Ride Safer Delight Travel Vest, Large Grey – Includes Tether and Neck Pillow

I wish I had known about this earlier. Lifesaver! My in-laws keep a car seat at their house so we don't need to bring one when we fly to see them, but we need something for the Uber on the way to the airport. I went to the airport with my 3yo daughter today and it was so easy to use in the Uber. When we got to the airport, I just folded it up and put it in her suitcase. So much easier than carrying a giant car seat around. I couldn't figure out how to use the crotch strap - it was super tight, but it isn't required, so I just took it off. I wouldn't use this as my everyday seat, but it is perfect as a backup or for traveling. It seems expensive for a vest, but it is pretty sturdy and I think worth it since it is a replacement for a car seat - and car seats often cost this much or more. The ease of going through an airport without a giant seat is worth the price if you fly often.Some caveats: 1) kid isn't sitting up high, so they can't really see out the window. 2) kid might get more car sick because they can't see out the window. Mine didn't, but some might. 3) I feel much better using this with the tether, even though it isn't required for use with a lap/shoulder belt. 4) it was loose on her (38lbs, 40"), but their website said it is ok if the straps are loose. 5) wish they still had the pink color!! 6) your kid has to be mature enough to not unbuckle the seat belt, and also to not move around too much while driving. That's why I think it is good for shorter trips or travel, but maybe not as my main seat. 7) I found the buckle on the front of the vest hard to undo quickly. My mother-in-law with arthritis might have difficulty. It is made so the kids can't take it off, but the kids can just unbuckle the car seatbelt if they want, so not sure why the vest buckle needs to be so difficult.NOTE: You can leave this mostly hooked into the car - just undo the vest buckle and unthread one side of the lap belt. Leave the other side of the lap belt threaded and the shoulder belt threaded.

My son is 4 ½ years old and I have epilepsy. This harness has given me independence and flexibility while keeping my son safe. My city has terrible public transit so if my husband is unavailable I have to rely on friends or services like Uber. My friends have more than one kid- if you've ever been able to fit three car seats across a back seat, you can probably also solve a rubix cube in under a minute, you beautiful genius. Often, it was such a hassle I didn't want to burden my friends with it so I stayed home. If I'm out and about doing super secret espionage hauling a 40 pound car seat around the Russian embassy will attract attention.Tips:First and foremost, yes it's safe. Read the manufacturers website instead of taking the word of an Amazon reviewer. They've been making these for 15 years and they pass the same government safety standards as other restraint systems in the US. It's not approved to be used on planes (planes have neither a shoulder harness or top tether), or some EU countries (which specifically require a booster).If you leave the pillow at home, the vest and tether fits in a Kavu rope bag with room for small necessities (wallet, phone, tranquilizer gun, compact night vision goggles, emergency melt down kid snack, one grenade but probably not two)The crotch strap is helpful to keep the lap strap appropriately low on a shorter child. If they've been on skydiving deployments they're used to that anyhow. For proper fit, I also make sure his taser isn't between him and the vest or seatbelt.The tether is the heaviest part and you will rarely need it. If the seat has a lap AND shoulder strap it's optional. Middle rear seat in cars 2007 and newer must have 3 point seat belts. In older cars you can still put kiddo by the door (which is better for low speed bail outs anyway). Uber requires cars to be no more than ten years old so your child could literally fit in any of the back three seats without having to use the tether. The tether is helpful on longer trips where my son might fall asleep after a hard day of being a very cute cover agent.The Houdini buckle is challenging at first, but practice at home before a night deployment and you shouldn't have an issue. The key is to squeeze the thinner of the two portions of the buckle see the photos I've attached.Summary: Don't be fooled into thinking it's faster or easier than a car seat, it takes a couple more minutes but if you are in situations where portability and frequent switching between vehicles is required, this is an excellent tool. I recommend it be issued to all field agents in deep mommy-cover.

I used this for my 2 year old while traveling in a car when on vacation. I did not want to lug the car seat through the airport and a friend of mine had one for her son who wears it all the time. What I didn’t like is that the buckle is a magnet and falls off all the time when the child is not wearing it, so I ended up loosing it. Why would they make a buckle that keeps your child’s vest strapped in tight a magnet that can fall off...? Also the small is big, I have a 30lb 2 year old who is 3 ft. tall and its slightly big for him and he is obviously a big 2 year old as he is bigger than most 3 year olds. Some of the posts warned about this and its true. My friend who has the older version doesn’t have either of the problems I noted above. On the other hand this was convenient and easy to use and I will use again if I can get the buckle replaced.