Tactical harnesses are a growing sub-niche of dog harnesses, and the Metall K9 Harness is OneTigris’ new addition to that niche.
I’ve reviewed the OneTigris XDestroyer harness before, and it’s a really solid example of it’s kind, so, when OneTigris approached me to review this harness? I was obviously keen – and preliminary research into it suggested to me that it was going to be another really good example of a tactical harness.
So naturally I said I’d help out and give it a good, thorough testing!
What Is A Tactical Harness For Dogs?
Modelled after the military harnesses of the working K9’s, these harnesses are longer, contain more material (typically) to guard the body. Usuaully they have at least one handle for the ease of operation by the handler.
They’re designed primarily to protect your dog and for hard terrain. They often come with the flexibility to implement the MOLLE system often used in the military. This means you can quickly turn these harnesses into a backpack, or just carry their favourite toy.
This is a sponsored post, but my opinion is true and honest because you deserve nothing less
Introducing The OneTigris Metall Harness
Pros
Cons
In Detail
The OneTigris Metall harness is a tactical style harness, modelled after what the working k9’s use in the police and in the military. This harness has 5 buckles, four on the sides and one at the neck. The neck one is really important, because it means that this doesn’t have to be an over-the-head harness. Which is really helpful if your dog is sensitive to this.
The adjustments on the flanks are slide-glides made of plastic, and the neck adjustment is actually velcro! I love this as it allows for a lot of adjustment.
All the metal parts (The two back attachments, one chest attachment and all five of the buckles) are all stainless steel. This means that not only is it weatherproof, but it’s the single strongest material choice.
How It Works
What I Love About The OneTigris Metall Harness
Stainless Steel Hardware.
From the two attachments on the back, the one attachment on the chest, and the 5 buckles around the harness, all of them are stainless steel.
The padded chest and back mean that there is minimal stress-bearing nylon in contact with your dog – which means that the chance of chaffing is minimum.
Freedom of Movement
The really wide shoulder opening is fantastic I love to see that Indie has a full range of movement in a tactical style harness, when others similar harnesses are designed to be quite restrictive.
Handles
Whilst I’m often conflicted about handles – this harness has two, one that goes the same way down the spine and one that goes perpendicular to that. The front one, the one that goes along the spine is my favourite though, it’s actually really soft and nice to the touch. I know this is meant to be a military style harness, and ‘comfort’ for the handler is not necessarily what you want to focus on, but in all honesty? I love it.
Adjustability
This harness is built to fit. With the exception of the chest plate, the harness is very adjustable, and easily fits all of my three so it’s definitely suited to the deep chested dog, which is great as that is a large part of their target audience.
It adjusts easily, and one of the things that I truly adore about this is that you can easily adjust the straps using the technique I’ve demonstrated in the reel below (with one of the OneTigris dog coats, actually!).
The Price
Tactical harnesses vary from cheap to incredibly expensive. And the Metall k9 harness genuinely balances quality with price. It really doesn’t even yield much in the way of quality either. If I were to estimate it compared to the top of the range? It’s 95% of the way there and to be honest? that 5% is probably a little excessive for a dog that isn’t actually in the military.
Consequently? This may actually be the best tactical harness on the market.
There! I said it!
What I Don’t Love
There’s no reflective-ness on the harness, which is a bit of a pain? But it’s in-keeping with the style of a tactical harness. So, no, truly not surprised.
The bigger one for me though, is that you could easily mistake this harness as being one of the “Tummy strap” harnesses, which may imply to owners that it’s one of the harnesses (like the Ruffwear Flagline) that cannot be escaped from. But because the tummy strap’s positioning, in front of your dogs floating rib instead of behind it, it may be more difficult to escape than, say, the Truelove harness, but it’s not a truly secure harness, sadly!
It’s also not really made for swimming. It doesn’t repel water, and instead rather absorbs it.
Who Needs The Metall Harness?
The Large Reactive Dog Parent Or Guardian
If you’re concerned about the strength of a harness? This one will categorically not yield on you. This is seriously strong, and stronger than all but one harness I’ve ever tried (the other one is horrendously expensive though). So, if you’re a reactive dog parent or guardian, then this will definitely give you the peace of mind you need.
Scentwork and Mantrailing
It’s really well set up for working in this way. The last point at the back is perfect for mantrailing where you’re encouraging your dog to lead the way (or to pull). and this harness will stand up to absolutely everything that trailing experience can challenge you for, whether that’s jagged rocks or water. This harness will handle it.
Strong Dogs Learning To Stop Pulling
Big dogs who pull put inordinate amounts of work on a harness. So, whilst you’re learning a loose leash and I strongly suggest you do learn it… this harness can help you learn and safely contain your incredibly strong dog that’s pulling the way.
Who the Metall’s Not For.
Small dogs
It is quite heavy, so for little woofs, you might want to look at a lighter constructed option, after all, they probably don’t need all the bells and whistles that this harness provides (like stainless steel hardware! No 20lbs dog needs stainless steel!)
Hot or Humid Climates
Due to the coverage on a normal tactical style harness, I wouldn’t really recommend this harness if you’re living in hot and humid climates. Whilst dogs sweat through their paws, and lose heat via their mouths, it’s not like this will prevent heat lost, it’s more that it can make it hotter for your dog I would suspect.
Do I Recommend The OneTigris Metall K9?
Yep. As tactical harnesses go, this one is fantastic.
I said it up there, but I’ll say it again, this is currently the best tactical harness for dog owners (non-military). It gives the best balance of cost vs quality to my current experience. Honestly, there isn’t much I can fault with the harness. It’s wearing well, it adjusts easily, and it allows Indie a full range of motion throughout all of our walks and hikes together.
Indie is wearing a Large size of the OneTigris Metall k9 Harness – it’s easily available on Amazon and via their own website!
Not sure the Metall k9 is for you, or would you like to find the perfect leash to go with this? Why not go see our other reviews or check the Best Dog Harnesses to find it!
Author, Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a professional, qualified, and multi-award winning trainer is the founder of rebarkable. She has always believed animals deserve kindness and champions force free methods. Believing that dog guardians will all choose the kindest options if proper information is provided, she aims to help all dog guardians who need it and make dog training as accessible as possible
Ali lives win Maryland, US with her husband and her three dogs.
Best Equipment For Large Reactive Dogs 2024
14 Best Escape Proof Dog Harnesses 2024 – According To A Pro Trainer
0 Comments