Update: OneTigris recently discontinued this harness.
About OneTigris
OneTigris is a tactical-style outdoor gear store, selling all kinds of products, from airsoft gear to affordable military-style dog harnesses. We tested a few of their dog products before and were looking forward to trying out their new Fire Tanker harness!
The Details of the Fire Tanker Harness
This is a sturdy Y-harness with a velcro panel and a big handle on top. When writing this review, it comes in three colors and two sizes fitting bigger dogs.
This is one of their new designs, which show some shifting in their product line. The most significant difference is the use of Metal clips compared to the heavy-duty plastic ones that they used before. The feel of this harness is much more “serious” in general compared to their previous products: the material is thicker and a little heavier than their previous lightweight harnesses: the Medium is 17oz/470g; the Large is 20oz/580g. These changes do give a very different feel of using this harness.
All straps are adjustable, but the metal clips on the neck-straps limit this somewhat since you can only loosen/tighten it with a set amount. The two straps connect by velcro both below and above the clip to add extra security to the section. The overlapping layers of velcro straps and the clip made the neck section much thicker than on other harnesses.
The harness has three stainless steel D-rings: two on the back and one on the chest for no-pull training. The rings and buckles are strengths tested as:
On Size M: Front Chest D-ring 264lb/120kg; Top and Rear D-rings 440lb/200kg; 1TG Metal Buckle 397lb/180kg
On Size L: D-rings 440lb/200kg; 1TG Metal Buckle 485lb/220kg
The inner material seems to be the same breathable mesh design as in the other OneTigris harnesses that we used before.
The Fire Tanker harness also has a reflective panel between the two velcro panels on each side. The big vertical handle on the back is easy to grab while it doesn’t get stuck on something in the bushes.
Something to keep in mind with this harness is that the part between the legs can be wide for some dogs. This section is 2.4 inches (6 cm) on the medium harness, and 3.2 inches (8 cm) on the large, so be sure to measure if this would comfortably fit between your dog’s front legs.
Fire Tanker Harness Review
There is nothing wrong with the product photos on the OneTigris website, but this is a harness that looked much better in real life than I expected. It is a sturdy, heavy-duty harness; it doesn’t carry the lightweight “floppiness” of their other two harnesses that we tested before. This is a more “rigid,” snugly fitting harness with a very nice design.
The harness comes in black, coyote brown, and ranger green. These are not great colors for visibility (which is aligned with One Tigris’ tactical style), but the harness is very reflective at night! Besides the bigger reflective strips on the sides and the front, it also has reflective edges all around.
I saw this harness on a few wider/stockier dogs like Dobies and bull-type dogs, and it fits them amazingly! On Mia though, the chest strap is just a little too close to her armpits for my comfort. This only comes down to the dog’s ratio; if Mia would have a deeper/broader chest, I could loosen the chest straps more, and that would push the harness farther back - or I could probably size up altogether. The fit is still not too bad on Mia, but probably I wouldn’t grab this harness for an 8-hour hike to avoid chafing. It’s great, though, that the buckles are on top, not pushing against the back of the legs.
The neck strap width also shows that Mia’s body type isn’t ideal for this harness because you can see that they are somewhat on her shoulder joints. This isn’t the end of the world, but if she regularly pulls on the leash, those wide straps would probably push her shoulders because her neck area just isn’t that wide. The same is true for the chest piece between the front legs: When she is running, the broader section of the harness’s front is rubbing against the inside of the front legs, which wouldn’t be an issue for a wider dog.
The quality of this harness is excellent - After long months of extensive use, the only sign of wear is the scratched buckles which is impressive. This harness went through bushes, did many-many miles of hiking and urban walks, we sued it for swims and in snow, and there isn’t a single loose thread on it!
The inner mesh material also held up well, although the bottom section of the harness soaks in the mud and water on rainy days, so I wouldn’t say that it looks new at this point :)
I do like both the velcro panels and the reflective strips on the sides, but the placement is a little odd. The reflective strip divides the velcro space in two, making it much harder to display a reasonably sized text. I would prefer to have the reflective panel below the velcro space or around it somehow to have a bigger text area, but this is just a personal preference.
Functionality Review
No-pull correction: The no-pull ring works well enough on this harness. The harness is rigid and sits close enough to the armpits, so the harness doesn’t rotate around much when the front ring is used. The ring’s placement is high enough to provide steering power vs. only going across the shoulder and pulling the harness to the side.
Running/Biking: This is not a pulling harness and wasn’t meant to be used like one, but you could use it to try out pulling sports. We would recommend investing in proper pulling gear if getting more serious about canicrossing/bikejoring. It’s recommended to have more padding on the neck-straps, and the extensive back coverage might also not be ideal on warmer days. You also want to be sure it fits your dog better than Mia: leaving enough room behind the front legs and making sure the wide neck straps do not pressure the shoulders.
Hiking: The big handle was great to give Mia a hand on steep sections but as always, be sure it doesn’t rub or chafe your dog, as mentioned above. Also, as we mentioned for running, keep in mind that a snug harness with significant coverage will trap in the heat, so it might not be ideal for the summer if your dog overheats quickly.
City walk: It is just perfect for urban walks; this is what we mostly used it for. The velcro panel is helpful to display text for a service dog, reactive dog, or just a dog in training. The ring closer to the neck gives you good steering power, which is handy in busy environments, and you can switch between the rings as needed.
Easy to put on/adjust: all the straps have plenty of room for adjustment. It will take some time to adjust the neck-straps with the clip & velcro combo, but it’s only a one-time thing. The neck strap doesn’t have buckles on, so you have to pull it over the head and use the two buckles on the chest straps to secure the harness.
Visibility: This harness doesn’t mean to have high-visibility during the day, but the reflective parts are fantastic in the dark.
Review Summary
To summarize, this is a great harness that I got to like way more than I expected. It is tailored towards bigger dogs with a stronger built; Mia is probably on the very low end of the spectrum who this harness can still fit (strictly speaking, it is slightly big for her). We used it mainly for city walks, and it is great for that: it gives you excellent control, has all the attachment points you could wish for, and can display texts with patches to show if your dog needs more space.
It is a more robust and rigid harness than the previous OneTigris harnesses, and the upgrade to the strong metal buckles improves the user experience significantly. As always, the fit is different for every dog, so be sure it works for yours, but besides that, I can’t say any reason not to go for it if you feel the Fire Tanker harness has all the features you need. :)
As always, be sure the harness is a good fit for YOUR dog. If you need help deciding, read our article on harness fitting.
Mia’s measurements
Many of you asked Mia’s measurements to better understand the different products’ fit. Your best chance of finding a good fitting gear is always to measure (and remeasure) your dog. Even we grab the measuring tape before getting a new product - even though we tested a lot of them, and have a good feeling of her size by now.
I share her measurements below, but don’t go ahead and order the same size just because your dog is similar to Mia ;)
Shoulder height: 19.5 inches (50 cm)
Weight: 37-44 pounds (17-20 kg)
Widest chest circumference (where the most harness would have the chest strap): 25-26 inches (63-65 cm)
Neck circumference for collars: 15-16 inches (38-40 cm)
Back lengths: 22 inches (56 cm)
