Britax Highpoint – Introduction
Whilst the Highpoint seat retains the unmistakable shape of a Britax Booster Car Seat, Britax have added some important new convenience and safety features to this new model without adding a high price tag. It is well worth considering if your child meets the height/weight requirements.
There is also a Britax Skyline model, but this does not have the full range of features found on the Highpoint and, unless you are on a very tight budget, I would advise you to pay the extra $50 or so for the Highpoint seat.
Read My Comparison Review of the Britax Highpoint and Skyline Seats.
For those of you that aren’t experienced in purchasing Booster Car Seats, please note that there a broadly 3 different types for you to consider:
- Backless Booster Seats
- Highbacked Booster Seats
- Harness-to-Booster Seats
The Britax Highpoint is a Highbacked Booster Seat, which means that you child is restrained by the vehicle’s 3-point seat belt rather than a 5-point harness.
Backless Booster seats are NOT to be recommended for small children transitioning from Convertible or Infant Car Seats as they offer no support or protection to the head and torso in the event of a collision.
Harness-to-Booster Seats are another option to consider, especially if your child is still relatively small as they can be used from as little as 25 pounds, whereas a Highbacked Booster Seat generally will have a lower weight limit of 40 pounds or so.
You can find the range of Britax Harness-to-Booster Seats here.
So, what are the main features that are found on the Britax Highpoint Booster Seat?
Britax Highpoint – Main Features
Here are the main features that can be found on the Britax Highpoint Booster Seat.
1. Child Height & Weight Limits
The Britax Highpoint Seat is rated as suitable for children weighing between 40 and 120 lbs.
Although the Highpoint seat can be used from a little as 40 lbs, you should consider using a harnessed seat instead until you child has outgrown its maximum weight limit (usually at least 55 lbs), unless they have outgrown the height limit before that.
The child height limit for the Highpoint seats is 38 to 63 inches.
These are very generous weight/height limits when compared with other seats on the market and should provide your child with many years of use for a relatively low price.
2. LATCH Installation
The Britax Highpoint can be installed within your vehicle using the vehicle LATCH anchor points with the benefit of push-on LATCH connectors.
It doesn’t matter, however, if your vehicle doesn’t have LATCH anchor points as the seats are also designed to be kept in place by the vehicle’s normal 3-point seatbelt. In fact, because a highbacked booster seat doesn’t use a 5-point harness for child restraint, you will need to use the vehicle seat belt with the seat in any event.
3. Headrest With 10 Positions
The headrest on the Britax Highpoint is very versatile and can be adjusted up and down into one of 10 different positions.
This wide range of adjustment options is important because, as your child grows, you will need to raise the level of the headrest to ensure that it fits properly (see manual for details).
It goes without saying that the more headrest adjustment options that you have, the better able you are to ensure the best possible fit at all times. Your child’s head is the most vulnerable part of their body in the event of a collision, and so being able to ensure a good fit is an essential safety feature.
The headrest is very easy to adjust using the handle mechanism at the back and you can hear it click into place.
By adjusting the headrest, you are also adjusting the positioning of the seatbelt so that it continues to fit across your child’s body correctly as they grow. There is a small red seatbelt retaining clip at the shoulder area of the seat that helps to guide the shoulder part of the belt into the correct position, which needs to avoid cutting across your child’s neck area.
See images of the headrest adjustments here.
4. Seat Weight & Width
The seat is not particular wide and ought to fit comfortably within most vehicles.
The Highpoint seat is 20.75 inches wide and weighs 12.1 pounds.
The seat weight isn’t on the heavy side and this type of seat isn’t really designed to be carried around with a child inside it. Aside from initial installation and perhaps moving it between different vehicles, you won’t need to carry the seat around.
5. Side Impact Cushions
The Britax Highpoint comes with 3 layers of side impact protection features.
In addition to the structural side impact protection within the main part of the headrest and the side panels of the seat itself, it also comes with one additional side impact protection feature that cannot be found on the Skyline model.
This extra feature on the Highpoint seat comprises an external impact cushion that sits on the side of the seat (see image above).
You can see images of the side impact protection features here.
This extra external impact cushion is a reassuring extra safety feature and well worth having since side impact collisions are some of the most dangerous types of vehicle accidents for small children in car seats.
6. Secure Guard Clip
Highback booster seats usually just secure you child in the seat due to the 2 parts of the adult seat belt. The shoulder part of the belt goes across their chest and the lap part across the top of their thighs. Getting a good fit for all children in all seats can be a challenge and it is very important that the lap belt does NOT sit across the abdomen and that the shoulder belt does NOT cut across the neck.
The Highpoint comes with the usual shoulder belt guide clip to help achieve a safe position across the torso.
The Britax Highpoint, however, also comes with a very useful Secure Guard Clip that helps you to also achieve a good fit across the lap. If you look at the images of the seats, you can see that there is a buckle-type object in the crotch area that isn’t normally found on a highback booster seat. The purpose of this Secure Guard Clip is to help position the lap belt across the things and to prevent it from riding up towards the lower part of your child’s stomach.
This is a very neat and effective solution to a common potential fitting problem.
7. Other Features
Other features include:
- EPP Foam
- 2 Removeable Cup Holders
- Good range of stylish fabric color options
- Washable Easy to remove cover
- Soft breathable knit fabrics
- 10 year expiration
Britax Highpoint – Video Reviews
Here are some video reviews of the Britax Highpoint Booster Seat.
Britax Highpoint – Color Options
The Britax Highpoint Booster Seat comes in a number of different fabric color options, including …
The Britax Highpoint – My Verdict
The Britax Highpoint is a big improvement over the older Parkway SGL seat and I really like the reassurance of the extra side impact protection cushions and the Sure Guard Clip. A properly fitted car seat is a safe car seat and the Sure Guard Clip helps to ensure a good lap belt fit whichever vehicle you are using.
Check Best Price of the Highpoint.
Read User Reviews of the Highpoint.
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.
Get in Touch
If you have any comments to share or questions to ask about my Britax Highpoint Review, please leave a comment in the box below.
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