Thursday, October 9, 2014

Ruffwear "Front Range Harness" Review


Hey everyone! Today I have a review on the Ruffwear Front Range Harness for you! I am so excited to share this harness with everyone!

The Front Range Harness is the brand new harness from Ruffwear. It is an every day harness that is easy to fit and put on. It has four points of adjustment to allow full range of motion. I've actually found that it's very easy to adjust and I didn't have any problems with it at all. I've been switching it back and forth between dogs every day for over a week. Phoenix is slightly smaller than Zoe so I've been adjusting it a lot. Another great thing about this harness is that when you adjust and fit it to the dog, the adjustments stay put. They do not move at all and you don't have to worry about the harness getting bigger on you and your dog slipping out.





The harness has two leash attaching points, one in the front and one in the back. I love that it has both attachments. It's great for when my dogs get a little bit too excited and are wanting to pull. I like having the extra control when I need it. I've noticed that when I do attach the leash to the front, the harness hardly twists out of place at all when they pull. It fits that well. Most other harnesses when you attach the leash to the front will twist out of place and pull on the dog funny and a lot of people have concerns about front clipping harnesses causing shoulder injuries. This harness does not have that problem. It stays in place really well and I did not notice a gait change or any awkward movement.


I've tried a bunch of harnesses over the past three years, Zoe tends to be really hard to fit. Her chest is deep and her neck is small. One of the major problems I've encountered has been chaffing and red burns in her armpits, especially with front clipping harnesses. The Front Range Harness is padded on the chest and belly straps and both dogs seem very comfortable wearing it. After over a week of daily use there was no chaffing or rub marks on either of them.


One of the other great features on the Front Range Harness is that it's reflective. The reflectors are super bright and the visibility at night is awesome. I like to go for evening walks and in the Fall and Winter it gets dark super early. I really appreciate that the harness has reflectors and I feel a lot more safe walking at night knowing that we will be seen. 


The harness has a hidden compartment for tags and a place on the underside where you can write your dog's name and phone number. I probably won't be attaching my tags to it but I still like that it has the option!



On our very first day out trying the new harness, we encountered freezing weather and snow! My girls do not like cold weather at all and generally they have to wear fleece shirts or jackets. I was able to place the new harness over their fleece shirts and it still fit amazingly well. I have not found any harnesses that fit properly over their clothes until now. 



The only downside to the Front Range Harness is that it's not machine washable and the fur really sticks to the underside padding of the harness. However, it is very dirt resistant. We let our dogs run in a grass dog park after it had rained and it was very muddy. The harness didn't get dirty. So it will take you a bit of work to clean and remove the hairs from it but you shouldn't have to do it very often. 

This is what it looks like after over a week of use. It took me about 15 minutes to remove the hair from the underside so I could take this photo. I don't think that's too bad at all.

The underside after using the fuzz roller on it.

Overall, I absolutely love the Front Range Harness. It's made from high quality materials, it is sturdy and it fits my dogs really well. The harness is moderately priced and I had a wonderful experience with Ruffwear as a company. They have excellent customer service and their shipping was very fast.


I love the harness so much that I just ordered a second one so both dogs have one. I highly recommend this harness. It's awesome.


ZoePhee gives the Front Range Harness 5 Stars!

Disclosure: ZoePhee was provided a Ruffwear Front Range Harness for free in exchange for an honest review. The second harness we purchased. My reviews are always 100% honest and my opinions are my own. Ruffwear is not responsible for the contents of this blog.







21 comments:

  1. those look great harnesses very visible

    retro rover

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  2. Loving this harness! And it looks great on them too!!
    Great review, I will be checking them out!
    Thanks for linking up to our hop as well.
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  3. Thanks for joining the blog hop.

    We are currently using the Freedom No Pull harness on Sampson and it works pretty well. I'm not exactly sure it's fitted properly though. :-( I do like that it has clips on back and front, and it does slow his pulling if I double clip it. What I don't like is it has no reflections, like you we tend to walk in dark, so I'd like to be able to have light reflection.

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    1. I really like that aspect of this harness, that it has the reflectors on it and also that it comes with a front and back clip. The thing I noticed about it, too is that when I do have the leash clipped to the front, the harness doesn't twist out of place.They've gotten pretty bad armpit rubs before from harnesses that don't stay in place. :)

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  4. Looks like a comfortable harness. But Jan wonders if it would hold up to us bigger dogs if we want to try to chase a squirrel or something.

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    1. It's made from heavy duty materials, so if you got the right size I'm sure it would be okay! Ruffwear is known for their outdoor gear. The webbing is also reinforced. They also make an even heavier duty harness, called the Webmaster if you're worried about this one. :) On the very first day trying it, a ground squirrel ran out right in front of us and Phoenix jerked pretty hard and the harness did great.

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  5. I love those harnesses! Ruffwear really makes the best outdoor doggie gear :-) Looking into getting one of their backpacks!

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    1. Yep, I totally agree! :D I'm thinking about getting a backpack, too!

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  6. Awesome review and the pics/vid are great! It looks like a really well-made harness.

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  7. I really want this for Pike. I think it'd be perfect, although the hair thing could be awful for us, lol! Great review.

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    1. I think it would be great for Pike, too! Also, the hair thing may not be as big of a problem for you since his hair texture is different that Phoenix's. Her's is short and pokey where his is long and silky. It might be easier to clean! Also, the hair only sticks to the underside so no one will see it when it's worn, anyways. :D

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  8. It looks great of the girls! I went to a pet store that carries Ruffwear last week to try on the harness, and the salesperson hadn't even heard of it! Boo. Did you have any trouble ordering the pink one? A friend told me recently that that color is on back order right now.

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    1. Yeah, they are back ordered but I found a seller on Amazon who had one left in Stock. :-)

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  9. Such a great review, and I have to say I admire the way you and Zoe work together - it's clear you have an amazing bond. I love seeing dogs that intent and focused. I'm going to see if there are any retailers that have these available out here because Laika is also hard to buy for when it comes to sizing.

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    1. Thank you so much! :D I hope one of these harnesses works for you! I really like ours. We had the girls in them all day yesterday and I still absolutely love them. :D

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  10. That sounds like a great harness. I like the orange color which is nice to see the dog if it is in higher cover. We also have trouble fitting our deep chested dogs with vests and harnesses. Only Thunder is 95 pounds and Freighter is 85 pounds so it is really hard. lol

    Thanks so much for joining the Barks and Bytes hop. We were on vacation last week so I am just getting around to visit now. :)

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  11. We love Ruffwear products! They look great in their harnesses!

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