Anyone got any experience of these:

I’m thinking about them for my 5 year old to muck about in the fields around here in the winter.

Anyone tried them? Opinions?

Every kid in the alps will wear them at some point, they’re ubiquitous

are those the ones that they give to kids in french ski schools? IIRC they are just to wander about in, giving experience of having planks strapped to their feet – they don’t actually slide.

If you are planning to take the kids skiing in future, then great; if its an activity in itself, forget it – get them a sledge.

Dave

Personally, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t think they’re safe 🙁

Young kids’ legs and ankles are particularly susceptible to damage from twisting forces. I’ve seen a couple of youngsters in hospital with breakages resulting from ski bindings incorrectly adjusted.
I assume you’re thinking “just for a novelty, bit of fun to walk around in” rather than to actually ski down a slope on. Even so, they’re not going to release when the youngster falls over.

Problem will likely be that your youngster may want to do a bit more than just walk accross the fields. Five is definately plenty old enough to try skiing proper. My youngest was on skis at three. There’s plenty of suitable stuff about and they’re seldom expensive on ebay.

Mmmmm a bit more research me thinks.

At 5 years old you should be looking at proper skis, not toys like that. As Ecky says, there’s plenty of good kit around, but please make sure you get it setup correctly!

Proper skis, proper lessons, dun