Posted by Has your child outgrown their toddler car seat? If so, this is the best time to purchase a harness to booster seat. Harness to booster seats are forward-facing car seats that provide a 5-point restraint system to growing toddlers and young children. They can later be transitioned to a high back booster seat that uses your vehicle’s own seat belt system.
Some reasons to love this type of car seat are:
- Once your child is ready to turn to the forward-facing position (around 2-3 years old), you can expect to use your harness to booster seat until your child no longer needs one at all. That’s a span of several years, making it a great investment.
- Harness to booster seats are designed at the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to restrain children in a 5-point harness system for as long as possible.
- High back booster seats provide side impact support that backless booster seats do not in the event of a car crash. The high back design also gives children something to lean against, making it easier to fall asleep in the car.
5 Best Harness to Booster Seats
Below are 5 of the best harness to booster seats based on verified consumer ratings. Each car seat has also been accredited as a “Best Bet Booster” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – this applies to booster mode only.
Even better:
You can order these harness to booster seats on Amazon with Free Shipping for delivery straight to your door within days.
Britax Frontier ClickTight Harness-2-Booster Car Seat
Child Size: Toddler to Big Kid
Forward-Facing: 25-90 lbs. | Booster Mode: 40-120 lbs. | Child Standing Height Using Harness: 30”-58” | Child Height Using Booster: 45”-62”
The Britax Frontier booster seat makes going from toddler to big kid in the car effortless. This top of the line harness to booster seat uses Britax’s patented Clicktight installation system. Clicktight installation is as easy as buckling a seat belt, but without the hassle of trying to fit your hands through the back of the car seat to thread the belt – ouch!
Watch how Clicktight installation works here.
It is this type of design ingenuity that has earned the Britax brand the #1 safety technology rating in the car seat industry.
Aside from foolproof installation, the Britax Frontier booster seat offers many great features to keep your little one secure and comfortable.
As your child grows, you can easily adjust the headrest and harness together in 9-positions without ever having to rethread the harness. Once your child meets the size requirements for booster mode, you can remove the 5-point harness and use the seat belt path guides for a perfect fit every time.
Evenflo Maestro Sport Harnessed Booster Car Seat
Child Size: Toddler to Big Kid
Forward-Facing Harnessed Booster: 22-50 lbs., Age 2+ | Belt Positioned Booster: 50-110 lbs., Age 4+
The Evenflo Maestro car seat accommodates children as young as 2 years old (22 lb. minimum) in a harnessed forward-facing position. It then makes the switch to a belt-positioning booster seat for big kids who are at least 4 years old (50 lbs. minimum) up until they no longer need a booster at all.
This harness to booster seat weighs just under 10 lbs. The lightweight design makes it a great choice for sharing between vehicles since it’s not too cumbersome to uninstall and reinstall.
Being under 10 lbs. also makes the Evenflo Maestro car seat easier to tote through the airport when traveling. It is FAA approved for use on aircraft in the harness mode, so go ahead and bring it on board! It will provide your child with a safe and comfortable place to fall asleep against while traveling.
What you’ll love even more? The price! The Evenflo Maestro is one of the most affordable harness to booster seats on this list, coming in under $85.
Graco Atlas 65 2-in-1 Harness Booster Car Seat
Child Size: Toddler to Big Kid
Forward Facing: 22-65 lbs. | High Back Booster: 30-100 lbs.
The Graco Atlas 65 might be one of the easiest harness to booster seats to use. The NHTSA gives this car seat an overall ease-of-use rating of 4.5 stars out of 5, and it’s not hard to see why.
You’ll love how simple it is to adjust the headrest and harness together with just one hand as your child grows taller. No old-fashioned rethreading here! Once your child is big enough to use the vehicle’s seat belt in the belt-positioning booster position, just tuck the harness into the seat back compartment so it never gets lost.
The Graco Atlas also comes equipped with two cup holders for holding all your kid’s favorite snacks and drinks. Of course, snacks and drinks = crumbs and spills, so you’ll be happy to know that this harness to booster seat is easy to clean. The seat pad, buckle cover and harness covers are all removable and machine washable.
Chicco MyFit Harness + Booster Car Seat
Child Size: Toddler to Big Kid
Forward Facing: 25-65 lbs., Child Height: up to 54” | High Back Booster: 40-100 lbs., Age 4+, Child Height 38”-57”
If your child spends a lot of time riding in the car, you’ll appreciate the comfortable design of the Chicco MyFit. That’s because you’ll never hear those three little words coming from the backseat – “My butt hurts!”
This harness to booster seat has a deep ergonomic seat that is contoured and layered with plush padding, and can be adjusted to 4 recline positions for the ultimate comfort for your backseat rider. Add to that two dishwasher-safe cup holders to keep snacks and drinks nearby and you’ve got one happy camper.
Along with superior comfort, the Chicco MyFit has all the features you could want in a premium car seat – easy LATCH or seat belt installation, optimal impact protection, and a no rethread harness that auto-adjusts with the headrest as your child grows.
Cosco Finale DX 2-in-1 Booster Car Seat
Child Size: Toddler to Big Kid
Forward Facing: 30-65 lbs. | High Back Booster: 40-100 lbs.
An awesome, lightweight harness to booster seat, the Cosco Finale 2 in 1 is an affordable choice for carpools and families with multiple kids in car seats.
At 11.5 lbs., the car seat is easy to transfer between vehicles and great for airport travel. The slim design makes it possible to fit 3 in a row in the backseat of most vehicles, without sacrificing your kid’s must-have snack cup holder!
Got spills? You can remove the entire seat pad and throw it in the washing machine. It’s even dryer safe.
As far as harness to booster seats go, the Cosco Finale is a steal of a deal with a price-point under $60.
Conclusion
There are two great things about the harness to booster seats on this list. First, you’ll get your money’s worth since each seat can be used for up to 8 years. Second, you’ll be keeping your child in a 5-point harness for as long as possible before switching to the vehicle’s own seat belt system. This is recommended by the AAP.
However, the AAP also recommends that young toddlers remain in a rear-facing car seat until they have reached the height and weight limitations of that car seat– usually around 40-45 lbs.
With that being said, consider the fact that the forward-facing harness to booster seats on this list can be used for toddlers ages 2+ weighing as little as 22 or 25 lbs. But just because they can be used for such small children, doesn’t mean that this is the best time to start using them.
To understand this further, watch this crash test video. It demonstrates the impact of a crash on your child’s body in the rear-facing position vs. the forward-facing position.
This is something you’ll want to seriously take into consideration when deciding at what point to begin using one of the forward-facing harness to booster seats on this list.
If you think your child might not be ready for a harness to booster seat, there are many other options to consider. Visit our car seats buying guide to find what’s right for you.
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