Cosco Kids - Finale 2-in-1 Booster Car Seat (BC206GHC)

We have a tall 3.5yo (wears 5t) who outgrew the Cosco Scenera and we just bought the Cosco Finale 5 point harness booster. The Finale is a touch taller and heavier than the Scenera but still fits fine in our generic car seat bag. We’ve checked the Scenera multiple times when flying and it’s held up fine. Our preference is to check the car seat normally rather than lug it through the airport when we already have slightly more carry-on bags than what 2 adults can conveniently carry. I can’t remember seeing gate checked car seats, just strollers. Multiple car seats and boosters usually show up in the oversized luggage carousel. The thing with boosters, including the wearable harness, is that they’re for kids who are old enough to sit upright on their own, and our 3.5yo is still squirmy and slouchy when she’s tired and fussy aka travel days, so while technically she fits in a wearable harness, my understanding is that the seat with the 5 point buckle is still safer.

Hey. Just saw this, but if you didn’t get a car seat yet, I highly recommend the Cosco Finale. It’s a forward-facing car seat that converts to a booster. Like the Scenera, it’s lightweight, inexpensive, and FAA approved (but only in 5-point harness mode). That was what we got when our kids outgrew the Scenera.

You need 51" of rear hip room and the narrow base car seats. I fit 3 in the back of a Prius. The cosco finale for instance is 17" wide so will fit 3 across in most vehicles. I've currently got 3 across including a carseat with click in base in an e class

We used the Cosco Finale car seat (from Walmart) for travel around age 5 for my daughter. It’s the lightest weight and cheapest out there (but still fully tested and approved safety wise.) My youngest just outgrew the cosco scenera so he’ll be using the finale our next trip.

We brought my son’s Extend2Fit on the plane. We fly 4-5 times a year and many different airlines and have never had a problem rear facing it. We had a backpack to carry it through the airport. When my son turned FF after he turned 4, we bought a Cosco Kids Finale and that was a breeze to use on the plane. It was so lightweight and made me wish we had purchased the rear facing Cosco one just for all our trips before FF. They’re cheap Walmart seats.

And the finale as a booster seat.

Just grab some lightweight Cosco seats. Much easier to haul through airports. Like 8 lbs each. Then you have them forever and don’t have to worry about a rental screw up If they’re 4 just check the seats with luggage. Grab a basic nylon bag for each.

We fly a lot with our son (4.5) (25+ flights) and we haven't bothered with anything other then the plane lap belt in awhile (after 2 or so) and we've felt very safe with him even through takeoff, landing and turbulence. We tried one of the harness one time and didn't bother... it was kind of a pain to setup and it can block the tray table/screen in the seat behind you. One thing to consider is the buckles are really easy to take off, so if he's not use to it he might try fiddling with it. (If you think it might be an issue, covering it with a sock or something might help) Edit: Oh and just to add, we're very cautious with car seat stuff... he just changed to forward-facing a few weeks ago!

It really depends on the situation... * If it's minimal driving we might just use the [RideSafer vest](https://shop.saferide4kids.com/products/ridesafer-travel-vest); We'll also pack that sometimes as a backup * Sometimes we'll just pay the extra and rent the carseat with our rental car (we had a rental car in Orlando before a cruise and didn't want to have to carry the car seat on the ship) * If using a car service, sometimes they don't charge extra for a carseats. * if using lots of ride sharing services, most places you won't be able to get a carseat; The Ridesafer vest might be the way to go * In larger cities (we went to Chicago) we just used public transportation and many times he could just stay in his stroller on the Bus or on our lap on the trains * Sometimes we'll check the carseat and bring it with us. It should be free to check it. We like the [Cosco Kids](https://coscokids.com/collections/car-seats) brand car seats, they are very reasonably priced and most important very light. We had the [Scenera](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Kids-Scenera-NEXT-Convertible-Car-Seat-Cobblestone/534841958) model first and then we just got the [Finale](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Kids-Finale-2-in-1-Booster-Car-Seat-Fiberwave-Toddler/260704037) a few weeks ago. We use this [car seat travel bag](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M2A4IK1) which has been working well. Some of our key take-aways... * Make sure you are familiar with the car seat beforehand. Practice installing it at home and get the shoulder straps adjusted before you leave. Same for the RiderSafer vest, if you get it all adjusted beforehand, it's much quicker to get setup. * Take your time, we had a tendency to rush getting into a rental car... slow down, take your time! * Use the LATCH system if you can. Most newer car in the US will have that and it's much easier. (Note: there is a weight limit) * With some compact cars you might not be able to get rear facing to fit! * For pre-installed car seats I always double-check to make sure they are installed properly.

We have a Cosco Finale. It's super light (like, easily heft it with one hand; we sling them over a shoulder if need be, but typically check them for free with the airline when we fly so as not to bother) and affordable, with a 5 point harness up to 65 lbs and then can convert to a backless booster (up to 100 lbs). Might not work for a plane, but we feel comfortable with our kid using the regular lap belt now (thought I've looked into the CARES harnesses). We do also have a Bubble Bum seat, but we prefer the Finale.

We have this one too for our almost 6 year old.

We brought 2 harnessed seats for our kids when they were 4. We stacked them in the bottom of the closet of our cabin and didn't think of them again until we were getting ready to disembark. Don't let the naysayers tell you that you should compromise safety because of space. We used the Cosco Scenera Next because our kids were tiny and still rear facing, but if the 3 year old is forward facing the Cosco Finale is also lightweight and easy to travel with. I would try the 7 year old in a backless booster, even if they don't regularly use one. Boosters can't be used on planes, but I always kept ours in a carryon even if we were otherwise checking bags. You don't want a lost bag to cause safety issues at your destination. The best way to fly with a harnessed seat is for the child to sit in it on the plane. As someone else noted, you will need a window seat for that. The finale might be small enough to fit entirely on a plane seat, which would technically make it okay in non-window positions, but whether or not the seat would impede the egress of another passenger is entirely up to the flight crew. It's better to just plan to put the kid in a window seat. Painters tap is the best emergency child-proofing device. It won't last long but I've used it for taping off electrical outlets, taping cabinets closed, and even made a ball of tape to cover a sharp corner in a dangerous spot. Also, whenever we traveled somewhere my kids had to be strapped in (like a car or a plane), I gave my kids a new toy each hour. We also had very limited screentime and didn't bring devices for our kids until they were nearly teenagers. If you plan on bringing devices, make sure they have headphones. I know you said you're good on board the ship, but I thought I would point out that the walls being magnetic makes for some good ways to distract kids while the adults shower/dress/whatever. [Something like this would pack pretty ](https://www.learningresources.com/item-tumble-traxr-magnetic-marble-run)well in a large ziplock and would probably work for both kids even if the younger one played with the magnets more than created a marble run. Last tip is to find a more open space at the airport (even a gate that's not currently being used) and encourage the kids to run around. Get it all out of their systems before they board the plane.