Question Booster seat recommendation

[Unregistered]

My 4.5 y/o son (45", 53#) has just outgrown the weight limit on his Britax Roundabout 50 (which we have loved, btw). Looking at First Years b570 Pathway, Recaro Vivo, Combi Kobuk, or Graco Turbobooster Safety Surround to move him into. Unfortunately, there really aren't opportunities to try the fit in our local stores (likely looking at online purchase for any of them in our area). Any recommendations. He's tall. We would love this to be the last seat we purchase, with the exception of a backless model perhaps in the future. Thank you.

 

[Mommy!]

Hi,

We have the Graco Turbo highback booster for our daughter. She was almost 6 when she started using it and about 45 lbs at the time. We find it fits her well, and fits well in a variety of vehicles. It can also be converted to a backless booster in the future.

 

[JlynnB]

I am no expert, but we have the Vivo and a regular Turbobooster for my 5.5 y/o son. Of the two, he prefers the Graco; and he has a very hard time buckling the Vivo himself. I wouldn't have thought that would have mattered to me when I was shopping for boosters, but he likes doing things for himself and gets really frustrated by the Vivo.

 

[bree]

Hi and welcome! Since you got some good booster recommendations and also have the names of some nice boosters already in your first post, I also wanted to mention the option of a combination seat. Combination seats are harnessed seats that become booster seats later.

I personally am more comfortable with kids in the 4 year old range in a harness; I think many kids don't have the ability to sit properly in a booster at all times and could benefit from a harnessed seat as their main seat until the 5-6 year old range or beyond. :twocents: For a kiddo who is 53 pounds, I'd suggest researching the new Britax Frontier 90 or the older model Frontier 85 (which is still online) and also the Graco Nautilus/Argos, the Britax Pioneer, and the Evenflo SecureKids 300 & 400. The Frontier models have the tallest top slots and become a very tall boosters. Some combinations seats like the Frontiers become just highback boosters (but as backless booster are relatively inexpensive with some in the $13-25 range, and since you said that you are comfortable with that purchase later, I think a combination seat might be worth researching), and some become highback then backless boosters.

If you do decide to go the booster route, you may want to look into some taller boosters in addition to the boosters you mentioned in case your tall son carries a lot of height in his torso. The boosters that were recommended and that you noted in your original post I think are probably all good choices to research further, and some (like the Turbo and the Vivo) are often noted for fitting young booster riders well. However, there are also boosters like the Britax Parkway SG/SGL or the Diono Monterey & Cosco Pronto & Safety 1st Air Protect (these last three require head support from the vehicle even in highback booster mode) that have shoulder belt guides that go taller than some other boosters.

As you noted in your first post, at 53 pounds, he's outgrown his Roundabout 50 by weight. But with so many lurkers reading the posts on this board, I did want to make sure to point out in my response for any others reading the thread that a kiddo in a situation with an outgrown seat needs a new seat before riding in the vehicle that the outgrown seat was in again.

OP, good luck with your research! I hope you find a seat that works well for you and your son!

 

[Athena]

He sounds similar in height to my DD who loves her comfy Frontier 85. And she still has at least a couple years of growing room in the harness before we'll need to switch it to booster mode, so I can be confident she'll have the maturity to ride safely in booster mode by then. Since they've just come out with the Frontier 90, you may be able to find a good deal on the 85 or you may want to consider the 90. Hope this helps.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you all for your feeback. Still searching... Hadn't wanted to spend nearly $200 on a Frontier and wasn't completely sold on the Parkway, but I think the Graco may be a noticeable downgrade from the Roundabout that we both love.

Any big changes to the new Parkway expected on the market in 3 or 4 weeks?? I've heard good things about Diono products. I read the Monterrey review on this site and it says support from the car's headrest isn't necessary. I believe the review is several years old, but this is a product (and brand) I'm not familiar with. What is expected from the car's head support? I drive a 2005 Ford Taurus. Thanks again.