Seat belts are an integral part of vehicle safety and can have saved numerous people from injury or death upon vehicle collision, so it is understandable to be concerned when your child cannot properly utilize them.
Parents with children below the ages of 7, specifically infants, find it difficult to secure them with the standard seat belts found in cars as they are more designed adults.
Designed specifically for the protection of children, child safety seats or booster seats can be easily integrated and ensure seat belt compatibility with your child.
These seats come with passive restraints, which must be correctly used to be effective. Here I talk about the best travel booster seats available on the market.
Table of Contents
- 1 7 Top Rated Travel Booster Car Seats Comparisons
- 1.1 1. Graco SlimFit 3-In-1 Car Seat
- 1.2 2. Graco Affix Highback Booster Seat
- 1.3 3. Mifold Original Grab-And-Go Car Booster Seat
- 1.4 4. Chicco KidFit 2-In-1 Belt Positioning Booster Car Seat
- 1.5 5. BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Car Seat
- 1.6 6. Britax Grow With You ClickTight Harness 2 Booster Car Seat
- 1.7 7. Diono Cambria 2 Latch 2-In-1 Belt Positioning Booster Seat
- 2 Frequently Asked Questions
- 2.1 Q1. How Should I Choose Travel Booster Seats?
- 2.2 Q2. Should I Choose Traditional Booster Seats Or Booster Seat Pads/Slates?
- 2.3 Q3. What Are The Safest Booster Seats?
- 2.4 Q4. Seat Belt Or LATCH –Which Should I Use?
- 2.5 Q5. Can My Child Use A Booster Seat On An Airplane?
- 2.6 Q6. Are Any Booster Seats FAA Approved?
- 2.7 Q7. How Do You Travel With A Child In A Booster Seat?
- 3 Conclusion
7 Top Rated Travel Booster Car Seats Comparisons
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | EDITOR'S RATING | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
TOP PICK  | 9.7 | CHECK ON AMAZON | |
 | 9.5 | CHECK ON AMAZON | |
 | 9.1 | CHECK ON AMAZON | |
 | 8.8 | CHECK ON AMAZON | |
BEST BUDGET  | 8.6 | CHECK ON AMAZON | |
 | 8.2 | CHECK ON AMAZON | |
 | 8 | CHECK ON AMAZON |
1. Graco SlimFit 3-In-1 Car Seat
The brand Graco works for manufacturing modern family equipment to make our lives easier.
Graco is a well-known brand due to its best product quality with a huge variety. They are also well known for keeping their customers fully satisfied.
I would prefer this very product due to its guarantee of keeping a child safe while the parent can carefreely drive the car.
Each year, many children are severely injured or even killed in car accidents.
However, the Graco SlimFit 3-In-1 Car Seat would surely prevent that, keeping the child safe providing surefire safety and security.
Comfort was also in mind when this product was created as it comes with a recline feature that adjusts itself in 4 positions, keeping your child comfy and safe.
The headrest is also adjustable, which can be adjusted according to 10 different heights.
Buying this product, you definitely wouldn’t worry about whether you can trust the product or not because this brand conducts multiple crash tests to ensure the seat is secure once properly installed.
It gives me no opportunity to doubt the materials of their products.
Another thing that caught my eye was that this seat is made up of alloy steel which is the sturdiest material, and the best part is that the seat is adjustable!
The seat can grow with your child as its sizes can be adjusted very easily.
This means that you can use it over time without worrying about your child growing too big for it as it provides a range of sizes.
Though it is a rear-facing seat, it cannot be converted when you do not need it, making it inconvenient.
- Guarantees your child safety
- Made up of the best quality material
- Adjustable
- Provides a range of sizes
- It is not a convertible
In my opinion; a great pick that would ensure your child’s safety without worrying about its quality or size and gives you a carefree driving experience but only buys it if you have the space to put it somewhere safe when not being used.
2. Graco Affix Highback Booster Seat
Graco continues to deliver high-quality and trustworthy products, with this second entry on my list.
As stated above, Graco is well known in the market, so it makes sense that a few of their products end up on this list, especially because of the sheer variety of booster seats they offer.
The difference between the Graco Affix Highback Booster Seat and all the other ones is that this very product is designed specifically for your grown-up children.
One of the most respected resources in child safety recommends that children4 feet 9 inches tall or underride in a belt-positioning booster seat.
This is exactly what this booster seat provides. It fits a grown-up child into it very easily, providing a comfortable place to sit.
This booster seat has an amazing weight-bearing range from 40 to 100 pounds. It also has a height range for a person of 43 to 57 inches tall.
This means that your grown child and your toddler can fit into it. This big range of weight and height provides a very compatible place for your child to sit.
Installing such equipment can sometimes be very difficult and annoying; however, this is not the case with this seat.
This booster seat does not give its users a difficult time installing it due to the easy installment.
Since it has the front-adjust feature, it’s easy to quickly tighten the booster to your vehicle’s seat, keeping it properly in place. Hence it can be installed within seconds.
Since the booster, both in high back booster seat mode and in backless mode, stays securely in place and properly installed to your vehicle’s back seat, it’s easy for your child to self-buckle.
After all, ‘big kids’ like to do things independently!
Even though it is specially designed for grown-up children, many consumers of this product still demand a harness system.
- Designed specifically for grown-up children
- A great range for height and weight
- Easy installation
- Self-buckle
- Absence of harness system
Overall this one is a very good product to go for. Just make sure to check the harness system otherwise it is all good to go.
3. Mifold Original Grab-And-Go Car Booster Seat
The Mifold manufactures the most compact, affordable, and easy-to-use travel products, or how they like to call it, adventure products.
These include car booster seats that are not only safe but compact too. This Mifold Original Grab-And-Go Car Booster Seat caught my attention because of its being compact and narrow.
It is more than ten times smaller than the traditional booster seats. This seat quality makes it a grab-and-go product that is the easiest to carry with you wherever you go.
But this quality does not affect this product’s safety range, which is the best part of it.
The main purpose of booster seats is to ensure the child’s safety, and Mifoldgrab and go does the job perfectly.
Mifold ensures optimal seat belt fit. Instead of lifting the child, the grab-and-go adjusts the adult seat belt by pulling it down to fit the child safely and securely.
Hence, not only this car booster seat does the job, but it makes it so much easier too.
This product is by far the most convenient in this category. It requires no extra work or hustle by its consumer.
It is compact, hence can be very easily carried and installed in the car, which ends the consumer’s worries of difficult installment or technicality.
Also, do not ignore that it is portable, which saves the consumer from so many different troubles.
Another quality of this booster seat is that it is the ideal seat for travel purposes. It is built in such a fine way which makes it compact and portable.
This means you will have no problem carrying it even while traveling great distances. Due to its small size, which means it is lightweight, you can carry it tension-free wherever you travel.
- Compact and narrow
- Ensures safety of the child
- Very convenient
- Ideal for travel
- Absence of backrest
- Only usable for grown children
This product brings a lot of convenience to its consumer with all the easy-to-use features. However, it might not be the best for infant children who receive no benefit from this product.
4. Chicco KidFit 2-In-1 Belt Positioning Booster Car Seat
Chicco is a brand that produces children’s clothes, toys, and accessories, etc.
It is originally based in Italy and has been in this business for over 60 years. It is now a worldwide company with retail outlets in more than 120 countries.
The Chicco KidFit 2-In-1 Belt Positioning Booster Car Seat is famous mostly due to its high protection level.
Just from the design, you can easily tell that it is made to keep your child safe from any bumps on the road, offering a high degree of safety.
What makes it extraordinary is due to the head and shoulder side-impact protection in place.
These, along with the ten interchangeable positions, allow for maximum stability and security.
This also helps the child sit comfortably in a proper body posture without compromising on their safety. The seat itself is designed to give the child the most comfortable seat.
This is thanks to the padding of the seat being made with double foam. This gives not only the child comfort but also maximum support allowing the child to relax.
The installation process is more than simple. The booster seat has a latch system, and the connectors have a system that works with just one-pull tightening.
This secures both the seat and the child in place. If required, the two cup holders can be removed to make more space whenever needed.
So the installation process is crucial, and due to the wobbling, the seat belt most of the time glides out of the plastic loop because of how it extends downwards.
It is a disappointing design flaw that should have been fixed before this product hit the market.
- Comfortable for the child to sit in
- Easy to install
- Durable design
- Wobbly at times
- Design flaw causes seat belts to slip out
Overall, the whole overall design makes this one a very good choice. However, do keep in mind that you may need to spend a few extra bucks on an alternative seat belt loop.
5. BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Car Seat
BubbleBum is not the name of a company, but it is a single product.
However, this is a very different kind of booster seat that I have come across for the first time, and it is actually quite interesting.
The BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Car Seat is, according to the name, an inflatable backless booster car seat that is basically the representation of comfort and convenience on a budget.
Also, this one is so light you will not even be able to believe it. It is only one pound in weight. That is the weight that you wouldn’t even notice, whether it was in your backpack or not.
The reason for that, as the name of the product, basically gives it away is the fact that it is an inflatable booster seat.
Since it is a backless booster car seat, it is probably my favorite in the subcategory, specifically because of the sheer easiness of its usability.
The lightweight and small size of this one makes it extremely portable and easy to shift from one vehicle to another one.
That makes it a good thing to have around in case you need to take an Uber with your child.
Talking about using it in multiple vehicles, did I forget to mention that the whole process of installation is completely eliminated from this one.
Just place the booster seat on the car seat, and your child onto the booster.
Viola! You have not only installed the seat but your child along with it in the fraction of the time that it would take you to install a conventional booster seat.
The lightweight of this thing can also cause it to slip out from under some of your more active, wobbly kids.
- Extremely lightweight; allows for portability
- Fast and easy installation
- Inflatable
- Offers less safety
This is a must for any parents who are usually busy and are out with their kids a lot. Honestly, it does not cost too much, does not weigh much, and takes barely any time to install.
6. Britax Grow With You ClickTight Harness 2 Booster Car Seat
Britax, the brand, specializes in child care products. It produces all modern products for the convenience of parents by manufacturing the best products for their children.
Britax being one of the most well-known brands in the market that produces child care products; this Britax Grow With You ClickTight Harness 2 Booster Car Seat provides trusted quality.
As quality is the first priority that parents think of, especially when it comes to things or their children.
So, with the BritaxClickTight, the consumer does not have to worry about the materials used.
And the general quality of this product is ensured to be trusted by the brand Britax, hence not giving its customers a chance to complain about the quality.
Another impressive thing is the upgraded design. This product’s design has been upgraded by the manufacturers keeping in mind the need of modern customers.
The new version provides easy transitions, harnesses, and positions for contemporary use by its consumers.
An amazing feature of this seat is the position recline it includes. This guarantees full comfort for your child by letting it change its position from the backrest.
Your child can sit on the seat in all different positions it wants with complete comfort as the backrest changes along with the child’s position.
The seat has a removable cover which makes cleaning easier to a very large extent for the parents. Children tend to make a lot of mess.
In this way, cleaning becomes a big deal, but with the removable cover, this seat includes, parents would not have to worry about the mess as much as the cover will be easily removed and cleaned.
So, the buyer should keep in mind the size and weight of this product for some people. It can be a little heavier than needed.
- Trusted quality
- Upgraded design
- Position reclines
- Removable cover
- Heavyweight
- Big in size
The product will be a perfect fit if your top priorities include quality and ensuring safety, as this booster seat provides you with both of these.
However, you will have to keep in mind that you must have the proper place to store it when not in use due to it being heavy and big in size.
7. Diono Cambria 2 Latch 2-In-1 Belt Positioning Booster Seat
The question of why one should never skip out on buying a Diono booster seat can be answered by their products themselves.
The company has produced high-quality products from the start, which was over 20 years ago. This makes them some of the most reliable products available in the market.
The Diono Cambria 2 Latch 2-In-1 Belt Positioning Booster Seat that allows for multiple uses due to its versatility.
The seat itself is made with the latest technology for these products that are out right now, so it ranks among the best of the best.
This product has two modes. One is the conventional booster seat. As has been mentioned earlier, it has nothing fancy about it and simply provides support to the child.
However, there is no specific feature that interests me the most.
It is the removable back that allows the booster seat to become a backless booster seat. The fabric on the seat is also removable, which allows it to easily be cleaned whenever needed.
The material itself can also be washed in a regular laundry machine, and it is also dry safe making the cleaning process quite efficient and effortless.
It is also very lightweight and highly portable. It also has one of the most secure installations. The latch connectors and the attachment points make it very easy to install it as well.
This makes it uncomfortable for the child to be seated in, for long periods of time or on long road trips.
- Durable with two modes
- Lightweight and portable
- Easy to install
- It does not have padding making it uncomfortable for the child
This seat does come in multiple sizes, with XL being their largest one. That is the one I would recommend as it allows for more room for growing children. This makes it last longer as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How Should I Choose Travel Booster Seats?
The first thing we should be on the lookout for is the product being lightweight.
It should be easily transportable so that you can install it when it is being used and store it when it is not.
Being able to install and remove it easily should be simple. The seat should easily hold your child and offer safety along with comfort.
Q2. Should I Choose Traditional Booster Seats Or Booster Seat Pads/Slates?
This choice depends on the age and height of your child. Infants who cannot support themselves require a traditional booster seat to get extra support and be more secure.
They cannot get this type of security with seat pads.
Seat pads are more suited for shorter and young children who can support themselves but cannot get the full security of the car’s seat belt.
Q3. What Are The Safest Booster Seats?
The safest booster seats available on the market are the ones that have gone through vigorous testing to prove their claims as being safe for children.
These seats must pass the Standard of Federal Safety to be able to meet U.S. requirements and standards for prime performance in the car.
Q4. Seat Belt Or LATCH –Which Should I Use?
The majority of booster seats comprise latches or seat belts for installation.
Unless the car is specially designed, you cannot use both; otherwise, things become more dangerous. Vehicles older than 2001 may not have a latch system at all.
Having latch connectors makes a choice rather obvious, but if you are switching out seats often, you may consider a belt install more.
Do note that latches can only support children from 40 to 60 pounds.
Q5. Can My Child Use A Booster Seat On An Airplane?
Yes, your child can use a booster seat on an airplane. Booster seats are designed to be used during the cruise portion of the flight only.
They cannot be used during landing, take off, or when the plane is still moving on the runway.
Even if they can be used while flying with you, they’re not required by law to be FAA-approved as they require a lap-shoulder belt already provided by airplane seats.
So this means you should have no problem taking one with you on your flight, so your child can not only sit comfortably but also remain safe during the flight. (Read this 15 Things You Need To Know When Bring A Car Seat On An Airplane).
Q6. Are Any Booster Seats FAA Approved?
For a booster seat to be approved by the FAA, it must have a 5-point harness. (Read this What Is A 5 Point Harness Car Seat?).
The booster seats that are not approved normally don’t have 5-point harnesses but can still be used on a plane.
If you’re traveling with your child and want one FAA approved, you need one with a 5-point harness.
Some of the booster seats that have been approved by the FAA are:
- Safety 1st Grand 2-In-1 Booster Car Seat (with or without a back)
- Evenflo Chase Sport Harnessed Booster Seat (with or without a back)
- Graco Tranzitions 3 in 1 Harness Booster Seat
Q7. How Do You Travel With A Child In A Booster Seat?
When it comes to traveling with a child in a booster seat, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
First, always try to make sure that the booster seat is compact. If it is too wide, then you may have issues with installation on plane seats.
Secondly, if your child has been using a high-back booster seat, it is best practice to separate the seat and back until you have to put them back together.
This will help reduce any issues with installation and traveling within the plane until you reach your seat.
Conclusion
Graco products are high quality and offer the most protection and safest car environment for your children.
Including 2 of their products in this list shows a great deal of the amount of quality and effort they put into products and their commitment to providing their consumers with top-tier goods.
While I wholeheartedly recommend the Graco SlimFit 3-In-1 Car Seat, I must also state that the rest of the products also rank, in my opinion, as one of the best travel booster seats available.
This includes the pads, which though unorthodox, offer a nice and convenient boost to young children while the rest of the seats provide high-quality protection to infants.
I am Tahir Azam, and I have been writing amazing articles for TaxiHack for as long as I can remember. I know everything that is to know when it comes to automobiles and is always on top of industry news and developments. While I am not an expert by any means, I pride myself on knowing the ins and outs of many different problems and, of course, their solutions. The articles on our website are some of the best and well-researched content that you will find, and I spend countless hours making sure this remains to be true. This is why I ask you to take your time out and read some of my articles, especially if you find a topic that resonates with you or is something you are looking into. This way, you will find the perfect mix of information and tips on your desired topic. Learn more about Tahir.
