Cosco Summit High Back Booster: Finally A Car Seat My Daughter Can't Get Out Of!

About two months ago, my daughter decided that she'd try a little magician's trick. As we were traveling home from my parent's house, I glanced into the back seat to find that my daughter had unbuckled herself from her car seat and was attempting to jump into the floor board. I pulled onto the side of the road, amazingly enough without having a heart attack, and immediately buckled her back in.

Unfortunately, this scenario occurred two more times before I ever pulled into our driveway. Shortly after my husband arrived home, we headed straight to Wal-Mart, in search of a car seat she couldn't get out of! Our search led us to purchase the Cosco Summit High Back Booster.

~*~Cost~*~:

The Cosco Summit High Back Booster has a pretty hefty price tag of $99.99 at Wal-Mart. However, after playing with the other car seat buckles and harnesses, we realized that the Cosco Summit was the only one "complicated" enough to keep our daughter in her seat. Cosco Summit High Back Booster can be found at discount stores such as Wal-Mart as well as baby stores, and online stores, varying in price.

~*~Product Description~*~:

The Cosco Summit High Back Booster is actually a car seat and booster seat in one. The five point harness is also equipped with a two piece harness retainer for children 22-40lbs. This is to be used of course when the seat is being used for car seat, not booster, purposes. The seat is secured into a car the same way that a regular car seat is, by threading the belt through two slots in the back. When the child is ready for a booster seat, the Cosco Summit is equipped with a belt positioning booster. This simply means that each side of this seat has a loop for the seat belt to go through in order to secure the child in the seat. The loops can be easily adjusted by pulling the red handle out and sliding the loop into the appropriate slot.

The Cosco Summit High Back Booster has three reclining positions, all which can be achieved by a the bright red hand release. This same release bar also detaches the car seat from the base. There are three separate slots for the belt to fit in between the child's legs, making it very easy to find a comfortable fit. The harness also has three slots available, to ensure that the fit is comfortable as well as safe. You can position the harness easily with one hand, by pulling on the gold bar in the back. The gold bar simply pulls the harness in the back to the desired position. This means there is no re-threading necessary!

The harness can be tightened and loosened by pulling the belt positioned at the bottom of the seat. This isn't unlike other car seats on the market, you simply pull the belt until the harness is secure or loose enough.

The seat itself is nicely "equipped" as well. There are arm rests on each side which are released by the red buttons on each side. This red button also needs to be pushed in order to push the arm rests back. There are molded compartment trays on both sides. There is also a nifty cup holder that can be slid in, making it compact, or pulled out making it easy for the child to reach his or her cup.

There is also a pillow with a head rest that actually adjusts right along with the harness. We have run into a slight problem with this, but, I'll get to that a little later. The pillow, just as the rest of the seat padding is very cushioned and comfortable. The colors are neutral, brown and brown & cream gingham. The cover can be removed for machine washing. The harness also has two padded covers, to keep the harness belt from irritating the chest or neck area.

The Cosco Summit High Back Booster can be used for children from 22lbs-100lbs, making it very versatile!

~*~Our Experience~*~:

First, let me say that my husband and I knew this seat was going to be complicated just by looking at the harness buckles. Once we secured the car seat in the back seat of our vehicle, my husband placed our daughter in it to find the appropriate harness position and simply moved it. In fact, getting the crotch belts and harness into the appropriate positions was the easiest part! Buckling our daughter in was another story.

My father calls the buckle a "parachute buckle." His reasoning for this is that there are two separate buckles that must be placed one over the other before it can be snapped into the black buckle. There is also the tan colored buckle that snaps together at the chest as well. My husband got the hang of this rather quickly, but I on the other hand did not. I had a hard time getting the two buckles to fit over each other appropriately in order to get them to snap into the black buckle. After about five or six attempts, I started getting the hang of it.

Despite the fact that I found the buckle tricky, I was satisfied that my daughter wouldn't be able to figure it out either! I now of course can get her in and out in a matter of seconds, without trouble.

We love the fact that the Cosco Summit High Back Booster has three reclining positions. This makes it easy to get my daughter more comfortable in her seat. We have kept it adjusted to the second position and she loves it. We get a kick out of her riding all relaxed with her arms draped over the arm rests. Our daughter loves that she can keep her cup next to her and reach it with ease.

We also absolutely love how easy it is to adjust the harness. With other seats we've had, you had to unthread the entire harness and then re-thread it through the seat cover. This isn't necessary with this seat, making it well worth every penny we paid for it!

The only complaint I have is very, very minor. The head rest and pillow move with the harness, so when the harness is adjusted to a certain height, so are the pillow/head rest. Unfortunately, my daughter needs to have the harness in the second slot, but, the pillow is just a tad bit above her head. The head rest still catches her head when she dozes off, but the pillow is useless for now.

~*~Overall Opinion~*~:

I would highly recommend the Cosco Summit High Back Booster. This seat is wonderfully versatile as it can be used as a car seat and booster. Cosco did a wonderful job at making harness adjustment a cinch. The seat is comfortable and easy to maintain. Best of all, our daughter, Houdini, can't get out of it!

I did my best at getting all the information on this seat in the review, but if you still have questions about it, please let me know!