We’ve gotten a lot of questions regarding kids climbing harnesses. There are two harnesses I would suggest- though I am certain there are many others that are great. Please leave your comments if you’ve found other great ones. These are the ones we have experience with:
1. Petzl Simba Full Body Harness
We love this harness. It comes up over the shoulders for greater support and is useful for younger kids that do not have defined hips for a waist to grab on to. Leg loops and shoulder straps are fully adjustable- according to Petzl, can be used up to 88 lbs. We adjust this harness down for our 18 month old and back up for our 3 and 5 yr. old with plenty of room to spare.
2. Petzl Alpine Harness
We do not yet own one of these, but our 5 yr. old has climbed in one a few times at the gym, and it is on our list to buy next. Alpine harnesses are light weight, usually less comfortable for adults, but fully adjustable. Meaning we could adjust all the loops down for our kids while a small adult would be able to wear it as well. This is a great harness if you want it to fit for a long time or a variety of people.
Did you teach your kids climbing as early as they were 18-month-old? How? Would you mind share the experience? I was a climber too (not a hardcore climber though) and I stopped climbing when I was pregnant with my 18-month-old daughter. I’m very interested to know when and how to introduce climbing to my little one. She seems to be more interested in climbing her baby gate in our living room than the small climbing wall in the play ground….
We did start them early. Our youngest right around 2 yrs old. I will add this to my list of Q&A to respond to. Planning a new series of them starting in the new year! But for now, here is an old post for ya: http://kidproject.org/2011/09/25/tips-for-getting-your-fearful-kids-climbing/
We love both of these harnesses too!
Our first kid’s harness was the Black Diamond Bod kids harness. It’s been pretty good for us. I like that you can put it on them without having to step into the leg loops, just like the alpine adult version. However, after being buckled, the leg loops don’t come at all close to tightening down around small legs. That would be the drawback. Later we discovered the Camp Topaz. This is not a kids harness, but can be used as one. This thing is so adjustable that it fits everyone in the family from me, down to my tiny 5 year old. We’ve had so much success with this one that we ended up buying a couple of them. And it has gear loops when they want to clip bolts☺️
That is an awesome tip! Thanks so much for sharing!