murphydog77's Full Review: Compass B500ue Booster Car Seat - True Bl
Vehicle belts are designed to fit an average 160 lbs. man, not your average 4-10 year old child. That's why we have booster seats. A booster seat raises the child up so that the lap portion of the lap/shoulder belt falls across the bony hips, not the soft, easily injured abdomen. High back boosters, like the Compass B500, have headrests with shoulder belt guides to keep the shoulder belt off the child's neck. Booster seats should always be used with a lap/shoulder seat belt.
Who should use this seat?
Compass recommends this seat for children who are about 3-10 years old, weigh 30-100 lbs., and are between 38" and 57" tall.
Choosing which seat to use should be based on many factors, including the way the seat fits in your vehicle, how the child fits in the seat, and, in the case of a booster, the maturity of the child. Because boosters allow more freedom of movement, the child must have the maturity to sit correctly in the seat without wiggling out of the seat belt or slouching over. Only you can determine if your child is mature enough, but we generally see this maturity around age 4. Also, a child under 40 lbs. is best protected by a seat with a 5-point harness. If you believe your over-40 lb. child is not mature enough for a booster, please click the link for "Niche Seats" on http://www.carseatsite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm to see your options.
Features
This booster seat is feature-heavy. There is EPS foam in the headrest. EPS foam is the foam that’s in bicycle helmets. It has cup holders that rotate out on either side of the base. The armrests flip up for easy in/out and buckling. The Compass folds for easier transportation of the seat through airports, though the handle built in to the front of the headrest doesn’t go all the way through to the back. The seat is wider than many boosters, which can help accommodate a larger child more comfortably, yet it still can fit easily into a narrow center back seat position.
The instruction manual isn't often referred to as a feature of a seat, since all manufacturers must have them, but this one is exceptional. It is clear and concise and includes a list of safe practices--it goes above and beyond a standard car seat manual.
The warranty on the seat is also a valued feature. If you are in a crash of any type, Compass will replace the booster free of charge.
Cover and padding
There are currently two covers available for the Compass: a nylon navy blue and a suede-like black with nylon gold trim. The cover contains ample padding which makes this booster one of the most well-padded on the market. The cover snaps onto the booster, which makes for easy removal for cleaning, and is machine washable.
Installation and use
Boosters are very easy to use: just plop them on the seat and buckle the child into the vehicle belt. The Compass is no different; however there are some things to remember. When buckling a child into the Compass, the shoulder belt must be routed through the open-loop design shoulder belt guide. This is easily done just by sliding the belt under the guide. The open-loop design means that the shoulder belt won't get caught on it if the child leans forward; in the Compass, the shoulder belt will remain snug on the child. The lap belt should fit snugly over the child's hips. Having the flip-up armrests makes buckling a child into this seat much easier.
The back of the Compass should be adjusted so that the shoulder belt guides are slightly above the child's shoulders. To adjust the height of the back, simply push in on the yellow handles and lift up. There are six height adjustments from which to choose. The highest setting is 29". When I was choosing a booster seat with EPS foam, I had two other seats to compare the Compass to: the Britax BodyGuard and the Graco TurboBooster. Both are fine boosters and taller than the Compass; however, by my guestimate, the Compass was only about an inch shorter than the TurboBooster. At this point, the flip-up armrests are more important to us than that extra inch.
One minor glitch I have found with the shoulder belt guides happens when the shoulder belt is farther forward than the seat itself. In this case, the shoulder belt must come backwards to go through the shoulder belt guide. The shoulder belt doesn't get caught on the guide, but there is friction against the yellow height adjuster handle.
One major downside to the seat is that the back isn't removable. I understand that the seat folds in half to make it easier to transport through an airport, but the bulk of the seat makes me less likely to want to take it. The box the Compass comes in is designed to be used to protect the seat while it's in storage or the luggage compartment of an airplane.
So far, my son is really enjoying his new Compass B500 and is learning to sit properly in it. I like it for its ease-of-use. Don't forget that booster use is very important until a child fits in the vehicle belt. Here's a wonderful 5-step test from SafetyBeltSafe USA, http://www.carseat.org, to determine if your child is large enough to fit a vehicle belt alone without a booster:
1. Can the child sit with his bum all the way back against the vehicle seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend easily at the edge of the vehicle seat?
3. Does the shoulder belt fit across the collarbone and not the child's neck?
4. Is the lap belt low over the child's hips?
5. Is the child able to stay like this for the entire trip?
If you answered "no" to any of the above questions, your child still needs a booster.
Update
It's been 2 years since I purchased this booster for my son and he's nearly outgrown it in height at age 6.5. Unfortunately, he still doesn't pass the 5-step test I mentioned above to safely ride in the vehicle seat belt alone without a booster seat. Compass has a new, updated version of this booster seat called the B510 coming out in July 2006. Compass has responded to consumer and child passenger safety technician requests to make a taller seat and the B510 back will extend to 30", which will make it one of the tallest belt positioning boosters on the market. The headrest is also larger, which adds more protection and makes sleeping in the booster easier.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 89
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
We are currently out of stock in this item.So portable! The world's ONLY folding car booster seat. Does your child's booster get around? If you lug yo...More at Albee Baby
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.