Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness Review

Non-stop Dogwear was founded in Norway only ten years ago, and today you can find their products in over 1,000 stores in 22 countries. We love their passion for designing the best-fitting dog harnesses to “release their potential,” as their slogan says. Their focus is on pulling harnesses and other types of equipment for skijoring, canicross, etc. but as of today they also have a few harnesses more suited for everyday dog walks.

Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness

Padded, well-fitting harness

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About the Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness

The Line Harness 5.0 is a popular choice among dog owners. It stands out as an ergonomic and versatile short harness designed for various activities such as hiking, tracking, and everyday outings. The Line Harness 5.0 represents an upgraded version of the original Line harness that we reviewed a few years ago.

While this harness is mainly designed for hiking and tracking, it is also suitable for canicross, bikejoring, and skijoring for dogs that exhibit moderate pulling style. The Line Harness 5.0 boasts multiple leash attachment points: in addition to the standard back attachment point, there is an under-chest attachment point for a tracking line, allowing your dog to move freely without the risk of entanglement. On size 3 and above it also features a third attachment point on the front for mild anti-pull training.

Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness Review | Dog Gear Review

The Y-shaped neck is designed to allow free shoulder movement and minimize breathing constraints even when the dog pulls. The harness is adjustable around the chest, but not around the neck. The solid Duraflex® buckles on each side make the harness symmetrical and easy to put on-take off.

For enhanced visibility, 3M reflective details make the dog visible from multiple angles. All seams and edges are placed away from the dog’s body and the inner lining overlaps seamlessly eliminating hard edges on the inner side to prevent chafing. The outer material is crafted from durable, nylon ripstop reinforced with Hypalon on exposed areas for added durability. The middle layer is made of closed-cell foam that prevents water absorption while providing padding.

While suitable for light pulling activities, it’s important to note that the Line Harness 5.0 is not intended for heavy pulling activities like canicross, bikejoring, or skijoring for dogs who are pulling into the harness. For dogs that pull vigorously, specialized pulling harnesses like the Freemotion are recommended.

It is available in black, orange, blue, green, teal, and purple catering to both small and large dogs with sizes ranging from 1 to 8 (sizes 0 and 9 are only available in black).

Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness Review

The biggest update with the Line 5.0 harness is the better sizing and fit for medium-sized dogs. The previous version tended to be a bit too wide between the front legs for some dogs while this fits the narrow Zu pretty well.

While we talk about the front design - I also wanted to talk about the no-pull webbing on the chest. It is placed right where a no-pull ring should be to effectively turn the dog towards you and the more rigid material of the harness also helps to prevent rotation. However, it is just a webbing loop and this is not a primarily no-pull harness so it will eventually fray if you use it with a heavy puller daily.

Having a non-adjustable neck section is great to provide unbeatable stability to the harness even when used with a long line dragging after the dog and for good and padded weight distribution all around the neck without any slider or buckle potentially chafing the area. However this also clearly means there will be more dogs falling between the sizes as the neck section cannot be fine-tuned. Non-stop is trying to minimize this by offering 9 sizes but they still can’t fit all dogs with one product (no one can).

Analyzing the fit of this harness is also hard because the rigid material will somewhat pull the harness forward, especially when it is new so it looks to sit closer to the armpit than it actually does. This harness fits Zulu’s neck perfectly but her deep chest forces the chest straps a bit close to the armpits. I was unable to take a photo where the distance clearly shows but in real life, I can place 3-4 fingers between the chest strap and the back of her legs which is an okay (not excellent) fit.

Again, Zulu usually falls between sizes and her unusual ratios make it hard to fit her. If you have a dog with a wide neck, the chest will probably sit a lot farther than on Zulu who needed to be sized down due to her tiny neck. Line 5.0 tends to fit most dogs comfortably but again - it will not fit all, so you need to understand what to check to decide if it is a good fit for your dog.

Keep in mind that this harness will not work for dogs who have a large head and smaller neck as you will need to size up for the harness to go over the head.

Another side-effect of the material and design is that it is more visible when the chest piece and the back section stick out as the dog moves. This is something that happens with all harnesses as they would need to be shorter to snugly fit when the dog’s head is down vs when they stand with their head up.

Some of you reached out with concerns that you have seen dogs stepping through the low-hanging section between the front legs. Although I have not personally seen that happening, I can only imagine that being possible if the harness is too big for that dog or if they need to size up as the dog has a very big neck circumference and a small chest which is not a common combination.

I really enjoy using this harness for all outings. For structured leash walks or on-leash SAR work, it’s great because it doesn’t rotate to the side or ride up when there is leash pressure. For off-leash time, the visibility of this orange color is great, it is even brighter in real life than in photos. For tracking or long line time, you can use the leash attachment under the dog’s chest so they don’t get tangled in it as much. I also have not had any issues with the material fraying - the material looks new even though we heavily used it over the last few months.

One issue that we have seen with earlier Non-stop harnesses was that their chest strap loosens up over time unless you thread them through the slider once more, making the excess strap stick upwards when you are done. In the case of this harness, I haven’t needed to do that and I never had a problem with the straps loosening up.

The Line 5.0 is a well-made and designed harness with beautiful details like two two-colored buckles and the excess material under the back leash attachment point to keep the hardware away from the dog.

Functionality Review of the Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness

No-pull correction: It is effective for mild no-pull correction but not designed for hard pullers.
Running/Biking: Can be used for light pullers. It is well-padded around the neck and chest but short harnesses are usually not great for dogs who pull into the harness hard.
Hiking: Very visible, easy to clean, water resistant! It doesn’t have a handle and is low profile in general which helps to prevent the dog from getting caught on something in the woods. If you are looking to have a handle, the Line Harness Grip is the same harness with a handle but that only comes in black.
City walks: The stable harness provides good control and the two leash attachment points allow you to switch between control points depending on the situation.
Easy to put on/adjust: It only has buckles on the chest strap so they need to go over the head.
Visibility: It has reflective sections and comes in this high-visibility orange color.\

Non-stop Dogwear Line 5.0 Harness Review Summary

The Line 5.0 harness is very popular for a reason: it is a padded, durable harness that also comes in many beautiful colors. Zulu is a gear-shy dog but even she is comfortable wearing it without any adjustment period.

It is a versatile option that works just as well for hikes as for a training session. If you like this harness but want a handle, the Line Harness Grip is the same base with an added handle - however that only comes in black.

The Line harness comes in 9 sizes and 6 colors - Zulu is wearing the size 4 harness. Always ensure the harness is a good fit for YOUR dog. If you need help deciding on the fit, read our article on harness fitting.