# Singletrak or Approach??



## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Hi All,

I want to buy Pup a pack, and have read through the threads to find the ruffwears consistently recommended. I'm having a wee bit of trouble deciding between the Singletrak and Approach, and was hoping y'all can give me some pointers.

Primary Use:
-packing water and poop bags on our walk to the dog park.
-packing water and poop bags on our short few-hours long hike

I'm a bit worried that the singletrak isn't big enough for her water and some poop bags. If I took out the soft platypus bottles, would I be able to fit a waterbottle on each side?


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

marshies, your pup probably needs less water than you think.  I've taken Rocket running for 6 miles (his longest distance), which equates to about an hour, and he hasn't had any water. This is in summer (at night or early early am) too. When we took him on our hottest backpack this summer, it was 88 degrees, and the first 6.5 miles (4,000 feet of elevation gain) had no water, so we had to pack it and he only drank a little over 30 oz in about 5.5 hours. 

I didn't like the Ruffwear packs with the bladders, but I think the Approach might be a bit much for day hikes--but, it could be turned into an overnight hiking bag, it's NOT like it would be TOO big for day hiking, just over kill on dog park/neighborhood walks. You'd not have to buy another one if you got the Approach if you ever decided to backpack likely, unless you were seriously going like on a 2-3 week trail. 

Just keep in mind these dogs were bred for work. People have fallen into this trap of thinking they must drink tons of water themselves also, but regular hikes and exercise does NOT require much. Shoot, I don't even take water on runs under 10-12 miles. Pup will probably be fine with a couple of bottles.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Hi RocketDog,

Thanks for the response! She doesn't drink when we go on jogs, but I do like her to have water at the dog park...since other dogs drink and she always looks on longingly. LOL.

Have you seen the Singletrak in person? Do you think I could fit 2 regular waterbottles in place of those soft plastic ones? The joy of living in Canada is that it's very hard to find one in store to try on.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

Hmmm. I have seen it, but I didn't investigate it very closely because I am not a fan of bladders so much. Can you order online from REI or Backcountry.com? They will let you return it for life if you want to try it, and decide you don't like it. 

For me, the thing is, the bladders take longer to refill on the trail when we're backpacking. I have to take Rocket's pack off, etc. So I just am not super interested in them. For you, totally different application. I'd see if you can get both online and then return the one you don't like as well.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

I always recommend the approach pack, because it's what Frag has and we love it. We have yet to go on multi-day hikes/camping with it, he wears it as his "job" a lot on walks or trips to the pet store, and our day hikes. I think it's perfect for it and there's always a lot of leftover room in ours.. but we don't usually bring water, either.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

What a beautiful picture Danielle!

Thanks for the response.

We don't do multi-day trips...it'll mostly be walking around the neighborhood with a "job" to tire her out more. 

If you don't fill out your approach pack, do the contents inside shift around alot as the dog walks?


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

marshies said:


> What a beautiful picture Danielle!
> 
> Thanks for the response.
> 
> ...


I really think the singletrack without the bladder or without using it would be fine for you then. This is kind of overkill for us right now, but there's not really any cons to it and it looks cool, so we use it. 

The contents don't shift at all from what I've found.. we do throw a few water bottles in each one for weight for him (but he/they never need to stop for water on the hikes we've been on) and some treats, poop bags, maybe a ball or two and an extra leash. I balance the weight as best as I can and everything pretty much stays where I put it, with the bottles on the bottom.


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

I've the singletrack. It can fit those biker's 500ml bottles fine with a bit extra room to spare. There's another pocket on each side that will fit the poop bag. The REI description says it will fit a leash, poop bag, and collapsible bowl. 

Ruff Wear Singletrak Hydration Dog Pack - Free Shipping at REI.com


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

The only thing about using regular water bottles instead of the soft water bottles the Singletrak comes with is that regular water bottles will slosh around as they get empty, and this will cause the weight to be shifting around a lot especially if you're jogging (also could be annoying hearing slosh-slosh-slosh all the time.) With the soft bottles you can squeeze out the air as they empty so they don't slosh.
Personally I always used Platypus soft water bottles (Platy Bottles) in my dogs' packs, even before Ruffwear started including them with their packs. I like them because they are compact, flat so they don't make the pack stick out to the sides, and they take up less room as you use the water. 

That said, I just tried it and I could fit a regular water bottle into the Singletrak bag, although it may depend on how big your bottles are.



RocketDog said:


> For me, the thing is, the bladders take longer to refill on the trail when we're backpacking. I have to take Rocket's pack off, etc. So I just am not super interested in them. For you, totally different application. I'd see if you can get both online and then return the one you don't like as well.


I'm confused, why would you have to take the pack off to refill the bladders/bottles? You can just take them out of the pack.
I don't see why they would take any longer to fill than a regular bottle.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

CC, we stuffed some of the sample stuff "pillows" of sand at Mountain gear into the dog pack to stimulate his food. If we're on the trail and he's got a full pack of food, it becomes much more difficult to put the bladders back in if the pack is full and on him; at least it appeared that way when we were at the store. Maybe we were looking at a different model? In my experience with Rocket, which granted has only been one year (but plenty of backpacking) the sloshing doesn't seem to affect him at all. No more than it does me (which is nil). He doesn't even seem to care he's got the pack on, full, half full, doesn't matter. It's just easier to reach the bottle down, fill it up, screw the lid on tight, put it in his pack and we're off. I also use the widemouth Nalgene bottles so that might make a difference.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

Upon discussing this same issue with a friend this afternoon on FB, I suddenly realized we had tried the Ruffwear Palisades. I did not investigate the Singletrack, as it's not really a backpacking pack. Just to clarify, heh. :blush:


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I like the Approach too - it's plenty big for backpacking but it's not too big for several hour day hikes, which is what I use it for. Mostly what my dogs carry is water, and not just for them, for ME too! I have 1 liter and 1/2 liter Platypus bottles, but I usually put a 1 liter bottle in each side. I can also add a 1/2 liter to each side if necessary, but carrying two 1 liter bottles in each side might be too much, at least in Halo's size small. 

There have been times when that was not enough water for us. There's a certain amount of waste when pouring water out for the dog, since they won't drink all of it, so I usually end up going through a whole bottle for the dog, and then they get some of mine too. When it's in 80s and 90s and we're doing a 6 or 7 mile hike, I have run out of water for me in favor of making sure that the dog has enough. Keefer in particular starts to fade when it's really hot, so whatever he doesn't drink I'll pour on him rather than dumping it out on the ground. 

As Chicagocanine mentioned, Platypus bottles are much more compact that regular water bottles. They smash completely flat when empty and roll up to practically nothing. Plus, they're really flexible, so they conform to the shape of the pack much better than other types of bottles, and they're reusable too. Personally, I'd rather have too much water than too little when it's hot out, and the Singletrak just doesn't hold enough for me. It's also more expensive than the Approach.

I have the Palisades for Keefer, which is more pack than I really need, but red is his color! I don't like the water bladders either so I took them out and use Platypus bottles in his pack too. I fill the bottles 1/3-1/2 full and keep them in the freezer, and then fill them the rest of the way up right before I use them, so I have cold water for most of our hike.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Here's Halo in her Approach pack. 










That was the end of the hike, so the water bottles were probably empty or close to it, so the pack is fairly flat against her side.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I have a Singletrak and a Palisades, I prefer smaller packs usually but i got the Palisades because I liked the fact that the saddlebags were removable and you could use the harness on it's own (so it was like getting a harness AND a backpack) and they didn't come out with the Singletrak until we'd already had the other one for a while... I rarely use the hydration system that comes with the Palisades, I use the Platy bottles more often instead. 


Here's a photo of Bianca in her Palisades (size Medium IIRC):


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Can I just say, thank you all SO MUCH for such thoughtful and thorough responses. I am touched. I will keep you posted on which pack I go with. I am tempted by the Approach, but like the sleakness of the small one.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I LOVE my singletrak one!

I don't do any over night hikes or trips with it so it works for my needs. 

I use it as my "purse" when out and about with the dogs so I don't have to carry anything and when we hike I let him carry water for the dogs.

Zefra will be getting one this year as well. 

I think when they are exploring through the woods, it's a little easier with the singletrak one.


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

I have the single track and the approach pack - I couldn't make up my mind so I decided to get one of each  the single track for the pup and the approach for the older dog 

The single track is so neat, it fits really snug and has plenty of space for poop bags a few treats etc. and the flat bottles are great 
I also like the orange colour it's a bit like blaze orange and makes the dogs easy to see 
If you want it for just going for walks the single track is brilliant - the approach is great if you walk to the shops or something and the dog helps carry your groceries back 

Edited to add picture of Hex in his Single Trak pack


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Wanted to update you guys! The approach was on sale for 56 in the states, so I snatched one up in medium green. Will post pictures when they arrive!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

I LOVE THE APPROACH! Where has it been all my life. Pup isn't thrilled with it though. The first time I put it on, she pouted for a good 5 minutes. She absolutely does not mind when it's on, but doesn't seem too thrilled when I am about to put it on. Any tips?


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

No help here, frags the same way. Loves wearing it, hates putting it on, despite much desensitization.


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

I have the Palisades which is total overkill since I can't weigh him down a lot with his hips, but I really liked the option of being able to take the packs off. No advice here; Kaiser took to his just fine. He goes nuts (in a good way) when I bring it out.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

marshies said:


> I LOVE THE APPROACH! Where has it been all my life. Pup isn't thrilled with it though. The first time I put it on, she pouted for a good 5 minutes. She absolutely does not mind when it's on, but doesn't seem too thrilled when I am about to put it on. Any tips?


Ha! Halo pouts EVERY time I put hers on - and she's been wearing it for years, lol! She loves going on the hike, she just isn't thrilled about wearing the pack. She's fine once we get going, but she always tries the "poor me" face on me at first, which I think is adorable. :wub:










Keefer is the opposite, he's literally jumping up and down, trying to stick his head through the opening when I pull his pack out.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

I get the Poor me face too. This was the first time she had it on. In addition to poor me, we got "pity me".


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