Britax Parkway - the world's safest (and ugliest) booster seat
Written: May 22 '05 (Updated Apr 04 '07)
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Pros: Side impact protection, ease of use
Cons: Fabric choices. Hard to reach seatbelt
The Bottom Line: An excellent booster seat, but is it so wrong to want zebra stripes or chartreuse chambray?
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| prfstars's Full Review: Britax Parkway 9041 Booster Car Seat - Cougar |
Britax Parkway Booster Seat. As a child of the 70s, I sat anywhere I wanted in the car-- front, back, even inside the "trunk" of my mother's hatchback-- without ever fastening a seatbelt. Times have changed. I can't quite keep up with evolving carseat laws, but I'm pretty sure my petite daughter will need to ride in a booster seat to her prom. She's seven now, and barely fifty pounds, so I bought her and her four year old brother matching Britax Parkway booster seats.
When I looked for booster seats at Target, I lamented the ugly fabrics available on most models and decided to check out Britax boosters on the internet. After all, my experiences with their products have been mostly positive. My daughter's old Denim Britax Roundabout had an awkward chest strap, but my son's newer Cowmooflage Roundabout, with the exception of its price tag, has been the ideal carseat.
I have a love-hate relationship with Britax. I love their products' fabric choices and ease of installation, but I hate the Volvo-esque cult of safety they inspire. Their products are usually rated well by Consumer Reports and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, but there are always Cosco, Graco, and Evenflo models with the same ratings at half the price. Stores shamelessly guilt parents with catchphrases like "you can't put a price on safety," and we buy into the myth that a higher price buys more safety. Now, however, Britax booster seats have a safety feature that truly sets them apart from some of the cheaper models.
The Britax Parkway is the newest seat in Britax's booster lineup. I chose it over the discontinued (but still available) Star Riser Comfy model because it specifically addresses side impact safety. Many popular booster seats, such as the Graco Turbo Booster and Combi Yorktown, have some EPS foam in the sides, ostensibly to protect in side impacts. The Britax Parkway's head and torso sections offer "True Side Impact Protection," which extends out far more than the "wings" on other models.
Features
• True Side Impact Protection with EPS foam
• 2 position recline
• Built-in loop belt guides for easy installation with vehicle lap and shoulder belt
• One-handed head rest adjustable to multiple positions to grow with your child
• Cup holders keep drinks and snacks nearby
• Contoured bottom for vehicle fit
• Removable and washable cover
The Good
If you're used to installing an infant seat, a booster seat is a big no-brainer. It doesn't attach to your car; it simply sits there, held in place by your child's weight beneath a three point seat belt. The aforementioned loop guides direct the seatbelt across your child's torso at the right height, and you adjust them along with the headrest. The headrest is very easy to slide up and down.
The Parkway is very comfortable. My 7 year old daughter was adamantly opposed to sitting in a booster until she tried the Parkway, but she quickly fell in love. It's so much more comfortable than slip-sliding around on leather seats and having a seatbelt across her neck. Her favorite aspect, though, is the headrest. "It's so cozy."
And speaking of cozy, my kids love the feel of the fabric. My daughter says it feels like her favorite jammies.
We tried the Evenflo Right Fit Booster Seat a few years ago, but the lack of friction between the booster and the car's seat caused the booster to literally fly out from under my daughter when I had to slam on my breaks to avoid an accident. The Parkway's bottom is much less slippery, and just doesn't budge.
The Parkway is rated for children 3-10 years old and 30-100 pounds, and up to 60 inches tall. Since the headrest is so easy to adjust, this seat is incredibly versatile.
The cup holders are fairly useless for frappuccinos, as my daughter discovered, but my son loves to use his for the assorted treasures (cheerios, pennies, paper clips, lint) he likes to haul around with him.
The Bad
With a width of 20 inches, the Parkway is significantly wider than the Graco TurboBooster or the Britax Starriser Comfy. With two of them in the backseat, it's very difficult to squeeze a third person in. If you use three booster seats in your car, the Parkway probably won't work unless you have a third row.
The Parkway's side impact protection "wings" have one downside-- they make it very hard for a child to close his or her own seatbelt. It took my daughter a week of trying to get the feel for it. It's not so easy for grown-ups, either.
The Ugly
With the Parkway, Britax has turned its back on all those great fabric choices that they're know for. Forget about Cowmooflage, Big Cat, Ashley Floral, and Funky Denim. Britax offers the Parkway in three ugly patterns-- Granite, Ivy League, and Bubbly Fun, and a fourth in black, silver, and yellow that I've only seen at Babies R' Us. "Ivy League," shown above, looks like a bad sweater circa 1977. "Bubbly Fun" looks like airline seats-- economy class- at their ugliest. We settled on granite, a fairly plain nubby gray cover that looks like an old wool sock.
Hey, at least it's cuddly.
Is it really too much to want side impact protection and a choice of animal prints?
Price and Availability
The Parkway is back-ordered at a lot of store, but it's readily available for $99.99 if you look around. I ordered ours for $109.99 each from babyuniverse.com because they offered immediate, free shipping. They shipped it the day I placed my order, and we had them in the car two days after that.
Final Thoughts
At around $100, the Parkway is a bargain compared to the Britax Roundabout or Marathon convertible seats. I'm still on the fence about those Britax infant/toddler seats, but I'm convinced that the Parkway offers a significant safety advantage at a reasonable price.
Five stars, despite scary-ugly fabric choices.
Update April 4, 2007
Our Britax Parkway Booster Seats are almost two years old, and they're going strong. The fabric looks new, and my kids honestly love their seats. My daughter is nine now, and although she's still only 55 pounds, she's tall enough that we'd allow her to sit in back without a booster. She wants her booster seat, though. It's cozy, she loves the view, and as long as she's willing, I'm thrilled that she's got that extra side impact protection. No complaints.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 109
Age Range of Child: Other
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