KidsEmbrace Superhero Booster Review

KidsEmbrace Supergirl backless booster in the box

Note: this version of the booster seat has been replaced with a newer version that offers a much more consistent vehicle seat belt fit. 

When we heard that Kids Embrace was coming out with a series of superhero-themed backless boosters, the CSFTL team was pretty excited!  We’ve already taken a close look at the Kids Embrace combination seats, so a backless booster for some of the older kids was a great option.

The four caped crusaders Superman, Supergirl, Batman, and Batgirl are upholding truth, justice, and providing a safe seat belt fit for big kids over 40 pounds and 40″.

CSFTL recommends that kids are at least 5 before riding in a belt positioning booster, and the unique fit of this booster makes it best suited for older, bigger kids. More on that in a flash, but first, here’s a refresher on how to gauge if your Junior Crimefighter is ready for a booster seat and if they are ready to move out of their super booster.

KidsEmbrace backless booster cup holder has super strength!

The seats started arriving and our first thought was oh!  They look so nice!  Who wouldn’t want such a fancy-looking booster in their car?  The cover is quite plush and the bottom is fairly padded.  This is a big thing for some of our crimefighters who are quite picky about comfort when it comes to car seats.

One thing we noticed right away was the cup holder.  It can be such a small thing, a cup holder, but for many kids, having a place to put their most urgent items is a requirement.  Kids Embrace has made a very solid cup holder — having one on backless boosters is pretty rare.

KidsEmbrace Batgirl- 5 years, 44 pounds, 44 inches

This model is at the lowest age range CSFTL recommends for a booster, but was dying to try it in the driveway. The lap belt was very low on her small frame. She’ll be sticking with her five point harness for a while yet, but she did ask for this seat for her 7th birthday – she’s been trained well!

Na na na na na na… Batseat!

This model absolutely loved the seat.   He was nearly dancing in excitement when I removed it from the box and asked to have it forever as his permanent seat.  Sorry, Batkid, you still have ants in your pants and will remain harnessed a while longer yet.

KidsEmbrace Batman- 6.5 years, 46 pounds, 47 inches

He declared the seat extremely comfortable.   The shoulder belt created a very good fit.   As the other Superheroes have noted, the lap belt wasn’t perfect.    It rested well below his hips and the far-forward belt path created quite a gap at the buckle.  I would not be comfortable with this as a restraint for a child of this build and size.

KidsEmbrace Batgirl backless booster

This model has ridden in several backless boosters and typically does not need a shoulder belt adjuster, but the Batgirl booster put the shoulder belt very close to the edge of her shoulder without it in our minivan (alas, the Batmobile was in the shop!).

KidsEmbrace Batgirl- 7 years, 65 pounds, 47 inches

Finding the shoulder belt adjuster required x-ray vision: it’s hidden in a secret superhero compartment underneath the cover. Once buckled, the short armrests made it difficult for her to tighten the lap belt and she needed some assistance. Overall she liked it, but will be moving back to her high back booster. It was comfortable, fun, and gave her good leg support.

A few pounds makes a huge difference in the belt fit on this booster.  The lap belt is still not ideal, but the fit is much closer to being a great fit.   She also found the seat comfortable and also had a great shoulder belt fit.

Fit to Child: 8 Years Old

• Secret Identity: Superman
• Age: 8
• Height: 53 inches tall
• Weight: 50 pounds

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a… SuperBooster!

The first thing this model said when he saw his Super booster was, “Is that mine?  Can I keep it?!” then continued on, raving about the cool colors.  He is convinced the fabric must be just like Superman’s costume and may give him special powers if he sits in it every day.  While I would be a bit concerned if my child suddenly became faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, I did think it seems comfortable and would keep him cool during heat waves.

KidsEmbrace Superman- 8 years, 53 pounds, 50 inches

We had the same issues with the cup holder as mentioned above when used in the captain’s chairs in our vehicle so it has been stored for future use.

The belt fit was excellent for this model, lying low on his hips and touching his thighs.  The shoulder belt fit was perfect so the adjuster was not necessary. One problem we had was caused by a combination of the seat belt geometry and the location of the booster’s belt path.  When our model tried to tighten the lap belt after buckling, like he has with every other booster, he had to pull the shoulder belt away from him quite far.  Sometimes there was still slack on the opposite side of the buckle that was hung up on the small belt path; I made sure to have him check (then I double-checked) that the slack was taken out before driving off to save the day.

Fit to Child: 9 Years Old

• Secret Identity: Batman
• Age: 9 disguised as the size of a 12-year-old
• Height: 58 inches tall
• Weight: 77 pounds

KidsEmbrace Batman- 9 years, 77 pounds, 58 inches

At 58″, this model exceeds the 57″ limit set by Kids’ Embrace for maximum height usage.   I had him model the seat for two reasons.  You can see that his lap belt is quite excellent.  Also,  despite his height, he has great leg support and rested comfortably in the seat. I should also note that every time a kid popped happily into the booster, the cup holder, which can slide onto either side of the seat, popped right off.  I expect this was due to the sculpting of the captain’s chair and would not be an issue on a flatter surface.   The cover is well designed, seems like long-lasting quality and has very, very high kid appeal

Third Row: Belt Fit

KidsEmbrace Supergirl can place the lap belt too low on the lap

Like our other caped crusaders, this model sometimes found it difficult to buckle himself because of the short armrests. We took a couple of very short trips around Metropolis with the Supergirl booster and he told us that it was very comfortable. He felt there was enough padding and that it felt good to sit on. His younger sisters fell in love, but our little Supergirls aren’t ready for a booster just yet.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

It seems this seat’s Joker or Kryptonite is the low lap belt fit. Here you can see the difference between other booster seats and the superhero booster lap belt fit.

A good belt fit places the lap portion of the vehicle seat belt low enough that it doesn’t touch the child’s stomach without it being so low that it doesn’t come in contact with the pelvis. The pelvis is one of the strongest parts of the human body and helpful in protecting the body from crash forces. You can see here how the difference in arm rest design changes the placement of the lap belt.

The armrests on the KidsEmbrace backless booster can be hard to use

The super booster’s shallow arm rest design brings the lap belt forward, while the other booster allows the lap belt to go back farther towards the pelvis.

We love the Superhero theme for appealing to older kids, the plush construction and fabric, and of course, the cup holder. Despite the appealing covers, the seat belt fit can be a bit inconsistent on these boosters.  We recommend choosing this booster for bigger kids and always checking the belt fit before use.

Kids Embrace provided the boosters for this review, but we were not otherwise compensated. Opinions, as always, are all our own!