Chloe and I continue to look for that perfect leash, and we define perfection as having a few specific attributes. Namely, 1) it securely fastens to Chloe’s harness, 2) it gives me complete control of holding on to her, and 3) it’s comfortable to hold in my hand and comfortable for Chloe to wear. If you’ve read some of our previous reviews;
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| ROK Strap Courtesy of ROK Straps Corporation |
you will notice that we’ve had a preference for a leash design that can stretch which promotes a gentler form of stopping. As Chloe pulls on a stretching or bungee leash, the shock absorbing material of the leash extends for several inches preventing her from feeling an abrupt stop reaction. In addition, these bungee leashes will also reduce the fatigue that comes from Chloe’s frequent tugging motion on my arm. The stretching leash is a design that has been working for us on our nearly two years of walking.
The ROK Strap that we tested, builds its stretch into the rubber material of the leash itself. At a cost of $20.99 from Amazon.com (along with free shipping under Amazon Prime) I was looking forward to using the ROK. Could this be the perfect leash? We selected the color black, and in the small size to fit Chloe’s weight classification. ROK makes three different sizes in multiple colors. ROK bases sizing on a dog’s weight with the small recommended for those up to 30 pounds, medium for 30 to 60 pounds, and large for any dog over 60 pounds. The ROK also has a traffic loop handle at the base of the leash, that allows you to safely grab your dog at street crossings, or when you need additional control if unruly dogs pass you on the trail. It’s a nice feature to have, particularly since ROK’s looping design stays tightly together eliminating a hind leg catching hazard that I’ve complained about in the Kong bungee leash.
Chloe and I used the ROK leash for over a week’s period during our morning walks. My first reaction was, it was well made and looked attractive, although I have to say ROK over did the number of times they printed their name on the strap. The padded handle that is connected to the main leash by a metal ring was also comfortable to hold. Unfortunately that is where the good attributes stopped for the ROK design.
According to ROK, the leash size for Chloe who weighs 22 pounds was a size small that is designed for dogs weighting up to 30 pounds. That size however had too much stretch for Chloe’s pulling strength. In one incident it actually became dangerous when Chloe’s excitement made her jump and pull a little harder than normal.
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| Chloe models ROK Strap in size small |
The result was a snap back action from the leash that almost landed Chloe on her back. It was an incident that I quickly prevented by easing off on the leash and stepping back to allow Chloe to stay on her feet as she landed from her jump. This type of reaction from a bungee type leash is what you need to be aware of, especially when the leash is manufactured with too much stretching capability. The rubber material in the ROK Strap was the culprit since I had never felt that much snap back energy before in the other bungee type leashes that we have used.
Obviously, a ROK Strap in size small was not the right choice for Chloe even though she was under the advertised weight limit. If we had selected to go with the medium size, the result would have been a physically heavier strap, as the leash becomes thicker and the metal clasps become larger.
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| ROK Strap over does printing its name on the leash. |
The perfect leash is also a balance of its physical weight in your hand to the weight felt by the dog once they’re connected. If we had wanted to continue with the ROK brand, a move up to the medium size would have meant that Chloe would be attached to a leash that was advertised for a dog that was more than double her weight classification, and from experience I knew that would be both heavy and clumsy. The ROK Strap was not the perfect leash, failing because of the high amount of snap back tension that is built up in the rubber composition of the material. It would be especially unsettling to any dog when the strap pulled them backwards with such a high amount of force.
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