The Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range Harness Debate

Ruffwear is a leader in the dog hiking gear world. They offer a range of products from sleeping bags to boots to leashes. Today’s post will discuss two of Ruffwear’s most popular products: the Ruffwear Webmaster Harness vs. the Ruffwear Front Range Harness.

But before we compare these two harnesses, let’s take a look at each individually.

Ruffwear Front Range Harness

The Front Range Harness is Ruffwear’s everyday harness. This harness features two leash attachment points: an aluminum V-ring centered on the dog’s back and a reinforced webbing at the dog’s chest. The chest attachment is intended to resist pulling and offer additional control

Product Features:

• Two leash attachment points
• ID pocket to keep dog tags quiet and easily accessible
• Padded chest and belly panel
• Customizable fit with 4 points of adjustment
• Low light visibility with reflective trim
• Available in 6 colors: tillandsia purple, meadow green, blue dusk, twilight gray, orange poppy, and wild berry pink
• Available in 5 sizes: XXSmall, XSmall, Small, Medium, and Large/XLarge

This harness retails for $39.99

Ruffwear Webmaster Harness

The Ruffwear Webmaster Harness is a secure, multi-use harness that was designed for helping dogs maneuver up and over obstacles.

Product Features:

• Customizable fit with 5 points of adjustment
• Padded handle for maneuvering and assisting dogs up and over obstacles
• Two leash attachments: aluminum V-ring and webbing loop
• Padded chest and belly panel
• Foam padded straps
• Low-light visibility with reflective trim
• Available in 3 colors: twilight gray, blue dusk, and red currant
• Avaialbe in 5 sizes: XXSmall, XSmall, Small, Medium, Large/XLarge

This harness retails for $59.95.

Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range Harness

So how do these two harnesses compare? First off, we would like to acknowledge that choosing the right harness for your dog depends on what activities you and your dog will be doing. It also depends on your dog’s body type and temperament.

Glia has both of these harnesses in her closet and has worn them on hours of hiking trails. We have purchased both of these harnesses with our own money. So here are our non-sponsored thoughts on the Ruffwear Webmaster vs. the Front Range harness.

Durability/Quality of the Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range Harness

Both are durable, quality harnesses in keeping with the Ruffwear brand. They have both held up well to a dog that occasionally darts after squirrels while on leash. And a dog that loves nothing more than a good roll in the dirt. Although intended to be hand-washed, both have spent a fair amount of time in my washing machine and come out none the worse for the wear.

Appearance of the Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range Harness

The Front Range wins here, hands down. With 6 colors to choose from, the Front Range harness has a color to fit every personality. Unfortunately, the Webmaster only has 3 colors to choose from. I love to outfit Glia with bright girly colors, so I am still patiently waiting for the Webmaster to come out in a bright purple or pink, but no luck so far.

Glia has the Front Range in Wild Berry Pink, and we settled for the Webmaster in Blue Dusk. Don’t get me wrong, the Blue Dusk is a lovely color, but people always assume Glia is a male dog when she wears this harness. Unless she is wearing one of her pink sweaters underneath.

Fit of the Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range Harness

For Glia and I, this is where the debate between the Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range debate is decided. We hands down prefer the fit of the Webmaster harness.

The Front Range chest panel always seems to bunch up a little for Glia, even though the straps around her neck and chest fit well. But the big problem we have with the Front Range Harness, is that it can slip forward far enough that I worry Glia could slip the entire harness if she tried. Glia is normally a very forward moving dog, but we had a couple instances where she put on the breaks to try and chase something. And when I didn’t stop fast enough, she almost came free. This is a huge safety concern for me. So after this experience, we decided to upgrade to the Ruffwear Webmaster Harness.

The Ruffwear Webmaster fits Glia almost perfectly. The belly strap keeps the harness securely in place and I have never had to worry about this harness slipping over Glia’s head. The only fit concern I have with the Webmaster, is that the strap between the neck and the first strap behind her legs doesn’t lengthen quite far enough to accommodate her deep chest. Originally, I was worried about this causing the straps to rub in her armpits. However, she has yet to develop any redness or irritation in her armpits after hiking.

And just for reference Glia is a 40# American Staffordshire Terrier mix. Her girth size is 26 inches. We purchased both the Front Range and Webmaster Harness in a size small.

Final Thoughts

A good harness is part of our list of hiking essentials. And when it comes to the Ruffwear Webmaster vs. Front Range debate, we are solidly in favor of the Webmaster. The fit of the Webmaster allows us to hike knowing that Glia is securely harnessed. At this point, the only thing that would make it better is more color options. So we will be not so patiently waiting for  Ruffwear to come out with some new colors for the Webmaster.

Although, Glia wears her Webmaster Harness for all of her everyday hikes, she does have one other harness that we love. When we overnight on the trails, Glia wears a Groundbird Gear Harness and Trekking pack. 

So, dear reader, where do you fall on the Ruffwear Front Range vs. Webmaster debate? Or do you prefer a different brand entirely? Let us know your thoughts below.