looking for a booster

[neeleymartin]

what is the recommendation for a booster these days. 5pt. harness? not? this is for a friend's 3yr old that is just about to meet the 40lb weight limit on the britax ra. what is next?

she is on a tight budget. also will in the near future need to fit 3 across that back of her older land cruiser. tia

[KrisM]

I wouldn't put a 3 year old in a booster. For 3 across, a Radian is a great choice. It puzzles with a lot and should get another couple years at least harnessed.

[o_mom]

Radian is the narrowest (any of them, so whatever is cheapest), but it can have issues on installing. Trying first or ordering from somewhere with return insurance is important. For cheaper options, but not necessarily the narrowest, the Evenflo Maestro (50 lb), Evenflo Generations 65 (65 lbs) and Cosco Apex (65 lbs - requires headrest behind it) are the sub-$100 options. Nautilus, Roundabout 50 and Evenflo Triumph Advance would be the next price point ($120-160) and above $180 the Radian if it fits or the Graco MyRide 65, First Years True Fit are the next options. Most of those, other than the Radian vary from normal-wide to very wide, though.

I think without knowing what the whole situation is, it is hard to say other than that a 3yo needs to be harnessed. :) What type of seats are needed in the 3-across, what seats does she have, what kind of budget and if there will be more budgeted in a few months when the 3-across comes along, etc, will let us make better suggestions.

[neeleymartin]

bump...

thanks for the advice. jools, anything to add.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Tell her that a booster would be more of a PITB if she is reluctant to do a 5pt harness. Having to reach down to buckle and unbuckle every time if the seats are really snug together is annoying. Easier to have the 5pt harness so you only have to deal with straps that are easy to reach.

Beth

[neeleymartin]

Tell her that a booster would be more of a PITB if she is reluctant to do a 5pt harness. Having to reach down to buckle and unbuckle every time if the seats are really snug together is annoying. Easier to have the 5pt harness so you only have to deal with straps that are easy to reach.

Beth

she read on the nhsta that 5pt boosters are not the safest. she was actually puzzled by this, as i am.

[o_mom]

she read on the nhsta that 5pt boosters are not the safest. she was actually puzzled by this, as i am.

She may have been misinterpreting the recent report on booster fit by IIHS. They looked at the fit of combination seats (those that have a 5 pt harness and then become a belt-positioning booster) when used as a BPB and found that most of them have a lousy belt fit compared to dedicated boosters. They are fine as harnessed seats, but not as BPB. http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr122209.html

That's the only thing I can think of. If you have a link to the NHTSA info that she saw, I would love to see it. I couldn't find anything like that on their site, though.

[neeleymartin]

She may have been misinterpreting the recent report on booster fit by IIHS. They looked at the fit of combination seats (those that have a 5 pt harness and then become a belt-positioning booster) when used as a BPB and found that most of them have a lousy belt fit compared to dedicated boosters. They are fine as harnessed seats, but not as BPB. http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr122209.html

That's the only thing I can think of. If you have a link to the NHTSA info that she saw, I would love to see it. I couldn't find anything like that on their site, though.

i don't have the link. we were just having a casual conversation. i plan to send her this thread. perhaps she will post the info and you guys can help with interpretation.

[Joolsplus2]

Not sure how well it fits for three across, but the Evenflo Maestro is super cheap, TALL top slots (as tall as the Nautilus, eighteen-something inches) fifty pound harness limit, and only about seventy five dollars :).
Yep, harnessed boosters are very safe when the harness is in (and top tethered when possible), but some of them do make lousy boosters (Maestro actually holds the lapbelt LOW on the lap, so it's a surprisingly good choice, Evenflo is really on the up and up with safety with this one :)).
I'd harness to at least age 5 when possible, but a bare, bare minimum of 4...before then, kids in boosters can't sit still in the seatbelt to be safe, and their head injury risk is quite a bit higher :/.

[neeleymartin]

thanks. she read the thread and has decided on...










































maestro.

thanks jools...your word is gold. thanks for everyone's help.

[Joolsplus2]

:praying: I sure hope it fits her car. Be sure to update us :)