Top 5 Best Travel Booster Car Seats in 2022

By Alice Ross | ACCESSORIES

Nov 15
top 5 best travel booster car seats 2022

Are looking for a travel booster car seat for your kids? If you are a parent with young children, you have to think about their protection when you’re traveling by car. Although a lot of us adoringly recall riding in the back of our family car before the days when seatbelts are still a big deal, we didn’t know the terrible risk we were taking. It is a well-known truth: a high-quality travel booster car seat could literally save the life of your kids.

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**Below, you'll find more detailed reviews, but you can also click links above to check current prices and read customer's reviews on Amazon.

And as the kids grow up, they also grow out of their outdated car seat. Nonetheless, they still need a booster seat in order to keep their safety if ever you get into an accident with them. In a nutshell, travel booster car seats do as what it name indicates: they raise your child so they can reach the actual height of the seat belt of your car.

If that reason alone is not enough reason for you to invest in buying this beneficial innovation, below are more important reasons why you need to get the best one for your children!

Benefits of Travel Booster Car Seats

booster
  •  It keeps your kids comfortable with the seat belt on. Because a travel booster raises your kids from their seats, they will be at the proper height that will keep them comfortable throughout the ride.
  • Your kids can sleep comfortably. During long rides, it is going to be easier for them to fall asleep easier in the car. Kids, by nature, have short temper, and if they are comfortable sitting at the back of the car, instead of crying when they feel something that triggers them, they will likely opt to sleep it off.
  • They are easy to install. Setting them up literally takes up only a few minutes. No sweating involved. Sure, each brand on a model is installed differently, but most of them are designed for the comfort of the parents.
  • They wouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg. Again, depending on the brand and model you choose, prices vary, but they are normally very affordable. You will definitely get more than what you pay for especially that they last for years until your kids outgrow them.
  • Although it is non-compulsory for some, a lot of states now have obligatory laws that require booster car seats for children age up to 8 years old. Older kids have a greater rate of injury than younger ones for a lot of great reasons. A lot move the car belt below the arm or behind them. Their body tends to slide to the edge of the seat or slump downhill. Older children might find car belts not comfortable, this tends to lose the purpose of wearing a seat belt.

Choosing the Best Travel booster Car Seat

booster car seat

Choosing the Best travel booster Car SeatNow, you know the importance of having booster car seat, not only because they help protect them from day by day driving, sit them up so they are safe, and help shield from vehicle accidents, but as well as other benefits that it offers. If your kid has grown enough to use a booster seat, you are probably thinking which one is the best one that suits them.

There are some different for you to select from, even though there some are definitely better and more popular than the others. However, how would you know that without actually buying one beforehand? Below is our brief guide to knowing the one that suits your kids best:

Who needs a travel booster car seat?

pink booster

You know your child already needs a booster car seat when he or she weighs up to 40 lbs. or when you see that he or she is getting too tall for his toddler car seat. If the head of your child rests on top of the car seat head support, it is the time that he or she has to move to using a booster seat.

Other Important Things to Consider

  • Type: There are two types of car booster seats available on the market: the first one is the high-back and the second one is backless. High-back models give a comfortable resting place for the head of your children, especially if your car doesn’t have backseat head support. They also give great positioning for the shoulder with appropriate shoulder-belt routing guides. Backless boosters provide the user with a better lap belt placement and normally a lot cheaper than the other version. A car’s rear seats normally tell the best type of booster suitable for a child. Cars with a lot of support and deep contours are better appropriate for backless models, while rear seats that have a low back are more favorable to high-back boosters.
  • Fit: A booster seat puts the child higher up; making sure that the adult seat belt fits properly and gives full restraint protection. Because of this, the lap belt has to sit all over the upper thigh instead of the abdomen. The shoulder belt must fit securely all over the middle of the shoulder of your child. The belt shouldn’t be very close to the neck, and it shouldn’t slip off the shoulder. There are seat boosters that offer an extensive or adjustable base and higher shoulder strap slots to put up with growing children.
  • Features: Again, safety should be an essential feature any booster car seat can provide you. You must avoid backless boosters that have shield-style closure since this type of seat is known to unsafe for kids. Other features you might find necessary in a booster seat include side clips in order to accommodate different heights, a smooth-flowing belt retractor, and a resting angle of 20 to 30 degrees. Booster car seats that recline more than this can cause more harm in a crash.
  • Price: You have to keep in mind that more expensive seats do not always offer better features. Actually, some of the best travel booster car seats are also some of the cheapest. Like mentioned earlier, backless booster seats are normally cheaper than high-back seats, obviously because of the design, but this doesn’t mean high-back seats are always better for your needs.

Top 5 Travel Booster Car Seats

The Graco Turbobooster holds a tradition of versatile, high weight and height car seats by Graco that makes it one of the best travel booster car seats available in the market today. It is a dual mode booster car seat, so you can use it in two modes: as a backless booster and as a high back booster. This model has been available on the market in a single form or another for over 10 years and continues to keep kids safe during that period. Many parents choose this brand not only for the features but also for the safety it offers.


Pros

  • It has long lifespan as it works great for children who are 40 to 100 pounds

  • It has lower back which suitable for growing up kids

  • It offers the safety it offers


Cons
  • It only comes with the booster without shock absorption protection

  • It has no rear-facing or front-facing capability


The Evenflo Big Kid Amp Highback is another travel booster we think every driving parent should consider for their children. It has crash protection and beltfit highback. This is a rating that combines the possible for highback boosters to limit movement and injury in the event of crash derived from simulated frontal crash tests and the possible for the seat to offer a great belt fit in different vehicles with the use of child sized dummies.

Another thing we like about this booster car seat is its ease of use. Our verdict of how easy every seat is to use including items like the clarity of instructions and labels, the ease of getting a suitable belt fit and the transition between backless and high back modes where pertinent.


Pros

  • It is very easy to assemble

  • It is extremely easy to Clean

  • It is Lightweight

  • It is so narrow and fits three across

  • It is stylish


Cons
  • It doesn’t have latch anchors

  • It has no 5-point harness


Cosco juvenile topside booster offers your child a comfortable lift with its extra-plush pad. Weighing only 40-100 pounds with the height of 43″-57″, its frivolous design, it is easy to turn to the topside booster from a car to another. Protracted, 100-pound weight limit suits more children. Its extra-plush pad offers more comfort and is detachable for easy cleanup. Exceptional seat-safe design leaves vehicle seats intact. The backless booster seat offers a sensible way to keep your child safe without compromising on safety. It’s suitable for kids weighing from 40 to 100 lbs. and height of 43 to 57 inches tall.

It’s very a sturdy blow-mold hunk of plastic with a great cover. While it has very simple design and does not seem all that comfortable, they actually offer extreme comfort.


Pros

  • It may work in a 3-across situation

  • It is small enough that it fits in a backpack

  • It is very lightweight

  • It is available in different

  • Its shoulder belt goes on the armrest, which makes it easier for bigger children to route the seat belt correctly


Cons
  • It has no shoulder belt adjuster

  • It has narrow seating area for bigger children

  • Its shoulder belt goes on the armrest which causes the shoulder belt to get closer to the neck in some cars


The BubbleBum is an inflatable booster car seat that is small enough to fit in a bag. It’s made from tough materials; the same to materials used in making life vests and other life saving products. It has passed standards in its deflated state if ever it was to be perforated in a crash. It is easy to inflate and even self-inflates to some extent when removed from the bag. This is an inflatable backless booster seat, which is an outstanding option if you’re looking for something ultra-portable. It’s rated a "Best Bet" by the IIHS and has won a lot of awards which includes the National Parenting Center of Approval.

It’s a practical seat for everyday travel, but we have found that using the double belt guides, it could be a hassle for some children to thread every single trip.


Pros

  • It is portable and lightweight

  • It has narrow design which makes for easy for three car seats across the backseat


Cons
  • It requires being inflated

  • It is not as hard-wearing as a standard backless booster seat


Britax Pioneer Combination Harness-2-Booster Car Seat is one of the best choices if you are looking for a front-facing car seat for you kids. Although it is not as feature-filled when it comes to height limits, weight limits, or side power protection, it is still well worthy of consideration for those who are interested in a safe and effective booster and front-facing seat for their kids.

Britax raised the Pioneer’s harness limit from its original 18.5 to 19.5 inches. For the year 2016, the harness height has now become raised to 20.5 inches, beating other models available in the market today. The seated booster height also improved from 22 to 23 inches to compete with the other seats.


Pros

  • It has no re-thread harness

  • Its push button lower anchor connectors

  • It has two crotch buckle positions

  • It has Recline mode

  • It has easy off cover

  • It has a LATCH in booster mode


Cons
  • It is not as easy to install as the prior models


Summary

So, as you can see, each of the travel booster car seat listed above is a reliable companion for your road trip with your little ones. Now, it is up to you which one you think suits your needs more. Do you have a limited budget but still want to have a travel booster car seat with good quality? Then go for Cosco Topside Booster Car Seat. If you have a budget and want to take advantage of the push-button to lower anchor protection, then invest to Britax Pioneer Combination Harness-2-Booster Car Seat. On the other hand, if you are looking for an easily portable booster car seat, you will love BubbleBum Travel Car Booster Seat as it is inflatable. However, if style matters to you, you will never go wrong with Graco Backless TurboBooster Car Seat and Evenflo Big Kid AMP Booster Car Seat.

So, which would you buy for your kids and why? Let us know in the comment below!

Rating: 4.88 (8 votes)

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Alice Ross, a long-term traveler who left the corporate world to travel the world. I chose to live life on my own phase and live day by day while immersing myself in new experiences, new knowledge, and new people in a different walk of life I met along the way.

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