As I consider this summer’s adventures, it’s time to examine the gear situation. What really has me thinking is the fact that my all-time favorite hands-free leash just broke today. It’s the Ruffwear Roamer Leash that Kenobi and I have been using for over a year. Ruffwear does work best for us, so far. We have their Knot-a-leash, harness, and bright-orange (hunter orange) backpack–all have served us well and lasted for a lot longer than a year.
But today, Kenobi bounded after a squirrel and the leash around my waist flew off. The plastic fastener just snapped and whipped my arm leaving a welt.
This is an excellent leash, and really allows for Kenobi to “roam” while I get to use both my hands to capture photographs. So, I’ll buy another with hopes of a longer experience, but wonder why the clasps couldn’t be made of something more substantial. One of the things I like best about this leash is the clasp for the harness–a double hook so there is no way the ring can slide out of the claps which has happened with other leashes. The clasp on the other leash is a d-ring. Again, no slipping possible.
It took me several tries to find a harness-leash combination that worked well for us. We do a lot of walking and hiking and have different objectives. Well, similar in that we’re both hunting, but different in that Kenobi is out to catch any rodent-type creature and, at times, birds, while I’m trying to capture pictures of critters.
Kenobi is a clever dog and could duck out of the first two harnesses we tried. Front-lead harnesses lasted no time at all because they were not rugged enough. Both the backpack and harness from Ruffwear are perfect, and I’ll purchase an additional harness due to the water, mud, and whatever else we trample through can get the harness pretty dirty. And in the winter the harness gets wet and cold causing Kenobi to get colder than he would otherwise.
On the Trails with Kenobi 
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