Skip Hop
Zoo Safety Harness
7.5/10 overallAround £18
A lightweight character backpack harness with a coiled, stretchy rein lead.
The verdict
The Skip Hop Zoo Safety Harness pairs a small animal-shaped backpack with a coiled, stretchy rein lead that retracts slack automatically rather than trailing on the ground. Like other backpack-style reins it wins toddler cooperation, and its coiled lead is more practical day to day than a fixed-length lead, though its storage pocket is smaller than some rivals and the lead has less reach at full extension.
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.
Is the Zoo Safety Harness worth it?
- Coiled lead avoids trailing slack on the ground
- Character design encourages toddler cooperation
- Lightweight and comfortable for its size
What are the downsides of the Zoo Safety Harness?
- 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.
How it compares
|  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Around £18 | £8.99 | Around £20 | £10.00 |
| Overall score | 7.5/10 | 5.7/10 | 8.1/10 | 8/10 |
| Type | Backpack with coiled stretch rein | — | Backpack with detachable rein lead | — |
| Design | Animal character designs | — | Character/novelty designs available | Plain, unbranded |
| Storage | Small internal pocket | — | Small internal pocket | — |
Frequently asked questions
What makes the Skip Hop harness's lead different?+
It uses a coiled, stretchy rein lead rather than a fixed-length strap, so it automatically takes up slack as your toddler wanders closer or further away, avoiding a lead trailing loose on the ground — more practical day to day than a fixed-length lead like the Trunki ToddlePak's, which can drag or get trodden on when your toddler is close by.
Will my toddler want to wear the Skip Hop harness?+
It scores 9/10 for toddler appeal — the animal character design and backpack format win over most toddlers, using the same backpack-not-harness approach as the Trunki ToddlePak to encourage cooperation.
How secure and comfortable is the Skip Hop harness?+
It scores 7/10 for both security of clasp and comfort and padding — the clip is secure with similar reliability to other backpack-style reins, and it's lightweight and comfortable for its size, though slightly less padded than the Trunki ToddlePak.
Does the Skip Hop harness have much storage?+
It has a small internal pocket, but it's smaller than some backpack-rein competitors' storage, so don't expect to fit much more than a small item.