Outward Hound Kyjen Dog Backpack for Hiking, Travel & Adventure - Durable Pet Carrier with Adjustable Straps for Small to Medium Dogs

Ok, so trail hiking with my dogs is a long-time hobby of mine; i have several backpacks already and am a bit of an outdoor gear junkie, especially when it comes to dog gear. In the last year i came to adopt another dog who is smaller than my old girl and i needed a small pack for her to use on our weekend adventures. I looked around at different models, but it was hard to find one with features that i liked for a price i was willing to pay. Even though i had purchased an older version of this pack years ago and didn't like it, i saw the upgrades that had been made and thought i might give it another shot. I ordered this one and have used it a few times with some good results. So far here are the pros & cons:Pros:-Nice size: very appropriate for a day-hike. Ample room for water bottles some snacks, pickup bags, an emergency leash, and a small first aid kit.-Saddle bag design: the saddle bags are a nice shape & distribute the weight over a good length of the dog's spine. They don't sit too high or too low and the elliptical shape doesn't catch on trail hazards like ones that are more square-shaped. The fact that they are removable from the harness is also a plus if you want to give your dog a break during rest periods on the trail, or if she has a habit of wanting to go for a quick swim in every stream on the mountain. The hook-and-loop attachments do a good job of keeping the bags stabilized and connected to the harness too.-Weight: the manufacturer used an interesting mix of lightweight rip-stop nylon and tough ballistic nylon to have tough materials on the bottom & low sides to prevent rips, and the lighter-weight stuff on the tops. the pack is fairly lightweight considering.-Carry handle: always a nice feature-Harness design: has both the yoke-style front and a back cinch strap to help keep the load stable (i always get packs with the second back strap because of this, and if they don't come with one, i add it.) all the straps are adjustable.-Other neat features: there are internal zipper pockets inside the saddle bags to help keep things organized and elastic straps in the bottoms for holding water bottles to keep them from shifting during travel, which i thought was a pretty good idea. Lets face it, it is also pretty cool that the pack comes in a variety of colors so you can find one that matches your dog's personality!Cons:-No leash attachment: i thought this was a bit odd, but the pack does not have anywhere to clip a leash to. i would want something on the harness somewhere i think, so the lead does not get caught on the saddlebags while walking.-Straps are not padded: my dogs are pretty fluffy, and she is only wearing it for a few hours at a time with less than 8lbs of weight generally, so it is not that big of a deal for us, but i could see it being a problem for a dog with a very short coat.-The angle that the straps are sewn to the harness pad at, are odd: the yoke straps are sewn straight, however they should be at a downward sloping angle to fit the dog right. because of this there is a strange wrinkle in the harness at the connection above the shoulder, but it doesn't seem to interfere with the dog's movement or pack use.-Flimsy looking zippers. I would have hoped for a slightly sturdier zipper, but the ones i have have not broken yet or anything.In all this is a good economy-value dog pack. Alot of good features for the price range and ideal if you are just looking for something basic to take day-trips with. If you want to do some serious backpacking with your dog, i think it is worth it to put up the extra money for something on the next level quality wise, like the packs that Ruffwear makes though. For multi-day hikes you would want something that can hold more gear and with a better engineered harness system designed for that level of use. However if you are looking for something that is light in both weight and price, and just enough for weekend excursions, or even walks around town, this pack is a pretty good choice.I never chose my dogs, they just showed up in my life as abandoned treasures. Now you know I didn't get to follow that rule of "make sure your dogs have matching energy levels." We go on long walks, over an hour and sometimes over two hours, which really tires out my first dog but my other one is still feeling spunky and so is the new foundling. So that means I'm dealing with 3 at the moment and two of them have high energy. I needed a new trick to add to my bag of games, exercises, and puzzles.I use the Bought this for my Jr x Whippet. Awkward shaped dog but fitsfine other than the pockets are wy too big for the dog size good quality amd well made thogreat product - thanksI used the backback once and it ripped where the side pocket meets the harness. My dog is quite busy running through the forest and trees but I expected it to stand up better than that. I returned it for a new one and the second one has already started to come apart in the same place. I love the concept and design but thinking the stitching needs to be a lot stronger.Fits my dog great. Lots of room for adjustments. Just waiting for winter to leave so we can try it out. Will be adding a D-ring to it for attaching a long line for our hikes. The removable packs will be great for our lunch breaks or should pooch get tired or injured part way through the trip.