Acceptable
September 10, 2015
This review is for the KidFit 2-in-1 Belt Positioning Booster Seat. Model # 040 79014 150 070 MCODE: 52451 So your child is ready for a belt positioning booster (BPB), you're doing your research and you find yourself here because this model isn't being sold anywhere else currently. I was there as well. I'll get to this particular seat in a moment, but let me digress briefly regarding child safety in vehicles. I highly recommend that you choose a high back model, as opposed to a backless one. There does not appear to be a great high back BPB out there. Does that mean that you should just get one without the back? I think not. Although the high back provides a only a modicum of side impact protection, it is far better than no protection at all. Further, the head restraint geometry is far better than you will find in most rear seats if you are not using a high back model. This assumes the child is tall enough so that their head height is above the seat back and the restraint geometry would be an issue. What does head restraint geometry have to do with this? Head restraint geometry is a means of determining the how well a vehicle's seat protects occupants in a rear-impact crash. As a matter of fact, the head restraint is one of, if not, the most important safety feature of a seat in a rear impact crash. Although having good head restraint geometry does not guarantee that there will be no injury, a proper fitting (or properly adjusted for you adults) head restraint decreases the risk for, and the severity of, injuries in a low speed rear-impact crash (LoSRIC). It does not prevent injuries, rather mitigates them. Why do I say that there does not appear to be a great high back BPB model? Well, there are great, I mean amazing, high back models that use 5 point restraints; many of which convert of into a BPB [*coughs* Britax]. The problem with these seems to be that the base of the seat is so wide that the child /adult cannot access the seat belt buckle in order to use the seat properly. Basically, child cannot buckle themselves in. This seemed to be a problem when I looked at several different higher end models/brands. Still, there are other high backs that have a narrower base, but they fail on other areas including: - comfort: they offer little to no padding for the child's bottom - belt position design flaws: they allow the seat belt to ride over the proximal femurs and pelvis, up to the child's abdomen, which can cause significant injury in a crash from the belt itself It should be noted that most of the high backs that I looked at position the shoulder strap quite well. I chose this model because it is acceptable. It offers great head restraint geometry. It positions the lap belt adequately. It has the narrow base allowing my daughter to buckle herself in. It has the 2 drink/snack trays. What is it missing? In my opinion, high back models should have a top tether strap. This is not for protection - because you are using a seat belt, not the harness - but provides a safer means of keeping the seat in place when unoccupied and in a crash. Most manufacturers recommend that you still buckle the seatbelt in even when the nobody is sitting in it, to prevent this. Every booster on the manufacturer market should simply steal the Bubble Bum design (clips on both sides of the seat to guide/secure the lap belt) to position the lap belt. Bubble Bum nailed it with that design. I actually have 3 Bubble Bums for travel seats/rental cars/play dates. This Chicco seat has the claw type of lower anchors (which I prefer of the clip type), but they seem to be of a lesser quality than Britax. In fact, there is still side to side 'play' in the Chicco seat when it is installed as tight as I could get it. The Britax had no play at all. None. So there it is. It's an acceptable seat in my opinion. disclosure - I have not been paid to by anyone to endorse this product. I am not affiliated with Target, Britax, Chicco or any other manufacturer. I am not an engineer. I treat patients who were injured in motor vehicle crashes on a daily basis - including pediatric patients. I have participated in full scale human occupant crash testing. I wrote this as a parent.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.