How an ultralight dog pack can change your backcountry experience
The story of Red Paw Packs and the ultralight dog backpack started 7 years ago in my college apartment.
I had just been introduced to wilderness backpacking and hiking through a college program at Florida State University, and I instantly fell in love. Going out on the Appalachian Trail for my first trip got me hooked on the freedom that you get from being outside. I spent a couple days hiking until my feet hurt and was freezing overnight in my inadequate gear with some college friends. And I couldn’t help but think, “there has to be a better and lighter way to do this”.
Fast forward 6 months, and my golden retriever Lucy enters the picture. I had gone on a couple more trips with friends and eventually started tinkering with making my own gear (MYOG). But once Lucy started joining us, I had a new question: “what am I supposed to pack for my dog and how can she carry it?”
(Lucy’s First Backpacking Trip, Providence Canyon Georgia 2017)
After building a backpack for myself as my first “real” sewing project, I realized that my dog needed one too. So I built her a really simple dog backpack with a small roll top bag on each side. It flopped around and barely held much, it got soaked when she swam in creeks– but she wore it and never complained for over 100 miles of hiking.
(Testing our first backpacks, Tallahassee FL 2017)
A few months later, I had another brainstorm session and came up with improvements from the first bags (both hers and mine) and made her another dog backpack. And a few months later, another. Each time with small improvements to fit, sizing, pockets and features.
I’ve been developing the Ultralight Dog Backpack since the inception of my business, and after years of field testing and many miles hiked, I’ve finally created the one pack for your dog that they won’t mind wearing. It’s so lightweight they won’t even notice it’s there.
(Wind River Range Backpacking Trip, July 2022)
One thing I learned hiking and backpacking with my dog Lucy is that your dog needs to travel light just like you. Our full featured dog backpacks are the lightest on the market at 9.4 ounces for Small, 11.4 ounces for Medium and 12.9 ounces for Large with volumes ranging from 4L to 8L. Compare those weights to Ruffwear or Mountainsmith and you’ll be surprised at the difference.
A good rule of thumb is for your dog to pack no more than 15% of their total body weight on a backpacking trip. That way you can prevent your dog from getting exhausted or injured and they can still pack their share.
Convenient pockets and durable fabrics make your experience using your backpack better, and it’s just the same with your dog. Made from the cutting edge Ultra Grid UHMWPE reinforced (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) fabric, your Red Paw Pack is going to be durable enough for a thru hike and beyond.
(Golden Gate Canyon Backpacking Trip, October 2021)
When you’re on a dog friendly hike (like many of the places I frequented near Boulder, Colorado) you can walk your dog off-leash and stow their clipped-in leash in the stretchy Top Leash Pocket. Then when you need to grab a hold of them, quickly pull the leash out from the pocket and you have control of your dog again.
The Ultralight Dog Backpack was originally going to be a design just for my dog Lucy. But after realizing how much it improved my experience as a dog owner on a backpacking trip, I just had to make it available for everyone. I hope you find this lightweight backpack for dogs as revolutionary to your backpacking experience as I did.
-Matt Evans
