Gear Review: Ruffwear Swamp Cooler

Robin has boundless energy in cool weather, but in the heat he's a different dog. Earlier in the summer, I reviewed Alcott's cooling bandana, and we also purchased him a Ruffwear Swamp Cooler cooling vest, one of the most popular dog cooling products. Unlike the Alcott bandana, which is filled with cooling beads, the Swamp Cooler uses evaporative cooling: it's made of an absorptive material that slowly releases water to evaporation after a soaking. The evaporating water takes body heat with it, keeping the dog cool.

Robin stalking the sun in his cooling vest

Fit: 4/5 Robin is between sizes in Ruffwear gear: his Approach pack is an XXS, while his climate changer is an XS, and both fit him almost perfectly. His Swamp Cooler is an XS, but it fits him a little loosely. Bigger is better on a product like this one, so we chose the XS for good back and side coverage. However, the belly panel of the XS vest is a little wide for Robin's chest, and water plus friction equals irritated skin: by the time we realized what was happening, he had scabs in both armpits. Fortunately, a temporary hair band fix works well to keep the vest away from his front legs. I do have to monitor the positioning of the hair band, which slipped on a recent hike and gave him a new set of blisters, but it helps me pin down the correct spot for a permanent sewn fix.

A hair band around the belly panel of the vest keeps it from rubbing Robin's armpits

Design: 3/5 The vest is comprised of an absorptive core, a gray mesh lining and a tough, fine mesh light gray shell. The absorptive core soaks up a fair amount of water but doesn't hold it as well as I hoped- I expected it to be a highly technical layer that locked in and slowly released water, but maybe that is beyond today's technology. Instead it's more like a big sopping wet sponge- any pressure on the vest causes water to drip out even after being wrung out. Oddly enough, the outer layer isn't very absorbent, so it's hard to re-wet the vest using a hydration pack on the trail since the water just runs off. The open weave of the shell and liner allows sand to become trapped inside the vest, which never seems to rinse out fully. The inner liner also picks up foxtails, which become lodged in the absorptive core and have to be threaded back out.

No range of motion loss here.

The vest is cut for full coverage, and and fastens simply with one buckle on either side. The buckles are positioned deeply between two flaps of the vest to prevent accidental skin pinching, and it's sometimes hard to get them fastened on an unhappily damp dog. There's one small strip of reflective piping on the chest, which is sufficient since it's rarely hot enough at night for a cooling vest. Subtle trim and stitching gives the vest a clean, understated look. Once Robin forgets his displeasure, the vest doesn't impede him at all- it allows a full range of motion and never shifts to the side.

Robin attempting to "shake off" the vest's dampness on a brutally hot day

Function: 4/5 Robin actually is not too happy to see this vest come out, but he forgets about it shortly after it's put on. I think he dislikes the feeling of something wet being put over his head. While the Swamp Cooler doesn't completely negate the effects of hot weather, it significantly cuts back on his panting, to the extent that I wouldn't take him hiking in summer without it. I typically carry it in a plastic bag to the trailhead, and put it on there so that he'll quickly forget in the excitement of hiking. This strategy works well because the vest leaves wet patches and drips anywhere Robin goes for the first ten or fifteen minutes of wear.

We get about 1 to 1.5 hours of wear out of the vest before it's mostly dry, and the biggest drawback is that it's hard to re-wet. In drought-stricken SoCal we don't have an abundance of water along the trail, and since the shell is slightly moisture resistant it tends to shed small quantities of water dribbled from a hydration pack. In more humid climates, the evaporation would be slower, but the vest might be less effective overall since the evaporation is what makes it cool.

There's no doubt that it works: his fur under the vest is cool to the touch.

Addison re-wetting Robin's vest with his CamelBak

Durability: 5/5 The vest looks almost new after a whole summer of dust, mud and foxtails, except for some dust stains on the belly, and it rinses pretty clean no matter what Robin gets himself into. There are a few snags on the inside where foxtails were trapped, but each time I wash it up after a hike I'm amazed by how clean it gets.

Overall: 4/5 The vest has become a can't-live-without-it product for us. Despite its sand/foxtail and re-wetting drawbacks, it's been indispensable throughout this 90-110 degree summer and we've definitely done some hikes that would have been impossible without it. It's definitely on the expensive side at $59.95, but I was able to find one on sale for around $35 and would begrudgingly purchase another at full price if I needed a replacement.

Takeaways:
Good for: Any outdoor activity in warm or hot weather- this is now a mandatory product for us for any hot-weather hiking. The difference is night and day.
Not ideal for: May be less effective on very humid days.

Gear Review: Alcott Essential Visibility Dog Vest

Robin is a product ambassador for Alcott, so we received this vest at a significant discount.  It retails for $18.99 to $21.99 in sizes Small through Large.

Robin's medium brown color blends perfectly with the reddish dirt and dry foliage of Southern California, so I like to put him in a bright bandana or vest to make it easier to keep track of him and make him visible to others. This particular vest by Alcott is a brilliant fluorescent orange that leans a tiny bit pinkish, and has reflective trim and piping for nighttime visibility.  It also comes in highlighter yellow. 

Fit: 4/5. The vest has a flat nylon body and fastens with elastic chest and belly straps and lightweight black buckles. Robin at 18.5" girth is about the maximum size for the Small. The vest itself is cut to end about 3/4 of the way down the back but comes most of the way down his sides, which I find to be a good compromise between visibility and mobility. Robin isn't bothered by the vest, but even so I'd prefer that it had more of a Y-shape chest harness (no buckle needed) rather than a strap straight across the front legs.  

Robin leaping through the mountain scrub, totally unhindered by his vest

Design: 5/5. The body of the vest is made of three flat sections of flexible medium weight nylon, separated by reflective piping and edged in reflective trim. The elastic straps and plastic buckles make it quick to put on, and I appreciate the absence of velcro. It's lined in orange mesh and has a reflective Alcott character logo on each shoulder. Overall, the styling of the body is very nice with a sporty, slim cut. It's my favorite design out of all the major-brand visibility vests I've considered- Ruffwear was long and a bit heavy duty for a small dog, Kurgo while amazingly lightweight was unflatteringly baggy around the ribcage, his mesh Petco vest had velcro and tended to flop to the side, and Hurtta abruptly cuts the body in half.

Robin staying visible at dusk

Finishing: 3/5.  Unfortunately, the vest isn't finished with quite as much polish as it deserves.  The harness hole and the strap/vest attachment points at the chest have unfinished edges on the inside. The seam on the right-shoulder reflective piping is missing a few stitches and will probably need to be resewn eventually. And I was immediately disappointed by the fact that the packaging put pinprick holes in the back of the vest. However, from the outside the vest is well-finished and looks nice.  The straps are sewn on sturdily, the piping is even, and the reflective trim creates a nice finished edge.  

Underside

Durability: 4/5. Aside slight pilling on the mesh liner, the vest looks virtually new after a summer of use with zero wear to the reflectors or the nylon shell.  Neither the unfinished edges on the inside nor the holes from the packaging have frayed or gotten larger.  I suspect that the body of the vest will outlast the elastic belly band, since it's getting a little wavy on the edges as it loses some elasticity.

Out on the town in the Alcott vest

Overall: 4/5. I really like the cut and color of the vest and I would likely buy another if this one got lost.  It's very flattering on Robin, highly visible, and doesn't get in his way. I do hope that Alcott steps up their finishing a notch and also finds a better packaging solution to keep the vests intact!

Takeaways: 
Good for: Hiking, biking, neighborhood walks, nighttime and daytime visibility
Not ideal for: Extremely hot weather (find a mesh vest instead). 

Gear Review: Keeping Warm in the Backcountry with the Ruffwear Climate Changer

Even in balmy Southern California, it gets chilly at night, especially in the mountains. I generally avoid putting clothes on Robin except when weather necessitates it, but for his first backpacking trip, I knew a packable but warm jacket would be a necessity.

I've had the fleece Ruffwear Climate Changer in mind for a cool-weather layer, and finally snapped it up on sale just in time for our trip. Here's our experience:

Chilly camp morning - Mt Lowe Trail Camp

Fit: At an 18.5" girth, 14.5" back length, 12" neck circumference, Robin fits an XS like it was made for him. The length is ideal and his curly tail doesn't fold the jacket back. It's a tiny bit roomy in the chest and belly, which makes it easier for him to run around. Potty clearance is perfect. Reviews on Ruffwear's site are all over the place fit-wise, so apparently we got lucky with Robin's body type.

Chest view of the jacket

Design: The zipper is an elegant solution compared to the velcro closures on most dog clothing, and it never unzipped by itself. The athletic cut is flattering and the reflective piping is surprisingly visible at night. It's hard to find dog clothing with sleeves and these are well-executed. The fleece is thin but dense and feels like it will resist pilling. If there's anything to nitpick, I was disappointed that the trim on the triangular zipper flap at the neck isn't too durable- I snagged it the very first time I unzipped the jacket. The cover could be cut back farther to reduce zipper interference.

This is the first time I've ever gotten him something in gray when it came in orange, but I didn't like the shade of orange on his fur, and the orange color seemed to emphasize the bagginess.

Robin awaiting his breakfast from my hammock - Mt Lowe Trail Camp

Function: I'd heard stories of this jacket keeping dogs warm down to 40 degrees, but they must have more hair than Robin. Nighttime temperatures were probably just below 60 degrees in our camp. He stayed warm on top of my sleeping bag for most of the night with just the Climate Changer, but by morning he was chilled and didn't stop shivering until he finished breakfast.

The jacket brushed remarkably clean of dirt and leaves. However, it's shedding season so the inside is hairy, and the hair doesn't come off as easily. Since Robin doesn't shed for most of the year, I'll wait and remove it with tape.

Packability: The XS Climate Changer weighs about 3.5 oz and packs into one side of Robin's XXS Approach pack with room to spare. Fleece doesn't compress too well, but the efficient cut makes it relatively small when packed.  It's thin enough to fit under his pack if we ever go hiking in freezing weather.

The XS rolled jacket takes up just over half of the 1L bag on his XXS pack.

Takeaways:
Good for: Trim body types, keeping bald chests and bellies warm, a baselayer under a pack or heavier jacket.

Not ideal for: Extreme temperatures without a top layer, bulky or muscular body types, zipper chewers.


Updates: 
06/07/2015 added packed size and chest fit photos