Once your child has grown past the forward-facing harnessed seat stage and is ready to safely use a booster seat, you might find yourself wondering which seat to choose from. I’ve reviewed some of the best ones on the market, including the Britax Frontier 90 and Pinnacle 90, my absolute favorite combination seats, Clek Oobr, my favorite dedicated booster, the Maxi-Cosi RodiFix, and the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro. I believe high-back boosters are safer than low-back boosters, that high seat belt guides, height limits, and weight limits are better than low ones, and that children should remain in boosters until they can pass the 5-step test. The Peg Perego Viaggio HBB 120 booster is a great example of a booster I’m happy to recommend. Let’s find out why!
Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120 – Quick Review
The Peg Perego Viaggio HBB 120 is a high-back and backless booster that can be used to keep children safe in vehicles when they’re in between the forward-facing harnessed stage and the adult seat belt stage. It features a number of creature comforts including lower LATCH anchors, an adjustable high back, and an optional booster recline. And yes, there are cup holders so your little ones can carry their beverages with them on long road trips.
Being a booster seat, it doesn’t come with a harness of any kind, and isn’t designed to be used with infants or very young children. You’ll want one of the many infant or convertible car seats I’ve reviewed and recommended here. Once your child has outgrown a rear-facing convertible seat and front-facing harnessed seat, it’ll be time for a booster seat like the HBB 120.
Buy the Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120 on Sale at Amazon here.
Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120 Height and Weight Limits
High-back: 40 to 120 pounds. Your child must be between 39″ and 57″ tall. The highest available position for the seat belt guide is 19″ tall, and you are required to have some kind of head support behind the seat.
Low-back: 40 to 120 pounds. Again, your child must be between 39″ and 57″ tall, and some form of head support is required in the vehicle seat at all times.
Dimensions of and Stats for the Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120
The HBB is 27.5″ tall, 16″ wide and 16″ long front to back. This means it’s narrow enough to make 3 across installations feasible in nearly any kind of vehicle, whether small, large, or somewhere in between. You can view a range of 3 across options for your car, minivan, SUV, or pickup truck here. If there’s a vehicle you drive I haven’t reviewed yet, send me an email and I’ll add it to the queue.
Weight-wise, the HBB 120 is also a pleasant car seat, weighing only 12 pounds. Boosters tend not to be nearly as heavy as convertible or harnessed seats, but it’s always nice to come across a high-back that’s comparable to infant seats in weight.
When the booster is used as a high-back booster, it is considered to be a “2014 IIHS Best Bet” by the IIHS, which simply means they feel the booster is likely to fit children well in a range of vehicles. Personally, I don’t take the IIHS’ booster ratings too seriously, but it’s always nice to see us in agreement, such as in this case.
The HBB 120 has a 7 year product life, after which it will need to be replaced, regardless of its condition. Remember that every car seat has an expiration date, which is one of the reasons new car seats are worth investing in now and then.
Using the Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120
Installation and LATCH anchors
One of the first things I noticed (and liked) about the HBB 120 out of the box was that it came with lower latch anchors. These anchors aren’t used to secure the seat to the vehicle while the seat is in use (that’s what the seat belt is for, since this is exclusively a booster seat), but they are useful for keeping the booster secured to the vehicle seat when a child isn’t using the seat.
If you don’t have lower LATCH anchors present, you need to buckle your booster seat in even if your child isn’t sitting in it, or else the seat can and will become a large and dangerous flying projectile in the event of a collision. To put it simply, seats that come with LATCH anchors can be secured 24/7, which means you’ve got one less thing to remember to do, which is great.
It’s easy to use the anchors; you simply push the button beneath the fabric in the center front part of the bottom of the booster seat. The lower anchors are on a strap that you can extend by letting out slack by pressing the push button in the front bottom part of the seat. As you let out slack, you pull out the anchors, attach them to your vehicle’s LATCH points, and then pull the strap in the front to take out the slack. Presto! That’s all there is to it.
Adjustable high back
Something else I’m fond of in the HBB 120 is the adjustable high back portion of the booster. It’s the equivalent of a no-rethread harness in convertible, infant, and combination seats, except that a harness isn’t involved. You can, however, raise or lower the height of the back (and as a result, the seat belt guide) without removing your child from the booster. This is a great time-saver and is also a convenient way to check your child’s fit and make sure she or he can pass the 5-step test before moving on to the adult seat belt.
Booster recline option
As long as we’re talking about nice things, another feature I enjoy about the HBB 120 is the ability to recline the booster. Believe it or not, most booster seats don’t let you recline them, which doesn’t make sense when you consider the fact that booster seats are designed for children, and that children very often fall asleep in cars while in their car seats. We have reclines available for younger children in infant seats, convertibles, and combination seats, so why not in our boosters?
The recline is adjusted by a handle in the front part of the seat that you pull on while simultaneously lifting up the seat. When you do this, a spring-loaded adjustable recline foot pops out and helps you set the recline. Changing the position of the seat is easily achieved by pulling the handle and pushing the seat toward the ground instead of lifting it up.
Buy the Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120 on Sale at Amazon here.
Fit and Feel
The HBB 120 has a gentle and plush fabric that calls to mind the leather in a luxury vehicle. It feels great against the skin and it’s attractive to look at. My daughter found the seat quite comfortable and often chose to sit inside it while reading a book when I had it lying around the house. That’s a pretty strong endorsement.
Best practices suggests keeping children in booster seats until they are at least 10 to 12 year old and pass every element of the 5 step test. The HBB 120 is designed to make this feasible with its 120 pound weight limit. It also comes with EPS foam to provide protection from high crash forces in the event of a collision.
Peg Perego notes that using the high back is best for providing additional side impact protection for your child’s head and shoulders in the event of a side collision, which is absolutely correct. I’d take things a step further and state that ideally, booster seats should never be used in a low back or backless position when a high back position is available.
Drawbacks and Downers
Overall, it’s hard to think of features I don’t like about the HBB 120. Perhaps the most significant one is that you can’t use the seat in a vehicle that doesn’t offer a head rest directly behind the booster. The reason this is essential is because the booster by itself doesn’t provide enough head support. This is the case even when you’re using the booster in its high back mode.
Besides that drawback, something else to keep in mind is that the cup holders are bottomless, which means that you can’t store food in them or things like crayons. This isn’t an issue you’re likely to notice as an adult, but it’s something my daughter pointed out after using the seat, so it’s worth keeping in mind. Drinks sat inside the cup holders just fine.
Why Buy the Peg Perego USA Viaggio HBB 120
When it comes to car seats, we buy them to keep our children safe. Infant seats and convertible car seats help us rear-face as long as possible, while converitble seats and conbination seats help us keep them harnessed as long as possible. After our children outgrow these seats, combinations and boosters are the next stage. Boosters that do a good job of keeping children boosted until they are ready for the adult seat belt are good boosters, and the HBB 120 fits this qualification. I’d heartily recommend it, and you can buy it from Amazon with free shipping here in Aquamarine, Licorice, Crystal Beige, Crystal Black, Crystal Red, Fleur, Fucsia, Panama, and Sport. Canadians can buy it here.
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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.
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