Skip Hop
Zoo Safety Harness
7.5/10 overallAround £18
A lightweight character backpack harness with a coiled, stretchy rein lead.
The Zoo Safety Harness pairs a small animal-shaped backpack with a coiled, stretchy rein lead rather than a fixed-length strap, so it takes up slack automatically as your toddler wanders closer or further away, rather than trailing loose lead on the ground.
Against the Trunki ToddlePak in this category, both use the backpack-not-harness approach to win toddler cooperation, but the Skip Hop's coiled lead is the more practical detail day to day — a fixed-length lead like the ToddlePak's can drag or get trodden on when your toddler is close by, where the coil simply retracts. The ToddlePak's backpack has a bit more storage capacity and a wider range of themed designs.
Either backpack-style option will generally see far less resistance from a toddler than a plain harness; the choice between them mostly comes down to animal design preference and how much you value the coiled lead's practicality over a larger storage pocket.
What we liked
- Coiled lead avoids trailing slack on the ground
- Character design encourages toddler cooperation
- Lightweight and comfortable for its size
Where it falls short
- Smaller storage pocket than some backpack-rein competitors
- Coiled lead has less reach than a fixed-length lead at full extension
- Character designs may feel babyish to older toddlers
Specs
- Lead
- Coiled, stretches and retracts automatically
- Type
- Backpack with coiled stretch rein
- Design
- Animal character designs
- Storage
- Small internal pocket
- Dual use
- Wearable as a normal small backpack
How we scored it
Security of Clasp
How hard it is for a toddler to unclip or escape the harness unassisted.
Secure clip, similar reliability to other backpack-style reins.
Comfort & Padding
Padding quality and comfort over longer walks or outings.
Lightweight and comfortable, slightly less padded than the ToddlePak.
Toddler Appeal
How willingly a toddler accepts wearing it, which affects real-world compliance.
Animal design and backpack format win over most toddlers.
Weighted by importance for this category — see our editorial policy for how we test.
The alternative
John Lewis ANYDAY
ANYDAY Baby Harness and Walking Reins
Adjustable padded reins with a back clasp toddlers can't undo themselves, keeping confident walkers close on busy outings.