Harmony Baby Armor Booster Review *Pic Heavy*

[firemomof3]

I ordered the Baby Armor Booster from walmart.com $80 just out of curiosity My first impression was cheap cover & lightweight. It turns into a backless booster quickly & easily, the cover came off easily but I couldn't get it back on

Fully extended

50lb. 5y/o *I have her mothers permission to post this pic*

The belt guides are verticle vs. horizontal which I found strange and not user-friendly. The seat belt was about to slip out of the belt guide:

 

[kidrepair]

It looks like it extends fairly tall, do you have a top height measurement? Thanks

 

[firemomof3]

19.5 is the top slot height

 

[ketchupqueen]

Those guides make me kind of nervous after the TC crash footage.

 

[*Spoiledinmyhouseofblue*]

YIKES! That belt guide scares me!

 

[courtfrog2]

YIKES! That belt guide scares me!

Can you elaborate on the belt path?

 

[ketchupqueen]

Have you read the Transport Canada crash test summaries? There were several types of belt guides tested. These resemble the kind on the 3-in-1 boosters and such-- which in crash tests allowed the dummies to roll right out of the shoulder belt... Though some of that was due to poor positioning, and I'm not sure how positioning is on most kids with this booster, there were also problems noted with "open" belt paths allowing belts to just slide right out.

 

[firemomof3]

I was very surprised at the belt guides, they don't make any sense to me
You can see in the picture, the seat belt does not rest nicely "in" the belt guide, it almost "pops" out.
Ya, scary!
As a backless I think its great :thumbsup: But I really think they dropped the ball big time with the full-back :thumbsdown:
Also, it seems very shallow to me, like it doesn't "hug" the child. You can see in this pic. my 6y/o wasn't able to nestle down into the seat like she does in her Frontier:

 

[courtfrog2]

Thanks. I did not see that. I actually thought you all were talking about the belt path on the hips... that looked fine to me. Looking at the shoulder part I can see why that wouldn't be good. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[christineka]

So, I should move my ds' vivo to a different seat in the van? The belt comes out of the guide all the time. I'm going to try the monterey in that middle seat. The belt guide is hard to get the belt out of.

Have you read the Transport Canada crash test summaries? There were several types of belt guides tested. These resemble the kind on the 3-in-1 boosters and such-- which in crash tests allowed the dummies to roll right out of the shoulder belt... Though some of that was due to poor positioning, and I'm not sure how positioning is on most kids with this booster, there were also problems noted with "open" belt paths allowing belts to just slide right out.

 

[ketchupqueen]

So, I should move my ds' vivo to a different seat in the van? The belt comes out of the guide all the time. I'm going to try the monterey in that middle seat. The belt guide is hard to get the belt out of.

I would advise you to read the summaries and the evaluation posted, and the specific concerns they raised, and decide whether that problem applies to you and you feel that it means the fit is not appropriate and a different seat or booster should be used.

 

[christineka]

I switched the boosters around, placing the monterey on the middle seat. It is thinner than the others and the seatbelt comes out of the seat, placing the seatbelt in a bad position for staying in the vivo's belt guide. The side seat and belt are fine for the vivo. Now I have a really good reason to keep the monterey

 

[steph_s]

I just asked about this seat the other day which was the reason I came back to this board after being gone for so long. Anyways I'm sooo glad I got the Pkwy SG instead! I thought the seat looked good online, but I can see now it isn't so great. If the belt guides weren't so weird I would say it might be ok for smaller booster riders that are tall and thin and like to be hugged more (my friends dd has a sensory issue and it was a nightmare to find her a seat that worked well) but those belt guides. They make such a nice no back booster seat though. O well just another reason why some manufacturers should just stick to what they know and do best one style of seat.

 

[Defrost]

Is it by any chance narrower than the TB?

 

[firemomof3]

Is it by any chance narrower than the TB?

I'm not sure of the TB dimensions but here is what I have: