Alpine Dog Gear (formerly known as Alpha Dog Co.) specializes in durable tactical-style dog products designed for medium/large dogs while they also sell a selection of human apparel. The company is based in Canada but ships internationally to numerous countries, including India, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

The company focuses on high-quality products and customization with 25 font options and 15 thread colors for embroidery, which only adds 2–5 days to processing times.

Alpine Dog HNTR 3.0 Harness

Durable and customizable

HNTR Dog Harness combines premium materials with features like mesh lining, multiple leash attachment points, and four metal buckles.

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Alpine Dog HNTR 3.0 Harness Features

The HNTR Dog Harness is created for comfortable, durable daily wear and feature four buckles that eliminate the need to pass the harness over the dog’s head. Built with 1050D-rated high-quality nylon webbing, reinforced at all pressure points, and lined with a breathable padding to minimize chafing and accommodating skin sensitivities. The harness also includes Velcro side and top panels for attaching three patches.

Alpine Dog HNTR 3.0 Harness Review | Dog Gear Review

The padded top and bottom panels provide added comfort, while a top handle and the attachment point close to the neck allow for close control when needed. This overbuilt harness is designed to handle large, strong dogs. Its machine-welded and hot-rolled leash attachment points at the front and back are pressure-tested to withstand up to 600 lbs of pull force.

The harness can only be hand-washed and needs to be air-dried. It currently comes in six colors and four sizes.

Alpine Dog’s HNTR Harness Review

The HNTR harness is a super sturdy, overbuilt harness that was created for large, strong dogs. Zulu is wearing their Small size but her deep chest and small neck make the neck section of the harness too loose even on the test adjustment while the chest straps are almost fully extended.

As you can see in the photos below, this harness sits too close to Zulu’s armpits and the neck straps sit too low, going across her shoulders which both can result in the restriction of the shoulder movement especially on gear shy dogs like Zu. On the positive side, keeping the buckles close to the top of the harness ensures that the front legs don’t rub against them when moving back like in the case of other harnesses where the buckle is placed on the middle of the strap.

Based on the photos I have seen of this harness on many different dogs, it seems to fit Pit/Lab body types better since their neck and chest circumference are closer together but it does not fit narrower, longer dogs. In general, this harness does not provide a comfortable armpit clearance on most dogs which can cause chafing and discomfort, however, this also creates a very stable harness that does not shift around (since there is no room to ride up on the dog before it gets “stuck” in the armpits) which is why many feel it allows for a great control over the dogs.

After doing the first fit check on Zulu, I reached out to the Alpine Dog crew to discuss the next steps and see if they want to move forward with the review. I really appreciated their understanding of harness fitting and that they agreed that Zulu’s body type is not ideal for their product line.

We discussed that we would move forward with the review regardless because they also felt it is important to discuss harness fitting and how one harness will never fit all dogs well which is something I always appreciate in brands.

This HNTR harness has four leash attachment points that make it very versatile for different training scenarios:

two on the back panel: close to the neck and at the end of the back panel
two on the bottom panel: a no-pull ring on the chest and one sitting under the ribcage which is usually used for long lines

The customization options and the ability to get a full matching gear is another way Alpine Dog shows their attention to detail. I was very impressed with the quality of their velcro patches and that they were able to embroider even our logo on the top patch!

While I love quality metal hardware, it is important to understand that these products are HEAVY. Zulu’s padded collar is around 226 grams (0.5 lbs) while the HNTR harness is 570 grams (1.3 lbs) - these are just home measurements so there can be some inaccuracy here.

Functionality Review of the Alpine Dog HNTR Harness

No-pull correction: While this harness has a sturdy, metal no-pull ring, it sits a bit too low to effectively turn the dog without rotating the harness. Since the harness sits in the armpits, this rotation is not as visible as it would be with many other harnesses but the leash will still pull the chest piece across the shoulders even if the harness fits the dog better than it did on Zulu. It can be used for short no-pull training sessions but it is not the best option for that if that is an important feature you are looking for.
Running/Biking: While this is a strong harness, it is not designed for pulling sports. For any exercise, you want free shoulder movement so it crucial to determine the HNTR’s shoulder and armpit clearance on your dog.
Hiking: A good hiking harness also needs to provide free and comfortable leg movement so this will be decided based on how the harness fits your dog. A further consideration is that the heavy materials and the larger, padded top and bottom panels can contribute to overheating during a hot day. The padded, mesh material can also soak in mud and dirt and can take a while to dry.
City walks: It provides good control and the four leash attachment points allow you to switch between control points depending on the situation.
Easy to put on/adjust: It has 4 buckles so it does not need to go over the head which is great for gear-shy dogs or if you are using a bulky collar. Adjustment was easy and the straps/sliders did not loosen over time.
Visibility: It comes in six colors but none of them are really hi-vis. It does not have reflective sections.

Alpine Dog HNTR 3.0 Harness Summary

The Alpine Dog HNTR Harness is a sturdy and well-crafted option tailored for large, powerful dogs, but this also means that the harness is on the heavier side and will not fit all dogs well. While its overbuilt design ensures excellent durability and control, the lack of comfortable armpit clearance and low-sitting neck-straps can restrict shoulder movement, especially for narrow-chested or long-bodied dogs like Zulu.

Its four leash attachment points provide versatility for various training and walking scenarios, though its low-placed front ring may not be the most effective for no-pull training. Alpine Dog’s offers customization options and great customer service.

All products we have received from Alpine Dog are incredibly well made and sturdy that you can surely trust even with large, strong dogs with daily use.