cosco booster seat vs. compass

[jenn310]

Does anyone have any experience with the Cosco Summit High back booster? We currently have a Britax RA which we love but it's almost time to move to a booster. I know that Consumer Reports gives the Cosco great ratings, however, we originally purchased a Cosco Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 seat and I hated it and felt like the quality was greatly inferior to Britax, so I am skeptical of the booster seats. I am leaning towards the Compass booster but can't find any safety ratings on it, and since it's new, I can find very few consumer reviews. Is anyone familiar with either seat?

[murphydog77]

Hi. I have the Compass and like it a lot. I wrote an epinion on it: http://www.epinions.com/pr-Compass_B500_Booster_Seat . I would definitely go for the Compass over the Summit simply because the Summit is a combination seat. Why pay the money for a harness when you don't need it? Some combo seats also have deep side wings that hold the shoulder belt out away from the child's body. I don't know specifically if the Summit does that and it does depend on the build of the child, but it's something to consider. The Compass also has EPS foam in the head wings, which Cosco seats don't have.

You might also want to consider the Evenflo Big Kid and Everest and the Graco TurboBooster since they are dedicated boosters just like the Compass.

Heather, CPS Tech
http://www.carseatsite.com

[Joolsplus2]

How heavy is your child? Do you want to keep him/her harnessed longer (till 40 pounds)? If so, you might look at a seat with higher harness slots (the Summit has the same top harness slots as the Roundabout, no growing room there....).
The Evenflo Chase or Graco Ultra Cargo are nice choices with higher top harness slots than the Roundabout or Summit (and for some reason, Consumer Reports chose not to even evaluate these very popular seats this year!)
If your child is at least age four and 40 pounds, though, then I second Heather's suggestion to go with a nice dedicated booster :), but younger than that and lighter, you want to get a harnessed seat for optimal safety.
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx