In the market for a booster?
On December 22, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released new safety test results for booster seats. They tested 60 2009-model seats using a dummy the size of an average six-year-old. Their “Best Bets” include the nine seats “most likely to position lap and shoulder belts correctly on many children in many cars, minivans, and SUVs.” Of the nine Best Bets listed, which range from $25 to about $279, seven are high-back boosters. Dual-use seats, which can be high-back or low-back, were given a rating for each mode of use.
IIHS Best Bets (in no particular order):
- Britax Frontier (~$279)
- Clek Oobr (~$275)
- Cosco Juvenile Pronto (~$35)
- Eddie Bauer Auto Booster (~ $65)
- Maxi Cosi Rodi XR (~$160)
- Recaro Vivo (~$99)
- Recaro Young Sport (~$212)
- Combi Dakota (~$40)
- Evenflo Big Kid Amp (~$25)
See more: “Good Bets” | “Not Recommended”
Download the consumer-friendly full report (.pdf), including a list of all the seats tested.
You might also check these seats against the National Institute for Highway Safety’s Ease-of-Use ratings. The Eddie Bauer, Evenflo, and Cleck seats earn 5 stars there.
Other resources:
- SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. offers a handy .pdf with fit weight limits and specs on different seats.
- For all things car seat, I recommend checking out the discussions at Car-Seat.org.
Perfect timing, I just started looking at boosters yesterday. Does anyone have experience or favorites with those on the list?
Thanks so much for this post. You helped me keep my research quick & simple. Just bought a Graco booster from Amazon w/ free shipping. Score!