Ruffwear Highlands Dog Pad Review

Giving Lilly a Better Place to Park Her Backside

If you've ever spent a weekend camping with a dog, you'll know they have a remarkable ability to find the one patch of ground guaranteed to be wet, muddy, sandy, covered in pine needles, or all four at once.

Our resident canine tester, Lilly, is proof of this.

Lilly is a nine-year-old lurcher – part Whippet, part Staffy, and entirely convinced that every chair, couch and soft furnishing in the house exists purely for her comfort. Outdoors, however, she's far less fussy. She'll happily lie on grass, gravel, mud, sand, or whatever else nature throws in her direction.

That's where the Ruffwear Highlands Dog Pad comes in.

Designed as a lightweight, portable sleeping mat for dogs who enjoy camping, overlanding, road trips, or simply hanging around a campfire looking judgemental, the Highlands Dog Pad aims to provide insulation, comfort, and a clean place for your dog to settle down.

After several trips involving beaches, campsites, woodland stops and the usual assortment of muddy British weather, here's how it got on.

First Impressions

The Highlands Dog Pad feels well-made straight out of the packet.

It's essentially a quilted, lightweight foam-filled mat with a durable outer fabric designed to cope with outdoor life. Unlike some dog beds that appear to have been designed for pampered Instagram pooches who wouldn't survive five minutes in a muddy field, the Ruffwear is purpose-built for adventure.

It folds up neatly and secures with an integrated strap, making it easy to stash in a vehicle or rucksack if you're heading out on foot.

It's also surprisingly lightweight, which means you're not sacrificing valuable packing space for your dog's comfort.

Comfort for Long-Legged Campers

One thing lurchers are famous for is finding the softest available sleeping spot.

If a pile of freshly washed laundry exists anywhere within a three-mile radius, they'll find it.

Lilly took to the Highlands Dog Pad immediately. There was no cautious sniffing, suspicious circling or dramatic refusal. She simply strolled on, flopped down with a mighty thud (she’s not graceful), curled up and went to sleep.

For a dog that spends most evenings stretched across furniture she technically doesn't own, that's probably the highest praise possible.

The foam padding provides enough cushioning to take the edge off rough ground without making the pad bulky. More importantly, it creates a barrier between your dog and cold or damp surfaces.

Whether on grass, concrete flags or coarse sand, Lilly appeared noticeably more comfortable than when lying directly on the ground.

Beach Days Made Easier

One of the biggest benefits became obvious during beach trips.

Anyone who owns a dog knows that sand gets everywhere. Not just on the dog. Everywhere. Normally, after a walk along the coast, Lilly would return to camp carrying enough sand in her coat to start a small construction project.

The Highlands Dog Pad gave her a designated place to settle down that wasn't directly on the beach. More importantly, it stopped her becoming damp from the cooler sand underneath.

Once we got home, cleaning the pad was refreshingly straightforward. A quick shake removes most sand and dirt. For anything more stubborn, a wipe down is usually enough. Even after several muddy outings, it never felt like a chore to clean. Its non-slip waterproof base with a soft microsuede sleeping surface makes it easy to clean.

That's a significant advantage because some outdoor dog beds seem determined to collect mud permanently, almost as if they're trying to create their own ecosystem. The Highlands Dog Pad doesn't suffer from that problem.

Ease of Use

There really isn't much to it.

Unroll it.

Put it on the ground.

Allow dog to occupy it.

That's pretty much the entire operating procedure.

The integrated roll-up straps work well and make packing away quick and painless. Even after a long day outdoors when you're cold, tired and wondering why camping seemed like such a brilliant idea three days earlier, packing it away takes seconds.

Any Drawbacks?

I can’t think of any, you’d need to ask Lilly.

Verdict

The Ruffwear Highlands Dog Pad does exactly what it's supposed to do. It gives your dog a comfortable, dry, insulated place to rest while camping, travelling or spending time outdoors.

For Lilly, it quickly became her preferred outdoor sleeping spot, whether beside a campfire, on a campsite pitch or after a long beach walk.

It's lightweight, easy to clean, simple to pack away and built well enough to handle regular adventures.

Website: Ruffwear-highlands-camping-dog-pad

Price: Medium £52.95 
Large £78.95

As well being used on its own, for colder camps it can be used with the Highlands Dog Sleeping Bag:
Ruffwear-highlands-dog-sleeping-bag