RECARO Performance BOOSTER High Back Booster--Updated with Review

[curiousgeorge]

If you saw my other thread you know I was hoping to get a Diono Cambria HBB, but those have been delayed for the foreseeable future.

Looks like the next best option I can find for a tall HBB is the RECARO Performance BOOSTER High Back Booster. It's only $114 in red on Amazon, so not too much more than the Cambria. I am thinking about trying one and keeping my Cambria on order so I eventually still get it, but would love to hear thoughts if anyone has one.

This is for a tall 5.25 year old. He's 49" tall and about 55 lbs. He also seems to have pretty broad shoulders.

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

[curiousgeorge]

I ordered one. The reviewer who said her 50lb 50" 7-year-old fit in it comfortably sold me. I'll update you guys. Might turn out to be a good alternative to the Cambria.

[Joolsplus2]

I love that seat! The looks of it, at least. Can't wait to see if it works for you guys!

[curiousgeorge]

We got the seat late Thursday afternoon and have had a chance to use it for a few days so I finally feel like I can give an update.

We got the red one:
http://www.amazon.com/RECARO-Perform...rmance+booster

It's a good true red and my five-year-old thinks it looks cool.

His initial thoughts on the seat were not great. He said he didn't like it and wanted his cow seat back! We realized he was just so used to his Frontier and the feel of the five-pt harness that it felt weird to have a seatbelt on instead. Now that he's ridden in it for about 10 short trips around town he's happy in it.

It seems to be a really well-made seat and doesn't feel cheap like some people say some of the boosters do. The bottom part of the seat that you sit on has great padding. It is super cushy! The sides are well-padded too and although he hasn't napped in it yet, I feel like if he does fall asleep they will offer good support.

His shoulders fit really well. In comparison, I tried him in the Evenflo Big Kid LX and he couldn't wedge his shoulders between the side supports. He was so uncomfortable.

His legs are well supported from his bottom to the back of his knees. I asked him if he wanted a stool to rest his feet on and he said no, his legs feel fine.

The seat has latch to keep it in place when it isn't occupied, which I like. It is in the second row of my 2011 Honda Odyssey. He can't reach the seatbelt buckle to buckle it himself, so that is one downside if that's important to you. He can unbuckle though.

It says it has a "quick lift 11 position headrest" and it is really easy to adjust, so if you had multiple size kids using it, it would be easy to use from that perspective. My son is 49" tall (and 55lbs) and he's on about position 4 or 5 out of 11. So, he has plenty of room to grow and can use this for quite a while.

So, overall I'm very happy with this seat. We are going to keep using it in the mini-van for now (and work on sitting still in a seat-belt) since he has about a 1/2" until he outgrows the harnessed Frontier 85 he rides in in our other vehicle. I don't see any reason we would wait for the Diono Cambria vs. just getting a second one of these if the Cambria is still on backorder at that point. The only selling point for me would be if he is able to buckle himself in the Cambria since he can't buckle himself in this one.

If anyone has questions or needs more info let me know. I'm happy to help. Amazon has free shipping and free returns on this seat, so if it seems to meet your needs I'd say go ahead and try it.

[ang79]

I'm glad to hear that he adjusted well to using the shoulder strap. We just got a Parkway and DD1 refuses to use it (its even the pink cheetah print and she loves pink and cheetah everything!). She said the seat is comfortable but she hates having to use the regular seatbelt strap and having the shoulder strap on. She prefers her Nautilus with harness that she can buckle herself into. The Nautilus still fits her fine but expires in Dec., so for now we're using the Parkway as a spare in DH's car and hoping that with some use she will get used to it......she's a stubborn one though! She told me she only ever wants to ride in seats like her Nautilus with a harness, she'll be 8 in September!

[twowhat?]

I know this thread is a couple months old but OP, did you ever get the Cambria? It's one that we're considering for our secondary car along with the Recaro. I've been doing some reading and I have s feeling I'm not going to be happy with anything that feels tippy/unsubstantial esp since our kids are in Radians in our primary car and those things are solid as rocks. Both of our cars also have leather seats and I'm worried about the tipping/slipping issue.

Definitely want LATCH too, no way will we remember to buckle them in if the kids aren't in them. And the headrest thing is something I'm still trying to figure out - I think the Cambria requires that you still have the vehicle headrest on (I am still not clear on the vehicle headrest issue when it comes to HBBs - don't the boosters themselves have headrests??).

[Joolsplus2]

Oooh, I just got my hands on one of these, it's niiiice. Love the deep seat! Hope the OP comes back with some real-life input, though.

(Diono is extremely cautious... kids getting whiplash is almost a nil-event, but they don't want you to sue them if you happen to not have vehicle head support behind their booster headrest, really only Diono and Dorel are the only companies with such rules, and it's weird...but basically just keep your vehicle headrest on behind the booster, fortunately most newer cars HAVE headrests...sometimes they push the booster so far forward there's a gap behind the back, and it's an untested scenario, so they recommend you use a different seating position or take the back off the booster...I don't think Subaru or your minivan are known to be problems, at any rate, fortunately).

[twowhat?]

Oooh, I just got my hands on one of these, it's niiiice. Love the deep seat! Hope the OP comes back with some real-life input, though.

(Diono is extremely cautious... kids getting whiplash is almost a nil-event, but they don't want you to sue them if you happen to not have vehicle head support behind their booster headrest, really only Diono and Dorel are the only companies with such rules, and it's weird...but basically just keep your vehicle headrest on behind the booster, fortunately most newer cars HAVE headrests...sometimes they push the booster so far forward there's a gap behind the back, and it's an untested scenario, so they recommend you use a different seating position or take the back off the booster...I don't think Subaru or your minivan are known to be problems, at any rate, fortunately).

I'm drooling over this one now. The deep seats sound awesome - our radians have deep seats so I would hate to go with anything more shallow.

[PZMommy]

We got the Recaro for my 5 yr old and he loves it. It is very comfortable for him. He loves that he can unbuckle himself now which he could not do in his Frontier harness.

[curiousgeorge]

OP here. No Diono yet and sounds like it won't be here til mid-late August based on someone saying Diono won't even get their first shipment in until August. I kept my pre-order at amazon and really want to try it when it does finally ship.

As for the Recaro, we are happy with it. DS says it's comfy. He did quite well in it on our last road trip that was 13 hours in one day on the way home.

My only complaint is that he can't buckle the seat belt himself. He can unbuckle though.

We are using it in a 2011 Odyssey if that matters.