Best 5 point booster for travel

Conard10

New member
Hi everyone, this is my first post and I tried finding the answer to my question before posting but had no luck...I hope this isn't one of those repeat questions!

My husband, 4 year old daughter and I air travel several times a year. My daughter recently outgrew our "travel" carseat that was really lightweight and worked great for our vacations.

At this point, we would love to buy a 5-point booster seat that is great for travel. (our daughter is 40lbs and 42"). This booster would also replace the car seat in my husband's car so we want something that will work long-term for when my daughter moves out of the 5-point.

We will not be taking the seat on the plane, we will be gate checking it. But it would be great to find one that's not horrible to get through the airport, is fairly easy to install and that will fit in almost any car/van.

I was leaning towards the Diono Radian R100 because it folds and can be worn as a backpack, but then a couple folks mentioned it's unusable as a booster seat.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Money really isn't an issue if we can find a seat that meets our needs!
 
ADS

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Welcome to car-seat.org!

This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but a Go (I think it's Safety 1st) might be really ideal, so long as you have LATCH. You could even carry it on the plane. You would probably want to use something different day-to-day, but the ease might be worth the extra purchase.

Another alternative is a Ride Safer Travel Vest. You can use it by itself or with the Delighter booster.

You could also look at something like an Evenflo Maestro, if you're really set on a traditional harnessed booster - but if you do that, I would carry it on the plane and not gate check it. (I just can't in good conscience recommend gate checking a seat.)
 

aeormsby

New member
For a lightweight combo (harnessed booster) seat take a look at the Maestro, Evenflo Securekid, Harmony Defender.

The Maestro has a 50lb weight limit for the harness, which is probably find if your DD is 40lb at 4yo (6 is generally a good age for moving from the harness to a booster). But the headrest is not adjustable which means the belt guide (for the seatbelt when using it as a booster) isn't adjustable so it's outgrown by height as a booster about the same time as a harness.

The Securekid is very similar to the Maestro but with a 65lb harness limit and an adjustable headrest so it will work better as a booster.

The Harmony Defender has similar stats to the Securekid (65lb harness limit, also makes a good booster in the future). It also turns into a NBB (no back booster) for when the high back portion is outgrown.

The GO (now made by Safeguard/IMMI again) is an interesting seat. It doesn't have a solid back and folds to about 18"x18"x9" and has a storage bag for traveling. It fits nicely overhead on the plane. We had one that we used for 4-5 years between both kids. It was great for travel but that's all we used it for. It is as upright as the vehicle seat it's installed in and if that seat is a sedan with the bump out headrests it's the opposite of reclined (and not so comfy). It requires a top tether and I used it once without latch (seatbelt + top tether) and swore never to do that again. So if your DD doesn't ride often in dad's car it may work for you or it's only short rides, otherwise I'd probably skip it.

I'd also recommend using the seat on the plane. That's the safest way to get the seat to your destination.
 

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