BubbleBum Inflatable Travel Booster Seat for Car, Portable Booster Seat for Car - Backless, Foldable & Narrow Slim Fit -Travel Car Seat for Kids 40-100 lbs - Black

Let me start off by saying I have a love/hate relationship with car seats. I have 5 children, the oldest one is 7, so collectively, I probably have been through 30 car seats in less than a decade. My daughter has been ready to graduate to a booster seat for 2+ years now, but unfortunately, due to her parents procreation habits, shes been relegated to life in a 5-point harness for lack of space. It baffles me that mini-van manufacturers dont consider the fact that you may have kids in car seats. Sure its great Herb and Ethel sport their Chrysler Town & Country with their teacup poodle Miffy, but we use the heck out of our minivan. So, when the twins showed up, the three bigs got kicked to the back of the bus and we panicked trying to cram three full seats in the back row. Thanks to Radian (and $1000), we didnt have to buy a conversion van. So, after squeezing every moment out of the baby seat, I had to find a narrow booster. Our standard graco booster had birthing hips like my wife, and just didnt squeeze in the back. Enter, Bubble Bum. The name and concept are ridiculous, but, by golly, the thing actually works perfect. I was EXTREMELY skeptical about a blow up seat. Sure we want our children to live in a bubble, but to actually sit on one? Low and behold, It fits her narrow booty perfectly and shes now all proud sporting a booster seat. Granted, there are no frills to this thing. No cup holder, no secret pockets, no fun stuff, just base model solidness. Weve had it probably a month and its still inflated, and working great. Thankfully we havent done any crash testing in it, so I cant validate its safety. Hopefully, Ill never have to update my comment about the crash sturdiness. Paranoia, I looked online and sites claimed it was safety checked and legit. Now that school is starting back up, kid #1 is begging to be promoted in dads car as well to a booster. So, buying a second Bubble Bum. Only negative thing I would say is my daughter complains the seat is itchy around the logo. It is raised, and when she wears skirts or daisy dukes, she complained of scratching. So, we improvised and she put a wash cloth on the seat. Im glad I didnt pay extra for kittens or something pretty on the seat only to have a dirty rag covering it. Otherwise, works great. If youre tight on space, its definitely the seat for you. I have one in our Odyssey and soon one in an Avalon (adjacent to two Radians).

Works well. Holds the kid snugly on the car seat. Inflation and deflation is literally a breeze. Deflating it takes as much time as it takes to pay the cabby. Does its job as advertised. The only negative is that it does not provide any side support for a sleeping child. Though the seat belt will hold him in place. Had to buy the Diono Seatbelt pillow on Amazon to go with it. The pillow did help but still not the same as the conventional car seat with side wings that a kid could rest his head on. However, this seat is unbeatable as a travel seat. Very neatly rolls up into a compact cylinder - the size of a large water bottle yet much lighter. Easy to stuff into a backpack and take it on travels. Doubles as a pillow to make the economy class seat more comfortable. It isnt very wide when deployed. So 3 kids, or 1 kid and 2 adults can sit in a compact car back. The adults cant even tell that they are sharing the bench seat with a car seat. Bottom line: The very best travel booster seat, however dont throw away your regular booster seat though. Your child will be more comfortable in the regular booster seat. Take advantage of the best of both worlds - at home on your regular booster seat and while travelling in the Bubble Bum inflatable booster seat. In summary a must have if you travel often with children.

Purchased this nifty booster seat to use between two big boy Britax Frontier Car seats. My backseat is not wide enough to accommodate a standard high back or back less booster seat between too car seats. I have been looking for a skinny booster to increase my kiddo car seat arrangement for play dates and came across this model. It is being used my my 5 year old or one of his friends when I bring other kids home for play dates. It works a treat. It positions my son correctly for the seat belt to sit where it should and with the side clip you know that lap belt part is in the right place. Too high and their internal organs can get damaged if the belt tightens and they are thrown forward :( On occasion another child will use this seat and my son sits in front with me in a high backed booster. I feel the other child using the booster is nice & safe. I have had no issues with my kiddos sliding off the sides of this seat when going around corners but then it is wedged between to car seats so there really is no where for them to go. I would agree that the seat is a bit short and could be uncomfortable on long journeys if it cuts into the back of the childs legs. This is the reason I have given it 4 stars over 5. Perhaps the company might read the reviews and feedback for this booster and make some adjustment to increase its length. For me it suits its purpose wonderful and very pleased to have found it.

This is an outstanding idea - and its well executed. This booster seat is incredibly lightweight, its easy and fast to inflate/deflate, its very compact when deflated (folded or rolled up), its made of quality and durable materials - and its easy on the cars interior (wont damage your seats). From the functional standpoint, this seat is small and sits a little lower than more conventional booster seats. The belt guides are sturdy and made of quality materials that shouldnt damage seat belts over time. Overall - this is a great product. Nevertheless, I need to temper the positive aspects of this booster seat with the fact this type of booster seat (lap belt guide only) should only be used with a secondary type of restraint - like a safety vest that incorporates belt guides for both the lap and shoulder belts. A great example is the Ride Safer vest system by Safe Traffic Systems. The Ride Safer vest not only properly guides both the lap and shoulder belts, its reinforced, padded and is designed to better distribute crash forces over a much larger area than what a standard seat belt is capable of. I think this is a two-way relationship as well, though. The best application of the Ride Safer vest is in conjunction with a quality (certified) booster seat like this one. I think it is important to frame an opinion, and help the reader understand the perspective from which a review is written - especially when that opinion is regarding safety equipment. I have a two-decade background in military safety, relating to both off-duty (ground) safety and aviation safety - to include mishap investigation. This experience includes investigating motor vehicle mishaps (there is no such thing as an accident). Motor vehicle fatalities account for over 30,000 deaths per year in the U.S. (33,561 in 2012*). Children account for approximately 1,200 of these deaths. While this number seems tiny compared to the total number of fatalities - the number of child fatalities per mile is comparable to adults. The exposure rate of adults is simply higher (the number of hours the average adult is on the road when compared to children - and children account for only 1/6th of the population). The number of children injured in motor vehicle mishaps in the U.S. is however staggering - approximately 170,000 children per year. One of the biggest contributing causal factors for child injuries and deaths is the child being out of position relative to the restraining device - preventing the safety equipment from restraining and mitigating the forces of the crash properly. The only purpose a booster seat serves is to better position (elevate) a child relative to the shoulder strap, to prevent the shoulder strap from riding up a childs neck and face by ensuring the proper angle of the shoulder belt (relative to the childs shoulder and neck). This angle is critical for any occupant. If the occupant sits too high relative to the shoulder belt (typically an adult or tall child), a collision can cause geometry-related secondary spinal injuries (mid and lower back) caused by the shoulder belt transmitting too much crash energy to the mid and lower back. If the occupant sits too low (typically with a small child), a collision can result in the child sliding under the shoulder belt - which can severely injure the childs neck (and face). The biggest problem with using a booster seat that only guides the lap belt is in the assumption that booster seat will keep a child in the correct position relative to the shoulder strap for the entirety of your travels (and therefore safe). If you have a kid - then you know any assumption that your child is going to stay in one position is simply not even remotely similar to reality. Kids move and wiggle around a lot, and a booster seat equipped with simple lap belt guides is not going to do anything to maintain the proper shoulder belt alignment with your precious, perpetual motion, micro human. Unfortunately, the results can be tragic. This is why I strongly believe in a certified safety vest like the Ride Safer safety vest in conjunction with a properly designed booster seat. A certified and tested safety vest physically attaches (and therefore attaches your child) to the seat belt, and the vests belt guides help ensure the childs position remains correct at all times - and the booster seat ensures there is not any excess force transmitted to the childs neck and head in a collision by providing the proper geometry of the shoulder belt relative to the vests upper belt guide. This particular inflatable booster seat is the perfect travel companion - especially with a certified safety vest. While automotive safety vests and booster seats are not certified and should not be used for air travel, they can be easily packed and used in taxi cabs, and in the event the front seat is the only available place for the child. While not optimal (a back seat is considered safer than the front seat for children), a child can safely travel with the combination of this booster seat and the safety vest in the front seat of a car, truck or two-seat sports car - and this is also legal in most states (check your local laws for specific requirements and restrictions). If this is done, you should of course ensure the child is sitting as far back from an airbag (if so equipped) as possible, or if your car is equipped with an airbag deactivation device (many cars do this automatically based on the weight in the passenger seat), then it is recommended it be deactivated for individuals weighing less than about 65-70lbs. I would not recommend using this booster seat (any booster seat) by itself in the front seat. I would only recommend the use of a booster seat in the front seat when used in conjunction with a certified safety vest that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS 213). This review and my mentioning of the Ride Safer safety vest in this review were both unsolicited by their respective manufacturers. I did not receive any compensation (in any form) for my review. *NHTSA DOT HS 812 011

This is an awesome addition to our travel gear. We were agonizing how we would travel safely with two little kids; we anticipate to regularly be taking taxi cabs without having a reasonable option of lugging two car seats around with us. While a full car seat is obviously preferable, the Bubble Bum is the next best thing. And it collapses small enough that I can fit two of them into a backpack with still some space to spare. N.b. even when collapsed, it isnt exactly tiny. This is thanks to the use of nicer and thicker materials; so, I cant really complain. But I am just glad I was already planning on taking a backpack with me. I wouldnt want to hold the booster in my hand for a lengthy amount of time while sightseeing about town. Even with the nice included bag, doing so would get old pretty soon. One positive surprise was my discovery that the Bubble Bum comes with an included (rudimentary) seat belt adjuster. Depending on the type of car and the size of the kid, this feature can come in quite handy. For some reason, I hadnt noticed that it was included, when I ordered the booster, and I therefore also got a BRICA seat belt adjuster. For the larger kid, I probably wont be needing the BRICA. But for the smaller kid, the BRICA adjuster provides extra comfort and ensures that the seat belt runs in the right place. The Bubble Bums seat belt adjuster sits on top of the shoulder, whereas the BRICA adjuster clips to the belt in front of the child. The two products can be combined, if so desired. Overall, the Bubble Bum is easy and fast to inflate and pretty straight-forward to install. It still takes a moment to get settled in, and I hope we wont run into too many impatient cab drivers. But even with two kids I dont expect I will need more than about a minute to get both of them buckled in -- assuming the cab even has proper seat belts on the back seats. A lap belt isnt compatible with this (or pretty much any other) booster. And unfortunately, where we are going, seat belts on back seats arent necessarily a standard feature.

Needed as front-facing for my 2-year-old which took up more space and had two more car seats fri the 5 and 7 year olds. To gain the extra space I needed, I got the BubbleBum inflatable seat for the 7-year-old. Love it! I got the extra space and my girl is happy! Very easy to use.

I like that this product is very, light, easy, and very handy. We used it when we travel and needs to use uber or lyft. What i dont like it is its too low a little higher and bigger would have been great. By the way my daughter used this when we went to Disney world and had to wait for the parade. She was able to use this to seat on the pavement.

You know those pool toys you’re racing against your breath because it starts to deflate immediately once your breath decreases? This is the same. But, I needed a super narrow seat in between two bulky convertible seats. It did the job. We had to buckle first, then shove the seat under,but we squished and survived. For travel, perfect.

As a parent of three kids (5, 3 and 18 months) Im faced with the oh-too-familiar problem of finding a way to fit three child car seats in the back of my vehicle. I have a mid-sized SUV with one row of back seats and - with my 5-year-old about to graduate into a booster - I knew fitting three seats side-by-side would be an issue. I was initially skeptical about the BubbleBum because it seems such a small, inconsequential and inadequate proposition. But Im pleasantly surprised to report that my expectations were completely unfounded. First off the size and portability is unbeatable. I was concerned that it would be too awkward to function as a booster seat for long-journeys, but my five-year-old is completely comfortable sitting on it. It sits - with ample room to spare - between two other childs car seats and there is plenty of space. Buckling in and out is easy. Just guide the regular lap-belt portion of your cars standard seatbelts through the two red guide clips, and youre done. This literally takes seconds to do and is far less complicated than I feared from reading some of the descriptions online. Set-up was also super-easy. Just blow-it up like a balloon, insert the air-stopping valve and youre done. The added bonus is that the BubbleBum also serves as a portable option - so if your child is traveling in a different car.....or if you need something for a taxi or a rental car.....its extremely portable.

This was a last minute purchase for a city trip that we realized would likely involve some taxi/Lyft rides. We have the mi-fold high back booster seat from last year, but thats way too big to easily toss in a backpack and carry around all day. Plus, my child is taller and heavier now (a small age 7), so a backless booster is OK. The Bubble Bum was easy to use, very portable, and my child said it was plenty comfortable. The seatbelt came to the right spot on her body thanks to the strap on the back and the belt loops on the side of the seat. Well reach for this again for any trip that could involve occasional taxi/Lyft trips. I wonder how the Bubble Bum compares to the MiFold backless seat, which is currently unavailable, and maybe even smaller to carry around.