I love my dog Winnie in a way that some people would call “excessive.” I wake up early on weekdays to take her to the park, we have matching sweaters and Buffalo Bills jerseys, and she has even tagged along with me to a press event. (It was for vacuums, so I don’t think she loved the experience, but the treats made up for it.)
Back when I worked at a bookstore, I could take her with me to work, where she would excitedly greet customers, sniff out the book they wanted, and ring them up. (Okay, those last two aren’t quite true.) On days when Winnie didn’t come in, customers would poke their heads in and despondently ask when she would be back, as if I could pull up her schedule right there.
The problem was, if I wanted to commute by bike—my favorite way to get around and my main source of exercise—I couldn’t bring the dog too, so on nice days I had to pick between lugging Winnie on the subway or taking a ride. In search of a solution, I found the Sport Sack Plus 2 online, and I decided to see if I could involve Winnie in yet another part of my life.
Staff pick
For dogs up to 30 pounds, the K9 Sport Sack Plus 2 lets you bike or hike with your dog securely strapped to your back.
The Sport Sack Plus 2 has a fairly simple construction: It consists of a pouch with a flat, rigid bottom, so the dog sits as they regularly would, and then their front legs go through two holes at the top of the bag. When you wear the bag—the company suggests tightening the straps so that it sits as high on your back as possible—your dog’s front paws rest on your shoulders, as in a piggyback ride.
Winnie initially refused to get into the bag, so treats and encouraging words were required, a bit like putting a costume on a dog. At first, I just let her sniff the bag and get used to it; then I worked on strapping her in there and lifting her on my back. A couple of days later, after she was relatively used to the experience, I tried using the bag while I (we?) biked, keeping to low-traffic areas with protected bike lanes.
Whatever reservations I had about the quality of the bag and the ride were wiped away with each pedal stroke. The buckles and the zipper pass-through on the back of the bag and the collar clip on the front ensured that Winnie didn’t shift around while I rode, and the design allowed her to look in all directions. Biking to work with her was officially a go, much to my delight, as well as that of my dog and her fans in the neighborhood.
It takes a bit to get accustomed to the amount of weight on your upper back—Winnie is 30 pounds—but the bag does a good job of distributing that weight evenly. After my initial test ride, I was easily able to traverse the Manhattan Bridge with my copilot. The Sport Sack Plus 2 also comes with a removable storage sack that’s big enough to fit a change of clothes along with Winnie’s leash, some treats, and a toy or two.
Even now, without that bookstore commute, I use the bag more than I expect. The closest dog park to me is a 40-minute walk away but only 10 minutes by bike. If my (not at all threatening) neighbors want to hang out in our shared backyard, I can throw (the unfortunately territorial) Winnie on my back, take a ride, and then return home to a clear yard. If I have to travel by subway, I can carry her on my back rather than lug her in a carrier (the New York City Subway technically requires dogs to ride in bags); plus, if I need to carry anything else, my hands are free.
There isn’t any way to nonchalantly get around with a dog strapped to your back, so anyone wearing a K9 Sport Sack should be ready to field plenty of comments, both positive and derisive, from passersby. On the positive side, I’ve never been treated more kindly by drivers. Instead of seeing a window roll down and hearing a barrage of four-letter words, I’m more often getting waved through at stop signs with coos and cheers.
Biking around cars is never completely safe—just like biking with one’s child, you have to ride more carefully. Like children, dogs can be jumpy, especially if spooked by loud city noises, so a K9 Sport Sack may not be right for particularly reactive dogs. Winnie once started trying to crawl over my head on a descent; thankfully, the bag’s design limited her movement, and I was able to reach a hand back and calm her down. But if you have a heavier dog, a situation like that could be harder to handle, and biking with a dog much bigger than Winnie might be less feasible entirely. (The company does offer models for bigger dogs, if you’re so inclined.)
Although the Sport Sack Plus 2’s pouch is good for a day’s supplies, anything beyond that would require a different bike-storage option. Regardless, a multihour bike trip with a 30-pound dog on my back is beyond the pale for even me.
Also, not everything on the bag is dog-proof. While investigating the Sport Sack Plus 2, Winnie managed to chip one of the buckles, though it’s still secure even with that chunk missing. The company’s warranty covers damages, defects, and “incompatible dog personalities” for only 60 days after purchase and excludes damage from “abnormal pet chewing,” but other than that chipped buckle, my bag has stayed intact through its four years of use.
I’m not the only person with the particular devotion necessary to use a dog backpack. Aside from the other riders I’ve seen across the city, Wirecutter senior staff writer Rory Evans and her dog Yooks have used and loved their K9 Sport Sack since 2017. Her husband and daughter often bike-ride with Yooks, and the bag is also particularly useful on long road trips. “If I stop at the grocery store, I put him on and bring him in. When he’s in the pack, he’s off the ground, and his fur is covered, so he’s not loose and a threat to other shoppers. In fact, he seems to delight people,” Rory says. She also notes that the bag has held up well over the years even as Yooks has gained a little weight, and while she can’t say that Yooks loves the bag, “he doesn’t rebel against going into it and knows how to get comfy once he’s in it, and he puts his little paws on your shoulder.”
Efforts to get a comment from Winnie on the K9 Sport Sack Plus 2 have thus far been unsuccessful, but anecdotal evidence of her feelings on it abound: Her tail wags when I bring it out, she leans forward to give me licks throughout rides, and like a lot of dogs, she seems to enjoy the wind blowing in her face. Most of all, the bag lets us do more things in more places together, which is pretty high up on her list of priorities. If she’s happy, I’m happy, and vice versa—the K9 Sport Sack Plus 2 helps both of us get there, together as always.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
