Skinny almost 6yo - confused!

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Hello, my teeny boy at 5y9m has just hit 15kg, but is now growing out of the Britax 2-way Elite he's been in. All I know so far is that we want a crotch strap as he's still so skinny, we have a 2015 Toyota Yaris which has isofix. Recommendations?

We moved our skinny girl into a Cybex Z fix. No crotch strap but it's a great seat and feels very safe.

We got a cos n safe Excalibur for my huge middle child as it has a harness up to 25kg. I wasn't happy putting him in a high back booster at not quite 3 but he was 18kg and above the 99th centile for height. It can be used with an adult seatbelt up to 36kg but it is heavier and more unwieldy than a high back booster. It feels very sturdy and safe and has been easy to clean and use.

Do you want to keep him in a harness? If so have a look at the cosy n safe Excalibur, Joie Bold, Maxi Cosi Beryl or babyauto dupla.

High back boosters that have a crotch strap are:
Britax KidFix line
BeSafe
Chicco Fold & go i size

All of these do come with isofix

You can use the TWE until his eyes are level with the edge of the shell, just in case you weren't aware (sometimes people think it's head level, like an infant carrier.)

The Joie Bold would be the best one to keep him in a harness if he's tall and skinny because it goes right up to the headrest height. I have a feeling the Silver Cross Balance goes up really high as well. It's only an 18kg limit on the harness, but you'd get the use out of it with him being only 15kg.

Otherwise Tea is right on the list of HBBs with crotch strap :) The Britax ones score a bit better for safety, but the seatbelt can get caught in the shoulder pad on the models with that so best to check fit before you buy. The crotch strap on the Besafe can be folded downwards under the seat cover later on if he is too big to need it and it becomes uncomfortable. It is also narrow at the base. And then the Chicco is portable in case you need it for travel.

I actually think the Joie Every Stage might have a crotch strap in booster mode as well but I'm not 100% sure - that might be worth a look for continuing RF as the harness goes up really high on that one, too. Just be aware it scored really poorly as a FF seat with harness. It's OK RF or as a HBB.

It's just the FX version of the Every Stage that has the strap.

With the shoulder pad on the Britax they’ve actually resolved that problem. We had the older version (KidFix II XP) and the seatbelt did get stuck quite a lot and DC couldn’t move forward. We ended up replacing with the newer version (KidFix III S) and HAVENT had problems with the shoulder strap. Before the way it was if DC leant forward in the older version the whole fucking seat moved with them . The newer version has an elastic strap instead of a rubber one and it stretches so it moves forward with DC and the seatbelt does retract into it (unlike with the KidFix II XP).

We also looked at the Chicco fold and go i size as we were going on holiday at the time and it actually felt rather ‘cheap’. The fold wasn’t that good per say and when we were travelling we were planning to put it in the overhead cabin (we didn’t check anything in). It was also a rather large folding, so instead we used a backless booster for the holiday and decided on the KidFix III S for home

Sorry meant to say the seatbelt moved with DC in the KidFix III S instead of the whole seat like in the KidFix II XP

Yes, they have definitely improved it with the 3 but it can still be a problem in some cars. It's not as likely but still worth being aware of. It's a great seat and safety wise the clear winner.

The chicco fold and go was tested in the spring ADAC tests and got the same as the maxi cosi Kore! Surprised me as I thought it seemed flimsy as well.

The BeSafe i-size booster also has a chest pad (called pad+ I believe), and so does the Chicco fold&go.

That’s actually really surprising to hear the safety results bertie given how it felt. Although it is i-size so figured it would be rather safe given the stricter laws! Side note—is there any chance you know what the safety results are on the HiFold booster? Looking at buying this as it folds extremely small so would be good to pop in the boot once DD starts to drive so she can take DS in her car

HiFold does really badly. I wouldn't use it. If you need a portable one BubbleBum is the best followed by Trunki. Or just a generic backless booster?

Both the MiFold original and the HiFold Mifold.

Maxi Cosi Rodi comes apart to store, that might be worth a look.

Thank you for your response @BertieBotts Looks like we’ll just go with a regular HBB, although will take a look at the Maxo Cosi rodi as I’ve never used maxi Cosi but like the look of it!