The First Years Compass Booster Seat, Outdoors

This Compass Folding Adjustable Ultimate Booster Car Seat (Tanager color) was used for checking in as baggage on a flight, carrying on my back on a shuttle bus, and alternating between several cars while we vacationed in another state. It was easy to switch cars and was used in a Jeep Wrangler, Honda Civic coupe, Land Rover Discovery and Ford Explorer all late models in the back seat with the lap/shoulder belt (of course.) Buyers be aware that this seat sits loose and is only secured with the lap/shoulder belt with child seated. The child accomodated in this case is a 45 pound 4-year-old. He was capable of unbuckling himself - and this sometimes posed a conflict. This seat also sits upright and his head lolled forward when he slept. The Tanager fabric was easily soiled when he had to climb into it via the Jeep's front seat with muddy shoes - haven't attempted to launder it yet.

I still prefer the 5-point restraint of our Britax Marathon in our 2001 Toyota Tundra double...Read more

I bought a B540 and a B530 at the same time for our son, one each for my and my wife's cars. At first I was thrilled! They are light, apparently very well made, and get a fantastic NHTSA rating. One drive, however, pointed out a major design flaw: tipping.

Our son is a few months shy of his 4th birthday, weighs about 40 pounds, and stands about 38" tall. He is very quiet in his car seat and doesn't squirm around at all. He loves being able to (at the appropriate time) undo his own latch and get out of the car himself. The arm rests and cup holders are also big hits with him.

What he doesn't like and what scares the (bad word) out of us is even moderate cornering speeds cause the chair to tip over. Since this system uses only the shoulder and lap belts to hold both child and chair in place, anytime the vehicle moves with less force than trips the seatbelt tensioner or locking mechanism both child and chair are free to slide around to the extent a freely moving...Read more

We bought this chair booster seat to replace the car seat for our 7 year old son. We also have a regular booster seat but this chair booster seat is surely more comfortable. For one, the seat belt loops inside the side open of the chair and so the belt doesn't rub against the neck. On long distance drive, the headrest allows my son to sleep comfortably by leaning his head on either side of the chair headrest. Another good thing is the seat can be folded for storage and the seat cover can be removed for washing. The only negative thing is that unlike the car seat, this chair doesn't have an opening in the back so that you can anchor the chair to the car back seat anchors. But overall, it was an excellent buy.