RideSafer - Large Black

I used the ride safer vest with our almost 4 year old in a very similar situation, flying into Florida for a cruise! It was super easy to use and eliminated traveling with a car seat for us.

Yes, this is true and worth highlighting, thank you - for purposes of travel in the UK the booster IS the car seat, and my child fits UK laws when using it *only* because of the booster. That doesn't change the safety increase provided by using the harness vs a booster alone (by which i mean the harness doesn't magically become unsafe to use, nor a booster alone safe to use for younger preschoolers as you enter the UK), but this is something of a risk parents take when traveling with the ride safer. Frankly, the options for international travel with car seats are all a little crummy, and this isn't discussed enough in travel forums. I can only speak from my own perspective, but US car seats are not typically certified for use in other countries, and often do not meet local standards, making using almost any US car seat technically illegal in much of the world including Europe and Canada. This isn't necessarily because of more lax car seat laws in the US - different countries just often have slightly different requirements. For example, US car seats typically have a chest clip, which was not permissible on European car seats last time I traveled with one. We brought our US car seat to Spain anyways and just hoped we wouldn't get pulled over. In doing some research on travel blogs/ forums, car seat blogs, and talking to other parents, it sounds like being ticketed for having an inappropriate car seat when traveling is rare. I haven't looked in depth because we haven't visited there, but I get the impression from casual review that Australia is especially strict, so may be an exception. I also found the following summary page that if nothing else highlights the confusing variety of laws across the world, though it may not be up to date and parents should check the laws for their destination country any time they travel: https://www.madeformums.com/school-and-family/baby-toddler-and-child-car-seat-laws-in-europe-and-around-the-world/ To be totally legally safe, you would need to rent or purchase a car seat in every country that your home car seat isn't certified for use in. Renting car seats is not recommended by many car seat professionals because you can't guarantee the seat was stored properly, has never been in an accident, or will be in good condition and sized right. I have had friends show up to no car seat available or to unusable car seats, but on the other hand, many people have great experiences renting seats. Purchasing in every country is simply not feasible for short vacations (though this is what I would do if i traveled to another country frequently, was going for a long time, or potentially if headed to a country known to ticket travelers for bringing along their own seat such as Australia.) We considered using an approved booster alone or bringing our (also illegal to use in the UK) beast car seat from home, but neither option was great. In the end, we did what parents do all the time - we weighed the choices and made the best decision we could. Other parents may choose differently, and that's ok too - every situation and family are different. Sorry this response is really long! I'm hoping the discussion is useful food for though for future travelers who search the sub for advice (something I've done - this sub is very friendly!) I really appreciated your comment, and would love to see more useful, thoughtful content about traveling with kids here. Hopefully others will chime in with their experience or thoughts too.

Also, I'm re-reading your comment - I don't feel we've compromised on safety. The high level of safety testing is specifically why we're using the RideSafer versus a booster alone. Outside of this, my child is nearly 6 and does maintain an appropriate position 90% of the time in a booster or car seat. We've had many discussions about this and started booster training recently, though we still don't feel he's "booster ready " full time. When at home, we use a britax with a 5 point harness. I researched the safety of the RideSafer extensively, including looking up their US testing/approval information and reading numerous reviews by car seat safety technicians. It's ok if this product is not for you! However, I think the points from your comment would have been just as good (and to be clear, they are good points) without implying that I care more about luggage than about my child's safety, which is a pretty hurtful dig to throw at any parent. Apologies if you didn't mean it that way - I would want to know if that's how my comments were coming off, though!

I'm unsure why this felt like shilling to you, but thought it was worth responding to. For full disclosure - I bought the harness with my own money and have no relationship with the manufacturer or the company that sold it to me. My only contact with the seller was to call about sizing, then to make the purchase itself. I have no social media (except this account), don't work in any travel or child product related industry, and I have never had an affiliate relationship with this or any company. This really was just a positive review on my end. I think it sparked really useful discussion about the caveats of different travel seat options when taking kids on international trips & other recommendations, which I'll be looking into when my child is old enough for a backless booster. I hope more parents put up similar posts.

Under 2? Car seat on plane using car seat caddy stroller in airport. Over 2, check car seat or rely on family to pick up with a seat. We also have used this for older kiddos with a booster seat: https://a.co/d/cMCjgYw Edited to add: all options suck, kids suck on airplanes until they’re like 3.5.

I’ve both used a rental car seat (in the US, rented a car) and brought a RideSafer Travel Vest (in Costa Rica, taking shuttles).

We just used this in combo with the Bubble Bum for a 9 day trip to the USVI and it was amazing. Not having to lug the heavy seat or depend on janky rentals? PRICELESS. I only wish I’d known about it with my older two.

Also: my 6 year old told me it was more comfortable than his home seats. (Diono Radian in my husband’s car and a high back Chico in our van…)