Mountainsmith K-9 Bed Review
Do you love to travel with your pets? If so, you know how important it is to have gear for you and your dog to make traveling even easier. Mountainsmith recently provided the K-9 Bed for our dog reviewers, Aspen and Suki to check out. The K-9 Bed has been tested on a road/camping trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota and on multiple camping adventures around Colorado.
While camping, our dogs typically weasel their way onto our sleeping pads and try to curl up on our sleeping bag when we are attempting to get ready for bed. Despite our efforts of providing extra blankets and even an extra sleeping pad for them, they still want to be on our stuff because it appears cozy and comfortable. However, the first night out with the K-9 Bed, the dogs were fighting over it and trying to claim it as their spot for the evening. Suki, our older gal, won the battle and has basically claimed the bed as her own ever since. The K-9 Bed has won her over due to plush insulation and padding, as the bed measures 5″ high, which is an unusual feature in a travel bed. The top layer is comprised of a soft twill which keeps the chill off even during a cool evening. The hexagon shape is unique and the size is perfect for her 60lb frame to curl up on, with some room to spare. The diameter of the bed measures approximately 36 inches across. The size and shape are great in my eyes because it isn’t too big or occupying a large surface area in the tent like traditional rectangular beds. Mountainsmith says that it is designed for medium to large dogs; if your dog curls up while sleeping then I think this bed could accommodate up to 80-90 lbs of dog. However, if your dog sprawls out, this bed may be a bit small.
From the human standpoint, I like the K-9 Bed because it is easy to care for and has been very durable. The bottom of the bed is composed of nylon and can easily be brushed off if placed on the ground before heading in the tent. The twill fabric appears durable and has yet to show wear and tear after a few months of regular use. The K-9 Bed is machine washable as well. The size and shape of the bed allows it to fit in any standard washer and does not require that you have a high capacity machine.
With a little pushing and shoving, the K-9 Bed can be placed in the stuff sack provided. When packed up, the bed measures 8″x15″ and fits in one section of the K-9 Cube (reviewed in the past, also by Mountainsmith). We had some difficulty actually getting the bed back in the bag and have resorted to keeping it out around the house all of the time, even when we are not hitting the road or camping. Suki loves the K-9 Bed so much that she actually turns down our standard house beds, as well as the not so standard dog bed aka the couch and heads for the K-9 Bed after a walk or hike.
The K-9 Bed is ideal for car camping and road trips, however I wouldn’t recommend taking it on a backpacking trip as it is not as light as some of the other dog pads out on the market, coming in at 2lbs. You may find that the dog bed takes up about as much room as your synthetic sleeping bag! The K-9 Bed has been a great addition to our dogs’ travel needs and the dogs look forward to many more adventures with the K-9 Bed to help them rest and prepare for the next days’ adventures.
