Travel Lighter with Safety 1st’s BoostAPak: A Belt-Positioning Booster that Turns into a Backpack

Nancy Johnson Horn, Editor —

A few years ago, my friend journeyed over from England with her children. And she had a product I totally fell in love with  — the BoostAPak, which is a backless, belt positioning booster seat for the car that has storage below and can be worn as a travel backpack. Now, it’s come to the US via Safety 1st and my oldest child (8) can take this on the road and I don’t have to worry about sticking his booster seat in my luggage during travel.

As a hard shell backpack, kids will be able to store toys and devices safely inside. They may not be able to take everything they want (but it’s enough stuff to make them happy). If you are traveling by plane, you can stash it under their seat or in the bin above. Some kids may find it a little heavy (it’s almost 3 1/2 pounds without anything in it) so test it out with your kids before you go. Otherwise, you’re going to end up carrying it on your back.

Safety Note: This is a backless booster, even though there is fabric that goes up on the seat. It’s for children who are 40 to 80 lbs with a height of 43″ to 52″. So, if your child usually uses a backless booster seat, then this booster seat will work great for travel or as an extra booster seat to keep in the trunk (in case of playdates or if your child is going to be in another friend or family member’s vehicle). If your child is under the weight/ height recommendations and in a regular convertible car seat, belt-positioning booster seat is NOT for you. Example, my 6 year old daughter is 33 pounds and 41 inches in height, so I would not use it for her. But my son, who is 8, is 46 pounds and over 47 inches in height, so I have used it for him. Don’t put babies or toddlers in this seat, it’s not for them. Older kids — absolutely.

Features:

• Backless Booster: 40-80 pounds and 43″ –  52″
• Moves easily from car to car – great for car pools
• Travel friendly: fits easily into an overhead bin
• Unique, patented fold-out seat belt guides
• Durable plastic shell
• High visibility reflective trim
• Removable cover for easy spot cleaning
• ID tag

Specs

• Weight: 3.4 lbs
• Product Dimensions (L x W x H in Inches): 14.0 x 12.0 x 18.28
• Forward-facing Weight Range: 40-80 lbs
• Forward-facing Height Range: 43″-52″
• Storage: Yes

Verdict: My 8 year old liked the arm support and felt comfortable and safe sitting in it. This will definitely be traveling with us from now on.

Get it exclusively at Buy Buy Baby for $69.99.