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Post by tncaveres on Jul 11, 2006 15:29:28 GMT -5
When I got off shift this morning my wife brought my son by so we could practice climbing in the bay. I was able to put my harness system on my 7 yo with no problems. he was even able to wear my helmet after some adjustments.  Well I showed him what to do to climb the rope. I shortened the frog system with acouple butterfly knots & he was set. The first time he climbed 30ft & the second time 50ft. I have created a MONSTER!!!  All the rest of the day he has wanted to go back & climb some more. Guess I need to start getting him some of his own gear now. ;D |
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L Roebuck
Technical Support
Caving
^V^ Just a caver
Posts: 2,023
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Post by L Roebuck on Jul 12, 2006 8:59:13 GMT -5
Cool  Did you take pictures? |
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Post by tncaveres on Jul 12, 2006 9:49:43 GMT -5
Yeah my parntner did on her digital camera. I will try & get them from her .
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Post by Sharon Faulkner on Jul 12, 2006 14:10:06 GMT -5
Hey tncaveres, that is great for a first time climber!  If your son can wear your harness and helmet for climbing practice that will probably save you some money. However, if you do decide to look at caving gear for children both Howie's Harnesses and Inner Mountain Outfitters have the Petzl Child's Harnesses. We tried Petzl's "Ouistiti" harness on my daughter at Howie's during last month's SERA Cave Carnival. She only weighs 38 pounds so it was still a bit big on her. They also have the lightweight Elios Helmets for caving. I think (going by memory here) they adjust down to a 20 inch head size. Petzl "Ouistiti" Child's Harness $50.00 Children do not have prominent hips and are at risk of falling out of a harness without fixed shoulder straps. Petzl’s answer: the Ouistiti body harness; fits children age 4-9 weighing less than 80 pounds.. 11 oz./310g. Petzl "Simba" Child's Harness $60.00 A full body harness adjustable for children age 5-10 years and not exceeding 40 kg (88 lbs) in weight. Fully adjustable shoulder straps and leg loops with DoubleBack buckles. 13.8 oz./390g. I haven't checked with all the speleo-vendors so the prices may vary and I'm not endorsing one vendor over any of the others. I've had excellent products and service from all of them.  Please do post some pics. |
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Post by tncaveres on Jul 12, 2006 18:31:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the info Sharon.
I'm at work today working an etra 24hrs overtime but tomorrow I will be on my regular shift & will get the pics from my partner to post.
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Post by tncaveres on Jul 13, 2006 8:54:58 GMT -5
Here is one of the pics from Hunters first climb. Sorry the pics are so big .  Proud dad ;D  Hunter doing his first drop ;D. I know it was only 6.5 ft but to him it was Ellisons pit ;D  |
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NZcaver
Beginner
U.S. Caver
Posts: 140
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Post by NZcaver on Jul 13, 2006 14:17:49 GMT -5
Here is one of the pics from Hunters first climb. Just like a caver - only smaller! ;D Cool pictures. Regarding harnesses - I've seen that same thing many times, where the Croll ends up level with the chin instead of the stomach. Especially with kids. It can be really annoying, not to mention killing any efficiency in the Frog technique. A few years ago I designed a basic lightweight maillon-type harness that is almost infinitely-adjustable from about XL down to really, really small. It's not all padded and fancy, but it's simple, cheap and does the trick. It's been a hit with the kids climbing trees during grotto vertical training. So just to let you know, there are other options to people telling you the only safe harness for kids is a full-body harness. With real small kids - perhaps yes. Those harness do work for Frogging, but they usually don't allow a low maillon attachment in the front. And that makes them suck for SRT. Just my 2 cents.  |
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Post by tncaveres on Jul 13, 2006 19:21:05 GMT -5
Thanks for the info.
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Post by Sharon Faulkner on Jul 13, 2006 23:22:39 GMT -5
Great photos tncaveres, your son looks like he's having a ball!
I would have to agree with NZcaver that a full body harness does not allow for a low attachment point for use with a Frog system, and what you have going appears to be working. That little safety blurb in my previous post is per the folks on the Petzl advertising team, not me. I merely quoted it for the price listing. ;D
Thanks for sharing the pictures with us.
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Post by lwood on Aug 30, 2006 21:23:08 GMT -5
I got my daughter (will be 8 next month) a simba harness. it is great for rappeling but there is the problem discussed for climbing. Is there any other solution to a climbing system that anyone has come up with without getting a different harness with a lower attachment point?
Its a nice harness and I would like her to be able to use it.
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Post by Sharon Faulkner on Aug 31, 2006 20:39:27 GMT -5
Hi lwood, welcome to the forum. My daughter just got the Petzl "Ouistiti" Child's Harness. She is too young to rappel, but she can practice climbing rope using a Rope Walker system, which I already have. I use, and prefer, a Frog System, but I can't see any way to make that work at her current size. The Croll itself takes up all available space from abdomen to chest. Like you, I'm open to hearing ideas from others who have experienced this issue in the past. Also, I may get Tim White to look at the harness during the Fall Cave-In and see if he knows of an alternate method. |
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