Kids Climbing Gear Question

My daughter is turning 3 in June and I would like to get her a full body harness and a helmet.

Anyone have a harness that has worked for their kids? I am leaning towards the Trango Junior. I like the Edelrid Fraggle but it does not have adjustable leg loops (how else will she get it on over her crampons at 20,000 feet). Does this matter? The Petzl one looks to big and I have not heard much about the Camp one.

For helmets the Edelrid Shield and Petzl Picchu look to have the smallest head size available. I like the Petzl as it has a hard shell and looks like it will last longer.

Thanks for any advice.

My daughters just turned 3 and I bought them the Edelrid Fraggle harness. It's really big on them with lots of room, even fully tightened. They are also pretty tall for their age. The have used them and hung from them and I felt they were still safe in them however.

PM me if you want and I can youtube a demo of them wearing it and hanging in it in my garage this morning.

I've got a three year old in a Petzl and she loves it. It will last her for years. She uses her bike helmet, and there are about a thousand on the market to fit little heads. It just seemed like three years old was too soon to start getting her tons of specialized gear, and maybe we're teaching her just the slightest bit of anti consumption.

my 3 year old fits nicely into the CAMP kids harness (as does my 5 year old niece), wears the mammut kids helmet and la sportiva stickits. All work great.

My daughters started climbing at 3 years old with a rented Petzl Simba, and when they turned 4 we upgraded to the Black Diamond Wiz Kid (in pink, of course). They've been great harnesses, and have held up very well.

For helmets, I've had them use their standard bike helmets without any problem, but if you're looking for a dedicated rock helmet, I'd have to say the Petzl Elia would be my first choice. They only come in one size, but there's enough of a range to fit both my girlfriend and my daughters. There's also a gap in the back that fits a ponytail :)

I've also heard good things about the Picchu helmet, also by Petzl. Also, +1 for the Edelrid Fraggle, I've heard it's a good, comfortable harness for kids.

Oh, and like lukeweiss mentioned, the LaSportiva Stickits also work great.

If your kid is small watch out for the CAMP Bambino. They use quick release buckles and for the shoulder part it can rest on top of your kid's shoulders creating an angle that actually releases the buckle. I brought this up with CAMP and they responded more or less with "Thanks we'll look into it" and sent me another of the same free (WTF?) Anyway, this is NOT manufacturer recommended practice but I've been able to actually secure my kid's shoulder straps by adding an aftermarket buckle to thread above the existing ones that locks them into position.

I like the idea of the Edelrid Fraggle having a back loop to clip to your kid although you can rig the same via the front on most others the directionality works well. They are so light it can be tricky getting them down without something to pull depending on the friction at the belay (some gyms with the wrapped belay bars and autobelays). It also is helpful to back belay to control the descent and avoid swinging - well unintentional dangerous swinging. My boy likes to swing around probably more than climbing at this point...

Also, oddly enough my kid seems to prefer bouldering to roped climbing at this point so see what appeals.

Main thing is check the fit well. Kids are squirmy and it's hard to get them secure in a harness, much more so than adults.

Joseph, we've had 3 kids use the Trango harnesses from age 2 1/2 to up to age 12 or so. They were very good for us. They are easy to adjust, safe, and allow for climbers to grow with them. Note, the flexibility of kids may make any harness seem imperfect as they contort their bodies to reach holds.

One thing, I'd be a bit cautious to put them in ice situations until they get a waist. Puffy winter clothes can may any harness too sloppy for my comfort levels.

As for helmets, most typical climbing situations for little ones will be fine with most any well-fitting helmets. Bike helmets can work. Loose fitting ones of any type are suboptimal. Their heads change fairly rapidly, so any helmet will have a limited lifespan of utility.