sure wish I hadn't just bought two new seats for my 3 year old!

Product page: http://www.thefirstyears.com/Top-Rated-Booster-Seats/Compass-B570-Pathway-Abstract-Os

Is in the market for a full back booster but this is ugly. When will manufacturers learn women want safety and beauty?

Fully protect your kids and get a seat with a 5 point harness instead.

http://www.firstchoicefurnishings.com/the-first-years-b570-pathway-booster-seat-abstract-os-black-green/

$67.18 here. (not including shipping.)

Skimmed the reviews over at amazon

There isn't a single rating below 3 stars. Some complaints are because the seat was a little too narrow. Also because the car didn't have the anchors to lock the seat to, so it would move around a lot.

As long as your car has seat anchors though, most of the people had a lot of great things to say about this booster.

On a side note, what happened to the good old days where you went from:

"Hey kid you're too big for the car seat, let's buckle you in and hope for the best?"

Then those awesome bumps in the road gave you (as a kid) awesome air time!


WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

We have the red one and it's great. The buckle in process is great and very adjustable. The belt paths make it very comfortable for my three year old. Getting the seat in and out is a snap. The anchors are a very nice bonus to this great seat. The seat will recline to fit the angle of the car bench seat or bucket seat. No complaints here. It works very well with our Swagger Wagon Sienna.

http://www.amazon.com/Compass-Pathway-Adjustable-Booster-Abstract/dp/B004FN0ZG2

Amazon's page. Made in China, if you're looking for origin.

I will refrain from my rant about kids being moved to boosters way too young, before they are old enough to properly sit in one all.the.time (which makes them less safe than a 5 point harness), because it never changes anyone's mind.

Instead I will say we have this booster (actually it's older brother the Compass 540) and we LOVE it. Ours doesn't have the latch anchors and it is still solid and doesn't move around much. The fact that it folds up makes it great for traveling (I can fit it in a large suitcase and check it) and it is easy to move from car to car for playdates and such. This is also a great price, cheaper than the older models. If I didn't already have one I'd order it myself.

So, if you are going to put a 3 yr old in a booster, at least this is a safe affordable option.

Booster seats without harnesses, like this one are for older children (5+) Many laws require your child to be older. Please check with your state regulations, or the regulations of states you regularly drive in before getting this for a young child (like a 3 year old). 5 point harnesses are the safest way for children under 60 lbs to travel (the weight at which adult seat belts respond).

To safely ride in a booster seat your child must sit upright and within the seat belt at all times, including if they fall asleep.

Appears to depend on car's belt system. Where are the seats that HOLD a child in the seat who wiggles and squirms to get out while car is moving ?

Prayer wrote:Appears to depend on car's belt system. Where are the seats that HOLD a child in the seat who wiggles and squirms to get out while car is moving ?

Many cars these days have a rachet lock mechanism on the seatbelt. you pull it tight around the child, then pull it all the way out, let it go all the way back in, and, VOILA!! no wiggle room!!!!

Is anyone else bothered by the "recommended ages" not being ages at all?

Perhaps "recommended sizes" would be a better bullet point, then you could put ages in there!

Summary from consumer search:

http://www.consumersearch.com/booster-seats/the-first-years-compass-b570-pathway

including collected review from car seat blog:

http://carseatblog.com/5963/kecia-loves-it/

and that leads to link to video:



back to work.

2 cup holders...nice

renzeka wrote:sure wish I hadn't just bought two new seats for my 3 year old!

Your three year old should be in a forward of rearward facing five point harness until at least his/her fourth birthday, preferably five or older, 40 lbs, and able to sit properly. Three year olds simply lack the physical and emotional maturity to be adequately protected by a booster

mpanelo wrote:Fully protect your kids and get a seat with a 5 point harness instead.

There is no conclusive evidence that a five point harness provides better protection than a belt positioning booster for a typically developing five or six year old who is at least 40 lbs and able to sit properly. There are some theories that boosters may actually be safer. My personal opinion is that properly used both are very safe, however in certain types of crashes one is likely superior to another.

As most children do not pass the five step test ( it is a way to determine proper belt fit) until 9-12, when most harnesses, save special needs seats, are outgrown, harnessing isn't possible for all children. The harness as long as possible mantra is a throw back to when seats were outgrown between 2 and 4 years old.

Car seats are pointless according to the book Freakanomics when they sent toddler crash dummies just wearing the seatbelt into an accident, the results were good enough to submit as a safe car seat and pass. Just saying don't overthink it as 80% of carseats are installed incorrectly as well. Goto your local fire or police department and they may be able to help you.

Has anything actually changed in the manufacturing of booster seats since the maximum weight was increased to 100 pounds? My child is over 80 pounds but still not tall enough to use just the adult seatbelt safely. I still have an older booster that is rated for up to 80 pounds, but would consider getting a newer one if something other than the labeling has changed.

http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/boosters/best_bets.aspx

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates it a best bet along with the Britax Frontier 85 and the Graco Nautilus, both harness/3n1 boosters. I just got the Graco and love it! It will last my nephew from his current 34 pounds to 100, so I find it more versital, but if I had an older/heavier kid, I'd get this one.

Only got a 44 out of 100 on Consumer Reports. It is the LOWEST rated highback booster they tested

I think I'll stick with my Evenflo Big Kid LX.

sorry, but a 3 year old is way too young to be in a booster seat. You should keep your child in a 5 point harness seat for as long as the car seat allows. My 5 year old is in a 5 point seat, and hers goes up to 65 pounds. I plan on keeping her in it until the maximum weight limit.

Why?

its 3 times safer.

See

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kO8AxKbrM


and


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ


While we are on this topic, to all the parents who are so excited about turning arount their infant the moment he hits 12 months old...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeExpDLDA

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U

Sorry, I am just very passionate about this topic.

In summery

1. keep your child rear facing as long as possible, at LEAST 2 years old, perferably up to the weight limit of the car seat (most convertibles allow rear facing to 30-35 pound

2. Keep them forward facing in a five point harness until the weight of the seat, most go to 50-65 points.

The parents of Kyle David Miller have made it their mission to get the word out on the importance of kids being in a 5-point harness for as long a possible.
Watch the video and then make your own decision.
Kyle David Miller Foundation

I have a couple of these for Aunt's car, but they are from the Compass era. It looks like now that they are made by First Years they are not as high quality. I do like how the seat body stays enclosed even when it is extended. I like the folding feature, and the head wings for sleeping. Backless boosters are completely useless. This thing is worth having, though not sure about the quality decline under First Years' management.

These are ok for traveling or for your much older kids (though I would still recommend a 5-pt harness). I would not put any child under 6 in one of these. Use a real car seat. Two of mine have the Britax Marathon seats that go up to 65lbs. Love them! Even my almost 10-year-old is in a five-point harness, because the seat belt still does not hit him where it is supposed to. I got the Sunshine Kids Radian80 (now they have a 100), because the Britax Regent was too huge to fit three-across. Much easier to do the clips than mess with threading the belt every time and fishing for the buckle between seats. Which most kids don't do correctly. Then they fall asleep and lay their head on their lap, even though they are "secured". What happens then in an accident?

mpanelo wrote:Fully protect your kids and get a seat with a 5 point harness instead.

I'm not expert - but from the reading I've done, I would agree. I miss the days of being the "copilot" & sitting up front when my dad was driving (ah, the 80's). I guess as long as I'm putting my kids in a seat, I'll go ahead & get ones with 5 point harnesses. Just my humble opinion.

5-point for as long as possible!

We have a pair of Sunshine Kids Radians in the little car (they have a much smaller "footprint" than other seats) and a pair of Britax 85 Frontiers for the other car.

I'll have them in 5-point seats as long as I can. And those seats work from infant all the way through, so they are worth the investment!

We have 5-point Britax Frontiers for my almost 4yo and just moved my 6yo to these when she started school (from the Frontiers which her brother now uses). Although my little one is well into the height/weight "eligibility" for a belt-only booster, he will remain in the 5-point harness at least another year, and probably two. Maturity is a factor here as well - my older one is very good about making sure the belt fits her snugly and is aligned properly. The little one...not so much.

We have 2 First Years 5 point harness for our 2.5 year old and one on the way. We think it's a great brand, and if you have a kid who is over 65 lbs and you want a booster, this would be a great one to get.

The freaknomics study is contradicted by virtually every peer reviewed study we have on child seats. Seriously, you would take the word of an economist over the expertise of the engineers who design these seats?

yossisiegel wrote:sorry, but a 3 year old is way too young to be in a booster seat. You should keep your child in a 5 point harness seat for as long as the car seat allows. My 5 year old is in a 5 point seat, and hers goes up to 65 pounds. I plan on keeping her in it until the maximum weight limit.

Why?

its 3 times safer.
[snip!]

2. Keep them forward facing in a five point harness until the weight of the seat, most go to 50-65 points.

It's not 3 times safer for an older child, there is data for younger children, but we do not have real world data for older children because it is uncommon to harness older children. And you cannot keep a kid in a five point until the weight limit is reached as most of the time the seats are outgrown by height long before the weight limit is reached. For example, the graco nautilus (one of the tallest seats on the market) goes up to 65 lbs, but is usually outgrown between 40 and 50 lbs. It is extremely important not to keep a kid in a harness once it's outgrown by height, there is an increase in head excursion and risk of spinal compression, it's just not safe.

I have seen children with proper belt fit in this seat (what the IIHS tests for) but it's not as common as with, say, the graco highback turbo booster. Keep in mind the IIHS tests are a guide, they use a child crash dummy to measure fit. Well, kids aren't crash dummies, so you have to evaluate the fit on your child (lap belt low on hips, touching thighs, shoulder belt midway between kneck and shoulder).

Yea I dunno, it would seem kind of ridiculous to me to have a 6 year old (let alone a 10 yr old) in the same type of carseat as a 3 year old. Both my sons, 5 and 6 are in normal booster seats. They seem less inclined to "adjust" the seats unsafely now as well, which is one reason I got rid of the 5 point to begin with - it was frankly uncomfortable for them (even tho they were within the height/weight limits) and they learned how to undo all the clasps.

If they post this one again at that price, I will either buy one more or two more - we love it (and i'm a fussy pr*ck who rarely engages in these conversations, so that may tell you something).