Reviewing the Ocun Webee Kids' Climbing Harness

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I carry with me a concept that I call “opening terrain.” You heard me use that phrase in the review video. The reason this concept is so important to me is probably because I find so much value in the idea of “exploration” as a key virtue of time spent in the outdoors. Now, don’t get me wrong, by “exploration” I don’t mean I want to be Roald Amundsen and put the first boots on the South Pole. Sure, that kind of ‘no one has ever been there’ exploration is cool. But I also find I can sate my desire to explore by going to places that maybe people have been before but there is little information. It’s the unexpected that is at the heart of the small slice of explorer’s spirit that I hold.

Okay, so what to I mean by the phrase “opening terrain.” I mean a part of the earth that I can get to with some modicum of competence and, therefore, acceptable risk. I think of this as being prepared with knowledge, skills, and the necessary equipment. I can’t climb a vertical piece of rock within an acceptable amount of risk without having the rock climbing equipment like ropes, harnesses, shoes, carabiners, and the like along with the knowledge and skills to use them. Plus we can add in a semblance of knowledge and skills related to first aid and navigation and so on and so on.

So, in the case of the Ocun Webee Kids’ Harness, it opened up terrain for us. Myself and my kids, as a team, we had the collective knowledge to go on, for an example, a multi-pitch climb. We we didn’t have was a harness that allowed the kids to rack the gear as they cleaned the route behind me. Their full body harnesses we very safe, but didn’t have gear loops. That makes sense as recreational climbing harnesses aren’t full body except for kids who have a higher percentage of body weight in their heads and so need a tie-in point near their sternum to keep them from tipping over in a fall; so, no need for gear loops as little kids aren’t (typically) going to be trusted. So, just the gear loops, alone, enabled an entire range of climbing techniques that demanded the kids be able to rack gear - such as multi-pitch climbs.

There are places in the world that I can’t go safely. I’m not a strong swimmer, so running rapids is probably not a good idea for me to do. I don’t have a space suit, so the vacuum of space is probably not a great idea. Silly, but you get it. I want to be able to see as many spaces on the map as I can. That means I need to be acquiring more knowledge, more skills, and - yes - sometimes the right equipment to open those spaces up.

That’s one of the lenses through which I judge if a piece of gear is worth the buy. If a piece of gear doesn’t get me to a new piece of terrain, then it better get to the terrain that is currently open to me in a safer, faster, or happier way.