Does your booster rate as a Good or Best Bet?
Every year, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) releases their annual fit ratings of belt-positioning booster seats. Because proper seat belt fit on children is so important to their safety in a crash, having a booster seat that adjusts the seat belt easily for both parent and child is paramount. Fortunately, since the IIHS has released their ratings for years and given access to their testing protocol to manufacturers, we have many more excellent choices than ever before. This year IIHS evaluated 13 booster models as Best Bets.
Beginning last year, IIHS used a new dummy designed specifically for these tests called Jasper (Juvenile Anthropomorphic Seat-belt Position Evaluation Rig). IIHS worked with Humanetics, the dummy’s manufacturer to design Jasper, which represents a 45 pound 6 yr old.
What makes a “Best Bet” booster seat? The booster should correctly position the seat belt on a typical 4-8 year old child in most vehicles. A correctly positioned seat belt will fit low on the lap, touching the thighs, and cross the shoulders about half-way over the collarbone. The shoulder belt should move freely through the belt guide if you have a highback booster.
But remember, your vehicle may not be “most” vehicles and may have a different belt geometry. Always try before you buy, if you can, and hold onto the box and receipt in case you need to return the booster.
A “Good Bet” means that the belt fit will be acceptable in most vehicles and these boosters shouldn’t be automatically shunned because they aren’t “top tier.”
“Check Fit” means just that: it may fit a larger child better than a smaller child in some vehicles or vice versa. I’ve used “Check Fit” boosters quite successfully before with my kids in my cars—it definitely doesn’t mean you should chuck the seat out with the bathwater.
What Does Good Belt Fit Look Like?
Most kids need boosters until ages 10-12, news that can be shocking to many first-time parents. Seat belts are designed to fit adult bodies and until children reach adult size, they need a restraint that helps the seat belt fit them or they are at risk of severe injury or death in a crash. The 5-Step Test was designed to help parents determine when their kids fit safely in a seat belt without needing a booster seat.
Sometimes it can be confusing and not at all clear as to whether the seat belt is sitting on the child correctly or not. When evaluating belt fit, it’s always best to dress the child in tight-fitting clothes that don’t bunch; the worst outfit to choose is jeans and a sweatshirt.
Highback boosters with headwings generally have the shoulder belt guides attached and adjust in height. Please check your instruction manual on how to raise the headwings to adjust the shoulder belt position on your child’s shoulder. It’s not comfortable for your child to have the headwings pressing down on your child’s shoulders, or even behind their shoulders like we frequently see because parents don’t know to lift the wings up.
New Best Bet Boosters Tested for 2019
This is not an all-inclusive list – many boosters were rated in previous years. You can search all the booster ratings, current and previous years, by manufacturer HERE.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer and Model | Can Use LATCH | CarseatBlog Review | CarseatBlog Recommended Seat |
| Britax Highpoint (highback) | Yes | Review | Yes |
| Britax Midpoint (highback) | Yes | ||
| Britax Skyline (highback) | Yes | Review | |
| Chicco MyFit (highback) | Yes | ||
| Diono 3R (highback) | Yes | ||
| Diono 3RX (highback) | Yes | ||
| Diono 3RXT (highback) | Review | ||
| Evenflo EveryStage DLX (highback) | Yes | ||
| Evenflo Maestro Sport (highback) | Yes | ||
| Graco Nautilus SnugLock DLX (backless) | Review | Yes | |
| Graco Recline N' Ride 3-in-1 (highback) | Yes | ||
| Graco Turbo GO (backless) | |||
| Graco TurboBooster TakeAlong | Review | Yes |
Check Fit Boosters |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer and Model | Can Use LATCH | CarseatBlog Review | CarseatBlog Recommended Seat |
| Graco Nautilus SnugLock LX (backless) | Review | ||
| Urbini Asenti All-in-One (highback) |
Not Recommended Boosters
For the second time in as many years, there are no new boosters on the “Not Recommended” lists; however, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still Not Recommended boosters from past years still being used or for sale as leftover stock. One seat, the Safety 1st Summit 65, is still being manufactured. It is worth looking at the list to make sure a booster you’re using or considering isn’t on this list. These boosters demonstrate consistently poor belt fit.
What about the Incognito and Mifold?
The Safety 1st Incognito and Mifold are belt positioners, but not boosters; they don’t raise children up to position the seat belt on their bodies. As such, IIHS doesn’t rate them.
For the complete 2019 IIHS Status Report with listing of all previously ranked boosters, visit the IIHS website: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/child-boosters
Given the number of Best Bet boosters available, chances are high that your booster kid is using one. However, if you’re using a booster that doesn’t garner that coveted Best Bet label, remember to do a fit check yourself in every vehicle you use the booster in since seat belt geometry varies so much. If you have a booster on the Not Recommended list, we do suggest that you find a dedicated belt-positioning booster from the Best Bet list and it need not break the bank.
If you’d like more guidance on which booster to choose, we have our own list of Recommended Carseats with a section on booster seats.
Do you plan to review the Peg Perego Shuttle plus 120 or the flex? I’m interested in finding out how they compare to the safety, fit and quality of the Clek Oobr? Would you recommend the Peg Perego boosters?
Mary, yes, we’ll have a review of the Peg Flex 120 very shortly. The Oobr is on our Recommended Seats list: https://carseatblog.com/safest-recommended-car-seats/#HIGHBACKBOOSTERS. We don’t have a lot of experience with the Peg boosters, but their other seats have made our recommended lists in the past; they make nice products. As with any carseat, it’s always good to buy from a retailer that has a good return policy and hang onto the box just in case.