Toddler Ski Gear Must Haves

My Favorite Gear for Little Bears on the Slopes

In my last post, I pulled together tips and tricks for teaching your toddler to ski. I touched on some gear there but I’m going to take ski gear for toddlers a bit further in this post. Don’t panic, I’m not going to tell you to go out and spend a ton of money on a ton of different pieces. In this post I’m picking the few essential items that we won’t leave our cabin without.

Harness:

Snowsuits bulky and if you need to grab hold of your little one in a pinch, a handle makes a huge difference. We were gifted a ski harness from friends and will not go skiing without it. Right now our little one is easy to hold onto on the chairlift but as he grows older and moves around more this will be clutch.

When he fall down, and is one pile of dead weight, the harness is also a convenient way to grab hold of him and pick him up. Also, when your legs need a break from crouching low to hold and ski with your little one, the harness gives you a point that’s higher up to hold onto.

And in lift lines, when your little one wants to shuffle around, the handle is a way that you can avoid holding them, while still holding onto them.

Its comfortable and kids don’t mind them at all!

The only caveat here: We do not use it as a teaching tool. The moment you hold him by the handle, your little one will lean back and give you all of their weight. When teaching a child to ski, you want to encourage them to lean forward, down the hill.

Helmet

We’re big supporters of helmets at all ages. Some people might think toddlers are low to the ground and don’t go very fast so they don’t need a helmet. Teach a kid to ski once and you’ll see them lean back and bonk their head off the ground enough times that you’ll be swearing by helmets too.

Also, there is always the element of other people on the slopes. As much as people try to be in control, sometimes when they’re learning it get’s to be too much for them. Or you have the occasional dope who purposely skis or boards beyond their abilities. Helmets friends. Helmets.

Also, they’re so much warmer than any hat you’ll ever have. And my friends, I say this as someone who knits hats. The hard outer shell cuts the wind. They’re comfortable and cover your ears. They’re just great. Now, having said this, your child might not like them at first and may need to get used to them. But get them hooked and protect them at young age.

We bought our Baby Bear a Giro Helmet from Peak Ski and Board for his first ski helmet.

Ski Tip Holders

When I was a ski instructor we always had a pair of these babies in our pocket. The resort made their own back then but as a parent, I stand by the Edgie Wedgie. At about $10 on Amazon, its one of the better investments you can make to improve your kids skiing at a young age!

This simple tool works in two ways. First, use the thumb screws to tighten one end onto the tips of each of your child’s skis. The Edgie Wedgie is short so your little one can’t cross their tips. We always used to say “step on your toes, fall on your nose!” and it’s true. The minute you cross your tips, you’re going to be falling face first into the snow. That gets discouraging and cold. It’s just not fun.

The real gem though, is that it helps kids learn how to snowplow, or wedge. By keeping the tips together, all your little one has to learn to do is push their feet out and they form that arrow or letter “A” shape with their skis. With this simple tool your child will be able to gain both the confidence and ability to ski on their own.

When you get to the bottom, pop it off and your little one can shimmy and waddle back to the chairlift!

Good Gloves

This one sounds a bit silly, but the wrong gloves can ruin a day in the snow. Gloves that hard to put on, or that won’t stay on make a day tougher on everyone. And on the flip side, a pair that won’t stay on or won’t keep your little one’s hand’s warm won’t do either. This is why good gloves are my list of must haves for ski gear for toddlers. We use Burton’s kids gloves. They extend beyond the wrist so they stay on better and have a velcro opening to make getting dressed easier.

Fold cold days we double up with a pair of soft Head mittens that we grabbed from Costco.

Neck Up:

On a cold day, cheeks get red and raw. Now, kids skin heals pretty quickly so don’t panic over a bit of pink. But you do need to watch on cold days for skin that gets red, and worse. I had some red fleece left over from a sewing project so I whipped up our own neck up for our son but you can find these online too. If your baby bear is drooling, this is even more important because wet equals cold. You can turn a neck up throughout the day if one section gets too damp.

For Parents:

Don’t worry mom and dad, I’m not forgetting you. Skiing with toddlers is different than skiing by yourself.

Layers:

Whether you stash them in the car in the lot, or have a locker on the resort, it’s key to have a place where you can keep a few layers in reserve. Why are layers so important? Picking up and carrying your kiddo plus their gear is a lot of work. You might think you’re dressed appropriately and by the time you make one run you’re sweating.

Also, I mentioned this with neck ups, but wet equals cold. Once you start sweating you can get cold. When you sweat, having a dry layer as a backup can help extend your day, especially if you have someone to hand your child off to so that you can make some runs during nap time.

Jacket’s and pants that are shells are better than the more insulated options except for really cold days. These afford you more options in terms of layers.

Gloves with Liners

From goggles to gloves, you’ll be pulling yours off to make adjustments to your toddler’s gear. You’ll need a bit of dexterity but on a cold day bare hands is not fun. Investing in a glove system where you have a flexible liner glove and a waterproof shell is great. You can easily remove the bulkier outer mitten or glove, and have the dexterity you need without exposing your skin.

This set up also makes taking photos and videos of your little ones a lot easier and more enjoyable too!

Gear Bag:

I swear it doesn’t matter what age your kids are, you’re going to have a bunch of gear to haul around. For us right now this includes diapers, wipes, and snacks as much as it does actual ski gear. The occasional stuffed animal makes it in there too. We love our gear bag from Volkl. If you see any of our photos you can tell my husband and I pretty brainwashed for Volkl, but it’s with good reason. You’re getting your money’s worth. When we find a brand that provides value and performance we tend to stick with them. Over the years these guys haven’t let us down too much. My only gripe is actually that they don’t make their latest women’s high performance ski in my size.

We have the volkl race pack from 2019 purchased from our local ski shop. It’s the perfect bag and I wish they’d bring it back.

Capture the Memories

You’re making so many fun memories. Whether it’s a place to store photos, passes, or track the number of days you have in, find something that works for your family. We track the number of days we get out on a chalk board, and have one of our old ski locker doors where we save our season passes. That’s 31 years of passes for me!