Thor, my 1.5 year old yellow lab, fits the labrador personality stereotype to a tee. His enthusiasm for even the smallest little things is contagious and one of the reasons I love the breed. But if there is one thing that takes him over the top, it is the sight of gear getting packed up for a trip. Which is why, when the box from Backcountry K-9 arrived, Thor went into his wiggly crazies at the sight of the Ruffwear Singletrak pack we were sent to try out.
Of course we immediately had to try it on. I managed to get it fitted despite his wiggles and kisses, and then I made him pose for pictures. When Thor realized we weren’t actually going anywhere, this is the look I got. At least he looks handsome in his new backpack!

Thor’s measurements put him right at the upper end of size medium and lower end of size large according to Ruffwear’s sizing. We have Ruffwear packs in both sizes and I prefer the medium. Out of the box, the Singletrak Pack in size medium needed very little adjustment. All straps are set to right about their middle length. His Palisades Pack is a size Large and needs to be cinched down to the smallest possible size, so my recommendation would be to go with the smaller size when your dog measures in between. In the picture above you can see that there is still plenty of length left in the straps.
Once fitted I started to look into the pack features. The Singletrak is really a doggy hydration pack. It comes with two 0.6L flexible water bottles that are sized to fit each of the larger pockets perfectly. This helps with balance since it’s not just a single water bottle on one side. I found that I could fill the bottles and still fit a few smaller things in there with them like a collapsible water bowl.
Even when packed full, the Singletrak maintains a low profile. Thor doesn’t always realize he’s wearing a pack. This is great – it means it is comfortable and doesn’t bother him. But it also means he can get himself caught on trees or other debris as he hikes. This has mostly been a problem with his bigger pack – since the SingleTrak is low profile it doesn’t get in the way as much.

The secondary, smaller pocket on each side is narrower and shallower than the main pocket. This is where I can tuck poop bags, treats, and his short Ruffwear Ridgeline leash. The pack isn’t big enough to fit his larger items (like the doggy medical kit and his booties), but if I were to remove the water bottles these items would have fit.
Thor has had a chance to hike in the Singletrak quite a few times now and he seems to love it! It’s easy to slip on – I pop it over his head and ask for a ‘pound it’ (his command to ‘shake’ his right paw) and that automatically is the right motion to slip his paw through. I can then snap in the two buckles and he’s good to go. He has learned to sit patiently through this process – mostly. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky when he’s got his excited ‘I’m going on a hike!’ wiggles.

I love the handle on the RuffWear packs. Thor is really well behaved off-leash but as a 1.5 year old lab sometimes his desire to meet and greet other people and dogs can overwhelm his desire to behave. I like the ability to reach down and grab ahold of him for extra control when passing others on the trail. It’s also useful for water crossings and helping him over downed logs.

There are only a couple of things I would improve with this pack.

• I’ve noticed that the straps will come loose over time. On a typical hike I have to stop and tighten his straps a couple of times despite fitting it tightly at the beginning of the hike.
• I wish the pack came in a brighter color. One of my favorite things about Thor’s Ruffwear harness is that it is bright red. Thor tends to blend in with grasses so having a bright color to track when he’s running around off-leash is helpful, especially when we’re out during hunting season.

• I’m still figuring out doggy gear and one thing I struggle with is weight distribution. The weight has to be evenly distributed on both sides of the pack or it will shift from side to side. The dual water bottles help a lot with the weight distribution, but as we hike and he drinks up one bottle the pack will shift if I don’t move things around. The picture below shows the pack shifted on Thor when one bottle was almost empty. It doesn’t seem to bother him, though!

Overall, I highly recommend this and other Ruffwear packs we have tried. They’re durable, easy to put on, and Thor seems to love them. Based on his reaction every time one comes out of the closet, I’d say he fully endorses them!