CarGoSeat Review

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

Like most parents I always ensure that my children’s car seats have the best safety reviews, and I research this kind of purchase for weeks. However I find myself in a parenting predicament on occasions when I have to use taxi’s or when in vehicles abroad and I don’t have a carseat to use, or have to rely on a dubious looking rented seat. In my mind it defeats the purpose of my tireless research to have the perfect carseat if I’m going to allow the odd lapse in using one. Even when my parents visit and want to take my youngest on a short trip, it’s such a hassle to transfer his carseat into their car.

The CarGoSeat would appear to respond to the needs of many parents who experience this common problem, and seems to bridge a real gap in the market. Plus there is the added bonus of a handy storage compartment to eliminate the need for the backpack that every child seems to be desperate to wear on any outing, but Mummy or Daddy end up carrying.

The seat comes in four colours; purple, green, pink and blue. I am so pleased that we received the green as it is so bright and funky, and more importantly it isn’t my elder son or daughters favourite colour (so no-one is the “winner” and that argument is avoided, phew). It is made of plastic, with a thin washable seat cover that is you velcro into position. You won’t set off the metal detector in the airport at least!

This booster is designed for children who weigh between 22kg (around 6 years) and 36kg (around 12 years), measuring 125cm and above. Google informs me that this height is typical for a 7-8 year old child, so you would be starting to look at this product from the age of around 7 depending upon your child. I tried this out on my 9 year old and my very tall (almost) 7 year old. I must add that they are now pro’s at helping me with reviews as I always include their feedback, so they really put this booster to the test.

I hate learning how to install car seats for the first time, and to be honest it has become my husbands job. This time is was my review and my problem (his words!), so imagine how smug I felt when I managed to master it in a couple of minutes. There isn’t any real assembly required so my victory is a minor one; it works very simply with the seat belt in the car and the instructions were very clear.

To raise the armrests you simply press a button in the centre of the wheels which is easy enough, but I did find that one of the rests raised slightly higher than the other.

The seat is comfy, although it isn’t cushioned as the washable seat pad is quite thin. You have to appreciate that it is designed as an alternative to your permanent carseat and needs to be wipeable and able to withstand a child dragging it around.

To open the seat you need to twist the lock 90 degrees which is a little stiff, but in my view this is a good thing as the last thing I need on a journey is the seat opening and the contents spilling onto the floor. My 9 year old managed to operate the mechanism with a little effort whilst my 6 year old struggled, but this is is totally acceptable to me and preferable to him constantly opening and closing it. I suspect this feature was intentional and designed by a parent who “knows”.

The car seat opens up to give 10 litres of storeage space. To add some context to this, we managed to comfortably fit 17 of your typical toddler books inside. Further testing allowed us to store a medium cuddly toy, a medium sized ball, a book for an older child, medium dinosar, crayons, purse and a toy car. We could have squeezed in a few more smaller items.  This would be enough storeage for a plane ride, sleepover at a friends and a few essential toys for a stay at Grandparents. I have to say I was both suprised and impressed by the capacity.

The seat weighs 1.5kg, so think one a half bags of sugar. It is so light that even my 3 year old could pick it up with two hands, without any real effort. Obviously this is unlikely to be the case when it’s full, but remember it is the adult who will be lifting and installing it as the kids just pull it along, which they found very easy in terms of the amount of effort required. The wheels do appear to be less sturdy than the seat and armrest so I will be interested to see how they fare with my brood.

We have some slight niggles with the handle length as my 9 year old found that she had to bend in order to pull it along whilst it seemed perfect for the 6 year old. Both children are very tall for their age, but the elder child is by no means at the maximum range for this carseat. I guess there is a limit to the handle length due to it having to fold down into the back of the seat. The handle has a slight manaevorability and “twist”; this makes it easy to drag along and change direction, but I just hope it doesn’t weaken the hinge. Only time will tell on this feature.

This booster seat has been tested to UK and EU safety standards and has 12 months warranty (this must be activated within 30 days).

Now this is a novel idea; the company will recycle the product free of charge once you have finished with it. Maybe I live my life with blinkers on but this is a new concept to me and pretty fantastic.

The price surprised me as £39.99 seems very reasonable for a combined carseat and storage case. It is excellent value for money, it is practical and has such a great storage feature.

I can think of endless uses for this product; taxi rides, holidays abroad, lifts from family or when staying at a school friends house, school trips, a booster seat in the cinema or theatre whilst storing treats inside… I could go on. It fills a real gap in the market and gives parents peace of mind that your child can always be safe when travelling by car, not just safe 99% of the time. I would award the CarGoSeat 5 stars out of 5.

Rating: 5/5 stars

RRP: £39.99

This product can be purchased from CarGoSeat here.