We have way too many carseats- but my now 5 year old son seems to go in phases in which seat he will or won't sit in lately. Gone are the days of the Britax Husky with its 5 point harness and he is finally (most of the time) a big boy enough that he can ride in a regular booster seat. If I had my way I would have him still riding in the Britax Husky seat but he refuses to sit in it anymore opting for a booster seat that relies on the vehicle's lap/shoulder belt restraint alone. When we first attempted using a carseat without a built-in harness it was a nightmare (you can read about it here when we actually tried this same seat in the larger version (with the back) - the "red seat" as my son refers to it. Right now we happen to be in a "red seat" phase, but I'm sure before no time at all he'll be asking to ride back in his backless seat aka "the blue seat".

Here's how the manufacturer describes this seat (from www.gracobaby.com)

With new cool and sporty features, any child is sure to feel great riding around in the backless TurboBooster® youth booster seat. This backless version has padded, height-adjustable armrests and hide-away cup holders on either side of the seat - perfect for storing drinks, snacks, and toys for those long rides. The backless TurboBooster® youth booster seat is for children from 4 to 10 years old, from 40 lbs to 100 lbs and between 40 and 57 inches tall.

Our Graco TurboBooster 8491 is in the "Cricket" fabric choice which is blue with grey, though this seat comes in many different fabrics. The seatpad is removable for machine washing, also. My son calls this "the blue seat" because its mostly blue (duh!). His "red seat" which is the TurboBooster version that has a back on it, can also have the back removed and be used just the same as this backless booster but since my son is Autistic and very stuck on rituals I don't dare remove the back on his red seat. This is why we had to purchase a second seat in order to go backless. You can find these backless boosters for under $20 - and ours was only $14.99 on sale at Target purchased in May 2005.

This seat assembles very quickly with the help of a phillips head screwdriver. My husband actually put ours together in a CVS parking lot with the help of his Leatherman pocket tool. Our son was having a fit and didn't want to ride in "the red seat" and so we pulled this one out from the storage area of my mini-van and he agreed to sit in it. Hey, whatever works, right? To assemble it you snap the armrests in place and choose if you want them high or low and then screw them in place.

In order to ride in this seat your child should be between 4 and 10 years of age, 40-100 pounds, and 40-57 inches tall. With carseat requirements being the way they are these days my child will ride in a booster seat til he is almost as tall as I am (61 inches!!!). My son is around 45 pounds and being the bad mom that I am I am not sure of his exact height but I am certain he is over 40 inches and not yet as tall as I am!

No real installation of the seat is needed, it simply sits on the seat of the car, your child sits in it and then you fasten the vehicles Lap/Shoulder belt on your child (and under the arm rests). There is a strap that goes onto the back of the seat that has a small red clip on it that you can use to position the vehicles shoulder belt should it be cutting your child in the face or neck. You cannot use this seat in a vehicle seat that only has a lap belt - so like not in the middle seat of my husband's older Chevy Suburban, but the window seats are fine. It also should be noted that this seat cannot be used on an airplane.

My son finds this seat comfy and he likes that it has the armrests and 2 cupholders that are retractable. Personally the seat doesn't look all that comfy but the seat IS padded and my son doesn't complain. (He's more concerned about whether he wants the BLUE seat or the RED seat and he sure does let me know if the wrong one is set up!)For longer trips I would personally prefer him riding in the booster seat that has a back on it (which is more support and comfortable for him should he fall asleep - but at age 5 he doesn't seem do that as much as he used to!). This is definitely a "big kid" seat which at his age is quite important to him!

What I like about this seat is that its quite small and I can just store it right in the back part of my mini-van and it takes up nearly no space at all. Its small, lightweight, installs in seconds and was also very affordable. If you are looking for an inexpensive yet safe backless booster this is a good one!


www.gracobaby.com

My Other Booster Seat Reviews
Graco TurboBooster 8493
Britax Husky
Nania Airway
Graco Platinum CarGo


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 15
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years