In reply to SAF:
To be completely honest, I didn't pay a penny for Baldric's as we were very generously sent one, but it had been at the top of the Things To Buy List for a hell of a long time, and I was prepared to fork out. But having used it a fair few times on easy terrain, with a little bit of lifting over rock steps or over cornices and things, and to securely attach the dog to myself on steep, hard snow, I'd say it's definitely worth the money. Neither the dog nor I can wait to get out on some slightly more exciting off-trail not-running routes later on in the year, some with a little gentle rappeling on them.
As we've never rapped with it I've not taken the leg loops out, except to walk him around the house in it when we first got it. When I've got a day with nothing better to do, I'm going to go and do some training on our local 3-bolt crag to get him used to them before we need to use them in anger.
I'd only get them out for extended periods of dangling, to be honest, like if I had to ski out carrying the dog again (like that video I posted), or if we had to do even a little bit of free-hanging abseil (5 or 10 metres plus). For shallow angle abseils with feet on the ground, I don't think I'd bother.
