Harnesses! With hundreds on the market, what ones are actually the best for your pup?
These are every day walking harnesses for the regular family dog. These are harnesses built to withstand daily life, and they are not specialist equipment, niche equipment, or equipment that should be inappropriate in any way for day-to-day life.
From hiking trail to a walk around the block, to training a solid recall on a long line! These harnesses are the very best. And this is the only truly unbiased list on the internet.
How I’m Comparing The Harnesses In The Best Dog Harnesses For This Year.
- Visibility
- Quality
- Comfort
- Strength
- Fit
- Y-shape
- Positive only (no restrictive parts)
This said, there is also an element of personal preference that’s hard to nail down, per se.
These are all harnesses I’ve tried out. Unlike a lot of lists online of the best harness – this one isn’t based on amazon reviews but actual hard testing and facts and experience! It’s also not limited by the fact that I have sponsors, or by who will pay me a commission (ever seen those listicles that only list stuff on their own site? Or only on Amazon? Yeah, that’s not me!).
This is based on my genuine experiences with these products. It’s also made with a knowledge of canine behaviour, understanding of motion.
The Goal Of These Rankings
Is to give you an unbiased view point of how I find these harnesses. We (Indie & I) give them an incredibly thorough testing, and will continue to adjust the reviews and this list with our findings together.
How should you use it? Take my learnings and find the most appropriate harness for you and yours. Just because I love a product, doesn’t make it ideal for you! But it does give you a benchmark to work from. That’s my goal. Let’s make informed decisions!
Note! This is a live document! I’ll be adding things in and changing ranks on a regular basis with every harness review that I add to the list. Which means that if you go away and come back? It may have changed!
Whilst I’m doing the note-thing, some of these will be affiliate links – because I deserve a little payback for all the work I do on this blog haha! But you can see that I’ve already tried all of these! These are genuine thoughts. None of these rankings have been bought, none of them are paid for. I have not been swayed or influenced in any way – which is why as many of these as are affiliate links, aren’t affiliate links.
The Shortlist:
- Perfect Fit, Review; Shop Clean Run or Perfect Fit
- Ruffwear Front Range, Review; Shop Ruffwear or Amazon
- Blue-9 Balance Harness, Review pending ; Shop Amazon or Blue-9
- Non-Stop Line 5.0 Harness, Review pending ; Shop Non-Stop
- OneTigris XDestroyer, Review; Shop
- Kurgo Air Journey Harness, Review pending ; Shop
- Ruffwear Flagline, Review pending ; Shop
- Julius k-9 Longwalk, Review; Shop
- Icefang Harness, Review; Shop
Whilst this is the list so far? Keep tuned! More will be added as they’re received and reviewed!
Best Dog Harnesses 2022
1 – Perfect Fit Harness
This harness has seen Indie from the UK to the US and is, and as far as I can tell, will always be my go-to harness.
We’re talking about reliable, strong, with two points, and it just fits so so well (like the name would imply). The fact it has 5 points of adjustment (left and right shoulder, left and right chest along with the chest strap!) and the fleece lining ensures that this is an ideal fit for everything from a Frenchie to a Great dane.
The only real consideration is that the plastic pinch clips that clips on their chest can be a little clunky for lighter built breeds.
2 – Ruffwear Front Range
A high quality harness that has very little reason not to like it. With quality hardware, a light, flexible build and good reflectivity? This harness is a harness I can trust.
It snagged a little as Indie went through brush and played with his buddies, but it never once moved, or yielded in any way that wasn’t predictable (aka, exactly where it was meant to). It’s wide enough that it doesn’t impede motion.
3 – Blue-9 Balance Harness
Another incredibly adaptable harness, it doesn’t have any real padding though. I don’t like that. It’s also narrower than the perfect fit for Indie’s size and lacks that teency element of being over built – but in general, it’s very sturdy, very adaptable.
It doesn’t have a chance to mess up how it goes together (unlike the perfect fit, which I’ve seen done!). It doesn’t have any reflective surfaces either. But the fit can be phenomenal.
4 – Non-Stop Line Harness 5.0
Personally, I love how light this harness is. It’s bright, it’s super reflective, it feels tight and secure, and do you see the space it provides around the arms? Gosh, I’m really impressed with this harness.
The full review is forthcoming, but I love this harness! For hacking around, this is so minimally intrusive.
5 – OneTigris XDestroyer
This long body, tactical style harness is a really sturdy option. With three handles, three attachment points and the flexibility to not have to put this harness over-head, this is great.
I also love the velcro that you use to secure the chest piece in place whilst you secure the clips! Delighted about that incredibly considerate piece of design!
6 – Kurgo Journey Air Harness
A sturdy built harness that is quite attractive in it’s design. It has two points and is clearly very nicely built, my only complaint so far, is that there are some odd parts?
Like the loops at the chest… I’ve been racking my brain what they could be used for, and the best suggestion I’ve had is “Shotgun shells” from Mr Rebarkable – pretty sure he was wrong though… ahhh bless him.
7 – Ruffwear Flagline
Full Review incoming! But this is here for now! I do love this harness, like the front range, it’s incredibly reliable, and the big benefit is it’s escape-proof-ness. The tummy strap can give phenomenal security for people and their pups.
Full review will be coming soon!
8 – Julius k-9 Longwalk
A fiddly design with a lot going on. And there’s a lot of … excess stuff?
For some reason the shoulder straps are velcro – and I can’t fathom why, but the rest of it works reasonably well. It has some great reflectors on it! And a handle… but for the price of it, I’m just not terribly impressed. Seems pointlessly overengineered to me!
9 – Icefang Tactical Harness
With 4 metal buckles (though they’re cobra style, it’s good to note they are NOT official cobra buckles and do not have this strength testing) this military style harness is quite attractive, but it cuts in quite close to Indie’s arms, and as a consequence, I cannot rate it any higher. It’s properly fitted, but it totally limits his movement.
That’s a lot of list, right? There’s so very much to choose from, but I’m hoping you find this useful! My aim is to always be honest, to always create a reliable resource for you and dog owners everywhere to use!
Your Harness Questions Answered
Harnesses are important!
Harnesses keep our dogs safe, they stop them from damaging their throat, it keeps them safe and secure, whilst
If you want more input as to trying to find the best equipment for you and your dog why not book a Bark Day and we’ll discuss everything you might want to know and I can guide you through what will be best for you and your dog.
Author, Ali Smith
Ali Smith is the Positive Puppy Expert, dog trainer and is the founder of Rebarkable. She is passionate about helping puppy parents get things right, right from the start. To help create a puppy capable of being a confident and adaptable family member and keep puppies out of shelters.
Ali has won multiple awards for her dog training, and has had her blog (this blog!) rated as 2021 & 2022 worlds’ best pet blog!
Link to Rebarkable
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