Side by side, on the specs that decide it
| Spec | 2 Hounds Freedom | PetSafe Easy Walk | rabbitgoo (budget) |
|---|
| Leash points | Front ring + back martingale loop | Front only | Front + back |
| Martingale loop | Yes — on the back | Yes — across the chest | No |
| Adjustment points | 5 | Two quick-snap buckles | 4 |
| Strap lining | Swiss velvet (anti-chafe) | Unlined webbing | Padded chest panel |
| Hardware | Stainless steel | Not published beyond the buckles | Not published |
| Reflective | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Control handle | No | No | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid | Budget | Budget |
Two rows carry most of the weight. Adjustment points: five against two is the difference between fitting a deep-chested or barrel-chested dog properly and getting it approximately right, and the Easy Walk’s own published weakness is that it can slide toward the shoulders on a deep-chested dog if it is left loose. Strap lining: the Freedom is lined where it crosses the armpit and the Easy Walk is not, which is the single biggest comfort difference on a dog that walks an hour a day.
Where the Easy Walk genuinely wins
Three places, and they are real rather than consolation prizes.
Price, and therefore speed.It is a fraction of the Freedom’s cost. If your dog is currently dragging you down the street and you need the walks to be survivable this week, this is the cheapest thing that changes that, and no amount of reasoning about hardware quality beats getting the dog walkable.
It does not go over the head.The girth straps buckle behind the front legs, so a dog that objects to things passing over its face — which is most dogs that “hate the harness” — does not have to deal with that at all.
Front-only is a feature while you are retraining.With no back ring there is no option to clip to the back and let the dog lean in, which is what people drift into once the walks improve. If you are actively working on loose-leash walking with the “be a tree” method, taking the easy option away has value.
Where the Freedom wins, and why we rank it first
It is a harness you keep. The hardware is stainless rather than unspecified, the straps are lined, and five adjustment points mean it can be dialled in on a greyhound, a bulldog and a labrador — three chest shapes that defeat two-buckle harnesses. Four years of daily walks is where the higher price earns back, and that is the same argument the how much to spend page makes across the category.
The more important advantage is the two-point setup. With a front ring and a back ring you can run a double-ended leash: one end at the chest for steering, one at the back as backup. The Easy Walk cannot do this at all, and it is the configuration that makes the difference on a dog that lunges rather than leans — see the reactive-dog harness picks for that case in full.
One honest caveat about the back martingale loop: it tightens behind the ribs as the dog pulls, and some owners dislike anything that tightens on principle. It is a slack-taking loop rather than a cinching one — it has a defined limit, like the limited-slip collars on the martingale page— but if a tightening strap is a hard no for you, that is a reason to choose the Easy Walk or the rabbitgoo instead.
The third option most people should price up first
Neither of these is the value answer. The rabbitgoo sits between them on price, has both leash rings, four adjustment points, reflective straps and a control handle, and does roughly ninety percent of what the Freedom does — and it is on this page because the honest comparison includes it.
What it gives up is the martingale loop, which means a strong puller has a fixed point to brace against on the back ring. It also gives up the lining, and its own listing notes that sizing runs snug and Oxford fabric is not chew-proof. For a medium dog that pulls moderately, it is the best value in the category. For a seventy-pound dog that pulls hard every day, the Freedom earns the gap.
Two companion pages worth reading alongside this one: our standalone Easy Walk review goes further into where that harness rotates and on which chest shapes, and rabbitgoo versus the Ruffwear Front Range is the value-against-premium head-to-head one tier up from this one.
Fit decides this more than the choice does
Worth saying plainly, because it is the reason most of these harnesses get returned. A front-clip harness that sits too low puts the ring under the throat instead of on the breastbone and gives you no steering. A girth strap sitting in the armpit rubs on every stride. And on the Easy Walk specifically, a chest strap left loose migrates up onto the shoulders, at which point it is doing nothing at all.
Measure the chest at the widest point behind the front legs, the way Kurgo’s measuring guide sets out, then check the fit against our fitting page: two fingers of clearance behind the elbow, the chest piece on the breastbone, and no rotation when you take up the leash. Five minutes with a tape measure is worth more than the difference between these two products.
What we would actually buy
For a dog you will be walking for years, the 2 Hounds Freedom. Lined straps, stainless hardware, five adjustment points and the ability to run two points of contact — that is the harness still in use in year four, and it is the one we would buy for a large dog that pulls hard.
If money is tight or the walks need to be bearable immediately, the Easy Walk, and treat it as what it is: a management strap that buys you the ability to train. Use it, do the loose-leash work, and upgrade when the training has taken.
And if your dog pulls only moderately, price the rabbitgoo first. Two rings, a handle, reflective webbing and four adjustment points at the bottom of the market is where most people should start before they spend three times as much — which is the whole argument of the under-30 value page.
