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

I both like and dislike this booster, so thats why my rating averages out as a 3 star. LIKE Super compact and light weight. I can deflate, roll up and shove into my handbag, and then quickly blow it up again to use when I get to my destination. Cant beat this advantage and this is a big plus over other boosters. Narrow and does not take up much space in the back row. Much easier to use than something like the Safety First Vest, which we also own. (Note the vest can be used from 3 yo up but this Bubble Bum needs to be 40lbs and above) DISLIKE I hate hate hate buckling my 5 yo son into this. The base slides all over the seat, it is clumsy to thread the seat belt through the red buckles (yes even the redesigned buckles), and the buckle that lowers the shoulder belt never stays put. The shoulder belt just keeps sliding up and cutting into my sons neck. Since the bubble bum sits very low we need this adjustment. The seat belt also often slips out of the guide buckles on the bottom too. For this reason my son cannot buckle himself in and I prefer boosters where he can. My son slips right off this seat while we are driving. It just isnt very stable so when he leans over the whole thing slides out of place. Not safe!! Dislike having to put my lips on the red nozzle to blow it up, and the red nozzle is on the back of the booster, and gets dirty from cabs, etc. yuck. And no I dont carry wipes around to clean it. All in all we use this for travel and for quick trips around the city where we get in and out of subways and cabs. But I dont think it is safe (at least not for a 5 yo) for every day use. It is what it is--an inflatable booster and a boon for travel. Dont use it in lieu of a regular car seat for a child.

BLUF: the bladders dont last. They work for a period of time and then leak without fail. If you intend to use this as an every-day/primary booster seat, dont. It wont last. It seems like a smart idea for both travel and to have a spare booster for friends/family, but given my experience with the unreliable bladders, I dont think I would recommend for travel because thats exactly where/when you dont want the thing to fail. I own 2 of these since December 2016. One is used all the time as the primary booster for my 50-60 lb (from then to now) son in one of our two cars (its rated for 40-100 lbs). He is squeezed in between his forward-facing little sister and rear-facing little brother in a relatively narrow car (Ford C-Max Energi), so this was basically the only workable solution there (because its narrow). The other has always been a spare we keep in our other, much larger vehicle. I have lost count of how many times I have had to replace the bladders, but its definitely more than 8 times. Initially, they were being replaced under the 1 year manufacturers warranty (which was an easy, relatively fast process). I think they may have given me one or two freebies, just outside of the warranty window as well. Last couple I had to pay for. I bought 2 when one failed, knowing that it would just happen again, and it just did, prompting me to write this review. My son is not doing anything destructive to cause this. There are no sharp or abrasive objects on or near him or the seat. The leaks all occur in different parts of the bladder. I know this because when they happen, I identify the leak by submerging in water in the hopes that it is in a place that can be repaired with the type of patch youd use on a therm-a-rest air mattress. Sometimes they could, but not usually (too close to or on a seam, etc.). Additionally, when they fail, sometimes its not just a leak. They have some kind of stitching in them to give them a shape to form a comfortable seating surface (vs. just a ball of air). That stitching or whatever it is that gives it that shape often fails at the same time as the leak occurs (or thats when I notice). The included image shows that - there is supposed to be an oval in the center , but the top part of the oval has failed. Not sure if that make sense or comes through in the image but I dont know how else to describe it. The outer nylon shell, all webbing, and the little bit of cushioning are all intact, well-made, and nice-looking. Their customer service is great. Bladders, terribly unreliable. I bought two replacements in August of 2018, direct from manufacturer. Today the 2nd one of those two failed. Less than 5 months of continuous use per bladder. BTW, were not talking about hours and hours of use each day - it gets sat on, on average, maybe 3x/week, for max of maybe a half-hour trip, but usually much shorter. Sorry this is so long and somewhat disorganized, I wanted to get the information out there and Im not going to spend the time to go back and edit this.

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.

We bought this for a trip that included limo service to/from the airport, a couple flights, and a rental car while we were there and this was the perfect travel booster seat solution. Just a few quick breaths and we had it ready for the limo ride, quick open of the valve and rolled up into our carry-on bag, then blew it up again to use the whole time in the rental car, then again just as easily back into our carry-on for easy access and quick use again for the limo ride home. No complaints from the seats occupant although I had read some felt like they were slipping off, etc, we didnt see that issue with our 8 year old. I would strongly recommend this as a travel solution for kids needing booster seats. Keep in mind booster seats are not permitted for use on planes unless they have been FAA approved so again, something like this that stores quickly, compactly, and easily into a carry-on or suitcase is likely to be the easiest solution.

Lightweight. Quick & easy to use while traveling. Love how it comes with a bag to carry it in

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.

This seat has worked so well for my family for travel. It packs down small and inflates quickly. Plus the company has excellent customer service which makes me even happier with the product!

This was great to have for traveling. It was easy to inflate and for her to use in the rental car. I put it in my carryon luggage and it didn’t take much room at all. It was a little difficult to completely deflate.

It slides around in the car which makes it less secure when my kiddo is in it. I love that it’s small and easy to install but I question the safety when it slips on leather seats.

My 6 year old said it was comfortable enough. Super easy to inflate, barely took any air. At first we thought it wasn’t inflated fully, but it’s just a little squishy. It was great paying $30 for a booster that fit in our luggage instead of having to pay $50+ to rent one from Turo. I would suggest putting a towel or a piece of grippy fabric under it as it can slide on some leather seats.