Basically, the Canyon is the evolution of the Ascension harness. It is replacing the Ascension harness.
We took the feedback from thousands of dog owners who had purchased the Ascension and improved the design of the Canyon based on it.
Now, in the chart below, we will be comparing the Canyon Pro to the Ascension harness. We will not compare the Canyon Light as it is significantly lighter and does not act as a car safety harness.
Key Differences between Canyon Pro & Ascension Harness
Functional Improvements
- The Canyon harness features a neck buckle on every version and sizes. That way, if your dog has a wide head, or if she doesn't like when a harness is passed over her head, the Canyon is the perfect option for her.
- Increased stability of the Canyon harness compared to the Ascension
- The top handle is now connected to the extension which makes it better to lift your dog. Now, you will lift both the core part and the extension part at once.
- On the M and L/XL sizes, the distance between the core and the extension can be adjusted between two settings.
- The top handle of the Canyon features magnets so when you're not holding your dog by the handle, the handle will stay flat at the top of the harness.
Car Safety Improvements
- Maximum load of the Canyon is 3567 lbs while the maximum load of the Ascension harness was 1979 lbs.
- The straps of the Canyon harness do not need to be doubled-back in order to keep your dog safe in the car.
- We changed the seat belt lock design to a model that will not break and is much wider which prevents it from being "swallowed" in some seat belt mechanisms.
Design Improvements
- The Canyon Pro is about 10% lighter than the Ascension harness was.
- The Canyon has a lower gravity center which makes it more stable than the Ascension harness.
- The packs of the dog pack are now linked together by a robe that sits on top of the Canyon harness. This helps with the overall stability of the Dog Pack.
- There is no longer a carabiner on your dog's spine. The Canyon harness has a new, better way to connect the Core to the Extension.
- There are no triangle buckles on the Canyon harness which means there are no metal parts rubbing against other metal parts.
- We replaced the hitch clip by a more traditional "traction rope" which is used by mushers on the back of their traction harness (the hitch clip is only included on the Extended and Dog Pack models).
- We reduced the size of the saddlebags (or side packs) of the dog pack. Most people did not need big pouches as their dogs would carry only a few small items. So we opted for a more minimal style that dogs love.
- The saddlebags of the dog pack now feature internal mesh compartments to keep the gear in the right place.
- There are now real pockets to tuck the excess webbing.
Durability Improvements
- We changed the buckle materials from a combination of brass rivets + aluminum alloy 6061 (on the Ascension) to a combination of stainless steel rivets and aluminum alloy 7075. This makes the Canyon significantly more resistant for the same weight.
- The Rainbow Reflective ™ was changed from a film to a fabric piping which makes it a lot more durable.
