Question Looking for Canadian Booster seat

mfrykas · May 17, 2013

Hi everyone....it is time for us to purchase a new car seat for my eldest. He is currently 7 years old, 68 lbs and 52.5 inches tall. He is currently using a Britax Frontier as a booster, but we would like to pass this down to his younger sister once we put the harness back in. We like his Britax better than his sister's current seat (Evenflo Symphony) and are hoping to sell her car seat to a co-worker.

We are leaning towards a backless booster due to the price. Any comments, suggestions? Are backed boosters that much better?

We drive a 2009 Kia Rondo if that makes a difference.

BTW, this website Rocks!! :dance: I always recommend this site to anyone purchasing a carseat for their child/grandchild.

Michele

mam521 · May 19, 2013

Hi Michelle,

Just making sure your 7yo will have head support behind him of you were to go backless.

Typically backless is recommended because it offers side impact protection and is a great reminder to stay in position. That said, he's reasonably tall and has been boostering for a while so I'm guessing you're comfortable with his maturity level. Your limitation will be whether or not you can get a good shoulder belt fit without the back.

Backless boosters are quite inexpensive. The Harmony at WalMart and Apramo at Canadian Tire are around $20 and tend to have beautiful belt fit. The Graco Turbobooster (remember to put the screws in the armrests). Supposedly we have the Graco Affix here which is a Turbo with LATCH so you don't have to belt it in. Continuing up the price scale are the Clek Ozzi and Olli. Some kids complain about leg support, but that will be kid and vehicle dependent.

I'd still go check them out and see what fits the best. Hopefully that helps!

tiggercat · May 19, 2013

I prefer high back boosters for kids in the 6-8 range, because they offer better seatbelt positioning, side impact support, and a physical reminder to stay in place and sit correctly.
Backless boosters offer a lot of wiggle room, no sip, require vehicle head restraints, and may or may not provide optimal shoulder belt fit.

Some seats to look at: Graco Turbo booster (new safety surround version available at the newly opened targets!), Britax Parkway SG/SGL (if you like the frontier, this would be a good one to look at), Diono Monterey, Clek Oobr.

I've attached pics of my similar sized nearly 8yo daughter is the Britax PW (blue) and Graco Turbo (pink, the turbo is a bit tippy in my 3rd row, thus the slight lean, and she's nearly too tall for it with the back, she's got a long body!). The parkway is not yet at the highest position, she has quite a bit of growth room.

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