Säker Canine Ascension Dog Packs: my thoughts after 40 miles of rugged Colorado backcountry use

[@celinaskywalker4770]

Such a good review, very comfortable voice. Would have loved it to be a bit shorter. Do you have more reviews of backpacks? Would love to see more :)

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. I appreciate it. My two current dogs wore Mountainsmith K9 packs before the Säker Canine packs came out. I've since donated those, but I do mention them here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIjGpohunpKbns0feature=shared&t=88. Last November I purchased the RAM Icon Air harnesses with G-hook pouches when they were on sale, and I plan to do a review video of those soon. Just need a bit more time with them.

[@rednhk]

I had the back attachment point break on me had to chase my dog for a mile in the woods. Contacted saker they sent a replacement clip but for the price I expected the clips to be stronger. Now I just use the front clip leash attachment.

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Yeah, I just don't think that thin carabiner clip on the back is nearly strong enough to bear weight or attach a leash to. Great that they sent a replacement, though. I've had a number of hardware failures with my large dogs over the years, and any carabiner style clip with a wire gate is an immediate "nope" for us. I think it would be great if Säker would just include a load bearing carabiner there on the back loop, instead of that thin clip. I do think you could do what I did and put an actual load bearing carabiner in that loop and connect a leash to that, if you were still wanting to use a back attachment point.

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Thanks for subscribing, by the way! I appreciate it.

[@rednhk]

@@lovedogsontheloose yeah I’m going to get a load bearing clip with a locking clasp just so I don’t have to worry about it detaching like that again.

[@mikeg3950]

How is the quality of the materials? Thinking about pulling the trigger on the extended harness, but I’m always weary of kickstarter new items

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Hey there-- I talk about the quality of the saddle bags at 13:52 or so. Some of the coating came off after 40 miles on trail. However, if you're just interested in the harness, it is extremely high quality. Almost too heavy for my dogs, at just over 2 pounds, but definitely made to last. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@szymon5232]

I've bought it during kickstarter campaign. The quality is pretty bad and it is too heavy for daily use.

[@theoutdoordogandhikinggirl]

Awesome that (most of) the things worked out at the end. I love the click-system for the bags so they come off the harness so easy. Those packs must be awesome for bigger and stronger dogs. For dogs like Ravi I still think it's to bulky and for those sizes gear like Ruffwear does the job perfectly. Great that there is something for each dog

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Absolutely! Every dog has different needs. Happy birthday (late), btw!

[@theoutdoordogandhikinggirl]

@@lovedogsontheloose Thank you 🥰

[@marvinlee4887]

I bought the Core harness based on your and another YT review. I will wait on committing to a pack system once he is full grown. I gotta say, the Sakar harness is pretty impressive and I could tell it's made for long term durability and reliability. Combined with a good quality leash, it's provides me alot of a confidence to handle a growing and very strong dog. I too have been eye'ing the RAM harness, but it's touching $400, fully rigged up (and for you, it would be x2). I may end up going the RAM route for the piece of mind, but for now, for his fitness walk and hikes, the Sakar Core is pretty awesome.

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Awesome! I hope it works out well for you and your pup. I’m gonna try to get my hands on one of the cheaper RAM harnesses and a set of their G-hook pouches just to experiment. But I’m also really hopeful that Säker’s going to be around for awhile improving upon this pack system. They’ve already come out, just a few days ago, with a 2nd generation light that’s based on users’ feedback, so I continue to be fairly impressed with this company.

[@Earthpet711]

What did your dogs carry in their packs?

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Sorry, for some reason I’m just seeing this comment. They carry their own food, or as much of it as they can each safely carry, depending on the length of trip.

[@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658]

Ray Allen had a black Friday/cyber Monday with the same icon air harnesses were half off. I picked one up the orange color for my golden retriever.

[@lovedogsontheloose]

Yeah, it was pretty hard to resist because they never do sales like that, at least not that I've seen. I ended up getting two Icon Air Harnesses and the G-hook pouches (as well as some other stuff). I'll be putting them through the paces and doing a video at some point, but so far there is a lot to like about them. Main issue for my big boy will be chafing when doing long days in it. So we'll see... Glad you caught the sale! I posted about it in my "community tab" because I wanted others to be able to take advantage of it. On sale, those Icon Air Harnesses were about the same price as the Säker packs!!

[@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658]

@@lovedogsontheloose I regret only buying one for my Golden. I also have an Alapaha blue blooded bulldog puppy, she’s 6 months old and still growing. She is around 55lbs. The reason I didn’t buy one for her is because she’s still growing. She may max out at 80-85 lbs as an adult who knows. I checked the website the following day after purchasing my items, and everything was back to regular price. I purchased the orange icon air harness and two elusive 2.0 collars to insert my e collar receivers inside so people won’t see it.

[@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658]

@@lovedogsontheloose I’m not sure what lights you use on your harnesses for night time but guardian angel lights are buy one get a mini for free. It’s a cool light designed for law enforcement but can be used to mount on dog harnesses.

[@lovedogsontheloose]

@@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658Nice. Yeah, probably best to wait until that pup is fully grown before spending the $$, but I definitely could see how it'd be a tough decision with prices as low as they were. I grabbed a couple of the Elusive 2.0 collars as well, so the dogs will have one less collar to wear on trail.

[@lovedogsontheloose]

@@voltrondefenderoftheuniver8658 I currently use the Säker Pitch Black Night Lights. Haven't heard of the Guardian Angel. Will check them out. Thanks!