Aurezalia
Well-known member
I know I wasn't the only one shocked and alarmed when this study came out, especially since as a community we have been recommending the Petbuckle and Bergan harnesses for quite awhile.
I have a ~60 pound Labrador, who has for the most part ridden in a crate tied in the cargo area of my Mazda5, which is obviously a solution that requires the third row to be folded down. It's become too much of a hassle to safely set up and take down what it takes to transport him, and in addition I need a smaller solution for when we move next month and the car will be packed full. Thus, I took the leap and ordered a SleepyPod Clickit Utility harness, the only one that fully passed the crash test, and since I haven't seen any talk of use of this harness since the report was released, I thought I'd start filling in with my review.
First off, ordering. Cooper was right on the edge between the Medium and Large sizes, measuring in at 52-53" in the unique way they require you to measure. The Clickit is an investment, ringing in at $96.99 for a medium and $99.99 for a large (through their website - I do admit I found it a bit cheaper on Amazon!). I ended up ordering a medium, mostly because I thought it would be safer to err of the side of slightly small rather than slightly large when you're counting on something to restrain an animal in a crash. The $3 price difference was a negligible factor. I'm glad I got the medium instead, because I had to adjust it down far more than I expected - even if he gains weight he has more than enough room to grow in this size harness.
Using the harness:
It's a very easy on-off; if you have on of those dogs that doesn't like slipping things over their head or around their body, you're in luck. It starts flat and there are 3 buckles that you do up around them - first the one that goes around the neck (Which is not part of the restraint in a crash - merely for comfort/position/using the harness to walk), and then the two heavy-duty straps that are clearly for restraining loop around and buckle, creating an X shape.
It looks comfortable - the inner side is padded with a fleece-like material and has some squish to it.
(Marcello wanted to pose also )
As far as crash worthiness, this is how it works. On each side of where the harness clips together, there are two metal hooks that you clip the tether straps onto - so there are no worries about the buckles having to take the forces and breaking during a crash.
Use in the car seems interesting (And I haven't actually put it in the car yet since it requires uninstalling my seats - I'll do it over the weekend). For use in the backseat it attaches to the LATCH anchors, one tether on each side. For use in the cargo area it works almost the same way, just connecting to the cargo anchors.
I do have to note that because of the new LATCH installation standards and the evidence of potential failure at higher weights, I would be hesitant to use this system with a larger dog. For a dog of Cooper's size, however, I can see how this harness fully restrained their crash test dog dummy in the tests.
I have a ~60 pound Labrador, who has for the most part ridden in a crate tied in the cargo area of my Mazda5, which is obviously a solution that requires the third row to be folded down. It's become too much of a hassle to safely set up and take down what it takes to transport him, and in addition I need a smaller solution for when we move next month and the car will be packed full. Thus, I took the leap and ordered a SleepyPod Clickit Utility harness, the only one that fully passed the crash test, and since I haven't seen any talk of use of this harness since the report was released, I thought I'd start filling in with my review.
First off, ordering. Cooper was right on the edge between the Medium and Large sizes, measuring in at 52-53" in the unique way they require you to measure. The Clickit is an investment, ringing in at $96.99 for a medium and $99.99 for a large (through their website - I do admit I found it a bit cheaper on Amazon!). I ended up ordering a medium, mostly because I thought it would be safer to err of the side of slightly small rather than slightly large when you're counting on something to restrain an animal in a crash. The $3 price difference was a negligible factor. I'm glad I got the medium instead, because I had to adjust it down far more than I expected - even if he gains weight he has more than enough room to grow in this size harness.
Using the harness:
It's a very easy on-off; if you have on of those dogs that doesn't like slipping things over their head or around their body, you're in luck. It starts flat and there are 3 buckles that you do up around them - first the one that goes around the neck (Which is not part of the restraint in a crash - merely for comfort/position/using the harness to walk), and then the two heavy-duty straps that are clearly for restraining loop around and buckle, creating an X shape.
It looks comfortable - the inner side is padded with a fleece-like material and has some squish to it.
(Marcello wanted to pose also )
As far as crash worthiness, this is how it works. On each side of where the harness clips together, there are two metal hooks that you clip the tether straps onto - so there are no worries about the buckles having to take the forces and breaking during a crash.
Use in the car seems interesting (And I haven't actually put it in the car yet since it requires uninstalling my seats - I'll do it over the weekend). For use in the backseat it attaches to the LATCH anchors, one tether on each side. For use in the cargo area it works almost the same way, just connecting to the cargo anchors.
I do have to note that because of the new LATCH installation standards and the evidence of potential failure at higher weights, I would be hesitant to use this system with a larger dog. For a dog of Cooper's size, however, I can see how this harness fully restrained their crash test dog dummy in the tests.