• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kid Safety First

  • Car Seats
    • Car Seat Buying Guides
      • Best Convertible Car Seat Buying Guide
    • Infant Seats (USA)
      • Britax B-Safe Review
      • Britax B-Safe 35 Infant Car Seat Review
      • Britax Chaperone Review
      • Britax Endeavours Infant Car Seat Review
      • Chicco Keyfit 30 Review
      • Maxi-Cosi Mico Review
      • Peg Perego SIP 30/30 Review
      • Peg Perego 4-35 Review
      • Safety 1st Infant Car Seats Reviewed
      • Infant Comparison Reviews
        • Britax B-Safe vs B-Safe 35 Infant Seats – Comparison Review
        • Britax B-Safe vs B-Safe 35 Elite Reviewed
        • Britax B-Safe 35 vs B-Safe 35 Elite Reviewed
        • Britax B-Safe 35 Elite vs Endeavours – Comparison Review
        • Britax B-Safe 35 vs Britax Endeavours Comparison Review
        • Britax B-Safe 35 vs B-Safe Ultra Compared
        • Britax B-Safe Ultra Car Seat Review
        • Britax B-Safe 35 Elite vs B-Safe Ultra Compared
        • Britax Endeavours vs B-Safe Ultra Infant Seats Compared
        • Chicco Keyfit 30 vs Keyfit 30 Zip – A Comparison Review
        • Chicco Keyfit 30 vs Keyfit 30 Zip Air Compared
        • Maxi-Cosi Mico AP vs Mico Max 30 Compared
        • Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 vs Nido Compared
    • Convertible Seats (USA)
      • Britax Advocate ClickTight ARB Review
      • Britax Boulevard ClickTight ARB Review
      • Britax Marathon ClickTight Review
      • Britax Roundabout G4.1 Review
      • Chicco Nextfit 65 Review
      • Clek Fllo Review 2017
      • Clek Foonf Review 2017
      • Diono Olympia Review
      • Diono Pacifica Review
      • Diono Radian RXT Review
      • Diono Rainier Review
      • Graco Contender 65 Review
      • Graco Extend2Fit Convertible Seat Review
      • Graco Size4Me 65 Convertible Review
      • Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 With TinyFit Review
      • Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Review
      • Peg Perego Convertible Car Seat Review
      • Recaro Performance Racer Review
      • Recaro Performance Ride Review
      • Recaro ProRide Review
      • Convertible Seat Comparisons
        • Britax Advocate ClickTight vs Boulevard ClickTight
        • Britax Advocate ClickTight v Boulevard ClickTight Review 2017
        • Britax Advocate ClickTight vs Marathon ClickTight
        • Britax Advocate ClickTight v Marathon ClickTight Review 2017
        • Britax Boulevard ClickTight v Marathon ClickTight Review 2017
        • Britax Boulevard ClickTight vs Chicco Nextfit Zip Compared
        • Britax Marathon ClickTight vs Chicco Nextfit 65 Compared
        • Britax Marathon ClickTight vs Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 Compared
        • Britax Roundabout G4.1 vs Marathon G4.1 Compared
        • Britax Roundabout G4.1 vs Boulevard G4.1 Compared
        • Chicco Nextfit 65 vs Nextfit iX Zip – Comparison Review
        • Chicco Nextfit iX vs Nextfit iX Zip Compared
        • Chicco Nextfit 65 vs Nextfit iX Zip LUXE Compared
        • Chicco Nextfit 65 vs Nextfit iX – Comparison Review
        • Chicco Nextfit iX vs Nextfit iX Zip Air – Comparison Review
        • Diono Rainier vs Diono Olympia
        • Diono Pacifica vs Diono Olympia – A Comparison Review
        • Diono Rainier vs Diono Pacifica
        • Graco Contender vs Size4Me Seats Compared
        • Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 vs Pria 85 Compared
        • Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 vs Vello 70 Comparison Review
        • Recaro ProRIDE vs Performance RIDE
        • Recaro Performance Racer vs Rally Review
        • Recaro Performance Racer vs Roadster Comparison Review
        • Recaro Performance Rally vs Roadster Comparison Review
    • Combination Harness-2-Booster Seats (USA)
      • Britax Pioneer 70 Review
      • Britax Frontier 90 Review
      • Britax Pinnacle 90 Review
      • Diono Radian RXT Review
      • Diono Ranier Review
      • Seat Comparison Reviews
        • Britax Frontier 90 vs Pioneer 70
        • Britax Frontier 90 vs Recaro Performance Sport
        • Britax Pinnacle 90 vs Pioneer 70
        • Britax Pinnacle 90 vs Frontier 90
        • Britax Pinnacle 90 vs Recaro Performance Sport
        • Clek Foonf vs Fllo Review 2017
        • Diono Radian RXT vs Radian R120 – Comparison Review
        • Diono Radian RXT vs Diono Rainier
        • Graco 4Ever All-in-One vs Milestone All-in-One Compared
        • Peg Perego Viaggio HBB 120 vs Flex 120 Compared
        • Recaro Performance Racer vs Rally Review
        • Recaro ProRIDE vs Performance RIDE
    • Booster Seats (USA)
      • Chicco Kidfit vs Kidfit Zip Booster Seats Compared
      • Clek Oobr Booster Seat Review
      • Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Flex 120 Booster Seat Review
      • Recaro ProRide Review
      • Graco Affix Booster Seat Review
    • Car Seat Bases (USA)
      • Britax B-Safe Base Review
      • Chicco Keyfit 30 Base Review
      • Maxi Cosi Mico Base Review
  • Edges & Corners
    • Prince Lionheart Edges & Corners
  • Fire & Gas
    • Cheap Carbon Monoxide Detector
    • Fireguards
    • Home Fire Ladder
    • Kidde Carbon Monoxide Detectors
    • Plug Carbon Monoxide Detector
  • Indoors
    • Best Furniture Anchors for the Home
    • Childproof Cabinet Locks (USA)
  • Out & About
    • Bikes / Scooters
      • Best Safety Helmets For Toddlers
      • Best Scooter Helmets
      • Giro Scamp MIPS Helmet Review – Safety Helmets For Kids
      • Mini Micro Scooter Review
      • Micro Maxi Scooter Review
      • Micro Sprite Kick Scooter Review
      • Nutcase Little Nutty Bike Helmets Reviewed
      • The Best 3 Wheel Scooters for Kids
    • Reins / Backpacks
      • Child Harness Backpacks
    • Strollers
      • Baby Jogger City Mini Double Review
      • Baby Jogger City Mini GT Double Stroller Review
      • Baby Jogger City Mini Double vs City Mini GT Double
      • The Baby Jogger City Select Stroller Review – 2014 Model
      • Baby Jogger Summit X3 Stroller Review
      • BOB Revolution Pro Stroller Review
      • BOB Revolution Flex vs Revolution Pro Compared
      • BOB Revolution SE vs Revolution Flex Comparison Review
      • BOB Revolution SE vs Revolution Pro Comparison Review
      • Britax B-Agile Travel System Review – 2014 Edition
  • Sleeping Safely
    • Baby Monitors
      • Infant Optics DXR-5 Review
      • Infant Optics DXR-8 Review
      • Philips Avent Dect Review
      • Snuza Hero Baby Movement Monitor
      • V Tech Communications Safe & Sound Review
    • Bed Rails
      • Babydan Sleep n Safe Bed Rail
  • Air Quality
    • Do Air Purifiers Really Work?
  • Blog

Best Booster Car Seats 2014

April 14, 2014 By Kristian

Choosing the Best Booster Car Seats 2014 – Relevant Factors


There are a number of factors that parents need to consider when choosing the best booster car seats for their children in 2014. They include comfort, ease of installation, ease of cleaning and seat accessories. However, the most important factor is obviously the safety of the booster seat.

Since there are no comprehensive and universally recognised independent tests to rank seats in order of safety, making the right choice can be a difficult process. Seats are simply released onto the US market as safe when they pass the minimum national safety standards.

However, there is one body of experts that has recently carried out extensive testing of booster seats and I am going to tell you what they did and which of the tested seats scored most highly. I hope that this information will help you to make a better informed decision when choosing a booster seat for your child.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Tests 


The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has recently carried out safety tests on US booster seats and published the results so that parents can consider them as part of their decision making process.

Watch the IIHS’s Video Explanation of their Testing Process & Criteria

The tests essentially boil down to 2 important fitting factors:

  • Shoulder belt fit
  • Lap belt fit

As you can see from the IIHS video:

  • the shoulder belt should NOT cut across the neck or across the bicep area of the child’s arm – it should fit over the shoulder like a sash.
  • the lap belt should NOT cut into the pelvis or hip areas – it should rest on the top of the thighs.

The IIHS placed each tested seat into 1 of 3 categories: Best Bet, Good Bet, Not Recommended.

Those in the “Good Bet” category are perfectly fine to purchase, but those in the “Not Recommended” should be avoided in my opinion. The seats to be avoided are the “Safety 1st All in One” and the “Safety 1st Omega Elite”.

Some Great “Best Bet” Booster Seats


I have previously reviewed a number of booster seats and 3 of them appear in the top “Best Bet” category.

They are:

  • Graco Affix (highbacked and backless)
  • Graco TurboBooster (only supplied in backless)
  • Diono Radian RXT (only supplied in backless)

#1 Graco Affix 

This video will give you a good overview of the Affix’s features.

Read my Full Review of the Affix

Check US Price of the Affix

Check Canadian Graco Booster Prices

#2 Graco TurboBooster

This video will give you a good idea of the TurboBooster’s features.

Click Here to Check US Price of the TurboBooster

Click Here to Check the Canadian Graco Booster Prices

#3 Diono Radian RXT

This video will give you a good idea of the Diono Radian RXT’s features.

Read my Full Review of the Radian RXT

Check the US Price of the Diono Radian RXT

Check the Canadian Price of the Radian RXT

**The NEW Diono Rainier Convertible Car Seat**


Although it is a little early to provide a full review of the new Diono Rainier based on User Reviews and experiences, it looks like a great addition to the premium car seat options.

The most obvious improvements include thicker deeper head wings and increased rear-facing limit of 50 lbs. You can also fit 3 of them side-by-side in many standard sized vehicle.

Read My Review of the Diono Rainier.

Check Price of the Diono Rainier here.

2 other Great “Best Bet” Booster Seats From Recaro


#4 Recaro Performance Booster

This video will give you a good idea of the Recaro Performance Booster’s features:

Check Price of the Recaro Performance Booster.

#5 Recaro Pro Booster

This video will give you a good idea of the Recaro Performance Booster’s features:

Check Price of the Recaro Pro Booster.

Safety Information


After purchasing any child car seat, you should always read the User Manual thoroughly before using it. It is also advisable to visit your local Fire Department or NHTSA Child Car Seat Inspection Centre to ensure that the seat is definitely suitable for your child’s specific requirements and that you have installed it correctly. These services are usually provided free of charge.

You can find your nearest NHTSA Centre here.

Do You Need More Help?


If you need any further advice or assistance whatsoever, please feel free to contact me and I will do my very best to help.

If you have any feedback about my “Best Booster Car Seats 2014” post, please feel free to leave a comment in the box below, or send an email to kristian@kidsafetyfirst.com

Share on FacebookShare on Google+Share on TwitterShare on Pinterest

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Me!

FacebookPinterestGoogleTwitter

Find More Reviews

Recent Posts

  • Essentials By Britax: New Convertible Car Seats
    By Kristian
    November 17, 2018
  • Highbacked vs Backless Booster Car Seats
    By Kristian
    October 27, 2018
  • Britax Skyline Review – The Essentials
    By Kristian
    October 20, 2018
  • Britax Highpoint Review
    By Kristian
    October 17, 2018
  • Britax Highpoint vs Skyline Highback Boosters Compared
    By Kristian
    October 13, 2018
  • Britax Endeavours vs B-Safe Ultra Infant Seats Compared
    By Kristian
    March 15, 2018
  • Britax B-Safe 35 Elite vs B-Safe Ultra Compared
    By Kristian
    March 15, 2018
  • Britax B-Safe 35 vs B-Safe Ultra Compared
    By Kristian
    March 14, 2018

Car Seat Buying Guides

  • Highbacked vs Backless Booster Car Seats
    By Kristian
    October 27, 2018

Footer

Legal Stuff

  • Affiliate Disclosure Statement
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Kid Safety First - All Rights Reserved