Owner Review: Ruff Wear Palisades Pack II

Name: Drew Smith

Age: 49

Gender: M

Height: 5' 10"/178 cm

Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg

Email address: regansmith at earthlink dot net

City, State, Country: Boulder, CO USA

Date: September 8, 2006

Backpacking Background

I started backpacking in 1968 as a Boy Scout, using Army Surplus gear and carrying a hatchet to chop wood for cookfires. Most of my packing has taken place in the Sierras and the Colorado Rockies, with forays to other mountain ranges around the West, hiking solo about half the time. I like to fly fish, eat well, and be dry and comfortable, so I've typically carried packs of 40-50 lbs (18-23 kg), but I have begun trimming back the weight as my legs get older and less resilient. I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to gear - I still prefer a frame pack, and wouldn't be caught dead with a GPS.

Product information

Manufacturer: Ruff Wear

Model: Palisades Pack II

Size: Large (small and medium available)

MSRP: $94.95

Year: 2006

URL: http://www.ruffwear.com/

Listed weight: not given

Weight as delivered: 2 lb 9 oz (1.2 kg)

Product description

This pack comes in four parts: the harness, the saddlebags, and two 2-gallon (8 L) mylar water bladders. The harness is a 5-point system going around the head, through the front legs, around the chest and around the belly. It is adjusted by sliding loops on all straps, which are closed by quick-release buckles. The straps have fleece sleeves for padding. The top of the harness is mesh, with several opening to increase ventilation. It has a handle for assisting the dog, and a leash loop. The saddlebags are elliptically-shaped, with side pouches that will hold a leash or other small items, and which cover the compression straps. There is also a top pouch on each bag for very small items such as treats. The inner walls of the bag hold the water bladder against the dog's body in a compartment separate from the main pouch. Although the bladders are capable of holding 2 gallons (8 L) each, the recommended maximum is 1 gallon (4 L). The saddlebags are made of heavy-duty ballistic nylon, and have a total capacity of 1430 cubic inches (23.4 L). They are attached by two quick-release buckles on the shoulders, and one on the back, which also has a hook-and-loop tab for initial attachment. The water bladders are accessed by zippered openings at the backs of the bags, and have "wine-box" type flexible spigots.

Field information

This pack was tested on three day hikes in the mountains near Boulder, and on a 4 day hike on the Colorado Trail between Bailey and Kenosha Pass. These hikes are in mountainous, mostly dry terrain, with elevations between 5500 - 10900 feet (1600 - 3300 m), all on developed and well-maintained trails. There were no rock scrambles or significant stream crossings, and the trails were dry. Mid-day temperatures were warm, 80-90 F (26-32 C).

My dog Baloo is a working breed - a Newfoundland - and I see no reason he should not work while I'm hiking. After all, he lounges around the house all day while I work. I wanted a dog pack that would allow me to load him up, and would perform for him as a backpack would for me, allowing heavy loads to be carried comfortably and securely on multi-day trips. Another concern was water - Newfoundlands have long, thick coats that are great for repelling blizzards, but which put them at risk for overheating. He would need a lot of water to drink on the trail, and it has been a drought year again in Colorado, so I couldn't count on frequent streams for a cool-down. With its large capacity and integral water storage, the Ruff Wear Palisades Pack II seemed to be a good fit for our needs.

The pack consists of saddlebags secured by quick-release buckles to a spiderweb harness. Fitting the harness is the first order of business, and the most important. The idea is to get the weight centered over the dog's shoulders, without interfering with his gait. The Ruff Wear harness is a bit confusing to fit initially, with numerous straps and slide buckles. All of these need to be tweaked and adjusted numerous times to get the right fit. It's a bit of a pain, and not worth it to just carry the dog's leash and some treats for a day hike. However, since I use my dog as pack stock, all the adjustments allow a perfect, secure, balanced, comfortable fit, making the extra fuss worthwhile. Once adjusted, of course, I was done, and only needed to get the harness on and off. It took a couple of days on the trail until I was satisfied I had the best fit possible.

Putting the harness on requires a bit of work - put one front leg through, then the head (Newfs have huge heads, other dogs should be easier), then buckle under the chest, then under the belly. This isn't something I'd want to do at every rest stop - but there's no need, as the harness is light, breathable and comfortable. I left the harness on Baloo until the day's hiking was done, and he never showed any discomfort or even awareness that it was on.

Once the harness is on, mounting the saddlebags is easy, assuming the dog is well-trained enough to hold for 10 seconds. A hook-and-loop patch at the back keeps the bags from slipping while they are being secured with one quick-release buckle at each shoulder, and one at the back. The buckling system is not as easy as using hook-and-loop fasteners, but the pack cannot come loose when the dog snags it on a branch. The bottoms of the bags are not secured to the harness, allowing them to swing somewhat free of the dog's body. At first this was a concern for me - Newfs have a peculiar rolling bear-like gait, and I thought the unattached bottoms would increase the pack's swaying. Instead, the opposite was true - the bag hangs straight as the dog's body sways away from it.

Balancing the load is always the big problem with dog packs, and Ruff Wear has come up with a truly ingenious solution. The integral water bladders can be used as ballast to trim the loads and get a perfectly balanced pack. The water spigots are accessed by a zipper in the pack rear, allowing water to be drained from the heavy side while the pack is on. Thus the drill is to saddle up, walk a while, and if the pack starts to tip one way, it can be rebalanced in a few seconds without any repacking. Very nice.

The bladders are also a godsend when walking in dry country, as we were. The total capacity of each bladder is about 8 L, but this would fill them up like spheres, leaving no room to pack anything else. The recommended max is 4 L each, and this sounds about right. Faced with a dry camp and a 6 mile (10 km) waterless stretch the next morning, I put about 3 L of water into each of the bladders at our last water stop. The pack was able to easily accommodate this, along with about 15 lbs (7 kg) of gear and dog food. Baloo was not altogether happy about this, but he was very happy to be able to drink deeply the next day during a 1000 ft (300 m) ascent in full sun.

A key consideration is the dog's comfort and well-being. I inspected Baloo's chest, belly and shoulders every day for signs of pinching or chafing but happily found none. The only problem I had was that his chest fur tended to get knotted up in the front buckles, but I attribute this to the fact that it is very long fine fur, and not to any defect in design.

I have some doubts about the robustness of the bladders. They are essentially two Mylar squares that have apparently been heat-sealed together to make a seam. They didn't leak, but I worry that in a couple of years they might. Also, the fact that they are opaque foil rather than clear plastic makes cleaning problematic. It won't be possible to tell if there is any mold growing inside.

I can't offer any opinion as to performance in wet weather, as we have not had much in Colorado this year. Newfoundlands love to swim, and so I never put any water-sensitive gear in the dog pack. Given its nylon construction, I would expect the pack to be water-resistant, but by no means water-proof.

Summary

After a 4 day, 30 mile (48 km) trip in hot, dry weather, I was very pleased with this pack, as I expected to be, given its price. The pack is well-made, and I expect it to last for many years and for many trips. The design is truly outstanding, and is obviously the product of much thought and experience, and many revisions. The only improvements I can think of are to make the zippers two-way, and to use clear plastic for the bladders. This is a serious pack for serious dog-packing, one that will allow a hardy canine to carry his or her share and then some.

Update September 8, 2006

I have been on several more day hikes and another 4 day segment of the Colorado Trail since the original review was written, and have two additional observations. One, after over a hundred trail miles, the pack shows no signs of wear, desite numerous scrapings against trees and rocks. The zippers and wter bladders also are in excellent condition. Two, the pack has been through several rainstorms, and couple of swims. The contents stayed dry through the rain - although none of these storms lasted more than 40 minutes - but got soaked when Baloo sneaked off for a swim.