The BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Seat has long been a favorite for travel, trips in friends’ cars, and fitting into tight spaces.
Features/Specifications
- Child weight range: 40-100 lbs.
- Child height range: 40-57 inches
- Seating depth: 12 inches
- Seating width: 12 inches
- Requires lap/shoulder belt and head support up to child’s eyes
- Inflatable, comes with carrying bag
When the BubbleBum first came out, people were understandably concerned about 
an inflatable booster seat. I envisioned something like a blow-up pool toy and wondered how that could be safe. There was no need to worry, though. The BubbleBum is constructed of heavy-duty plastic and foam, much like a life jacket. It won’t deflate easily on its own: You need to really squeeze and roll it, otherwise it keeps re-inflating itself to an extent. It has also passed crash-testing in its deflated state, just to ensure it will still work even if something happens to it.
Installation/Fit-to-Vehicle
The nice thing about the BubbleBum is that fits pretty much anywhere, including in places where larger boosters don’t fit. Have a short or narrow middle seat and a kid who needs a booster? The BubbleBum is likely to fit. It’s also a good choice for fitting 3-across because it’s so narrow.
Fit to Child
Despite being small, the BubbleBum tends to do well with a wide variety of kids. It usually provides a good belt fit on smaller booster riders as well as older, bigger kids who still need a bit of a boost. Keep in mind, though, that belt fit depends a lot on the individual child and individual vehicle. Also remember that smaller, younger booster riders might do better with a high-back booster, which provides some more support.
Here is my small 6-year-old (just over 40-lbs, 46″, size 5/6 clothes)
And here is a friend, 61 lbs, 51″, wearing 7/8 clothing:
The BubbleBum comes with a shoulder-belt guide to help position the shoulder belt if necessary. The shoulder-belt guide easily loops onto the bottom of the seat and can be positioned on either side of the child.
Since there’s no hard plastic support, sitting on the BubbleBum is like, well, sitting on a cushion of air. Because the seat is small, though, it might not provide enough leg support for tall or leggy kids, and might not be wide enough for wider kids. Even so, it might do in a pinch.
Because the seat is so small and light, it can sometimes feel “tippy,” especially for smaller kids. Once kids get used to it, though, they’re generally able to shift their weight to help keep the seat stable.
Ease of Use
The only “complicated” thing about the previous version of the BubbleBum was the lap-belt guides, which were cumbersome and could be difficult for kids to use. The new guides have a much more open design and make it much easier to slide the belt in, while still holding the belt securely.
Here is a comparison, with the old-style belt guide on the left, and the new on the right.
Here’s a video showing how easy it is for kids to use the new guides:
ONLY the lap belt goes into the belt guides on the BubbleBum.
The BubbleBum is also extremely easy to inflate. Just opening the valve starts the inflating process. Give it a few good puffs of breath, shut the valve, and you’re good to go.
To deflate it, open the valve and press down on the seat. I’ve found it helps to roll it up while pressing down, otherwise it tends to partially re-inflate itself. Once you have it squished down, close the valve and stick the seat in its handy carrying bag.
Cover Maintenance
The cover is not intended to be removed, so it’s spot-clean only with mild soap and water.
FAA/Crash Guidelines/Expiration
Like other belt-positioning boosters, the BubbleBum is not approved for use on airplanes because it requires a shoulder belt. However, it’s so easily portable that it’s a great option for packing and carrying onto the plane for use at your destination.
The BubbleBum’s lifespan is 4 years from the date of purchase (not the date of manufacture, like most seats), and it must be replaced after any crash.
Advantages
- Portable for travel–can easily fit in a backpack, a locker, under an airplane seat, in an overhead bin, etc.
- Fits easily in tight spaces
- New belt guides very easy to use
- Inexpensive, making it a great backup/emergency/travel seat
Disadvantages (In all fairness, these aren’t necessarily problems but I list them here to inform consumers of potential issues.)
- Small size might not provide enough support for larger kids
- Can sometimes be “tippy”
Conclusion
The BubbleBum was already one of our favorite options for occasional use (like travel and rides in friends’ cars). The new, easier-to-use belt guides make it even better. It’s small size might make it impractical for everyday use (though people certainly can use it everyday if it works for them), but for the portability and price, you can’t beat it for travel and back-up situations.
The BubbleBum is available at Amazon and other retailers for about $35. It is currently available in pink chevron and black/silver fashions.
Thank you to BubbleBum for providing a seat for review. CarseatBlog was not compensated for this review and all opinions are our own.
Although we only use it on rare occasions when we have 3 across, so it could be the novelty of it, my daughter loves this booster. She liked it enough that when the new design came out, I splurged and got another with the new belt guides and fun pink chevron cover and the new guides were a lot easier for her to use. The only downside is we have found it to be a bit tippy and more work for her to ride in than her HBB, but not so much so she complains about it.
Can’t take it anymore! Need a car seat fix! Looking forward to trying this out for short rides and as an extra booster. Because when you have a 6 year old, you can’t have too many boosters!
Good to know the packaging is different for the seats with different belt guides. I was having a hard time telling people which were ‘new’ and which were ‘old’.
Our original model is expired, it makes a fantastic seat on our Plasmacar (I realize the warnings are to not allow children to play with seats outside of real cars, but since this will never be used in a car again, I made an exception) 🙂