowl, food, a Highlands Bed™, and 2L of water. It comes with two, easy-pour water bladders, removable saddlebags for breaks and water crossings, and a compression system to help balance a large load.
The Bowl – Bivy Bowl™
The Bivy Bowl is single-walled, so it packs down into small spaces and weighs less than 2 oz. It also shakes dry, making cleaning and drying a breeze when there’s no extra water to spare.
The Bed – Highlands Bed™
The Highlands Bed comes with its own stuff sack which compresses to fit inside any size Palisades Pack (total stuffed size is 12″ x 5″ [30 x 13cm] and 14 oz [400 g]). The water-resistant, quick-drying shell doesn’t require the shelter of a tent, so Fido can enjoy the outdoors…outdoor! The synthetic shell fabric was built to withstand tears from dog nails, sharp rocks, and campsite debris, and includes four stakeout loops to help keep it in place or for hanging out to dry.
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Camping Gear List
The Pack – Approach Pack™
The Approach Pack is large enough to fit all the essentials: water, leash, food, and bowl.
The Bowl – Quencher Cinch Top™ Collapsible Bowl
The Quencher bowl comes in a variety of sizes from 24 fl oz (.7L) to 2.6 qt (2.5L). The cinch-top version is great for filling with kibble and cinching shut, while the open-top style is great for water. The pyramid-style, tapered shape works well in the car, minimizing spillage.
The Bed – Mt. Bachelor Pad™
The Mt. Bachelor Pad rolls up into a convenient bed roll for carrying to and from the campsite. It has 1″ of loft and up to 7″ x 19″ (18 x 48 cm) of bed space (size L) for your dog to “sprawl” out on. It will hardly seem like your dog is “ruffing” it!
(customer-submitted photograph)
First, let’s start off by saying we believe dogs have a great ability to maintain a natural balance that keeps them clean despite their hygiene habits.
A dog’s fur and oils are amazingly resistant to dirt and stench without lots of grooming, and over-washing may actually strip a dog’s fur of natural oils.
That being said, there comes a time in every dog’s life when their smell is no longer welcome in the car or home, and one must bite the bullet and wash their dog.
How do you know the time has come?
Here are ten signs that a dog bath is in order:
1. He’s growing a nice coat of mud.
2. When your dog greets you with her smell before her bark.
3. The skunk runs from the dog.
4. He’s beginning to get rather manageable dread locks.
5. People begin asking what breed she is because they’ve never seen a brown (Pyreneese, American Eskimo, Husky…).
6. Fleas have begun to hold Town Hall meetings on his back.
7. She’s getting the cold shoulder at the dog park.
8. He catches a whiff of something he wants to track down, and then realizes it’s his own stench.
9. She actually has entire bushes embedded in her hair.
10. People call him in as an abandoned dog while still on-leash.
Jack taught us to truly enjoy every moment outdoors
Shortly after moving to Central Oregon to work for Ruff Wear, my husband I decided we needed a dog that matched the Central Oregon lifestyle. We wanted a dog that would keep up on long runs, enjoy bike riding, and endure the cold Central Oregon winters. But little did we know just how “active” an active dog could be!
We checked the local shelters for a dog that would meet our credentials. We wanted a larger dog with shorter hair and a fun-loving personality. We stumbled across a shelter 40 miles away that was a no-kill shelter (The Humane Society of the Ochocos). They had just received a litter of five pups–”probably Saint Bernard mixes” (FYI – that’s shelter talk for “Husky”). Read the rest of this entry »
My husband lassos up the runaway troops from the top of the hot springs
Let me start by saying my dogs don’t have the best reputation around town. Adopted “unknown mixes” from a shelter grew up to be “all Husky” runaways.
They have more than a few flaws—they hate water, their fur is a magnet for dirt, I have to force them to eat, and they don’t particularly like people, either.
But by far, their worst trait is that they are excellent escape artists. They have the tendency to run away and never return until I get the call from some vet or humane society asking me to come and pick them up (even though they are micro-chipped, they sure are a pain to find all time).
After a whirlwind adventure that took us from Vail, to Boulder, to Fort Collins and back to Denver, Greg and I are excited to be back to the high desert we call home—Bend, Oregon—to share the adventures of our week-long journey in the Centennial State.
Our travels to Colorado went a lot smoother than our travels home. The weather was great despite our 5:15am flight out, and our trip was topped by the luxury of sleeping in nice, comfy First Class seats when we were upgraded for free because of Greg’s MVP Gold status (Greg is one of the only MVP’s that’s ever made gold status based on number of legs, not total miles!).
Teva Games Dock Diving
Once we landed in Colorado, we headed East to Vail to set up our booth for the TEVA Mountain Games. This was our first time attending the event and we couldn’t believe the fun and excitement surrounding Vail. The next three days were spent fitting Ruff Wear gear on a variety of dogs from Whippets to Bernese Mountain Dogs. We managed to each get away for a few hours to take a look at all the great events taking place, such as the kayaking competitions, free running shows, mountain biking races, and our favorite—Dog Dock Diving! Our only complaint the whole time was that we stuffed ourselves with too much pizza, pasta and German food!
From Vail, we headed to visit dealers in Boulder, Fort Collins, and Denver. We got to see a lot of great stores that carry our gear, and meet a lot of great dogs such as Chewy, from Chewy’s Bonetique in Denver, who, despite his recent toe amputation, was able to model his favorite Ruff Wear gear for us.
Chewy (on right) showing off his Ruff Wear gear
On the seventh day we were ready to head back. We’d seen it all in terms of weather (snow, wind, rain, sun, and even funnel clouds!), so we weren’t surprised that our flight was delayed due to thunderstorms in Denver. Unfortunately, that gave us only three minutes to make our connection flight. Me, pregnant and with a bum ankle, had to send Greg running ahead to hold the plane, and he did so with great conviction! I made the flight with less than one minute to spare!
It was a great adventure and we thank everyone for sharing their time and adventures with us in Colorado!
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? We recently took a few of our office dogs out to Smith Rock in Terrebonne, Oregon to test and demonstrate our latest creation…The DoubleBack™ climbing harness for a dog. Our resident climbing experts strapped up three office dogs–Hank (a black Lab), Jack (a white Alaskan Husky), and Badger (a multi-colored Husky/Shepherd)–and tested their climbing and belay skills.
The “Highest Altitude Award” went to Badger, who managed to scale his way up to a ledge where he took a nice long break before making his way back down. “Most Relaxed Award” went to Jack, who used the harness like a hammock, nearly swinging himself to sleep. And Hank, our oldest climber, received the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” proving that, in fact, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
