Safety 1st Rumi™ Air Harnessed Booster Car Seat {Review & Giveaway}

Safety 1st Rumi™ Air

Since September is National Safety Month, I decided to check out a car seat for you guys. We are very big on car safety in this Crazy Mom’s house. Just ask my toddler if we can turn the key before she is buckled? She will scream and holler to let you know she is not strapped down in her seat.

I wish more parents would take the subject of car seat safety more serious; I see on a daily basis where little ones under the age of 5 are jumping from front seat to the backseat and just bouncing around. Yes, even 1 year olds are bobbing around. I so wish I could stop these Mom’s or Dad’s and tell them to put their precious little cargo into a car seat. I probly would even help pay for it; that’s how serious I’m.

When Safety 1st contacted us to check out a seat we were all excited. This is what I love about running a blog; I can check out products to their hearts desire and see if they work in a family environment, hold up to a Toddler, Tween or Teen and then if we love the product and it passed all our Tests we can tell ALL our readers about a cool new product.

Some products stand the test and we’ve introduced you to them, many others didn’t and we are very picky. The Safety 1st company knew about our procedure and how picky we are and they were up for a challenge. We agreed and couldn’t wait to get the new Safety 1st Rumi™ Air Harnessed Booster Car Seat in our house.

Features:

• The Safety 1st RUMI has air protect technology – revolutionary side impact protection, that drastically reduces side impact crash forces to the head.
• Safety 1st Rumi Booster car seat has 2 modes of use forward facing from 22-65 lbs and belt positioning form 40-100 lbs and 57 inches in height
• Quick Fit harness adjustment eliminates the need for re-threading harness, and the color coded belt paths improve the ease of installation
• 1 handed adjustable headrest
• Integrated cup holder and snack tray with a comfy overmold for your child’s convenience

What did we think?
I was very impressed with the new look; it’s a cross between a star trek and a new European design. Super cool and so different than any other car seat I’ve seen. I loved the security with the air cushions on the head. That is always a big concern of mine and they are super cool. You can squeeze them down and see how the air moves to cushion your little ones head in case of an impact. I love that! The headrest on my Toddler looked a little snug and held her head perfect; she didn’t mind it either. I also loved that there is a storage compartment in the back of the seat that you pull out like a little drawer and it will hold any  instructions, clips and installation parts; love that I can just toss them in and not have to find a specific place that is nearly impossible to attach a clip to.

As most new mom’s know, car seat installation has gotten a lot easier over the years. I remember when my Teen was a little tike we had to have an adult sit in the seat, one pulling the seatbelt and one putting a clip in place and then run a chance that it’s not inserted correctly and do it all over again, could take hours. But the safety chief that I’m, I wouldn’t have want it any other way…. till now. The cool new concept of installing a car seat in any new car is so easy and makes me feel that they are that much more secure.  Each new car seat has two straps that clip in the back of your car, you then pull on them and voila, they are tight!!! super easy and anyone can do it, one person installation.

Of course this Car seat has all the new safety standards that are  required and then some. I love the sleek design it seems smaller than any other car seat and fits nicely into my Expedition, but also was a nice fit for our rental car a Ford Focus a few weeks ago. The nice thing, if you do have an older car and need to revert to the “old fashion” installation, all clips and parts are included in the seat; no matter what your little one will be safe in their seat; just make sure it’s installed correctly. Bring it to a local Fire station or Car seat check in your area to be absolutely sure.

I always read reviews online for any product I’m testing to see if I have issues and what the readers complain/agree with and maybe I can address some and resolve some issues. A lot of parents had concern with “that the seat cover wasn’t easily removable”. That is true, however any of the car seats that we have owned, none had easy removal of the cushions, in the rare case that we needed it washed, we rather bought a new seat and that’s not something specific to this seat, we’ve owned very expensive seats $300 and up as well as $100 seats, removable of the cushion was always a problem.

I wouldn’t look at this Safety1st Seat any less because of it; would I love to have a seat where changing the cushion would be easy? Of course, but most seats just aren’t that easy to take apart. So this seat will not lose any points for that issue in my book. BUT, the seat cushion itself has Velcro and is easily removed from the main cushion; in case of  any spills or accidents, you can easily wipe them up. The one thing companies never think about that us Mom’s like to remove the entire seat cushion; once you remove the straps and turn it into a booster seat, there is no problem at all removing the cushion!

Another concern that I found from parents, ”The air cushions are just plastic bags”… that’s a true fact, yes they are; however they do expand and move air around, I’ve squeezed them and pushed them and had none break on me, my daughter played on the seat (yes, probly not recommended, but we are testing the seat to its full capacity..*smile*), jumped on the seat and it still looks in perfect condition, nothing out of place, nothing broke off and the air bags are still in perfect condition. In the event of a crash these cushions will hold your little ones head just like an airbag in place. What is an airbag? Same thing a plastic bag with air; I think the Air Cushions are very sturdy and are doing their job the way they were intended to…. they will look pretty till they are needed in an impact, till then they will have very little use; well maybe keep your little one asleep comfortably :0).

I loved the easy of adjusting the seat; remember back in the day; when your little one grew an inch you had to remove the entire seat; adjust the straps and see if they fit, manually adjust the headrest and hope all is a perfect fit before you struggle to install the seat again….. No more; the new Safety 1st Rumi seat has adjustable straps and headrest that can be adjusted while your little one is sitting in the seat. The headrest can be adjusted by pushing a red “PUSH” button on the back of the headrest, you can pull it up or down, depending on your little ones height/size; the seat straps can be adjusted with the strap towards the bottom in front of the seat; pull to tighten the harness or push the lock to loosen it.. all done in a snap; you never have to remove the entire seat and struggle with installation again!! That is my most favorite feature next to the easy installation process!

I cannot believe how advanced the new seats are and this Safety 1st Rumi has all and then some. I love every aspect of the seat and cannot stop talking about it.

Overall, we are very impressed with this new Car Seat from Safety 1st and we have it now in my car as the main car seat for the toddler for a good 4 weeks now. She is about to move up into the next stage and will use it in the belt position; keeping her safe and sound for as long as I can keep her in a seat… my goal – Middle School :0).

Where to buy?
This seat can be purchased through Amazon.com or at Toys’R’Us and retails for about $180.00; may sound a lot, but looking at all the safety issues and how long you will be able to use this seat, it will really end up $3.75/ month if you start using this seat from 1 years and up and use it for 4 years! Can’t beat that and that’s a small price to pay for your little ones safety.

More info:
For more info about this car seat or any other Safety 1st products be sure to check them out on the Web, follow on Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to check out the Car Seat Safety information HERE as well.

Since we loved this seat that much, Safety 1st wants one of our readers to see for themselves if this seat is really all that and decided on giving on lucky 2Boys+1Girl=OneCrazyMom reader their own seat; be sure to enter the giveaway below.

Disclaimer:
I received the product for my honest review; all opinions are 100% my own; I’m not an inspector, instructor or related or part of the company. I’m just a mom talking about her own experience and issues. Your opinion or experience may vary! The winner will receive the product through the PR company; Facebook is not associated with this Giveaway and is hereby released from any and all liabilities.