Light harnessed booster for travel: Replace Cosco HBB w/ Evenflo Chase?

So I have two Frontiers in our cars that I love! But I have a cheap Cosco High Back Booster that I got at Kmart for $35 for travelling (by air, then a relative’s car at our destinations for a few days). I was pretty happy with the HBB, until I realized that the highest harness slots are only 14”! That is sooo stupid, and I feel stupid for not having researched the seat before buying it.

So I have a trip planned for January (Disneyland!) and got the HBB out to see how it fit DD1. She is 3.5 years, 39.5”, 35.5 lbs, and 13.5” seated to shoulders. So she still has about 0.5” room below the harness slot, even more if she slouches in the seat. I’m hoping it still fits her in January, but I realize I need another travel seat with higher harness slots for future travel. I really want to spend as little as possible, as I will probably use this seat at least once a year, maybe slightly more if we ever did carpool while she is in a harnessed booster (which is as long as possible). We do not travel often, but there is no way I’m lugging the Frontier onboard. Plus I want a lightweight seat just in case things come up at home. I do not want a vest.

Based on some VERY preliminary research, I thought perhaps the Evenflo Chase would work well. I checked it out at BRU yesterday and it was of a similar form/weight as the HBB (which is important to me for travel since I have to lug it through the airport (I have a PackBack)

This Chase DLX is $55 shipped at Amazon, which is about how much I’d like to pay (and with two girls I LOVE the print):
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001H0GGQ4/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance"]Amazon.com: Evenflo Chase DLX Booster Car Seat with EPS - Abby II: Baby[/ame]

I know there are bad things about the Chase, but given the limited use, is it still a bad choice?

Thanks for your feedback!

Your child only has 4.5 pounds to gain before hitting the harness max, so keep that in mind.

If I had a child with your stats and I wanted a 'cheaper' seat for travel, I'd go for the Evenflo Generations 65. It's a fair amount more than you want to pay, though.


The Chase is a nice seat. Nothing wrong with it if you don't mind the low weight issue. I doubt it'll last you much longer than a year.

Wait, how old is your younger child, and how much does she weigh?

The Chase is a decent 40# harnessed FFing seat. It is a lousy booster, and it is not suitable for small/young (under three) children since it does not rear-face. If you can tolerate those limits for that price, then it's a fine choice.

Maedze said:

Wait, how old is your younger child, and how much does she weigh?

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She is just 6 months, maybe 16 or 17 lbs?, but also on the bigger side (75th percentile wt/ht so far). I have a scenera that I will use for her when traveling, and 2 MA that she uses at home (when she outgrows her SR). They are 3 years apart.

Do you think my older daughter will still fit the HBB (in terms of harness height) in January? If so then I will probably keep it and use it on our flight then and then buy a Generations for when she is >40 lbs. What is a good deal on it? Albeebaby.com has 15% sitewide, so the Gen would be just $85 shipped. My only concern with the Gen (not having seen it yet IRL) is bulk/weight. I love the HBB because it's so light.

Thanks for your help

Ok, so the second Frontier isn't for the baby. LOL. I get it now

The Evenflo Generations on Albee Baby is NOT the one I'm talking about. I'm talking about the Generations 65, which is currently only available from Babies R Us for 99.99. The plain old regular Generations has only a 40 pound limit on the harness height.

Your daughter *might* still fit in the Cosco in January...and she might outgrow it two weeks from now. I really have no idea

As a parent, though, I wouldn't count on that seat still fitting my kid two months from now, if i had to make plans.

I think there's a good chance she'd fit by height and weight in three months -- since she still technically fits in the Cosco HBB, I'd be more concerned about her outgrowing the Chase by weight rather than height.

chickabiddy said:

I think there's a good chance she'd fit by height and weight in three months -- since she still technically fits in the Cosco HBB, I'd be more concerned about her outgrowing the Chase by weight rather than height.

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Yeah, I totally agree the weight will be the biggest issue to come..
So I'm pretty sure I'll get the Gen 65- Hate to buy from BRU, but the next time they put out a 15% off carseat coupon, I'll get it (I think they may have just sent it out, but I tossed it )
Since I'm in that price range now is there anything else I should be considering?
Thanks, you ladies are awesome!!

There's the Cosco Apex, which you can get off Albee Baby for 85, but it's substantially bulkier than the Generations, and requires a head rest, so it wouldn't work in low backed vehicle seats. However, if you're never going to be IN a vehicle with low backed seats, it's relatively lightweight and definitely an option.

Some of the cars we ride in traveling may have low-backed seats. My sister has a Honda Civic right now. Plus I want as lightweight/less bulky as possible for lugging around the airport. Otherwise I might as well bring my Britaxes.

I'll check out the Gen 65 at BRU next time I go there. Thanks!

Right now there is a 15% coupon for any baby item that would make the generations 65 about 84.99. It has 16" top slots, so not bad for a travel seat. And it feels like it weighs about 12-13 lbs. I recently purchased this seat to use for our upcoming trip so I can let you know afterward how it goes thru an airport+airplane+car rental.

I'd definitely get the generations 65... it fits all your needs and it will even make an OKAY (good or bad, too, depending on vehicle and how the child fits) booster when needed.

veggiegirl228 said:

Right now there is a 15% coupon for any baby item that would make the generations 65 about 84.99. It has 16" top slots, so not bad for a travel seat. And it feels like it weighs about 12-13 lbs. I recently purchased this seat to use for our upcoming trip so I can let you know afterward how it goes thru an airport+airplane+car rental.

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Yes, please do. I am 99% positive I will buy it once I find a coupon (just used mine friday on a cheap sleepsack, but I'm sure another will turn up before my trip). Our DD have similar stats so it would be nice to know how your's fits it.

This is how she fits uninstalled in a actual car but she is about dead on with the middle slots:
http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=1035733&postcount=1
We leave for our trip in a little over two weeks so I'll have an update in the beginning of Dec for airport/plane. I'm not sure how much it would be to ship but we plan on selling the seat after we get back since we don't have any other needs for it for awhile.

So I found a 20% any item coupon today and used it on the Gen 65. I also was able to use 2 $10 off coupons, so the seat was $70 w/ tax. Not bad.
I'm not that impressed with the harness tightener or the print, but it's pretty lightweight so great for my intended use on an airplane.

Thanks for the recommendations!