Narrow high back booster with rigid LATCH for 2012 Odyssey center middle (plus one) seat

baj

New member
I'm looking for a narrow high back booster for my 7 year old in the middle middle seat in my 2012 Odyssey. It will be between two Britax Frontiers with the van's seats in wide mode. Key features I'm looking for are:

Rigid LATCH (because that seems to help a lot in this position)
Doesn't need to be buckled when unoccupied
Narrow enough to slide captain's chairs (if possible, not required)

I'm aware of three seats that might be good choices:

Peg Perego Viaggio Flex 120
+ narrowest
+ plastic shell around side wings
+ side wing width adjusts independently of height

Maxi-Cosi Rodifix
- a little wider
- side wings are just foam

Cybex Solution Q2-fix
- signifiantly wider than the other two

I'm leaning toward the Viaggio Flex. If there are other seats I should be considering, or if anyone thinks tha tthe Rodifix or Q2-fix would be better, I would appreciate any advice. Thanks!
 
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baj

New member
Thanks Wendy! I didn't include the Ober in my list because I thought read somewhere that it was wide (it looks very squat to me!) but I just checked and it's only 18" without the removable "drink thingy." It has arm rests which the other lack, which would probably make my daughter happy but might make it harder for her to buckle.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
The Rodifix fits and I was able to get the seat down next to it. Just barely. I think there's a thread with photos somewhere around here.

The Oobr would be very hard to buckle- that's a rotten position to buckle in even without armrests.

I haven't tried the Peg, it wasn't out back then, but it should work since the Rodifix did.
 

baj

New member
OK, so I got the Peg Viaggio Flex 120. It fits great between our two Frontiers. I just want to make sure the lap belt is ok, not too much on the belly -- would love to hear from the experts! Thanks as always for all the great advice.

IMG_3225.jpg
 

jjordan

Moderator
Is your daughter comfortable with the (lack of) leg support?

Lap belt fit is hard to determine from a photo. Can you feel her hip bones above the seat belt?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
The lap belt appears fine to me assuming the pic isn't deceiving. Definitely feel for the hips but it appears almost flat on the thighs?

You can give her a leg rest like an empty foam cooler or an old sleeping bag which will help ensure she doesn't slouch down and stays scooted all the way back.
 

baj

New member
Yes, she thinks it's comfortable (for the few minutes she's been in it so far).

I don't think the picture is deceiving. But I took two more, with the top of her pelvis on each side and her belly button marked with blue tape (the top edge of the tape is lined up with the top of her pelvis, for anyone reading this who's as anal as I am, in case that 3/4" uncertainty would bother you). The lap belt is well below the top of her pelvis. Does that mean we're good (aside from the shoulder belt guide maybe being a notch too high)?

My concern is that some of the guidance suggests that the lap belt should be totally flat on the thighs, for instance I was afraid she looks more like the "bad" example than the "good" example from IIHS. I was looking at how in our case the belt is turned up a little where it goes across her middle. But maybe the more important thing is that the belt goes more down than back from her thighs?
IMG_3229.jpg IMG_3231.jpg
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I think it's within acceptable range. Have you tried grabbing the middle and tugging it down a bit? Is she for sure scooted all the way back? She almost looks like she's slid forward which could affect fit. Or is there a recline in use you can adjust more upright?
 

baj

New member
It's all the way upright. I told her to make sure she was sitting up straight with her butt all the way back, but she got into the seat and buckled herself without any help from me -- I didn't touch the belt at all because I wanted a realistic (not best-case) test.

Thinking more about the IIHS examples (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/child-boosters) the "good" picture (using a dummy) somehow doesn't look terribly realistic to me. It looks like the lap belt is entirely on the legs and not on the pelvis at all. I think some of the good examples on this page (using actual children) look a lot more like my pictures: http://www.buckleupnc.org/choosing-using/use-a-seatbelt-and-wear-it-right/

I think I am getting more comfortable that this seat will be ok for us. If anyone thinks it's not good please let me know, the last thing I want is to use a seat that's not safe.
 

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