Nice to see we're getting somewhere in the world of carseats! I have 4 kids and a tiny Nissan Sentra. Needless to say, carseats are an issue for me. Luckily I have one old enough to sit in the front but the back seat has to fit 2 boosters and a five-point forward facing car seat. This inflatable seat would be great for me but at $87 my kids will be grown by the time I get to buy one!

I think this would be ideal for traveling with a toddler in the city. You could use it in a taxi! Brilliant. :)

"Easycarseat child car seat was tested according to the UN ECE Regulation No.44.04"

Uh, the UN doesn't test car seats.

This is some kind of scam. I wouldn't put my children in it, or the children of my friends.

Has anyone checked to see if Daddytypes has blogged about this? He's the go-to source for all things safety and car seat related.

I think this would be great for travel. I wouldn't have to worry about grandparents borrowing or buying a car seat when we fly to see them, or packing our beefy carseat to fly and hauling it through an airport (or in our case, many airports, ugh).

They didn't say it was tested by the UN; they're saying it's tested in accordance with UN regulations/standards. Their English is clunky, but whatever.

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/standards/r4403.htm
http://www.nfumutual.co.uk/lifestyle/car-seats.htm

I'd still want some trusted source to review it, like Consumer Reports, but there's no evidence to suggest this is a scam.

UN ECE refers to I think the European safety standards. the the UN itself. Someone from overseas let us know what this is all about if you have seen this or use this Thanks

sorry *the the UN itself is supposed to say not the UN itself

That seems like something that would be great for me to have in my car's emergency kit, in case I need to give one of my nieces a ride somewhere in a pinch.
Cool idea.

Well, daddytypes *did* blog about it -- a year ago.

http://daddytypes.com/2010/04/08/how_different_are_car_seats_in_europe_ch_1.php

And apparently, they are not the only kind of inflatable booster seat around...

http://daddytypes.com/2010/04/09/its_the_little_differences_ch_1_contd_the_bubble_bum.php

Huh.

There is something known as UNECE regulations which is part of a UN regulatory harmonization body and the number above exists but is more or less irrelevant. It has nothing to do with car seat safety.

Red herring. And homologated? That settles the matter. This claim is full of weasel words.

This is NOT a car seat. It's a booster and definitely NOT safe for a toddler, ever. Kids should not be in boosters that rely on the safety belt of a car until they have outgrown a car seat w/ 5-point harness, so at least 45 lbs, but a lot of seats go to 65 and even 70 lbs now. Over age 5, able to sit still and have the shoulder and lap belts fit properly.

also Consumer Reports is not a safety institute. It's a magazine.

The UN ECE is the UN Economic Commission for Europe:

http://www.unece.org/about/about.htm

http://www.unece.org/trans/theme_facilitation.html

I would not trust this as my main booster seat, but to keep this deflated in my purse in the situation that my car is stolen and I have to take a cab home - or other crazy scenario where the regular seat is not available.

we have got 2 Easycarseats which we bought through the www.travelcarseat.com site, but I am pretty sure its actually the same product.

I too enquired about the US safety tests prior to purchasing. I was told these were done in the US by MGA Research and I was sent this webpage with the pdf files at the bottom and the video; http://easycarseat.com/2009/11/tuv-sud-safety-test-7/

This is a great product as a holiday car seat or for the Childminders. I can recommend it if you use many cars and travel a lot by plane

The only scenario I could see using it would be in an emergency for a Taxi, in Australia they recently changed many state laws that car seats are not required in a cab passed 12 months (which is bizarre because we have otherwise very strict car seat regulations) this meant taxi's threw out all of their seats. So as a one car family if my son needs to go home sick from child care and my husband can't get to him I have to take him home in a Taxi without a seat at all, same applies for interstate travel unless you take a car seat.

I would consider something like this for that scenario, or the the Trunki Boosterpak, but not otherwise.

Makes me nervous in general because I'm a big proponent of facing kids backwards as long as possible and, as of this week, the AAP agrees.

I posted a quick and dirty roundup of everything you need to know - plus a little extra to convince you :)

http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/2011/03/why-you-really-do-need-to-squish-your.html

Nooooo.

No. Not what car seats are for. If I have to have an accident, let an 'orphan car seat' be the one in the car then, KWIM?

I think it's a great idea for travel. I wouldn't use it as my child's primary carseat but it beats lugging a seat on a plane, or riding in a taxi without one, as I have sometimes done ithe past. If it were approved for use in Canada, I'd be comfortable with it, as our requirements are quite stringent.

I think it's probably made in the Czech Republic as that's the other country that's tested it.

I live in the EU and have two little kids, and have not seen this product over here. It's an interesting idea, but I'm not convinced that I would use it in a car. I could, though, see using it in an airplane (or the many that we'll be flying in the coming years)...not sure that I would want to fork out the moolah x2 kids for it, though.

This inflatable...thing...was discussed at length on car-seat.org. You can read the discussion here. In short: not safe. Don't use it. As heavy or bulky or inconvenient as proper seats and boosters may seem, our children's lives are well worth it.

Awesome... for taxis and traveling and on the go. Love it!

Funny... The last place I would want to use it would be in a Taxi (who knows how good their drive is?) or while on holiday/vacation (where I am not as familiar with the roads).

We travel a lot and have one child. We bought a secondary cheaper (yet still met all the safety stuff) car seat and a cheap second hand double stroller for traveling. I put my son in one seat and his car seat (with the diaper bag sitting in the car seat) on the other seat. Sure we get some funny looks... But I don't have to play pack mule with all the stuff, my child is safe, and there is always room for a friend to come along spur of the moment.

Great for airplanes, as it also works as a floatation device! :)

Never. Never, ever, ever in a million years would I put a child in this. Just because something is easy doesn't mean it's good.

I wouldn't call this a car seat or a booster seat. How about seat cushion? Just add a team logo.

There is no way I would ever put my child in one of those things. Just look at the crash test video. Consider the forces at work on that dummy's neck. The rotational movement is especially damaging.

Here in Norway the recommendation is to use a rear facing car seat with a five point harness until the age of 4.

Umm...regular car seats aren't that great either.

http://www.freakonomics.com/tag/car-seats/

I can see a lot of scenarios where this would be useful, especially for city living where one doesn't drive but might take the occasional taxi or shared ride.

What happens if it pops in a crash? I'd absolutely never use this thing!! It even seems pointless in an airplane, which just has lap belts anyway.

More details about the US testing are buried deep in the site. Says that it's approved for children who weigh between 52 and 80 pounds, so great for older kids, but definitely not 3 and up.
http://easycarseat.com/2009/11/dekra-test-laboratory-7/

As a pediatrician and nationally certified child passenger safety instructor i am VERY concerned about this product as it failed US crash testing, according to test results released on easycarseat's website. Please see this article I wrote for more information - http://thecarseatlady.blogspot.com/2011/04/car-seat-lady-does-not-recommend.html

The Easycarseat was tested and approved for the USA market from 33 pounds to 80 pounds.
FYI: in general about the Easycarseat;

It is not intended as a primary car seat.
It is a professionally designed inflatable highback booster seat with the benefit of it being portable so you can carry it with you in your purse when you have no option to use a solid car seat.

The Easycarseat raises the child's body so that the car's built in safety seat belt can provide protection to the child in the event of a crash. That's what a booster seat does - and the Easycarseat fulfills that purpose.

This is not a sales pitch - however there was a lot of negative campaigning going on from our competitors so this is to clarify.

It is tested for all USA states, all EU countries from 33 pounds to 80 pounds (15 Kg - 36Kg).

Hi,
I live in Sweden (EU) and have been working as a designer within the car industry focusing on safety (and child safety) in cars.

I am in no way advertising but I feel these seats are very convenient, especially for my family who travels a lot.
It really is no fun coming to Spain, Italy or any other country where child safety in cars historically has been to place the child in the backseat, and that's it!
Well, preferably they would need to be quiet and sit still...

This is not a "real" booster seat, it is a comfy cushion to elevate the child.

In Sweden we keep our kids facing backwards up until 5 years of age and there are strict laws about child-safety.

As the rep. from Easycarseat write above the function for a booster seat is to elevate the child so that the seat-belt works as intended, i.e. being placed across the pelvis and cross over the chest.
If a child is not elevated the lower belt will cross over the stomach instead as the angle is wrong and the distance between the lower belt and the upper (crossing the chest) becomes too long. This risk causing internal injuries from the lower belt and in worst case risks that the child "slides" out from under the belt.

If the child (below 140 cm, 55") is traveling without a booster it is a common mistake to let the child put the upper belt under the arm as it will cross the neck otherwise. This is a possibly lethal mistake as it will compress the child's hearth at impact!!!
Never place the seat-belt under the arm!!!

As for the function of the "cushion", if the child is elevated to a proper position, which the Easycarseat does well, at impact it doesn't really matter if the cushion is deflated as the child's trust is forward and was in the correct position ("seat-belt-wise") at impact the child will "lift off" the cushion in any case, the same that happens with a "hard" booster.

The reason that a "hard-booster" has horns is so that it will not slip away and risk placing the child behind it. That is not a risk with the Easycarseat as it has a high back support.

Actually the recoil forces from an impact will get reduced by the Easycarseat as the release valve will let air out so it will function as a "backwards" airbag... This can also be seen from the tests-video posted above.

I will have no issues placing my twin daughters of 6 yrs in these seats while traveling in taxis and renting cars abroad.

I would however not recommend anyone placing a child younger than 4 in a front-facing booster seat, never ever!
I have personally seen what damage a child suffers who is facing forward that hasn't the physique for it... :(

Regards,
Andrew