IIHS Names 47 Booster Seats Best Bets
Forty-seven booster seats have been named Best Bets by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. These models include brand-new boosters as well as older designs that are still on the market; prices range from $19 to $300.
"Booster manufacturers have risen to the institute's challenge to improve seat design, giving parents more choices than ever when shopping for a booster that will provide a good, safe fit for their children," Anne McCartt, IIHS senior vice president for research, said in a statement.
IIHS' list of evaluated booster seats, including high-back and backless boosters, has grown to 91 for 2012. The institute looks at seat belt fit with the boosters and uses a test dummy that represents the average 6-year-old. The fit of lap and shoulder belts on the dummy are measured in each booster under four conditions exemplifying real-world belt configurations. The booster seats are not crash-tested because the car's seat belts do the heavy-lifting, keeping the child safe in a crash.
Two booster seats were not recommended by IIHS. Both seats — the Safety 1st All-in-One and Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite — are made by Dorel and can be used as rear- and forward-facing child-safety seats with a built-in harness. When the child is large enough, the harness can be removed and the seat converts to a booster. These safety seats work well as child-safety seats, but when used as a booster, it positions the lap belt too high on a child's stomach and the shoulder belt also isn't properly positioned.
Booster seats are for kids ages 4 and older who've outgrown their forward-facing child-safety seat, but aren't big enough for the car's seat belt. A booster elevates a child so the seat belt is correctly routed across the child's chest and lap. A child can move out of the booster seat once they're 4 feet 9 inches tall.
Best Bet
- Britax Frontier 85
- Britax Frontier 85 SICT
- Britax Parkway SGL (high-back mode)
- BubbleBum
- Chicco KeyFit Strada (high-back mode)
- Clek Oobr (high-back mode)
- Cosco Pronto (high-back mode)
- Diono Monterey (high-back mode)
- Diono RadianR100
- Diono RadianR120
- Diono RadianRXT
- Eddie Bauer Auto Booster (high-back mode)
- Evenflo Big Kid Amp
- Evenflo Big Kid Amp High Back (backless mode)
- Evenflo Big Kid Sport (backless mode)
- Evenflo Maestro Evenflo Secure Kid LX/DLX
- Evenflo Symphony 65 e3
- Ferrari Dreamway SP (high-back mode)
- Graco Argos 70 (high-back mode)
- Graco Backless TurboBooster Graco Nautilus (high-back mode)
- Graco TurboBooster (high-back and backless modes)
- Graco TurboBooster Colorz Graco
- TurboBooster Elite (high-back and backless modes)
- Graco TurboBooster Safety Surround (high-back and backless modes)
- Harmony Carpooler
- Harmony Cruz Youth Booster
- Harmony Dreamtime Booster (high-back and backless mode)
- Harmony Olympian
- Harmony V6 Highback Booster (high-back and backless modes)
- Harmony Youth Booster Seat
- Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro
- Kiddy World Plus
- Kids Embrace Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR (high-back mode)
- Recaro ProBooster
- Recaro ProSport
- Recaro Vivo
- Safety 1st Boost Air Protect (high-back mode)
- Safety 1st S1 Rumi Air/Essential Air
- The First Years Pathway B570
Good Bet
- Britax Parkway SG (high-back mode)
- Combi Kobuk Air-Thru (high-back and backless modes)
- Evenflo Symphony 65
- Maxi-Cosi Rodi (high-back mode)
Check Fit
- Britax Parkway SG (backless mode)
- Britax Parkway SGL (backless mode)
- Chicco KeyFit Strada (backless mode)
- Clek Olli Clek Oobr (backless mode)
- Clek Ozzi
- Cosco Ambassador
- Cosco Highback Booster
- Cosco Pronto (backless mode)
- Cosco Top Side
- Diono Monterey (backless mode)
- Diono SantaFe
- Eddie Bauer Auto Booster (backless mode)
- Evenflo Big Kid Amp High Back (highback mode)
- Evenflo Big Kid LX (high-back and backless mode)
- Evenflo Big Kid No Back Booster
- Evenflo Big Kid Sport (highback mode)
- Ferrari Dreamway SP (backless mode)
- Ferrari Ola Graco Argos 70 (backless mode)
- Graco Nautilus (backless mode)
- Graco Nautilus Elite (high-back and backless modes)
- Graco Smart Seat Maxi-Cosi Rodi (backless mode)
- Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR (backless mode)
- Safety 1st Boost Air Protect (backless mode)
- Safety 1st Go Hybrid
- Safety 1st Summit
- Safety 1st Vantage
- Safety 1st Ventura
- The First Years Compass B505
- The First Years Compass B530
- The First Years Compass B540
- Volvo Booster (backless mode)
- Volvo Booster (highback mode)
Not Recommended
- Safety 1st All-in-One
- Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite
IIHS counts booster seats that can be used in high-back and backless modes as two separate models.
Related
NHTSA Recommends Kids Stay in Car Seats, Boosters Longer
Car Seat Basics Part Three: Beyond the Booster
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