High back booster advice

[LGBirmingham]

Ds has nearly outgrown his maxi cosi mica. Trying to sus out what to buy early so we have time to get the right thing. The mica was a good seat but not great for ds who is average size but with a longer back so will outgrow it a bit sooner than we expected.

Cozy n safe high back boosters seem very good value but are they any good? Does anyone have experience? Ideally we onlycwant to buy one seat to see him through now. We have an Arthur for my mum's car and happy with that but he doesn't use it very often so it doesn't really get any wear and tear.

Otherwise we'd probably get a maxi cosi again or a britax. Anyone have any advice?

How old is he at the moment and what are his height/weight stats? Are you happy with him going into a high backed booster or would you prefer him to stay in a harness (or rear facing) - you have options for both.

Maxi Cosi and Britax high backed boosters are higher performing than the Cozy n Safe will be. If you need value, Joie have some good seats but the cheaper Britax/Maxi Cosi are good options too.

I'd probably go Britax, or Cybex, over Maxi Cosi if he's tall backed as the Maxi Cosi seats are slightly shorter and don't last as long.

We have just swapped our Maxi Cosi Mica for a Cybex Solution T-iFix Plus. I can't recommend enough. It's fab, the back is adjustable and super comfortable. I was researching for absolutely ages because I really really didn't want to spend this much but no regrets so far.

https://www.johnlewis.com/cybex-solution-t-i-fix-plus-r129-car-seat-mirage-grey/p110122434?sppc=2dxxmixedfashionnBAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gadsource=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMII8vpsdehhQMVf5RQBh1cyQqEAQYBSABEgJUXXD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’m planning on getting a joie high back booster as I was impressed by our joie 360. We’ve had two maxi cosi seats that didn’t last more than 2 years so won’t be buying them again

He's 3 and 3 months, approx 98 cms (very hard to measure as won't stand still) and is 15kg. I think we probably have space for a centimetre or so of torso growth before it becomes unsafe on the position of the shoulder strap, from the guidance I have seen.

He's already forward facing so will remain so. I'm not sure if it is necessary to still have a harness? I'm concerned that the ones that do come with a harness and convert to just seatbelt that the harness bit might not go any bigger than the seat we currently have and actually be a waste of money?

We don't necessarily need value but are moving house soon so haemorrhaging money every where at the moment.

This looks very soft which is appealing. Very similar in price to maxi cosi and britax ones too. I'll take a better look.

That's good to hear. Lots of people do seem to have Joie seats so there must be a reason why. Which seat are you looking at?

The problem I'm finding is that lots of the manufacturers seem to have around 3 different ranges of high back booster often with several sub versions of each range and it's very difficult to work out what is different about what they do other than the visual appearance. Anyone else find this?

Interested to see what advice you get. I’ve also been looking at the Cybex solution T i-fix. My DS is just about to turn 3 but he’s 100cm so just tall enough for it.

There doesn’t seem to be much difference between the Cybex solution T and Cybex solution G that I can see.

Also any opinions on Nuna @BertieBotts ? We had a Nuna travel system and the push chair bit has lasted very well so I figure they are probably well made.

He’s very young to be considering a booster with a three point belt. At 15kg he’s just on the weight limit for a three point belt, but at 98cm he’s too short (100cm) limit. But mainly, the biggest issue is that he simply isn’t skeletally mature enough for a three point belt, plus at that age I doubt that he is mature enough not to play with the belt.
He’d be far safer rear facing with a harness, but there are options of forward facing seats with a harness that others may be able to recommend.

Thanks @FamilyAreEverything yes appreciate he's not big enough yet. I'm researching for when he is. He still fits in his seat currently but will outgrow it within a few months.

Ok, but ideally you’d want him to be closer to 5 before considering a HBB, so I’d definitely be looking at harnessed seats.

Yes it can be a bit tricky to differentiate between very similar models.

Generally they will have a top of the line luxury one with all the safety bells and whistles, then they'll have a bare bones basic one which is cheaper, and the one(s) in the middle will be some kind of compromise between the two - sometimes comfort wise, sometimes safety feature wise, sometimes both. When you have extra models that don't appear directly on the brand website, they are probably last year's models, which is fine.

At 98cm and 15kg and on the lower end of three, I would strongly recommend a harnessed seat, it will have quite a significant benefit for him. Britax Evolvafix or Advansafix Pro, or Maxi Cosi Titan i-size (the Pro = better safety, Plus = better comfort, but just the i-size is fine in safety terms) are the ones I'd recommend, because they have good ratings both as harnessed seats and high backed boosters. If you can check them in store before you buy, you'll be able to see if you have more torso growth, my guess is the Britax will have more space (I have one and it lasted my son up to 109cm standing height - I can measure the max harness height tomorrow.) You're right you won't get a huge amount of extra space, but it does sound like the Mica is fairly short in the shell - there seem to be a spate of MN DC outgrowing them at the moment! If you can get 9-12 months more out of a harness it will be worth it I reckon, better if you can get even longer than this! Ideally you want children to be as close to 18kg/105cm as possible before changing to a booster - it's not always possible to get over, but over is ideal.

If these aren't big enough, you could look at Joie Bold R or Cozy n Safe Hudson as these both have harnesses which go up to 25kg and aren't so limited in height - but I would try the Britax first if you can since the safety is better than the Joie Bold and probably better than the Cozy n Safe. But if you do need the extra height in the harness, those two are an option. Don't bother with their new i-size versions as these are limited to 105cm (so you might as well get the Britax or Maxi Cosi).

I am not sure how tall the harness goes on the Maxi Cosi Titan i-size. The previous one, the Titan, had a short shell/harness and that was the same generation as the Mica that you have. I had no end of trouble fitting 3yos in this - the harness was SO short I stopped bothering with it after a while. But the newer Maxi Cosi Titan range (i-size, especially i-size pro/plus) look like they are bigger. I just haven't seen them in person to confirm.

Cybex Solution G is the mid range Cybex model while Solution T is the top range. The T one expands out widthways as the child grows whereas the G doesn't and I think the fabrics are probably more premium on the T. Cybex don't do a harnessed seat which changes to booster, only the impact shields.

People like Joie because they do a really great job of walking the line between quality, features and price. Nuna is the same company, and their high backed boosters have done really well in crash testing, but their harness + booster seat didn't get a very good rating, so would skip that one.

We got a Joie for DC1 as it has a 5 point harness for up to 25kg. They are almost 8 and we’ve only just switched to the car seatbelt setting. Sorry I can’t remember which one it is.

The 25kg one is Joie Bold :)

@BertieBotts that would be much appreciated if you could measure the max shoulder height on your Britax seat. I did actually email them this question but they gave a completely useless reply saying it was good until the child reached 104cm height.

It's probably silly but I like Britax more as I find them more attractive than the cybex seats.

BTW how important is the guidance that the harness should be level with the top of the shoulders? It's confusing because I've also seen guidance that toddler seats are safe until the top of the seat is level with the child's cheek bone. If ds's cheek bone got level with the top of his seat the top of the harness would be way below his shoulders. And tbh his body probably wouldn't fit in below the head rest.

But in terms of the harness if it is safe for it to be a bit below his shoulders then he probably has more like 6 months left in the mica rather than roughly 3. Any thoughts?

Cheek bone is pretty low. It should be eye level/tops of ears, but this is less relevant in the seats with the headrest that moves up and down. Basically that is old advice for seats like this which used to have a much less "moulded" shell (see picture). These days the headrest is more of a guide as you should not use it when the shoulders are no longer below the headrest.

Maxi Cosi have the guidance as level, unfortunately, so you shouldn't let them dip down behind. I'll go and measure our seat now

Britax Advansafix M i-size (which is the same shell as the newer Advansafix Pro and Evolvafix)

With headrest in highest strap enabled position, the straps are 39cm from the bum part and headrest is 44cm from the bum part.

Britax also say the straps should not dip below the shoulders.

https://www.cybex-online.com/en/nl/compareproducts?pid0=CSPLLSolutionTTi-FixEN&pid1=CSSPLSolutionnZi-FixxEN&pid2=CSGOOSolutionGGi-FixEN&pid3=CSSGOSolutionnS2i-FixxEN

Not sure if you have seen this. It compares the features' of various Cybex boosters. I have never seen the G but the T iFix Plus that we have has an amazing & comfy material and I think it's a slightly updated version of the G. It's an absolute minefield. 4yo's only complaint is that he can no longer recline like in his old seat, he does like a car snooze but it's a bit trickier in the boosters.

There really is quite a difference in size. I've measured the mica from the bum part to the bottom of the shoulder straps socket is 37cms and to the bottom of the headrest is 39 cm

I chose a joie bold at this point. We were FF and I still wanted the security of a 5 point harness for a while longer. The joie bold switches from a 5 point to a 3 point easily. Also is isofix with a top tether for extra safety!

All the advice and recommendations have been very helpful. I think we'll wait until his seat is fully outgrown. The settings of the headrest are such that the straps either come up quite below his shoulders on the penultimate position or slightly higher than his shoulders in the final position. I read that slightly higher than the shoulders is better for forward facing, but he still has a cm or so of torso growth before they get to the level position. I reckon we have at least 2 months hopefully more.

Then we'll decide between a seat with harness that converts to a booster or just a booster based on his overall height/weight then. He used to be a right chunk, was 16kg on his 3rd birthday, but lost a bit of weight recently after a couple of illnesses. Will likely choose a Britax either way as it seems they are good for long backs.

We had head loll issues when asleep with the Britax Advansafix, even fully reclined. I know it does well on safety but I don’t think it’s a great seat for comfort. He could also very easily escape the straps. So I really wouldn’t recommend it. DS now thankfully is now HBB height/age so we’ve moved him into his sister’s old Cybex Z Solution (older version of the T) and no more issues. Cybex booster seats all have a patented recline headrest which is amazing. If I was buying a new seat it would hands down be the T Solution.

Can I be cheeky and request a measurement from the bum part to the highest strap position if you have the opportunity? This seat keeps cropping up so would be good to know if it has substantially more space with the harness than the mica. Thank you

Oh that's worth knowing. We try to stop ds sleeping in the car due to bedtime woes. But it is just inevitable on a long journey sometimes. This stage between a toddler seat and hbb seems tricky to navigate.