The best car seat is the one that fits your child, vehicle, budget, and lifestyle and has the features important to you. The safest car seat is the one you can install correctly and use properly on every ride! Let us know in the comment section what questions you have about this Cosco Booster Seat review of the Cosco Rise. And if you want to compare car seats and let us help you find your recommended car seats, our Car Seat Buying Kits are your best bet!
Cosco Rise Booster Seat Review (US)
In this review, we’ll take a close look at why the Cosco Rise booster may be a good option for your booster-aged child. It’s a nice option for parents who travel often since it’s very lightweight and also great for carpooling, it makes a great portable booster seat. It’s also a great option in some 3-across configurations since it is one of the narrowest backless boosters available.
Type
A backless booster seat
When
From 5+, but the child must be mature enough to sit properly at all times
Age
From 5 years until outgrown (10-11 years old)
What you need to know before you go.*
Backless Booster Stats
- height limit: 43-57″
- weight limit: 40-100 pounds
- head height rules: ears must be contained within the vehicle’s headrest
Other Seat Stats
- width of seat: 15”
- weight of seat: 2 pounds
- crash replacement policy: replace after any crash
- expiration limits: 10 years
*Head to the Car Seat Buying Kits for a complete database of all car seat stats for our recommended car seats.
✅ Seat is Good for You If:
✅ You frequently use Lyft/Uber/Taxis.
The Cosco Rise works well in any vehicle. It’s lightweight enough to throw it into a backpack. Just make sure the child uses a seating position that has a headrest! You’re good to go with the click of a seat belt, it’s that easy!
✅ You travel often.
This seat can fit under the seat in front of you on an airplane or you can throw it in your carry-on luggage. This makes it a good option for parents who want to take a backless booster on their family trips.
✅You need to fit 3 kids in one row of your vehicle.
At only 15″, the Cosco Rise can be a great option when you need to fit 3 kids across one row of your vehicle. Below you can see it with a Graco SnugRide 35 DLX and a Safety 1st Comfort Ride.
🚩 Use Caution If:
🚩 You are planning to use it in a vehicle seating position without a headrest.
Backless boosters require a child to have head support at least up to the top of their ears. If the child is on the shorter side, you may be able to get away with using that seating position for a short time, but the child will need to move to another seating position eventually.
️ Stand Out Features:
It is narrow.
We love that this booster is so narrow! It will fit in nearly any vehicle seating position.
It is lightweight.
When it’s time to carpool with a friend or take a vacation, this is a great option to have along!
✈️ Airplane Use
Like all boosters, the Cosco Rise does NOT have aircraft approval. But because it is so small, this is still a great option for airplane travel. You can have it under the seat in front of you or stick it in one of your bags, it’s just not suitable for installation on the airplane. For help with all things airplane travel and car seats, check out our Wheels Up Course and private Facebook group.
SITS Bottom Line
In conclusion, the Cosco Rise booster emerges as a versatile and practical choice for parents seeking a reliable option for their booster-aged children. Its lightweight design makes it ideal for frequent travelers, fitting seamlessly into various travel scenarios, including carpooling and family trips. The narrow build of the Cosco Rise also stands out, providing a valuable solution for those aiming to accommodate three children across a single row in their vehicle.
Other Versions of This Seat
Cosco Topside (US) – shoulder belt is not routed under the armrest so it may not provide a good shoulder belt fit for kids in all vehicles
Cosco Topside (Canada) – shoulder belt is not routed under the armrest so it may not provide a good shoulder belt fit for kids in all vehicles
Compare Car Seats
Looking to compare car seats and narrow down the best car seat for your family? The Forward-Facing and Booster Buying Kit walks you through our 7Cs of selection, then on to an interactive quiz. And finally, a recommended car seat list is generated just for you! If you are overwhelmed and sick of spending hours researching and reading car seat reviews like this one, the Buying Kit will guide you to Safe in the Seat’s recommended car seats for you in under 30 minutes!
We check every day for our recommended car seats on sale, and we have all the deals here for you.
Shopping in Canada? Find today’s seat sales in Canada here.
What About Seats We Don’t Recommend?
Just like anyone, we have preferences! This goes for car seats, too. If we don’t recommend a car seat, it’s not because it’s unsafe for your little one. All car seats are safe if they’re installed and used properly, are not expired or damaged, and when they’re made and sold by a reputable manufacturer and/or retailer. Click here for our full list of car seats that we do not recommend.
A note about crash-tests
How does the Cosco Rise perform in crash tests?
Well, that’s a great question. We know that it passes the strict federally required testing that applies to all car seats sold in the United States. But we don’t know exactly how it performs. That data isn’t released by any official sources in the US — not by car seat manufacturers, not by government agencies like NHTSA, not anywhere!
There are a few third-party websites that claim to offer objective crash test data for a variety of car seats. But we at Safe in the Seat don’t pay attention to that data for a few big reasons. First of all, third-party crash tests don’t actually give us meaningful data! Car seat manufacturers crash-test their products hundreds, even upwards of a thousand times. They crash test the finished product in every single installation configuration using every applicable-sized crash test dummy, not to mention a whole lot of testing at each stage of the development process too. So one or two crash tests completed by another organization just can’t give the same level of information! One or two crash tests aren’t going to represent the overall average performance of any car seat across its lifespan.
Affiliate links are included above. Safe in the Seat earns a small commission when you purchase through these links at no cost to you. We so appreciate your support.