Kids Climbing Gear: Choosing the Right Harness

Choosing the Right Climbing Harness for your Kid

Let's talk about climbing gear for children! Kids absolutely love climbing. From newbie to veteran, kids are getting more involved in the climbing community. I volunteer at climbing competitions sometimes and I estimate that 90% of the competitors are under the age of 15. Kids are everywhere and they are the future of the sport. Let's make sure they get the right gear so they can stay safe and have fun!

Kids are different from adults with respect to gear in three ways. First -- and most obviously -- they are smaller! One size does not fit all. Second, they have constant growth spurts requiring size changes relatively often. Third, they are much faster learners than us older folk and they are more likely to quickly change between bouldering, sport, trad, and ice climbing (even zip lining, ropes courses, and via ferrata).

Harnesses are one of the most universal pieces of gear, so they're a good place to start. There are some notable decisions to make when buying a harness for a kid. The biggest choice is between a waist harness and a full-body harness. I will describe the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Full-body Harness

Petzl Simba Kids Harness

For very young kids between the ages of 5-10 some people prefer to use a full-body harness like the Simba Kids Harness By Petzl ($59.95 at Amazon). Full-body harnesses have a few advantages. First, the over-the-shoulder straps make it less likely that the kid will squirm his way out of the harness. I have never seen a kid wriggle his way out of a waist harness, but it's a valid concern if your little one is fidgety. Since kids have smaller waist bones, some people claim that a waist harness could slip off their hips.

Another advantage to a full-body harness is that it makes the child less likely to flip over upside down. Kids tend to have a higher center of gravity than adults, making them more likely to flip over when climbing. A full-body harness with shoulder straps would prevent this from causing problems.

There are a variety of great choices for full-body harnesses.

The Petzl Simba is for children between the ages of 5-10 and below 90 lbs (40kg). It's a bit pricey at $59.95, but I can personally vouch for the quality and safety of Petzl products -- I use Petzl harnesses, ropes, and belay devices on a weekly basis. One cool thing about this harness is that the straps are bicolor, with a pattern on the outside and black on the inside. This means you can easily tell if you kiddo's harness is inside-out. Neat feature!

I have two minor issues with the Petzl Simba harness: First, there are no gear loops for quickdraws, chalk bags, shoes, etc. You can clip things onto the loops themselves, but it's not ideal. Second, the straps are not padded. This means it is not ideal for long climbing sessions. An alternative with padded straps is the Edelrid Fraggle Kids Harness ($59.95 at REI). The Edelrid Fraggle also has the advantage of a weight-bearing loop on the back. You could pick up your kid with the back loop and do bicep curls with him/her! Fun for the whole family.

If price is a concern, the cheapest full-body harness made by a respectable company that I could find is the Edelrid Solid Full-Body Harness, which is currently 30% off on Amazon and is going for $46.17.

Waist Harness

The waist harness is used by adult climbers and may be a good choice for slightly older kids. The advantages of the waist harness are many. They are lighter and less restrictive than full-body harnesses, which facilitates more athletic and gymnastic climbing moves. They are more likely to be padded so they tend to be more comfortable for all-day fun. I wouldn't bother with one of those webbing-only waist harnesses (the ones that look like they're made out of seatbelt material); they are really uncomfortable in my experience.

Waist harnesses often come with gear loops around the waist that allow your kid to clip their equipment onto instead of carrying it around. This is more of an outdoor climbing need, but it's still a nice touch. Waist harnesses are simpler in design and therefore leave less margin for error in donning.

Black Diamond Wiz Kid Harness

The model pictured above is the Black Diamond Wiz Kid Harness ($44.95 at Amazon). It is a scaled-down version of Black Diamond's Momentum SA Harness that we have previously reviewed. I have spent countless hours in the adult version of this harness and can personally attest to its comfort and safety. The only difference that I can spot is that the Wiz Kid appears to have one fewer gear loop than the adult version -- hardly an issue unless your kid is doing some major trad climbing or canyoneering. Another factor you can't neglect is that the Wiz Kid is a cool-looking harness. There is a blue one for boys and a pink one for girls. Looking cool is always important to kids, whether you like it or not.

The padding on this harness is almost like memory foam. It's very comfortable and perfect for all-day adventure. The leg loops have speed adjust straps that can be loosened or tightened with one hand and are easy for adults to visually inspect. The harness is appropriate for kids between 35 and 110 lbs., and is said to run a little small in the waist. The only issue I've noticed is that sometimes the leg loops get twisted and flipped over. Always supervise your kid when they're putting on their waist harness.

If price is a consideration, the Black Diamond Kid's A-Bod Harness has excellent reviews. At $39.95 with Free Shipping on Amazon (and Prime eligible), it's the best deal on a kid's waist harness from a reputable company that I can find.

That's all I have for harness reviews and recommendations! There are good products from many different company and this article is just a small sampling of what's available. Hopefully you found this useful and know what to look for. If you have any questions about specific products or companies that are not included in this article, feel free to get in touch!

Be safe.

Ariel Castro
Rugged Innovations