It is a little easy at Outdoor Retailer to get the glassy eyed, overwhelmed sort of look and go into autopilot. So much great outdoor great, flying at you from every angle. But as I was chasing my little ones around, something green caught my eye: Edelrid Kid’s Fraggle Harness
Why? Other than the bright green color? This is why:
Tie-in loop on the back…
For years now my husband and I have been clipping an additional rope onto the backs of our kids as they climb. They are still securely tied into the top rope but tow a rope up with them as well. Why? Well, climb with a young kid once and here are somethings you might experience:
- Them freaking out at the top and refusing to let go.
- Not pushing off the wall, and then as you lower, getting “dragged down the rock.”
- Pushing off too hard, flipping around backwards and hitting their heads (scary for them, even with a helmet).
- They don’t actually weight enough for them to lower without aid.
All these things have two things in common, ok maybe three:
- They usually result in hystrics on the rock.
- We’ve experienced them all.
- Attaching a rope on the back to assist in lowering helps a ton!
We haven’t heard of many other people doing this, so when I saw that Edelrid had actually designed a kids harness with this in mind I was stoked! Great minds think alike! And I knew I wanted to try out that harness.
Things only got better as I talked to the guys from Edelrid. While we’ve enjoyed our other kids climbing harness, we’ve noticed a few inconveniences. The largest being it really didn’t adjust down small enough for my two-year-old who was desperate to get on the rock like her big brother and sister. One of the guys showed me a picture of his 10-month-old in the harness climbing! Yes! This harness would adjust down for a small child!
Secondly, our other kid’s harness involves a ton of adjusting (if you are moving between kids, like we often are) and it is confusing for even the adults to get on a kid! The padded leg loops and shoulder straps not only make the Edelrid harness more comfortable, but because the harness maintains some of its shape, it is easy to get on.
Let me sum it up for you:
Yays:
- Child retrieval loop in back (side note: this loop is not rated for arresting falls.)
- Paddled shoulder straps and leg loops.
- Fits small children very well as well as older kids. We had our 40 lb. son in it and our 25 lb. 2-year-old. It fit both very well.
- Made my daughter feel comfortable and secure.
- Only two places to adjust. My husband and I are baffled about this. Logically it seemed the harness should not customize or should be awkward without the extra adjustability, but it wasn’t!
- Easy to take on and off.
- Chest buckle. Keeps those shoulder straps on those narrow shoulders, not slipping off the side. (Note: the front tie-in MUST be secured with a locking carabiner and tied securely into the top rope as well, as the chest strap is not PPE rated.)
- Rated up to 40 kgs, roughly 88 lbs.
Nays:
- Fixed leg loops could be a problem for “thicker” thighs. But Ezzie’s legs are pretty chunky and she has plenty of room.
- While the attached leg loops make it super easy to get on and don’t inhibit range of motion, my older son said they “squished his pee-pee” when he ran. Not sure about this… or how often kids will be running in a climbing harness :).
Now for the part you’ve all been waiting for. Edelrid is giving away one Fraggle Harness to one lucky reader! Here are the details:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Kid Project received a Fraggle Harness for the purpose of review from Edelrid North America. However, these are our true and honest opinions. Climbing can be dangerous, please climb with care!
What a good idea to tie a rope on them. Go figure, you guys have been doing it for years! Nice idea!
It was out of necessity! Our oldest is 6 years old and not breaking 40 lbs yet! She is so light that the tiny bit of rope drag that exists on a top rope still stops her from lowering!
This is adorable – I want one soooo bad! I love the name “Fraggle” too, makes me nostalgic for my tv-watching childhood. 🙂
Kate- well even if you don’t win, they are $60 online. Not bad if you can pass it on to the younger siblings 🙂
Wow! What a great idea!!! Love this. I’ve had all those same problems with my kids climbing so we usually just clip a rope to the back to help. This would make things much easier 🙂
Yeah, definitely my favorite design difference compared to other harnesses!
Would love to get our kids climing! The ultralight junior helmet looks good too! thanks for the chance!
Start them out young, eh? And start them with a good helmet. We didn’t get the helmets until a little later and now we fight them having to wear them at the crag…cause they just aren’t used to it!
Too bad about the weight restriction. My son is only 3, has never climbed, and definitely would need this kind of harness. Yet, he’s 40lbs easily.
Tanya, completely agree. Bummer, eh? Although I wonder if they are coming out with larger sizes, since this one is marked XXS. I should ask…
Pretty certain that’s a misprint, I believe it is 40 kg not 40 pounds.
Hey, thanks for calling it! I just double checked with Edelrid and you are right, good news for everyone. 40kg= 88lbs ish.
Tanya, I was wrong. Which is GREAT news. It was 40kg which is 88 lbs. 🙂
Yay. In that case, I really would love to win this harness. We haven’t tried climbing with our son yet but my husband loves climbing!! I know he wants to get him out and teach him.
Great giveaway! I love the Mantle Crash Pad – perfect for climbing and kiddo naps!
Yeah, our crash pad spends the majority of the time doubling as a couch for the kids 🙂
I think this is such a fantastic harness for the little ones! I would LOVE to take my girl out in it! She has been climbing out of cribs and over child-proof fences ever since she could stand… and now she is two and some of her technique is better than mine!
I also like the Jay harness, and think that would be a great harness to add to my adventure gear!
A natural born climber! I want to try out their adult harnesses too, the next time I am in the market 🙂
We were JUST dreaming of something like this over the weekend when our three year old was desperate to climb an alpine tower where we were camping.
Great review, and very timely for me indeed! I have two little boys (both 5) who love to climb. We only climb indoors for now (but that will be changing soon.) In fact, my son with special needs is obsessed and we hit up the indoor rock gym about once or twice a week now. We so need to win one of these! I would also like to try out one of their crash pads for bouldering, like the Deadpoint pad.
So great! I loved your post on why climbing helped your autistic son focus…at least I think that was you…
This is fabulous! Our almost 3 year old daughter has been begging us to take her climbing (although she’s been requesting a pink climbing rope and pink climbing shoes of her own for the adventure). We are going next week and can’t wait to share our love with her! The mantle crash pad looks awesome, too – would be so nice for our bouldering days.
Our daughters would get along well! She’d love pink climbing shoes…
Looks awesome! Genius idea!
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I would be getting one of the ultralight junior helmets too! Would go nicely with the harness for our son. 🙂
I love this! What a great idea for little kids.
Definitely would love the Loopine Harness as I need to get a new harness, or the crash mats would be great too!
Great review! Sounds like a great product. Cragbaby has a harness from CAMP, but the adjustability isn’t that great, and the Edelrid looks way more comfy. Thanks for sharing!
Can’t wait to start taking Lucy climbing… she can’t even walk yet, but she’s mastered climbing up the coat rack as well as the stairs. Think I need a bouldering pad too…and that just for the living room.
What a great idea, I like fun and practical equipment!
Looks like a great harness and thanks for the extra rope idea. What a wonderful idea.
J-Man has a harness from Petzl but it doesn’t size down small enough. This one seems like it would be the perfect size.
Crossing my fingers and toes!!! 🙂
Oh my she’s the cutest little climber! I’ve never seen this harness. It looks rad! I want to try out the Jul belay device too!
I love the chalk pot, I got mine when I first started claiming and really need to upgrade to something more like that!
where can i buy in nz or nearest country and what does it mean its not ppe rated the chest does it mean you cant tie in on front only
I am assuming you are questioning in regards to this statement: “side note: if you use the tie-in on the back, the front tie-in MUST be secured with a locking carabiner, as the chest strap is not PPE rated.” PPE stands for :personal protection equipment – referring to the fall protections. The Fraggle has a rear tie in-useful for helping kids lower. On the front side of the harness there are the chest tie in loops for the rope. But also a chest buckle that helps keep the shoulder straps aligned over the kid’s shoulders and in front of the chest (ie. not draping off to one side.) When using the rear tie in (ia. pulling on the rope to help lower) they ask that you secure the front tie in loop (that the rope could go though) with a locking carabiner for maximum fall protection.
As for purchasing in NZ or nearest country? I honestly do not know.Edelid is a European company. I would try contacting them directly for an answer to this. Thanks!http://www.edelrid.de/en/news/edelrid-sports/
Will, we’ve been alerted to confusing language in the instruction for use on the rear loop. Please read revised explanation. The rear loop is only for child retrieval, not for use as a “tie-in” for your tope rope.
Thanks for the detailed review. I just ordered one for my 20lb one-year old – can’t wait to try it on!
Hey, awesome! Can you share where you ordered it from? I’ve had some questions from folk having a hard time finding it. Was it someplace online?
Great review! Thanks for the clear and concise read and nice photos. As a designer I love to see companies making products that enable new people to do new things (in this case youngsters to climb more safely and comfortably). Since it’s a niche thing it’s tough to learn about this stuff if your local gear spot doesn’t carry it. That’s why user’s online reviews are so important!
I would discourage anyone tying-in a child to the back loop alone. As your own picture shows, the tie-in loop on back is not PPE rated. It is meant to provide supplementary control, or for other activities like tethering your child while skiing. Safety must be the primary concern of every climber, outfitter, and reviewer.
When used according to its specifications, the Fraggle harness is by all accounts excellent. But Edelrid doesn’t do its customers any favors by providing zero instruction – or by neglecting to read their own sponsored reviews.
Children already trust and rely on their parents to keep them safe. But this trust is especially sacred when engaging in an elective activity that is potentially fatal.
Jonathan, I believe you misunderstood. In no way have we or would we tie in our child to the back loop ALONE. As stated in the review and shown in the photos, we tie an additional rope on back that they drag up. We can then use this rope to aid in lowering (keep them from turning backwards to wall, etc). The child is at all time securely tied in through both chest loops, to the top rope. I think this would qualify as “supplimentary control” under your definition. In no way do we want to encourage parents to tie into the back loop as their BELAY LOOP, ETC. If we communicated that in any way, please let me know where! Edelrid has read and approved this review and as always we take the safety of our children very seriously while we climb, hike, or ski.
Alyssa, are you serious? When I commented (two days ago), your review enumerated the “Yays,” starting with this:
“Tie-in Loop in back (side note: if you use the tie-in on the back, the front tie-in MUST be secured with a locking carabiner, as the chest strap is not PPE rated.)”
The review actually touted there being a tie-in loop in back. Your words. Your one caveat was to use a locking carabiner in the front tie-in. Any climber knows said ‘biner would be superfluous if the child was tied-in to the belay through the front loops.
Who knows how many parents adopted the unsafe usage in the 20 months that your review was up? That’s great you corrected it after I pointed out the error. But please don’t feign polite indignation, and then pretend you didn’t edit your post. I stand by my original comment.
Hey Jonathan,
Again, thanks for the feedback. We take safety very seriously and when something on our site is misleading we want to hear about it and will fix it promptly.
We agree that the original phrasing was misleading, and of course fixed it when you pointed it out.
It is easy to be blind to errors in your own writing. Even Edelrid missed that when they reviewed the article. To be honest, tying in (for anchoring, not “child retrieval”) on the back makes so little sense that we had never even contemplated people trying that.
Thanks again for your feedback, and if you notice any other places where errors have occurred, please let us know.
Oh Chris, Can I hire you as my own PR agent when I get rude comments?
Dearest tkoob, I doubt you need to worry about rude comments. In fact, my guess is that you needn’t worry much about comments of any sort. But I assure you no rudeness was intended… at least not towards the kid project.
Among climbers – when communicating urgent matters of safety – it is standard to value bluntness over politesse. After I pointed out the misleading text, the correct response would have been something along the lines of “Good catch, thank you. Noted and corrected.” And based at least on the review’s repeated revisions (plus Chris’s professional note), my input was deemed worthwhile.
If my subsequent tone was overly admonishing, it’s because I found Alyssa’s reply to be self-serving and disingenuous. She surreptitiously amended her review, then challenged me to justify my “misunderstanding,” as though it were baseless. I merely obliged.
I take it you don’t rock-climb? No matter. But please know that climbers’ lives rely on the consistent use of agreed upon terms. By even referring to the rear loop as a “tie-in,” the original review implied that loop was a singular point of security.
Sloppy instruction – whether in person or in a review – demands correction. As it stands, Alyssa’s confusing directions live on in the comments section. In December of ’12, Will from NZ specifically asked for clarification on the rear loop. As it is not my job to edit this blog, I will not bother walking you through the errors. But please spare me your snide remarks.
Can anyone tell me what size is best? I noticed there was an xxs and an xs for this Fraggle harness.
We tried this harness, but felt like it didn’t fit our 2 year old very well. I really wanted to like it because of the loop on the back to assist with getting the kid off the wall. Unfortunately, I felt like the harness squeezed her sides and the shoulders lifted up a lot (you can kinda see it a little bit in one of your pictures but it was worse on our tot). I want to switch it for trango kid harness. Have you tried those? And do you think there is a safe way to tie a down rope on the back? Maybe with a carabiner?
Great feed back on your experience. I have heard great things about the Trango harness but have no experience with it. Hop on over the cragmama.com. Erica has a lot of experience and can probably point you in the right direction regarding Trango!