Britax Parkway Booster Seat

FROM THE MANUFACTURER

Britax Parkway SG Booster Car SeatThe Parkway® SG Belt Positioning Booster features industry-leading side impact protection and SlideGuard anti-submarining technology to manage crash forces and minimize injury. Supportive comfort foam and soft, padded materials promote proper seat use and enhance safety. Designed to fit three across in most vehicles, the booster seat is appropriate for children 40 lbs and up. A removable backrest, dual retractable cupholders, color coded belt guides and a one ha

The PARKWAY SG Belt-Positioning-Booster seat can be used for children 120 lbs. or less as long as the vehicle shoulder belt guide places the belt in the proper position for the child, and the top of the child’s ears are below the top of the head restraint, and the child physically fits in the seat, and is not being used beyond its expiration date (6 years from date of manufacture).

REVIEW

By D. Hardaway “dhardawa” (Louisville, KY United States)

I’m a certified child passenger safety technician so when I had the chance to try the new Britax Parkway Slide Guard, I was thrilled. I know child restraints inside and out.

Britax has been talking for over a year about this seat and how it will fit children up to 120 lbs and how it will have the slide guard mechanism. In a crash, forward facing occupants do what is called submarining. This is when the hips slide forward in a crash causing the lap belt to ride up over the lower abdomen. The slide guard mechanism is intended to eliminate that, thereby reducing internal injuries in children. Thankfully, I wasn’t in a crash with the seat so I can’t rate that, but knowing Britax and their extensive testing, it probably does a very good job.

One of the selling points of the Britax Parkway Booster Seat was that it was more narrow and would make fitting three across a back seat easier. I just happen to have one of the old Parkways to compare it to, and the two seats are identical widths. So, I don’t see how this seat can fit three across any better than the old Parkway.

I had my daughter try out the seat for comfort and fit. She is almost 10, but is small for her age (57 lbs 51 inches). She fit well in the seat, but her first comment was, “This is uncomfortable.” The webbing that holds the slide guard mechanism comes out of the seat in an inverted “V” shape. This causes the webbing to press into the inner thighs of the child. My very thin child complained about this. I would imagine it would be worse for a heavier child who had larger thighs.

There are some good things about the seat. Once adjusted to the correct length, the slide guard mechanism was very easy to position on the seatbelt correctly. It is also a very nicely padded seat. Britax has never before had a booster that converts to a backless booster so this is a nice change there. Also, the seat is taller than the older Parkways which is a definite bonus. In the old Parkway, my daughter is four notches from the bottom. On the Parkway Slide Guard, she is two notches and would have years of growth room.

All said and done, it is an okay booster, but certainly not what I expected after all the hype over the past year. If Britax would modify the webbing on the slide guard mechanism, that would be a huge benefit.