UKC

In this gear review James Wynne looks at five different children' harnesses and how they perform.

Do they adjust? Can the little devils wriggle out of them? James finds out... with a little help from the next generation of climbers.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=5893

In reply to UKC Gear:
Thanks really useful article as my nephew wants a harness for christmas. Could you possibly add an RRP for the harnesses to give me an idea of cost

In reply to grubes: Hi Grubes,

I have made the prices more prominent - they are now in the grey title boxes.

Thanks,
Jack

In reply to Jack Geldard - UKC Chief Editor:
thanks

In reply to grubes:

Good review. I reguarly use 3 of the 5 harnesses tested and agree with the conclusions. If buying please do check the Fraggle sizing as the XXS, which appears to be the most commonsly stocked model, is much smaller than both the Tom Kitten and Simba.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Why are none of them wearing shoes?

In reply to argyle_dude:

They're street urchins, they are supposed to be paid but work for food.

It looks like these are all designed for little nippers - my kids are 10 and 11 years old respectively. Can they be in adult harnesses by now (e.g. no chest harness)? Re-phrasing the question, is there an age or size at which chest harnesses are no longer necessary?

Height-wise they are about 140cm tall.

Cheers

In reply to Ragnaar:

There is no simple answer without seeing the person being fitted for a harness and making a judgement on what would be the most appropriate for the task at hand when you have them stood in front of you. I have fitted 6 year olds in sit harness and 11 year olds in body harnesses and used chest harnesses inbetween, it all depends on their size and shape. Hips tend not to be well defined in small people (especially girls), hence the increased risks if the climber inverts which is more likley due to the higher centre of gravity in young people.

The key in fitting kit to children is ensuring there is a good fit around the waist and that the waist loop of the harness it sits above the hips. In 10/11 YO's, the higher tie in point offered by a body harness when climbing will have a diminishing effect as the cente of gravity is moving lower with age and I would be more concerned about getting a good fit above the hips in deciding which type of harness to fit.

If you are looking an intermediate sit harness things like the DMM Tomcat might be worth a look as it's a childs sit harness and I know a few keen 10-11yo's climbing in these. The other option is to have a look at the harnesses typically used by groups/centres who work with children as they have a wide range of adjustment (DMM Alpine will go down to tiny waist sizes). It also maybe worth thinking about some of the Small adult sized sports harnesses as they are designed for going over not much clothing so might be smaller fitting than a traditional trad harness.

Gavin

Thanks for the advice Gavin! The harness would be used mainly seconding Trad routes, not indoors. Your tips are useful, and I think you're right in that the best thing is to take them to a shop and get them fitted out correctly.

Cheers

In reply to Ragnaar:

I think you'd struggle to find full body harnesses for them that weren't adult's by now.

Depending on the kiddie, I don't think anyone's done any research that would tell you when they are necessary or not, by 5 though the risk on inverting due to shape seems minimal. Most centres use the type of higher tie in harness Gavin mentioned, the Alpine or centre specifc versions, by that age.

The full body type don't allow for teaching of belaying, so their usefulness is very limited to 3-5 year olds (2s if they fit one).

Camp do a kids chest harness that you can add to sit style harnesses, which would be a lot more useful if you were swapping between kids and still allows for teaching belaying (although that might still be too small for your kids).

The down side of the single attachment harnesses, like the DMM alpine is that is doesn't teach a complete tie in procedure as you don't include the leg loops.

A cheap and cheerful Wild Country Clog Centre harness goes incredibly small and has a proper tie in and expands to allow adults to use it as well, so if you take other learners with you it can do a huge job and teaches threadback buckles too. One of those, paired with a chest harness if necessary, would tick all the boxes.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Winhill's advice is good, but the other factor that sometimes comes into play in deciding whether to use a body harness or not, and which isn't down to a child's size even if they would fit a sit harness, is the feeling of security a full body harness provides and the increased confidence this can bring. Having the feeling of support across the back and shoulders when asking someone to lean back/lower can be a big thing for some smaller people.

In reply to Ragnaar:

Angie Scarth-Johnson (age 9) seems to manage on 8b routes without using a chest or full-body harness (and wearing socks).

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,23174.0.html

In reply to Ragnaar: There are also sit harnesses designed for children who no longer need full body. They have smaller waist and leg loops, and narrower webbing - an adult belt on a child is too wide to fit comfortably between their hips and rib cage and often just won't tighten far enough. My daughter used a full body till she was about 8, then 2 different child's sit harnesses till she was 15. When she grew out of the first one at about 12 we went to get her an adult harness and she was still too small for them to fit properly. Admittedly she was always a small child!

In reply to Ragnaar:

Good question. Little Ent is nearly 8, 125cm tall and we bought her a Black Diamond Wiz Kid as her first waist harness.

E

In reply to Submit to Gravity:

Cheers, main thing is she's comfy in it. Shes a right fussy little thing. Throws a wobbler when her sock rolls up in her shoe

E