Cathy sent us this photo of Kelly, her adventurous Coonhound. We were stuck by the openness of the spanning bridge, and how confident Kelly looks while crossing it. Here are a few words from Cathy about Kelly and her pack:

I bought a medium sized Banzai pack for our red-tick English coonhound, Kelly, so that she could accompany us on a backpacking trip and carry her own gear. Here is a photo of her provisioned for a week on the trail in the Northern Rockies, British Columbia, Canada (Monkman Pass Heritage Trail). She will definitely be joining in on future trips as the pack performed beautifully in that rugged setting. I especially like how, when properly fitted, the pack stays in place without shifting forward on the downhills and does not cause any hot-spots.

Best regards,
Cathy in B.C. Canada

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

This is Qannik wearing his Banzai dog pack on a glacier pass which accesses the Aiguilles Dorées (golden peaks) in the Alps. His owner, Cédric Undritz, took him on a rockclimbing trip. Here are a few words from Cédric about Qannik and his pack:

I got my dog from a animal rescue center when he was 11months old. He's crossed Husky and Malamute. He came in the center with his two sisters -- the owners couldn't keep them.

Practicing myself mountaineering a lot, he was of course to become our third man! So whilst he's pulling me when ski-touring most part of the winter, he carries parts of our loads when going on mountaineering journeys in the Alps (we live near Chamonix in France), which includes ropes, carabiners and sometimes ice-screws. He often carries over 10 kilos without complaints but even really seems to enjoy his pack; a little bit reticent at the beginning, he knows now we're going to spend our days outdoor when his pack is being prepared, and he gets really enthusiastic at all! Also because he'll have his load on his back only during the approach and the return, and he'll have free time in between, as we are doing our climbing tour in the meantime.

My girlfriend has an 9 year old black Labrador, and he soon will have his own pack also, as he's very strong and also loaded with pure energy. Until then they're both sharing one.

Thanks a lot for this pack and keep making them! Greets from the alps,

Cédric

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Birttany Lindsey has a wonderful service dog partner named Sable. This talented Labrador Retriever helps Brittany every day. Sable is outfitted with several of our products. This is a message from Lindsey about Sable's gear:

We have one of your ID Capes, and just ordered the Reflector dog pack from you. It has been beautiful. I wouldn't be able to do what I do at the university without her help carrying the bag which she does with a great sense of purpose. She returned 80 graded exams and 80 copies of an article to my students as well as carry my computer cable, electronic devices and our water and her extra snacks. She's still bumping into door frames a bit, so I'm having the Service Dog patches sewn on rather than glued. This is when I realized that I can't live without the bag.

I've discovered that since the bag is so light, she can go anywhere with it on without my worrying about her and it is great for shopping, too. She carried our blueberries and my meds the other day at the Sam's and even my leftovers out of a restaurant yesterday (she thought that was terribly unfair, but I did share with her eventually so she got over it!). Thanks so much for the beautiful, light weight design.

I ordered four other different bags to compare and it was by far the lightest, easiest to get on and off and best fitting of the bunch. So, thus, we need a second one so that I'll be able to wash one and also have patches sewn on. I wish I could order the patches along with the bag here, but we look forward to seeing our back up bag at least and we thank you for your careful construction and design.

Thanks so much,
Brittany and Sable

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Anna has been outfitting her dogs with our dog packs for a long time. She just sent us these nice pictures of Eve (left) and Astrid (below). Eve is standing on the summit marker of Tennent Mountain. It is part of the Pisgah Ridge and leads to the Art Loeb and Ivestor Gap.

This is what Anna has to say about her dogs:

Here are some pics of my girls wearing their Banzai packs. Eve, now a 10 year old Chow mix, has the red one and Astrid, a 14 month old Central Asian Shepherd Dog, has the purple one. Eve's pack is nearly as old as she is!

Size & Color: Medium, Red, Purple

This is Jean Lawlor's dog Anna, wearing her Reflector dog pack during a trip in the rugged Bighorn Mountains. Along with this nice picture, Jean sent us the following message:

Attached is a photo (taken yesterday) of my Black Lab mix, Anna, on the trail in the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. She has been backpacking with me for years, but this is only the second trip with her new Reflector pack. I bought it recently to replace her old pack that she managed to lose in a willow thicket elsewhere in WY over July 4th (I think she was giving me a giant hint).

This pack so far seems to be well worth it, as it is far superior to the last one! The fabric, zippers, buckles, and seams are all high quality, and the pack fastens securely and balances on Anna so much more easily than the old one (that used to sag and hang awfully to one side or the other no matter what I tried to balance the bags). She seems able to walk and run (after antelope, deer, elk, moose) without any interference from the bag; I think it must be more comfortable for her than her previous pack. I know that upgrading my own backpack to a better one changed my attitude toward backpacking from "once in awhile when I can take the pain," to "as often as I can get out there." When my little Border Collie's aging pack finally poops out (he's very hard on it, dragging it through brush, etc.), I expect I'll buy another Reflector to replace it.

Size & Color: Medium, Red

This is Hugo, Eric Moon's hearty trail dog. Eric and Hugo recently hiked to the summit of Mount Washington, known for eratic weather and extreme high winds. This is how Eric described their adventure:

The orange Reflector bag arrived just in time via the USPS for our trek to Mt. Washington, NH, and several of the Presidential Peaks in the White Mountain National Forest.

Hugo is a Dutch Shepherd/Border Collie mix and shredded a competitor's pack after a few hours on the trial earlier this year. This time, the Refelctor bag held tough and wore well with four days worth of dog supplies totaling 12 pounds with various amounts of water.

Hugo seemed not to be bothered by the pack at all and it allowed us to complete 20 miles and nearly 15,000 feet of elevation change in less than 20 hours with two nights on the trail.

What a great time and what a great pack!

Eric Moon and Hugo

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Here are some incredible photos from Oeyvind Bliksvaer of his dog Flekken, hiking in Norway. This is the story to go along with the images...

We had a 4 day hike in one of the Norwegian mountain areas (Jotunheimen) the last week in June. There was still a lot of snow, and much water from the snowmelting. But the Banzai dog pack was perfect, and with good shoes and other equipment, it was perfect.

I am attaching a couple of pictures of Flekken with his pack. It is a perfect fit, and reaches exactly down to his elbows. I had to take the pack off him down the steepest areas where we were balancing down a ridge. Other than that, he was carrying his pack with 4-7 kg all four days, but it was hard on his paws, so if there were to be one more day of hiking, I would have had to put socks on him.
This picture is from Besseggen, which is Norway’s most popular hike. It is a 6-8 hour hike, 13 km long and with a total of more than 1000 mtr elevation. We hiked the opposite way of what is most usual, so we had the climbing downwards. This ridge is the one Henrik Ibsen described in his famous act "Peer Gynt". 35,000 people take this walk each year.

The second picture is in a valley 25 km northwest of Besseggen. We were planing to do a one week hike, but there was not so fun with lots of snow and water, so it was shortened to 4 days.

Size & Color: Medium, Burgundy

This is Zeus, and below you will see a picture of Raja. These two handsome German Shepherds are wearing their Reflector dog packs on one of their many adventures. Patrice Doyle (their owner) sent us the following message, along with these beautiful photos:

Thought I'd share two great pictures of my German Shepherd backpacking with me in Desolation Wilderness area in the Lake Tahoe region in California. Both are wearing the Reflector pack. When I'd take their packs off and hang them on a tree branch, the dogs would just go and sit underneath the branch!  They WANTED to wear their packs!  Thank you so very much! 
 
Sincerely,
Patrice Doyle

Patrrice also sent us the following message:

We were packing every other weekend doing overnighters and going 5-8 miles. The dogs wore their packs religiously, and were "in charge" of carrying their food, the first aid kit, and the garbage. At night we just hung the dog packs up in the trees along with our human food/toothpaste, etc. Made it super easy.

The packs hold up great... never a rip, tear or any repairing at all... and believe me... we went through water, bushes, over down trees, had to jump over stuff. I've got the Trail Dog patches sewn on them too! Your packs are the best fitting out there and for the shepherd, fitting over the shoulders rather than straight plunked in the middle of their backs make their time on the trail all the more pleasureful and comfortable.

Happy Packing!

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

This handsome Samoyed is Tacoma. He is one of Lightning’s sons who lives in Washington. His owner, Kevin Silis, is training to climb Mount Rainier in June, 2009. Tacoma is a very lucky boy, as he gets to accompany Kevin on his training hikes.

Kevin took this picture of Tacoma on the Duckabush Trail in the Olympic Mountains (Hood Canal side). It was an eleven-mile trip. Tacoma was carrying eleven pounds in his Banzai dog pack, and Kevin’s pack held 52 pounds.

Size & Color: Medium, Red

Our brand new packs are ready! This is Lightning, modeling our rugged limited-edition Native dog pack. We think we’ve designed something really special, and hope that you agree. Matching Native collars are also available.

These products will only be offered through the end of 2009, or slightly longer.

Size & Color: Medium

This hard working boys is Emmet, and he has a great job. His owner, James Doody, has this to say about Emmet and his useful Banzai.

I bought this pack from you on 9/28/07 and had promised you some pictures of my, then, one-year old black Lab Emmet. The reason you wanted the picture is that you had never heard of the use that Emmet wears his pack: he works on a 100 acre tree farm/nursery and carries such things as burlap, rope, string, staples, staple guns, knives and of course treats in his pack. He loves to work and has about 4-5 other jobs. He will come to any one of us across the field and bring us what we need, this means we old guys (one is 76 years old) don’t have to get up off our knees to get more supplies. He gets two hotdogs for lunch. He was getting one, but wearing the Wolf Pack got him a raise. I’m the guy with the green hat in the picture.

Hope this is of interest to you and sorry it took me 1½ years to send you the picture.

James Doody

Size & Color: Medium, Purple

This is Basco, Deborah Busse’s two-year old Italian Spinone. He lives in Bermuda. Deborah’s camera battery died during this hike, but she sent us this nice picture to show us how nice Basco looks in a royal blue Banzai pack.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Dexter is enjoying an outing on the shore of a beautiful river in South Carolina. As you can see, his Banzai dog pack is staying put, even during his flying trot. Dexter is a friend of Kioni, and was mentioned in the blog post for her. This lucky boy is owned by Kristen Smith, who sent us the following message:

I wanted to write and tell you how thrilled I was to receive my Wolf Pack so fast!! Dexter was able to use it this week and I have to tell you it didn't budge once. It fit like a dream and I kept the weight so evenly distributed.

I didn't have to adjust at all and this was the first outing! I have never spent better money than on your pack, and I will only regret it was my second pack and not my FIRST!

Thanks so much for being awesome!

Kristen Smith and Dexter

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Here is Kioni, a Rhodesian Ridgeback owned by Desiree Beauchamp-Jones. Desiree is also the owner of Rapid Response Dog Training in South Carolina. She asked us to make a special Banzai dog pack for Kioni in Hot Pink. This is a snippet from her email to us about Kioni’s new pack:

It fits perfectly. No more stopping every five minutes to readjust the load, and no more sliding off her head when going downhill! No matter what she does to it (and believe me, a one-year-old performance-bred Ridgeback does things no pack should be made to suffer through!) it stays put and keeps the load balanced. It's also not chaffing or rubbing anywhere, even across her ridge where other packs I've tried created issues. The other day she flopped out on her back and had a good roll, pack on and buckled, then jumped up and went racing across the field, with ridiculous puppy acrobatics executed at sighthound speeds. Then she pounced on her Malamute buddy, starting a wrestling match. The pack never budged. My friend with the Malamute promptly decided to order a Wolf Pack for her dog, too. (and she used it for the first time today; it worked beautifully!)

It's also holding up amazingly well... it cleans easily with a wet washcloth, and is showing no signs of wear at all so far.

Size & Color: Medium, Pink

Devo (Lab cross) and Ty Bo (Poodle/Pomeranian cross) trained by Dogs for the Deaf in Oregon. They are wearing their special orange ID Capes to identify them as Hearing Dogs. Here is some more information about the wonderful organization that trained these two special dogs.

For over 30 years, Dogs for the Deaf has been rescuing dogs from shelters, professionally training them, and placing them nationwide and in Canada with people who can benefit from their special training. Dogs for the Deaf trains Hearing Dogs to alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing to environmental sounds around them, Autism Assistance Dogs to provide increased safety and emotional bonding for children with autism, and Miracle Mutts who provide emotional support, therapeutic benefits, and a reason to live to people with a variety of physical, mental, and emotional challenges. These dogs are placed free of charge with applicants who need their assistance. Dogs for the Deaf is a non-profit organization funded totally by donations.

Size & Color: Small, Medium, Orange

This is Jim Miller's 2½ year old Golden Retreiver, Amber. Jim describes her as "very intelligent, motivated, curious, helpful, playful, a quick learner, and of course pretty." She sounds like the perfect companion!

Amber is a service animal trained specifically for persons with seizure disorders. A seizure alert dog notifies someone when a seizure is pending, sometimes as far as 30 minutes in advance. That person can get to a safer place, sit down, notify a bystander, and prepare for an oncoming attack. The dog can either standby or go get help if necessary.

You might be interested in reading more of Jim's comments (see Amber's ID Cape) about Amber and her gear.

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Susan Molloy's Montana assists with mobility difficulties. The White Mountain Independent newspaper (in Arizona) included this photograph with their story about about two women and their service dogs. Both Montana & the other dog (Tigger) went from an animal shelter into a new and full life of service.

Read Susan's comments (see Article!) about Montana's gear.

Size & Color: Medium

Oeyvind Bliksvaer in Norway enjoys many activities with his dogs. Akela (on the left) wears her Trekker pack while Flekken (which means “spot”) wears a Banzai dog pack. Oeyvind sent us this message about his dog’s packs:

Your dogpack is absolutely the most versatlie packs I have ever used for my dogs. I have had 3 different models before the Wolfpacks. They are sitting very gently on the dogs, but still very firm (they dont move around or slide forward too much).

Size & Color: Medium, Green, Burgundy

This is Cody, a Siberian Husky owned by Amy Reifenrath. She says:

I just wanted to say that Cody (Siberian husky) is a very happy customer. He received a Reflector pack for Christmas, and has been proudly sporting it on the trails near his home in Timber Valley, Washington.
Thanks!

Amy

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Samoyeds Reef, Fierce, and their owner Diana Steele joined in an event for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) by participating in a fund-raising walk. Their team raised the most money. The dogs were very popular and looked sharp as they wore their ID Capes. Fierce has his head turned so that you can't see his cape in this picture. Diana is almost hidden behind his tail. This picture was taken after the walk, and as you can see, it was a hot day. They'll be doing this again in May 2009.


Here is a close-up of Reef wearing his ID Cape.

Size & Color: Medium, Red

This is Nelson, Amy Proctor’s Golden Retriever. Amy sent us this picture and the following message about Nelson’s Banzai pack:

Wolf Packs, I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful dog pack. My dog loves it. It is durable, wears well and it does not rub him. Nelson is a 85 pound golden retriever and he wears the medium pack. I have included a photo of him hiking in Algonquin Canada.
 
Thanks for making good quality dog packs!
 
Amy

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Gordon & Leslie's 6½ year old black Lab Shadow has multiple tasks to perform. She was trained for hearing assistance work and as most Hearing Dogs, she alerts Gordon & Leslie to various sounds they would otherwise miss, such as fire alarms, the telephone ringing, buzzers or timers for cooking, people knocking at the door, or any other noises that aren't what she feels is normal in her world. She also does reach assistance work for them. Shadow will pick up things they drop and go get things that are a bit low and cause them pain to bend over and get.

Gordon says, "She makes the quality of our lives so much better and that's so important to us. Shadow does many things for us other than being a wonderful loving companion. Shadow is just incredible!"

You might enjoy reading Gordon's comments (see ID Cape & Patches) about how our products have helped Shadow to accompany her owners in public places.

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Samoyed Club of America National Specialty often hosts a pack hike. It took place in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 2002. Lots of fun working events were offered, alongside the conformation show. Our dogs Lightning and Nimbus hiked with nearly 20 other Samoyeds (most of them outfitted with Wolf Packs dog packs) on the Appalachian Trail. Our boys hiked in their royal blue Reflector dog packs, and are pictured on the right. Their brothers, Loki and Draco, are next to them wearing their purple Banzai dog packs.

Size & Color: Small, Medium, Large, Blue, Purple, Green

We went on a great backpack trip into Mountain Lakes Wilderness in Oregon. The rugged trail system into this ancient caldera was spectacular. This region shares the geologic history of Crater Lake, but instead of forming a bowl, glaciers cut away several sides of this crater and left behind many small lakes.

Nimbus (right) and Lightning (left) carried 25% of their body weight in their Reflector dog packs. Nimbus' load included one of his favorite stuffed toys, and both of the boys carried water, their food, treats, dog boots, first aid items, and other necessities.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

This is Odin, modeling one of our ID Capes with patches. He is owned by Danni Baker in Australi who runs Dxenion Working Dogs, one of our dealerships. Odin is the model for our dog pack comparison page found on our FAQ. This beautiful beach is near Perth in Western Australia.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

This is our Kiba about to leap from a fallen log on Mount San Gorgonio, CA. She is about eight feet above the ground. Her jump was successful, but to avoid such incidents we now always keep our dogs on-leash when we wander from our property. This keeps dogs from frightening other pack animals and wildlife that may also be using the trail, as well as people who are afraid of dogs. Many public land administrations now ban dogs from trails, due to off-leash problems.

Kiba's Trekker pack was loaded with our cook stove, cooking pans and tools, first-aid essentials, my rain gear, the truck keys, all of her food and water, and the water filter. In all, about 15 pounds of gear. On the way back down the mountain it was also containing a good quantity of trash found along the trail.

Size & Color: Medium, Teal

Blaze, owned by Jennifer Tucker, helps carry some gear with his burgundy Trekker dog pack. This picture was taken during a cycling trip on Kukopf Island (Rhine River), in Germany. The trip was about 12 kilometers with Blaze happily carrying his water, a Frisbee, and snacks for everyone! Jennifer sent us this nice message about Blaze's pack:

"Blaze, our crazy ten month old male Golden Retreiver, has had his very snazzy Trekker dog pack for a couple of months now. It took a bit of getting used to. At first he looked at me like I was mad and refused to move. Somehow the pack seriously affected the use of Blazes legs even when being enticed by a biscuit! But then all of a sudden voila! He could walk again, all be it a little off balance but he managed :)

Now Blaze wonders what all the fuss was about. As soon as it's on and I give him the all clear, he's off - no stopping him! Well in just one afternoon Blaze managed to prove Wolf Packs correct. While he's wearing it he can walk, run, sit, lay down and even 'Oh boy there goes a squirrel, it's running through the bushes, I don't care come on let's chase it!' He gets even more attention from people when he wears his pack. We often hear comments like, "Look at the dog, he's so cute!"

Thank you Wolf Packs for such a great product.

Jenny and Blaze
Germany"

Size & Color: Medium, Burgundy

Blazer, owned by Barbara & Jeff Thompson, prepares to hike a section of the Pacific Crest Trail with his friends. To help the humans, he totes his share of the load in a Trekker dog pack. Their hike went from just beyond the southern corner of Crater Lake National Park to a small lake about 50 miles to the South. Barbara & Jeff described some beautiful autumn foliage and very little foot traffic.

You might enjoy reading Jeff's message (see Blazer's Trekker).

Size & Color: Medium, Teal

Czar is a German Shepherd who lives and works in Australia. He belongs to Creese Syred, and is a trainee Search and Rescue dog. Creese often takes him to local shops, where the butcher puts Czar's food in the Trekker dog pack. When this photo was taken, Czar's pack held yummy chicken wings.

Czar is wearing his ID Cape which he uses for Search & Rescue training. Creese has written "IF LOST OR FOUND PLEASE OPEN" above the pocket. The pocket holds a card that reads: "If you find this dog, please don't be scared. Give him some fresh water and call (his phone number or vet's number). He is a member of the German Shepherd Dog League Australia, and N.S.W. Tracking & Rescue Dog Club."

Creese and Czar walking home from town. It looks like this T-shirt has found a good home.

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 11:04:09 -1000
From:Ken Severin
Subject: Pack is Here!
The pack arrived and indeed looks and fits well. I'm glad we went with the medium instead of the large! Haven't had a real workout yet, but hopefully this weekend. Pingo seems to think that the pack is "just another one of those strange things they keep making me do."

Thanks again.

Ken Severin

This paragraph was later added by the author to further explain the preceeding message:

I ordered a purple Trekker pack for our Akita, Pingo, but was unsure of the size, as Pingo was right on the dividing line between a medium and a large. Linda answered my questions quickly via email, and even had the pack ready to go while she was waiting for the credit card number to arrive via snail mail. I also really appreciate Linda taking the time to ship by Parcel Post rather than UPS, a considerable savings when shipping to Alaska!

Size & Color: Medium, Purple

Glen Millar's handsome two year old Labrador Retriever Keg goes everywhere with him. They live in New Zealand, where the 'tramping' is dynamic. This photo shows them at 1,510 meters above sea level in the Tararuas mountain range. Keg wears a size medium camouflage Trekker dog pack. Glen tells us that Keg's pack is filled with these items: a cooker & spare fuel; a fly sheet for both of them to sleep under; a small pan for frying on; Keg's food (dog biscuits and dog roll); 1 liter of water; Keg's leash.


Keg is crossing one of New Zealand's famous swing bridges. Glen says, "This photo was taken down lower at river level in the bush and you can see one of our famous swing bridges and believe me they really swing. I taught Keg from young to cross these and although it is a long way down he has no troubles walking over them. I have to take his pack off though at this point as the bridge is to narrow."


Here Keg is enjoying his first winter adventure. He especially liked to roll around in the white stuff, although biting at it proved fun too.

You might be interested in reading some of Glen's other comments (see Photos) about Keg's dog pack.

Size & Color: Medium, Camouflage

Zion, a Rottweiler owned by Shan Do, wears his medium teal Trekker pack while exploring the wilderness. They live in Canada, but enjoy visits to New England as well. This photograph was taken on the way to Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks of New York.

You might enjoy Shan's comments (see Received The Pack) about Zion's pack.

Size & Color: Medium, Teal

Both of these handsome Alaskan Malamute brothers are owned by Elaine Burroughs and Laura Wade of the United Kingdom. Both dogs are involved in sled dog racing, and it sounds like they are a natural team. Here is Nanuk, a black & white Malamute, wearing his royal blue Trekker dog pack during his first pack trip in Wales.


Perching himself on a rock, wolf grey & white Sunka enjoys the rugged Welsh coastline. Like his brother, we wears a royal blue Trekker pack.

You might enjoy Elaine and Laura's comments (see Photos Of Our Dogs) about their dog's packs.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Rudy, owned by Mark Weidinger, wears his burgundy Reflector dog pack while resting on a snow patch near Granite Stairway in the Sierra.

Rudy's pack is now over five years old and has seen many miles of hard use. It was recently retrofitted with new zipper sliders and looked like it will be useful on many more adventures.

You might enjoy reading Mark's letter (see Rudy's Five Year Old Reflector) about Rudy's pack.

Size & Color: Medium, Burgundy

Neisha, owned by Gilbert & Sharlene Quintana, on a jungle tour of Subic (where the US bases used to be in the Philippines). Her Reflector dog pack held drinking water, the camera, and snacks. The name Neisha means 'little princess' (American Indian origin), which is fitting for this lovely Alaskan Malamute. We received the following message and the image above from Neisha's owners:

Dear Linda,

Just thought you might want to see how great your Wolf Pack is doing here in the Philippines. We took Neisha on a jungle tour in Subic (where the US bases used to be here in the Philippines) and we had her carry our drinking water, camera, and snacks. In the attached picture, we forgot that the pack wasn't waterproof, and it was too late when we discovered that the camera was still in there. Good thing someone else had a camera to take this priceless shot.

Thanks,

Gilbert, Sharlene & Neisha

Size & Color: Medium, Burgundy

Expedition Samoyeds show off their custom embroidered Reflector dog packs while hiking in Yosemite National Park.

Size & Color: Medium, Red

Nikita, owned by Greg Newell of Expedition Samoyeds, models his Reflector and dog booties while his owners ski in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Greg has some comments (see Testimonial) about our products.

Size & Color: Medium, Red

These two beautiful Samoyeds, owned by Kelvin Lem, send holiday cheer in their red Reflector dog pack (front dog) and red ID Cape (rear dog). They are Australian natives, thus seldom see a 'white Christmas'.

You might be interested in reading Kelvin's comments (see The Boys Go Nuts!) about his dogs' equipment.

Size & Color: Medium, Red

Dear Wolf Packs,

Thought you might enjoy having a picture of Bree sporting her new Trekker Wolf Pack. Bree is a Bernese Mountain Dog who loves to clown around. She weighs about 75 pounds and is almost 2½ years old.

Bree took to her pack immediately. She's been wearing it for about five months. I'm delighted that she can start carrying gear, and she's delighted to be of service. The pack does not restrict her movements in any way.

When Bree sees the pack she smiles and her tail starts wagging. She knows it's time for outdoor fun! Thanks so much for designing a dog pack that is comfortable and functional.

Kindest regards,

Nancy Ives & Bree, Canada
(Sent in via snail-mail)

Size & Color: Medium, Purple

Colleen and Marty Hovind hike among the wildflowers with their lovely Siberian Huskies P.J. and Mitchell. Both are using their burgundy Trekker dog packs. Colleen and Marty Hovind's kennel is Heirborn Siberians, located in Craven, Saskatchewan.


Mufasa (burgundy Trekker), Taiyna, and Tundra (black Trekker) hike with owners Phil and Lisa Gravelle. Phil, Lisa, and one year old Santana Gravelle hike among a beautiful display of spring wildflowers with their three Samoyeds. Mufasa wears a burgundy Trekker, while Taiyna and Tundra both use black Trekker dog packs, all size medium. Phil and Lisa operate Philisa Samoyeds in Lumsden, Saskatchewan.

This group organized an order for all seven dog packs together into one order, so we gave her a discount for the group. Hopefully this helped with import fees and shipping costs to Canada. You might be interested to read her comments about her dog's packs.

Size & Color: Medium, Burgundy, Red, Black

A group of friends with Northern-breed dogs gets together for sledding in the winter and now for packing in the summer. The image above shows Phil and Lisa Gravelle & Moira, Conrad, and Hartley Towriss-Smith all hiking with their Samoyeds in the lush Hidden Valley near Craven, Saskatchewan, Canada. They hope to encourage more of their friends to take up packing and join them on the trail.

Eight year old Conrad Smith sits with Buffy who wears a medium teal Banzai pack. Next to him is Moira Towriss-Smith with Kazan in his royal blue Trekker. Hartley Smith is next to Rick (red dog pack) who appears to be howling with delight. Moira told us that Buffy could have used a Small pack for her size, but navigates very well with the medium. The Towriss-Smiths kennel name is Anoka Samoyeds, which is located near Regina, Saskatchewan.

Size & Color: Medium, Red, Blue

Lightning (right) and Nimbus (left) love to hike with us. We hiked to the summit of Mount Ashland in July, and were pleasantly surprised to find banks of sun hardened snow on the northern face. Our boys carried water bottles, water bowls, a few spare booties, first aid supplies, a spare leash, and dog biscuits in their Reflector dog packs. We customized their packs by having our Wolf Packs logo embroidered on to the sides. These boys are an important part of our small kennel, Pacific Crest Samoyeds.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

German Shepherds Zeus and Apollo, owned by Steve Williamson, hike along the shore of Ennerdale Lake in Great Britain. They help during this five day trip by packing gear in their Banzai dog packs. The teal (front) pack is a size medium while the purple pack is a large. Steve emailed us some comments (see comment titled Photos).


This is Apollo wearing his Saddle Bag at the beach for the first time. He was carrying some water bags, food and towels, etc. Steve said, "He knew when he was putting on the SaddleBag in the morning that he was going to the beach or somewhere else that he likes."


Here is Apollo walking back home over the cliffs to Whitehaven. The trip was about 12 miles long.

Size & Color: Medium, Large, Teal, Purple

Linda Guinness and her Scout Troop include Shayla wearing her medium green Banzai dog pack. This lucky Rottweiler gets to tote the scouts' provisions while they explore the beautiful trails of New Zealand together. The Arawa Scout Troop consists partly of Linda (Mum), Antony (12), Sarah (10), Shayla (3).

Linda has sent us some comments (see Shayla's Pack).

Size & Color: Medium, Green

Salty accompanies her owner, Brad Gwynn on his unicycle trips. This beautiful and athletic German Shepherd wears a black Banzai dog pack in size medium. This photo was taken along side an unpaved rail trail in Marblehead, MA. it connects Salem, Marblehead and Swampscott. Salty and Brad travel this trail several times a week. Brad says:

Salty and I travel all over southern New England on its many unpaved and mostly unused rail trails, although we usually use the Marblehead one (closest to home). We average about 50 miles a week.

His unicycle is made by Coker Tire. It has a 36" wheel (tire), the largest diameter pneumatic cycle tire in the world. Brad has emailed us some comments (see New Pack).

Size & Color: Medium, Black

Nanook, an Alaskan Malamute belonging to Darryl & Pam Paskett, enjoys hiking in the Australian bush. He uses a royal blue Banzai pack in size medium during his forays. When they're not hiking with Nanook, Darryl & Pam run a business called Dog Packs Australia. This is what Darryl says about their life and future hiking plans:

I live in sunny Perth in Western Australia with my wife Pam, our six month old son Matthew, and our three and a half year old wolf grey Alaskan Malamute. This is a picture of Nanook wearing his Banzai™ dog pack in our back yard. The first time I put the dog pack on Nanook and took him for a walk, he wasn’t sure what was on his back but quickly got used to the extra width and weight. Nanook can easily carry all of our gear (4 Litres of water, dog and people food, collapsible water bowl, first aid kit, keys, mobile phone, etc.), so when we go hiking in the national parks around Perth the only thing we need to carry is Matthew. The next day trip we have planned is to walk a section of the Bibbulmun Track, which winds it’s way from Kalamunda down through the south west of the state to Albany (963km), which passes through some of the most magnificent forests the state has to offer.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Thomas Bourgeois' Weimaraner Iggy accompanied him to the 1999 New Orleans Mardi Gras. Iggy wore his orange Banzai dog pack at the event. He also wore some handsome bead necklaces. "He survived and was a hit with his pack." Sure looks like they had fun!


Thomas sent us this email message:

We had over 5 million extra people here in the city and it seemed like everyone of them stopped to ask me about his pack. I was constantly giving out your web address. I'm sure you should get some business out of it. Iggy really enjoys his pack and from day one accepted it like it was the cool thing to wear. I hope all is well and thank you from me and Iggy for making such an incredible product.

Thomas Bourgeois

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Joanne Sugden and Alice Lister's beautiful Malamutes Diva and BeBe enjoying an adventure in Malham Cove, part of the Yorkshire Dales in England. This is Diva's first outing in her new forest green Banzai dog pack. Joanne says, "She took to it like a duck to water". Diva carried the lighter items while BeBe (who has more backpacking experience) carried the heavier things. Both the girls enjoy wearing their packs, especially when the refreshments come out!


Malham Cove is an incredible spot. It is quite a way inland, near to the Lake district. The Cove itself is about 70 meters above the valley floor. It is thought that it was formed through a combination of ice, glacial meltwater and underground water. The limestone pavement (as shown in the image to the right) sits on top of the cove, and was probably formed in the most recent Ice Age (about 2 million years ago) when glaciers scraped away surface debris. This exposed the limestone and allowed rainwater to erode the joints leaving deep fissures in the rock. As you can see in the photograph, Diva and BeBe had no trouble picking their way across the rounded rock tops.

This is one of Joanne's favorite hikes with spectacular scenery and views.

Size & Color: Medium, Green

Laura Yee's Dexter is shown on his first outing with his new forest green Banzai dog pack. Laura has some good advice for trail dogs who enjoy swimming while packing:

We've only used it for one backpacking trip so far, but it worked really well for him. He was a little startled when he jumped into the lake for a swim before we were able to take it off for him, but he quickly ran back to the shore before getting too waterlogged! Waterproofing the contents is an absolute necessity for swimmers like labs!!

Size & Color: Medium, Green

Tom Willcox enjoys hiking with his lovely German Shepherd Casey. She is wears a red Banzai pack and Limited Slip collar. Tom sent us this message about his pack:

I just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know how much I love your pack design -- my GSD Casey loves it! No chafing, rides well, and has a lot of space. Also, after more than a year of use it still looks new!


Here is Casey hiking in the winter conditions of New England. She looks like she really enjoys the outdoors!

Size & Color: Medium, Red

Buddy, owned by Charlene LaBelle, author of the book Guide to Backpacking With Your Dog, shows off his forest green Banzai dog pack. Buddy is an Alaskan Malamute bred and shown by Charlene. This picture was taken next to our shop during their visit. Charlene and Buddy have logged many miles with this pack, including an exciting adventure near Devil's Slide in northern California.

Size & Color: Medium, Green

Our mascot Lightning began to do serious backpacking when he was about 15 months old. We are shown here resting atop Hobart Bluff in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Tranquil Hobart Lake is 680 feet below us. The town of Ashland, city of Medford, and the Rogue Valley spread out beyond into the distance.


Lightning and Linda are pictured resting on a fallen tree along the Pacific Crest Trail in southern Oregon. His loaded Reflector dog pack weighs over 12 pounds, which is ¼ of his bodyweight. We hiked five miles on this outing, following a nearly seven mile hike on the previous day (which was National Trails Day, June 2nd, 2001).

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

This is Jim Greenway's Golden Retriever Bonnie at the top of Brasstown Bald (elevation 4,800'), Georgia's highest mountain. Brasstown was too foggy for scenic shots, so Jim photographed Bonnie on the deck of the lookout. She is proudly sporting her orange Banzai dog pack, complete with patches showing some of the miles she's logged.

This photo shows Bonnie sitting near the marker for the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail, located on Springer Mountain (elevation 3,782'). Her dog pack setup includes an ingenious leash created by Jim.

Here is an email message we received about a tornado that Bonnie's pack survived:


Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 18:10:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim Greenway
Subject: Testimonial

On Palm Sunday, 1993, a powerful storm system passed through the Southeast, spinning off a number of tornadoes. One tornado traversed my neighborhood and almost leveled my home. Both of my dogs required treatment after their kennel was pretzeled. All but a portion of my house suffered extensive wind and water damage. In digging through my former kitchen, I saw a spot of orange underneath a muck of broken glass and spoiled food from my overturned refrigerator. It turned out to be my Wolf Packs pack. I didn't expect much of it after it was blown through the house and buried under rather smelly garbage. However, the pack was unscathed. A good washing and another coat of seam sealer made it as good as new.

I continue to use the pack, and the tough fabric and manufacturing still serve me in good stead. Last fall, I returned it at the last minute to Wolf Packs for an upgrade before an Appalachian Trail trip. Linda didn't think twice about processing the request and turning it around to me in time.

Ironically, Bonnie and I were bumped out of that trip when Hurricane Opal steamrolled through the southeast three days before my trip. Maybe we could put Linda and The Weather Channel together....

Jim Greenway

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Louise & Wayne Laub's Rhodesian Ridgeback Bella enjoys her first experience in snow in the spectacular Yosemite region. Here she is relaxing while wearing her orange Banzai dog pack. Louise sent us these Comment about Bella's pack:

Linda and Paul:

We wanted to send you a photo from our road trip, and say thank you for making such a great product! Our Ridgeback, Bella, enjoyed going on hikes with us and we enjoyed being able to bring her with us. At first, she was reluctant to wear the pack (we nicknamed her 'Miss Mule'), but once we started on the trails, she got used to it quickly, and we all had a great time.

Thanks again,

Louise, Wayne and Bella

Size & Color: Medium, Orange

Laurie McGavran's five year old Siberian Husky Nikki enjoys a hike through a cool meadow in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. She is wearing a small orange Banzai pack to help carry the gear. Laurie writes, "It fits well, and she can really help by carrying either water or rain gear."

Kavik rests for a moment on a boulder during a hike on the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico. He is Laurie's five year old Siberian Husky. Kavik sports a medium orange Banzai pack."

Size & Color: Small, Medium, Orange

Trapper relaxes in his red Banzai dog pack during their hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. One of the nice features of our designs is that they all allow dogs to lay down and relax while wearing their dog packs. As you can see in the photos, Trapper is resting peacefully after a long hike. He doesn't look like he's aware that his pack is still attached.

We received several email messages about Trapper's pack, which we will share below.


Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 20:57:03
From: Geoffrey Blair
Subject: Trapper's new backpack!

Hi Linda -

Can't tell you how pleased we are with Trapper's (our Golden) new pack. We dove right in and bought the top of your line and are glad we did. He is not easy on it and it has been through the toughest of brush, rock, snow and ice without losing a stitch! It's also hard to believe how much better he walks / runs with it over the last pack he had (from another manufacturer). It sort of just hung on him, hitting his elbows and shifting forward whenever descending a mountain.

Your pack is terrific. Thanks for all your help on the phone just before we ordered it.

Geoff and Fran Blair (Bloom)

*****
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 18:42:46 -0500
From: Geoff Blair
Subject: Our Banzai
Hi Linda -

Was looking at your new site (new to us anyway). It's great.

In doing so, I saw that we had bought Trapper's pack almost four years ago. Trapper has somewhat retired from the arduous hiking and our new addition Summit is taking over, WITH the four year old Banzai! Not a stitch has broken...not a tear in the cloth. Trapper has climbed 39 of New Hampshire's 4,000 footers with his Banzai...through narrow rock openings, under low blow downs, through ice arches, and has been swimming with it on virtually every hike and the Banzai keeps on ticking! I can't say enough for the overall quality. It was certainly worth the few dollars over what was certain to be a far inferior product!

Hope things are well with you. Looks like the company is in a steady growth mode!

Take care,
Geoff Blair

Size & Color: Medium, Red

This is our Kiba modeling her royal blue Banzai dog pack. Like all northern breed canines, she really enjoys the snow. Here she was romping through elbow deep powder, often stopping to poke her long nose deep into the snow in search of hidden treasures.

This photo was shot was during one of our many outings in deep snow. Kiba was a blur of action, which made it rather hard to photograph her. As you can see, her Banzai dog pack stayed put even while she bounced through the deep snow.

Size & Color: Medium, Blue

Eight year old Conrad Smith hikes with Buffy, his Samoyed, in Hidden Valley near Craven, Saskatchewan in Canada. Buffy wears a size medium teal Banzai pack, although a size small would have fit her nicely also. The weather was perfect for packing and the hills were beautiful with their cover of pink, purple, yellow, orange and blue wildflowers.

Size & Color: Medium, Teal