March 2024 - Pawsitively Intrepid

Do you have a dog in need of a warm, high-quality winter jacket? Maybe you have a short-haired dog like mine that shivers outdoors when temperatures drop below freezing? This can be a real struggle when you live in a cold winter climate and still want to hike and adventure with your dog year-round. For my dog, Glia, having a thick winter coat makes a big difference in how comfortable she is out on a snowy trail. When I adopted Glia, I was a college student. On a budget, my mother helped me make some custom fleece sweaters that helped keep Glia warm. But once I started working full time, I wanted to upgrade Glia's gear. There are several high-quality winter dog jackets currently available. But with many of them selling for $100 plus, these jackets must do more than just look good. So which is the best winter dog jacket on the market? I took a look at 3 popular dog coat brands: Ruffwear, Hurtta, and Non-Stop Dogwear, and put them to the test in a Minnesota winter. *This post does contain some affiliate links, from which I may earn with qualifying purchases. I am an affiliate with Amazon and Ruffwear. I am not a direct affiliate of Hurtta or Non-Stop Dogwear. All of these coats were purchased with revenue from this blog and were not sent/sponsored by the respective dog gear companies. Right: Hurtta Expedition Parka, Center: Ruffwear Furness, Left: Non-stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.0 Hurtta Expedition Parka vs. Ruffwear Furness vs. Non-stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.0 Let's take a look at each of these dog jackets individually. Hurtta Expedition Parka The first high-quality dog jacket that I purchased for Glia was the Hurtta Expedition Parka. And honestly, I was impressed with how much warmer it kept Glia compared to her fleeces. She shivered less and seemed happier to stay outside in the cold longer. The Hurtta Expedition Park was designed for short-haired dogs to wear on outdoor adventures. Designed for temperatures of 30 °F down to -20 °F, this weatherproof coat is designed to allow a full range of motion for active dogs. It is a perfect purchase for dogs without an undercoat to help them continue to join their people on adventures year-round. The Hurtta Expedition Parka is made from a waterproof, laminated fabric and has taped seams to keep your pup warm and dry. To keep you ensure that the coat is waterproof, a fluorocarbon-free Rudolf ECO water-repellent treatment is used in the process of creating these coats. The outer shell of the coat is a durable fabric, that holds up well to dirt and debris out on the trail. The lining of the coat is a soft fleece-type material. The front leg panels, which are also made from water and wind-proof soft fabric, are designed to be flexible with a dog’s movements. Hurtta also makes a few other jackets that are worth mentioning as options that may be as warm or warmer than the Expedition Parka, such as the Hurtta Extreme Warmer, and the Hurtta Extreme Overall. Ruffwear Furness Jacket The warmest jacket in Ruffwear's line-up is the Furness jacket. I love Ruffwear's harnesses, so when they released a warm winter jacket that looked like it could compete with Hurtta's jackets, I knew I needed to give it a try. Ruffwear launched the Furness jacket in 2022 with the following description: Dogs can venture longer and go deeper in bitter cold conditions with the Furness™ – an ultrawarm, high-coverage jacket with high-loft insulation around the neck, back, belly, hips, and thighs. The lightweight shell fabric has a water-repellant finish to shed light moisture, and the weather-guarded 3/4-length zipper retains core heat. Super-soft, articulated stretch StormSleeves™ are engineered to seal in warmth while maintaining freedom of movement as your dog dashes from powder stash to powder stash. Hem cords at neck and belly cinch to capture warmth and keep cold elements out. Because staying warm shouldn’t have to mean staying inside, the Furness offers a new level of canine coziness for winter exploring.” https://ruffwear.com/products/furness-jacket Non-stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.0 This winter, I had a request from a viewer of my YouTube videos to compare these two jackets to Non-stop Dogwear's Glacier Jacket 2.0. This jacket is insulated with PrimaLoft Black Insulation Eco which is effective even if it gets wet. The Glacier Jacket 2.0 has a windproof and water-repellent shell. Exposed areas are reinforced for extra protection against weather and rough vegetation. Like the other jackets, it is designed to provide a dog with full freedom of movement. The 2.0 version was updated with new panels and articulation to fit a dog's body even better. There are cinch points and chest strap adjustments that allow for individual adjustment. Since I don't have a full blog post published about the Glacier 2.0 jacket yet, here's a quick summary of what I like and don't like about this jacket. What I Love About the Non-Stop Glacier 2.0 Dog Jacket Color! It looks so good. The chest panel between the front legs is narrow and there is a lot of room in the shoulder for good freedom of movement A collar hole! This is the only jacket of these 3 that has a spot near the neck of the jacket with a hole to pass a leash through so you can attach it to a collar. Drain points in the chest panel for if snow gets up there and melts. Lots of room for different harness attachment points in the opening on the back of the jacket. The slit is parallel to the dog's back, rather than perpendicular like the other two jackets. Very water-repellent/resistant Most ergonomic back leg straps of the 3 jackets. They are soft and fit well. Don't Like The jacket pulls forward when Glia stretches her neck out/down. Need a longer size to get full butt/thigh coverage. This jacket doesn't drape around Glia as well as others The thinner chest panel means that the coat doesn't have as much coverage over the chest area. A quick note on packability: This jacket is more compressible than the Hurtta Expedition Parka (and similar to the Ruffwear Furness) so it is easier to pack for a backpacking trip or other travel when space is limited. Winter Dog Jacket Comparison Okay, let's start taking a look at how these jackets compare to each other. Overall Fit While each of these jackets has multiple adjustment points, they all fit a little differently. For reference, Glia weighs about 40 lbs and has a back length of 21.5 inches (55 cm). I purchased the Hurtta Expedition Parka in a size 22 inch (55 cm). It is a little baggy/big on her and I almost returned it for a size smaller. However, I decided extra coverage was okay for cold-weather adventures. And Glia still has a good range of motion in this size. I just tightened up the collar adjustment to help prevent the coat from sliding backward on her. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z2OjXsJWOZM Glia wears a size small in Ruffwear's harnesses. So I originally ordered the Ruffwear Furness in a size small. Unfortunately, that fit perfectly around her chest but was not long enough to cover her thighs or much of her belly. So I returned the small Furness and sized it up to a medium. The medium covers her back end well, but I do have to tighten it around her chest for a better fit. Since the size 22 Hurtta Expedition Parka fit Glia, when I ordered the Non-stop Dogwear Glacier 2.0 jacket, I ordered it in a size 55 (which is made for a back length of 20.5 to 22.8 inches). When I first put it on Glia in the house it looked like it was going to fit perfectly. Fit well around her neck and chest (better than the Hurtta Expedition Parka) and was the perfect length. The back leg straps even were in the right location and a good size for my slender dog. Unfortunately, Glia doesn't like to wear the back leg straps, and without them, the jacket slides forward when she trots or puts her head down to smell something. You can see Glia's thigh is exposed to the cold while moving in the photo below. As a result, we only took the Glacier 2.0 jacket on a couple of walks before deciding to return it. The return process is a little more complicated for those of us in the United States, as Non-Stop Dogwear uses DHL for shipping and DHL doesn't have drop-off locations in every city. For reference, I have returned items to Ruffwear and Hurtta before but had ordered them from locations in the United States, so didn't have to worry about international shipping. Although it took longer to return the Glacier Jacket, the return did fully process. I am considering ordering the Glacier 2.0 jacket in size 60 (for back lengths 22.4 to 24.8 inches). That will give a little extra length to cover Glia's back end when she moves her head down. But since it is spring now, I'll wait until next winter to make that decision. The Jacket is really nice, just too short in the 55 cm length. In the photos below, you'll notice that the Hurtta Expedition Parka and the Ruffwear Furness look long while Glia is standing still. But when she is moving or has her neck extended, this extra length allows for good coverage of her thighs. So the moral of the story is to size up for winter jackets if have a longer dog and want good/full coverage of their back and thighs. Features Comparison Furness JacketExpedition ParkaNon-stop Dogwear Glacier 2.0Materials-Shell: 50 Denier cire nylon with DWR finish-Insulation: 250g post-consumer recycled polyester-Lining: 30 denier polyester-Storm Sleeves: 4-way stretch polyester/spandex-Shell: Durable 100% PES 300D Surface Fabric-Lining: Soft Finish 100% PES technical 135g knitted lining-Insulation: 120-140g wadding-Shell: 3L 75D Polyester + TPU Membrane (PR22S Polyester 10.000 mm) 118/m2-Lining: 20D Nylon (20DX20D 400T Nylon) 37g/m2- Insulation: PrimaLoft® Black Insulation Eco, 100g/m2 size 24-36, 133 g/m2 size 40-90 (bluesign® APPROVED)Care InstructionsWash in cold water, gentle cycle. Hang to dryMachine wash warm. Hang to dry. Machine wash at or below 30°C. Hang to DryLow Light VisibilityLight Loop Attachment for "The Beacon",Reflective TrimMultiple reflectors, luminous intensity 400-450 lx/m2Reflective printingWeather-proofnessWater-repellant DWR finish and weather-guarded zipper"Waterproof", laminated fabric. Taped seams. Windproof and water-repellent shell; Waterproof rating: 10.000 mmDrainage holes in chest panelSizing6 sizes from XXSmall to XLarge based on chest circumference.Chest circumference sizes 13 inches to 42 inches. 16 sizes based on back length. From 8 inches to 32 inches with a few sizes designed for odd-shaped dogs like Dachshunds and French Bulldogs. Yes+ A leash portal for a collar attachmentAdjustabilityAdjust around the neck and waist.Adjusts around the neck (in two places) and waist. There is also a back length adjustment point.Adjusts around neck and waist. There is also a back length adjustment point. Leash Portal(for harness)YesYesYes+ a leash portal for a collar attachmentColors-Twilight Gray-Red Sumac-Blackberry-Bilberry-Beetroot-Buckthorn-Orange/Black-Purple-Navy/Teal/RedPrice$$$$*At the time of writing this post, around $130$$$*At the time of writing this post, around $90$$$*At the time of writing this post, around $130 Warmth Comparison Alright, now we come to potentially the most important aspect of these winter jackets. How warm will they keep your dog? To determine how warm these coats are, I bought a couple of temperature sensors and attached them to Glia's flagline harness. I place one on the back of her harness and a second on her chest. I carried a third sensor that was not covered to help record the ambient temperature. For all of these tests, Glia wore a jacket over the harness and the leash was attached through the leash portal of the harness. Results For the chart below, I am going to record the nadir (lowest) temperature recording from each walk. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint), it was a fairly warm winter, so I didn't get out for any walks in subzero temperatures. Date/DurationHarnessAmbient TempBack SensorChest Sensor1/7/23- ~ 20 minutesRuffwear Furness30.6°F58.2°F55.7°F1/8/23-~40 minutesRuffwear Furness28.8°F57.3°F52.8°F1/9/23- ~40 minutesHurtta Expedition Parka30.2°F53.6°F41.7°F1/10/23 - ~25 minutesNon-stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.029.9°F54.5°F41.0°F1/10/23 - ~25 minutesNon-stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.032.5°F55.5°F44.6°F And then just out of curiosity, I compared the warmest coat (the Ruffwear Furness Jacket) to my own coat Date/DurationHarnessAmbient TempBack SensorMy Sensor1/11/23 - ~50 minutesRuffwear Furness21.6°F53.6°F56.4°F*Between my sweatshirt and jacket1/11/23 - ~10 minutes77.5°F*Moved sensor to underneath my sweatshirt1/12/23 - ~20 minutesRuffwear Furness25.9°F57.2°F67.5°F*In the pocket of my vest underneath my coat Conclusions While none of the jackets alone were as warm as my winter jacket + sweatshirt, the temperatures recorded from the back sensor were all fairly similar to the temperature between my sweatshirt and jacket. With a range of 53.6°F degrees to 58.2°F, all three of the jackets kept Glia's back significantly warmer than ambient temperature. But the Ruffwear Furness was the warmest, followed by the Non-stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.0. The chest sensor is where the Ruffwear Furness stood out though. With the full chest panel with sleeves, the Ruffwear Furness kept Glia's chest about 10°F warmer than either the Hurtta Expedition Parka or Non-Stop Dogwear Glacier Jacket 2.0 did. So the winner of this warmth comparison is the Ruffwear Furness! https://pawsitivelyintrepid.com/ruffwear-furness-jacket-review/ If you are ready to order a high-quality winter jacket for your dog, below are links to each jacket. *The Amazon and Ruffwear links are affiliate links and I may earn from qualifying purchases. I use money earned from this blog to buy more gear and fund more adventures. Ruffwear Furness Amazon.com Ruffwear.com Hurtta Expedition Parka Amazon.com Hurtta247.com Non-Stop Dogwear Glacier 2.0 Jacket NonstopDogwear.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpGLUvQ5TNw Full Screenshot Data from the Temperature Sensors: For those who are curious, here are screenshots of the temperature sensor data. Jan 7th: Ruffwear Furness, Jan 8th: Ruffwear Furness Jan 9th: Hurtta Expedition Parka Jan 10th: Non-Stop Dog Wear Glacier 2.0 (harness hole was closer to sensor in this one) Jan 11th: Furness Jacket for the back of the harness, but chest sensor under my coat (between coat and sweatshirt); then chest sensor under my sweatshirt (temp actually went up for this one) Jan 12th: Furness Jacket for the back of the harness sensor, chest sensor in the pocket of my vest.