Wonderful car seat! Baby K will be able to use it for the remaining years she will need to be in a car seat.

LOTS OF POSITIVES: Material does not get hot during the hot summer months, great head support, easy to clean, Baby K fits comfortably in the seat…

Truly happy that we went with this car seat!

After I purchased 2 of these seats (one for our minivan and one for our sedan), I come to find out that it can’t be used with seatbelts that come out of a side panel. Since all the seatbelts in our van come from the side (as opposed to behind the seat above each passenger as in our sedan) there is no location in the van appropriate for this seat. Luckily we made it work by using both boosters in the sedan and keeping our two convertible seats in the van, but we had wanted to have one of each in each vehicle. Since I’m pretty certain I’m not the only mom driving a minivan, I thought I should share the information.

I love this carseat! It was easy to adjust and put in the car. The only complaint I have is that the side attachments (armrests, cup holders and extra storage space) fall off very easily. I’m always having to put this back on.

I researched booster seats when it was time to buy this, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave it top marks. It seems a little flimsy when you assemble it, but I am used to the heavy hard shell car seats. My boy seems to like it, and it’s easy for him to get into and out of.

I bought this carseat for my sister and she was thrilled. It looks great and the

5 star rating makes it perfect. Despite the cost, I think it’s a much better decision to buy an infant seat now and find a baby/toddler seat later.

After much debating I chose this car seat as an additional car seat so my son can ride in my husband’s vehicle. I was hoping it would fit in my car rear facing which it did. I was very impressed by the features prior to purchasing and am as impressed with them once we received the seat. It is relatively easy to install, has newer and better features than previous models. I like the level at the bottom which tells you how reclined your seat is. I like the no re-threading feature. I love how comfortable the seat is! I must say it is much more cushioned than the other seat we have, the Britax Marathon. It is also roomier and wider. I like that this seat goes to 50inches as opposed to 49 with the Britax Marathon. I also like the option of using it without the headrest for infants and the included insert for infants. I like the price, lower than the Britax seats. I get 7 years of use out of this one, 6 years with Britax. So far no complaints, we chose the Urban Life and it’s a little darker than I thought but not too dark. Overall I would highly recommend this seat.

I think this car seat is great. Last car seat you will need to buy. I like the fact that it will go rear facing as well as forward facing and then turn into a booster. I thought it was very easy to put in. Rear facing is a little more tricky but really I have found all rear facing car seats are harder to put in. We had to use a towel to help level it but this is very common with putting in rear facing car seats. When have a pro put it in they will some times use other items to help level the car seat too. I liked it so much for my one daughter I bought another one for our 2nd daughter so they could have matching car seats. The pull strap that tightens the straps you have to be careful and make sure that you pull it straight and not toward you, which would be to the side of the seat. Straps take a sec to break in but once you do I haven’t had any problems. I would highly recommend this product!!! Very happy with it.

My 19 month daugther loves it. Confortable, easy to install and remove. Simple but enough for what we need.

Wonderful carseat! We purchased a Triumph when our older daughter was an infant and we were about to embark on a 24 hour drive. It was such a great carseat that, naturally, we purchased another (this one) years later when we had daughter #2. We absolutely love it and so does our now toddler. Very comfy and I really love how easy it is to adjust and recline without ever having to unlatch it. The colors and material are also really nice looking. I would definitely recommend!

I have had these car seat now for a couple weeks with my 8-month-old and have been nothing but pleased with it. Since my baby seems comfortable and happy in it, I feel like it’s more important in this review for me to address issues that other people seem to have had with this car seat that caused them to give it a negative review. I will say that the fabric has caused my normally sweaty son to not get so overheated, and the cover removes easily for cleaning. I also love that the shoulder straps are tied in to the adjustable back/side air pocket supports so that as baby grows you won’t have to repeatedly disassemble the whole strap mechanism just to adjust the height.

Some people have said that when rear-facing the seat causes their child to sit “too upright.” This will only be the case if you have installed the seat incorrectly. I confess I almost made that mistake myself, so I can see where other people have done it. There is a level line on the side which should be parallel to the ground, and if it’s in correctly the seat will be very reclined and comfy for baby. Yes, you will need to put a rolled towel under it to get it lined up correctly. From what I understand this is pretty common with convertible seats.

IF YOUR BABY IS TOO UPRIGHT IN THIS CAR SEAT, YOU HAVE NOT INSTALLED IT CORRECTLY! THIS IS YOU ENDANGERING YOUR CHILD, NOT THE CAR SEAT!!

In terms of size and fitting into the vehicle, I have mine installed behind the passenger seat of a 2004 Subaru Forester (so it’s much smaller than a new Forester). The front seat is now pretty close up, but not all the way forward. This isn’t a problem for us because my husband and I are both pretty small people – it’s actually pretty close to where I have to have the driver’s seat anyway! However in addition to the safety features we chose this seat in part because if you see it in the store next to a lot of the other convertibles out there it is clearly narrower and we are hoping to add another car seat to the back in the next year or so. If you have a compact car there could be a problem with size, but my Forester isn’t much bigger than a regular sedan. Our other car is a Mini Cooper – I will update my review after I try installing it in that!!

As to installation, the first installation took me a while because I was still getting familiar with it and reading the directions. Probably about 20 minutes. Some tips: When rear-facing, you will probably need a rolled up towel or two so be prepared when you first head out to install it. The instructions may tell you to remove the cover from the bottom, but then you can’t put it back on once it’s firmly installed. I found it best to push aside the cover from the right side where the latch strap is tightened from. The instructions tell you to pull the strap through the access hole, and this is a good idea. The second time I installed it took about 2 minutes. I also want to note here that regardless of what the directions say, an average mom simply pushing down on the seat “firmly” with your hand does not exert enough pressure to securely install the seat. The best thing to do is kneel on it with as much of your body weight as you can (making sure not to compress the strap) while tightening the straps down.

I also noticed some comments about the ease of using the buckles and harness straps. I have had absolutely no problems with this at all. The buckles I found to be easier than on my Chicco infant seat, actually. And although clearly my son isn’t old enough yet to have enough dexterity to open the chest strap buckle it looks like the design is such that he won’t be able to open it himself for a long time. I also found the straps to be softer than on other car seats which is kind of nice so I don’t feel like they are cutting into his chubby little legs. The access point for the strap release is a tiny bit difficult to push because the hole in the cover could probably stand to be a little bit bigger.

Overall we are very pleased with this car seat, and my mother is probably going to get one for her car.

This car seat is very nice, great style it goes with many interior vehicle, fit perfect in our Escalade we have enough space to sit beside my baby girl with no problem.

Love the feeling of it very soft and seem very confy since we are on the road often my daughter has to love the car seat we buy or we would change for sure, but she was 7 months old when we got it and was seriously excited.

Recline easy and it’s also very easy to switch to another vehicle, not that heavy cause I can do it (mom).

The only little touch to tell is there is no shoulder strap and I find for baby or kids it like a must to have so I just kept the one from her younger car seat and it feel more confortable instead of that strap close to her neck.

I highly recommend this car seat !!

This is a very good seat for the price. My grandson was flying in to visit and it was only a few dollars more to buy a new seat than for his mom to pay baggage on the one he had! Plus it will convert to booster seat for many years of visits. The only minor problem is that he had the cup, snack, and toy holders off in minutes!

I bought this seat for my son to use in Grandma’s car. It was very difficult to install. I had to get my neighbor to help me with tightening the straps. We have had this seat for about two months and I have never felt that I got the harness right. We took it the morning to be checked by a CPST at a Car Seat Safety Check event. We had 3-4 CPST work with this seat for about 30-45 minutes before finally saying that this seat was unsafe for my son. My son is 16 months, 31 inches and 25 pounds; according to the manufacturer he should fit in the seat. Luckily they had some seats to give out because they didn’t want my son leaving in an unsafe car seat. They had us surrender this one to them so no one would ride in it. It might work for a child who was older, but given the trouble with this seat and adjusting the straps I would not recommend it to anyone.

This car seat is great! It fits great in my smaller car (Lexus IS). And my son (2 1/2) loves it too! It is so easy for him to get in and out of. And comfortable. After searching for a great car seat for weeks I am glad we decided to go with this one!

This is a great iteam, it is an all in one, great price, you wont have to ever worry about buying another careseat as your child growsn, I bought it when my child was a baby and ued it as rear facing infante seat, it reclined to a great angle, making my baby comfratable, throughout the whole trip, now sh is 1 years old, and it is now our face toward car seat, as she grows, i will not have to worry about getting another saet, it will later convert to a booster seat, and th back is easy to remove. It was easy to instale, and I have already washed the coverseveral times in the washer and placed it in the dryer and it is stillin great conditions, alot of car seats I have gotten start to tear or some how are just not the same, after the first wash, not this one, it is still like new. Great price for this careseat, At this price it is great, and like I said, down the line, as your child grows, you wont have to worry about spending more money and getting a new car seat!

I purchased an orange Complete Air car seat from Toysrus before I knew that Amazon sold them. I have 2 children and have gone through Eddie Bauer, Graco, and Recaro car seats.

I am not sure how anyone can give this car seat a bad review. It sounds to me like some of the other posters did not read the manual, do not know where their nearest NHTSA Child Safety Seat Inspection location is, and just don’t understand that properly installed car seat is supposed to be part of the car.

Daily function of seat: I use this seat everyday, 2-6 times a day. Once mounted in my SUV, it normally stays there. It only takes me about 2 minutes to either take it out or mount it again. The large head wings are great for when the little ones start to drift into sleepyland.

Construction quality: This is built very well and feels as sturdy as any other high end, safe car seat. You are not supposed to be tightening and loosening the harness every time you take your child out of the car seat. If you do, you are most likely putting the harness way too tight against them in the first place. I do not have any trouble adjusting the straps as the children get older, or when I use it for my older child when I run errands without both children. I use a Mighty Tite to get it super tight without having to jump around like a maniac trying to get the LATCH tethers super tight.

Latches: I find both the cheset and harness latches very easy to open. As with any new product, you have to get used to exactly how they open and where to put pressure. Once you use it a few times, it becomes natural to open and close the latches.

This was the second Evenflow tribute 5 convertible car seat I purchased. They are very reasonable priced, good quality, and safety ratings. I would recomend it to anyone.

First of all, I am definitely not a carseat rookie! (This is my 9th, heavily researched, successful carseat purchase.) My two kids (3 and 5) have had the nicest, safest carseats money can buy, from Britax to the amazing Safeguards (no longer available to my knowledge.) This isn’t meant to say that the most expensive is necessarily the safest. We also have the hybrid “GO” for traveling overseas. I will wait as long as possible to let my 5 year old out of a five-point harness, (especially after watching booster vs. 5 point crash tests on Youtube!) so my newborn is in for even more stringent standards since my knowledge has grown with the first two. That said, I have also watched the rear-facing vs. forward-facing crash tests and will be leaving this baby rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, which should be a little easier with siblings to look at! I turned my first child forward right at one year because I didn’t know better! His Britax could have stayed rear facing if I had know the safety differences! So here we are about to have our third and I now insist on good side impact protection (statistically based) along with the option to face rear at a higher weight, even though we may well have her in a convertible carseat by then. After much research, this is the one I chose, based on those factors, as well as the fact that it attaches to the Bugaboo stroller I have had since my first child and will not be replacing! The great, leather look of this seat also helped make the decision easy! (Paloma) I can’t speak from using it yet, but after getting it and looking it over, I am very pleased! It is really a nice looking seat, and it seems to function well. The release latch (from the base) isn’t difficult, buckle is as expected, and the strap/belly padding is generous! The strap pads are even held up at the shoulder level with some elastic cording at the top! The inner portion seems quite comfortable/breathable enough and the leatherette should be easy to wipe off if need be, as well as looking beautiful! At first I was really disappointed with the function of the hood, as it didn’t seem to stay up, but then I pulled with a little more force and it clicks to a tight finish at the top, so no worries! Also, the handle can be put in multiple positions from the front to the back. (Nice for stopping it from rocking, or for holding a blanket up over the front.) The base of the seat has great storage for the Latch connectors and the instruction book! My only, very small complaint, is that it doesn’t look like the shoulder pads are removable for washing. Not that big a deal, as they could be spot cleaned and if one wanted, could be removed and replaced with different pads. If you are looking for the lightest weight seat, or know you will be putting your child into a convertible before the weight limit matters, then this might not be the seat for you. For us, the weight doesn’t seem bad, for as long as we will be getting it out to clip on to the Bugaboo or a shopping cart, and we would rather the higher weight limit for traveling through airports if need be. (For travel, a Britax is horribly cumbersome, and a “Go Hybrid” isn’t rear-facing!) Lastly, I have to say this is a GREAT price on Amazon! I don’t know why it was about $50 cheaper here and with free shipping! I have never bought my carseats on Amazon, and usually go to my trusted site that has free return shipping and great guarantees, but they couldn’t beat this price! I even called Peg Perego to check model #’s, assuming this was an earlier model or something. (The one I received is a 2010 and that was what the model # on Amazon indicated, not that it matters.) Hope all this helps! Deciding on a carseat can be frustrating!

I have had no problem with this car seat with my child. It was easy to adjust the straps, and my child fit in the seat great. As another reviewer mentioned it does say to use a rolled up towel if the line on the car seat is not parallel with the ground (in rear facing position). This actually happens a lot with many car seats, and I actually found in my car that I did not have to do that. I use this as a second car seat and a traveling car seat. It can fit in the airplane and it is not that heavy like some of the other car seats are. I think for the price this is a good car seat, especially for grandma’s car or for the airplane and traveling.

We bought this seat as an additional seat when we added a second vehicle. This chair is slimmer than our other seat (an Evenflo) however our daughter easily has more room. I left the body support in and she can still move around quite freely (she is a big 2.5 year old). The colours are great, pink for her and grey to match the silver of my new car. The cup holder is far better than the Evenflo, which is a colapsible side holder. The Graco cup holder, which is built in, is much more secure and does not take up the extra room. I also like that the buckle between the legs has a cushion around it so as not to make her legs uncomfortable.

My only criticism is that it has a small recline range, much less than our Evenflo.

On the whole we are very pleased with the chair so far and are looking forward to being able to use it right up to booster seat.

This is a great seat for our son, that’s why we ordered our second one. In addition this got the “Insurance Institutes Highway Safety(IIHS) booster seat review – - best bets(highest rating)([...]).

First, I will say that I would not use this car seat for a 5 lb baby. We bought ours when our baby was 15 pounds and this seemed to be a good starting weight for her. The issue is the ability to get it to recline enough in the rear facing position. As it is HUGE (rated up to 100 pounds), if it is reclined enough (the indicator is parallel to the ground) the seat in front of it has to be all the way forward (we have a hummer and still true with our van that has captian’s chairs.) Another thing that makes it difficult to get the seat to recline enough is the basic shape of the back seat – they kind of slant downward meaning that if you don’t put something under the base where it meets the back of the seat, you cannot get it to recline enough (even for a 15 pound baby.) I fixed this by putting a huge 3 ring binder and some other books under the car seat in order to level the seat out so that I could get a somewhat decent recline with the baby seat – I still couldn’t get the indicator to be level with the ground, but it’s good enough for our baby.

On the positive side, it’s very easy to put our baby in it and we love how the shoulder straps are adjustable without having to take them out and rethread them through slots. Also, once we can use it facing forward, we won’t have the issue of not being able to put the front seat back.

I think this company should not try to accommodate newborns to 9th graders. It’s simply not a good seat for a newborn.

I have 4 of these for twins and we had them in two cars. They are so simple to take off, it then when you wash them the pads all move and you have to open them up to re-sew them and move the foam around. I was so mad at them. SO do not wash them. I called to have them replaced and it was 43.00 each and that doesn’t include the infant pads at all…..

This booster is a relatively good seat, but if you interested in the cup holder, arm rest and little side compartment don’t buy it. These things keep falling off.

We are so disappointed with this seat. We recieved this as a baby shower gift. We didn’t use it for the first few months because of the size of our baby and it seemed like it would work better for a larger, older, more alert baby. Well when we decided to use it I followed the directions exactly as stated but the seat would move from side to side by a couple of inches and was very unsecure. There was a part in the directions that seemed very odd to me. There is a line on the side of the chair, a sort of leveler, that was supposed to be parallel with the floor of the car. The directions stated that if this line was not parallel to place a “rolled-up blanket or towel” under the seat. HUH?? That seems like a bad idea to me. We did have to use this measure and with this in place the seat was still wobbly. I wanted to return this to Wal Mart but they would not take it because it had been over there return policy time limit. Well I contacted Evenflo and after numerous emails where the “customer service” person basically tried to blame us, our car, and any other reason she could think of for this disasterous chair, I gave up!! I am probably going to throw this out and get a new one because I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving this away or selling it. Do not buy this chair unless you enjoy headaches and wasted money!

I have not purchased this car seat, but am writing this review to warn other parents. I tested this car seat out in 2 stores, at 2 different times, because it is a great price for the specs that it has. But, each time I put my 13 month old daughter in the seat and buckled the lower buckle, it caught her skin on her thigh… she cried hard!! One left a little bruise. Take a close look at how this lower buckle is designed, and compare it to, for example, a Graco ComfortSport. You’ll see the difference, and how the Titan carseat’s lower buckle is designed to very easily catch the flesh, whereas the Graco (and others) would not (at least not as easily). Not good.

I realize all babies are different, and sit differently in their seats, but since it happened to me twice, I thought I should point it out. It’s one of those things you would never know buying online, and may not even know when trying it out in the store. hate to think of all your little babies getting pinched hard when it could be avoided. Good luck!

We actually bought this at Babies R Us and had a coupon, so we paid 127 dollars for this carseat! Although after using it, I would gladly pay 400 dollars for it. My son disliked his infant car seat, and would cry as soon as we would put him in it. Plus, his dad and I hated to use it too because the snaps between the legs were such a pain. This one is so easy to use, very comfortable, and my son loves it! The colors are adorable too. Jaiden will be 12 weeks in two days and we’re all enjoying this carseat. The only issue we’ve had is that his head flops over when he sleeps and the head insert we bought doesn’t fit because of the air system. My husband usually has to reach back and hold his head up, lol. Anyways, great car seat over all, would buy again.

Love this car seat! I bought this for my granddaughter. I love the color and the 2 position recline. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who does not want to spend a fortune on car seats!

We bought this for our 21 month old and so far she really likes it, which means I do, too.

It seems comfortable to her and she likes the little cubbies on either side that she can store things in. It looks like it will be comfortable for her for a long time, too.

It’s easy to assemble–I think there’s two snap together pieces–out of the box and extremely easy to install with the LATCH system. The shoulder straps for the 5 point harness were too low for my daughter with the padding on, but you can’t use the padding if you raise the straps. However, if I took the padding out, the straps were a bit too high. We found a solution (she has to be without the padding with the straps on the low setting) so I’m only mentioning all this because you need to uninstall the car seat (at least partially anyway) to adjust the straps. Make sure the straps fit your child the right way before you install it, unless you like doing it more than once. Her other car seat, which is the only forward facing one I have any experience with, is a 3-in-1 Safety First Alpha Luxe Echelon, and you raise and lower the straps from the front. So I was not entirely happy when I realized that every time she grows, I have to pull the seat out and re-do the harness. I like getting them installed professionally and leaving them there, which is not a practical option here. That’s the only thing I really don’t like, although those guards that go on the straps near the childrens’ shoulders are on with flimsy vecro. I’m pretty sure that if my daughter took a look at them, it wouldn’t take her long to figure that out, and they will become projectiles. I wish I could put the cup holder on the other side (it needed to be on the passenger side of the car) but that thing’s not going anywhere.

My daughter in law is thrilled with it. And she is very picky about safety.

My 18 month old son has been using this car seat for the past 7-9 months. The seat is on the larger side, which works for us. Our son only sleeps in his crib and this seat which lets me know he is quite comfortable in it-even on very long car rides (8+ hours). He can also see out of it nicely.The seat is easy to use and we love it. HOWEVER, I would strongly advise purchasing this with a different cover option. The stripped portion at the bottom is destroyed-he rubs his feet, thus shoes, thus velcro on it and it is beyond pilled. We have washed it and used a hand held de-pilling ‘machine’ but it really didn’t help at all. We have a second car seat for my husbands car-it the same (Evenflo Triumph) but with a different cover and it’s held up great.

We’ve been using the Cosco Pronto Belt Positioning Booster Seat for about a month now. It is easy to move from vehicle to vehicle and easily adjustable for height. It uses the existing vehicle seat belt and it appears comfortable enough – no complaint from our little passenger. She’s even fallen asleep in it a couple times. She loves the cup holder and the seat really makes her feel like a “big girl”. The fabric is easy to remove and is hand washable. I love the fact that we can now use our vehicle’s 60-40 seat split since the seat fits easily within the seat belt space. Overall, very pleased with the product’s looks, durability and functionality for the price – good value.

We love this car seat! The side head cushions are great for both safety as well as a comfy place for my daughter to lean her head for a nap. She’s never slept better in a car seat (besides her infant seat, I guess). I love how you can just move the head rest up and down with an easy lever rather than rethreading like an older model seat we own. We just purchased a second one of these seats for my son and set it up rear facing – no problems at all!

In my town, you can take your car and car seats to the local highway patrol and they’ll show you how to set it up easily and safely – some of the posters having trouble with this seat may check to see if you have that option? I don’t understand the problems…

Love it!

This is such a lightweight carseat and not bulky. I LOVE the pattern, it’s super cute. My only dis-like is the actual material is kinda rough, so I used a softer insert/head rest. Otherwise I am very happy with this purchase! I paid $89 on here with free shipping, which is a great deal considering some car seats are way overpriced$$

Automobiles are not built to protect small passengers in a crash – even small adults! If you want to increase the odds your child will survive a collision, I recommend keeping him or her in a booster seat as long as you are able to do so. The Britax Frontier 85 is more than just a booster – it is a booster with a top tether which significantly increases the safety of the seat. A 5-point harness is safer than the seat belt, and that’s how my petite 9-year-old rides. The law says 8 or 80 but I feel that law should be more stringent. I plan to keep my daughter in the harness until she reaches 85 pounds and the belt-positioning booster until she is 12 or older. I have taught her that safety is more important than “image” – I don’t care that all of her friends are allowed to ride in cars with no booster of any kind. The vehicle’s seats and belts are NOT designed to protect your small riders. I’ll say it again – a Britax Frontier 85 is well engineered to increase small riders’ odds of survival in a collision.

We did a lot of research before buying this and it was rated in the top 10 from Parents Magazine, had very good ratings from the NHTSA, and was ranked high by Consumer Reports. It is very lightweight which is a little surprising. It is a roomy carseat, has cup holders on both sides that can be pushed back in if you are not using them. The arm rests are nice. My daughter seems very happy with the seat. We previously had the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 as her toddler car seat–it was nice, but much narrower, no cup holders, no arm rests, and no head cushions that stick out like this one. We have had it for a month now and are very satisfied!

My only gripe is the amount of space the seat takes up when in a rear facing position.In our small suv there is barely room for a front passenger. Everything else about the seat is fantastic. Very easy to use.

This seat was great, I loved the design, I even bought the 3 wheeled jogging stroller that it attached to. The handle design is awesome and makes this seat so easy to carry, I have never noticed that this seat was any heavier than others, either. However I did notice that on mine, the handle was a little tricky, nothing to serious but the buttons were stiff and the handle had to be just right or the buttons wouldnt go. I still loved this seat I thought it was the best. I ran into a guy at the grocery store with the same exact carseat and I asked about their handle, and he showed my husband and I how his worked, it worked perfectly with out any complications. So like with any product you buy, there are a few with problems.

The one thing that bothered me is that I know my husband was a bit ruff at times with this seat, but after only a few months about 6, the red handle that allows you to release the carseat from the base is now somehow not on the track! Half of it is on, but the left side is not on its track, it is off, and there is no way to get it back on. I asked my husband had he been ruff with it, and broken it, he said that he hadnt. So I dont know if this was faulty, or if my hubby broke it. I know that my hubby did throw a few fits over unlatching the seat, and the handle, but that is only because of how highly I praised it.

Any how, I am pretty sure that if my husband would have given this seat more respect, it would have lasted longer. On the other hand he didnt beat on it, or take tooks to it, so it really should have held up better. I really loved this latch release too, how its in the front instead of the back.

I am having another baby this year, I plan on getting another baby trends carseat, the same model. This time I will open the box before buying and I will test the handle and the base release latch.

I recommend this chair, but treat it with respect, and test it out before you buy it. If you get a faulty one, return it for a good one.

I bought it as an extra for my sister so she could pick up my son from day care occasionally. I found it much cheaper at Wal-Mart though – $39.

CONS: Definitely not as sturdy as a Britax. Weighs about half as much and everything is plastic. I can’t seem to get it fastened into the car as tightly as my Britax seats using the LATCH system. The back still moves around a little.

PROS: Some of the features I like better though. You can adjust the position of the buckle that sits between the child’s legs. That’s nice because I feel like the Britax is too tight in that area. And it’s easier to adjust the shoulder straps. Will be nice and lightweight for taking on a airplane.

Bought this through an Amazon sponsored link, vivababy, offered 20% off and free shipping. So great price. Came within days of order, in primrose. The pink color is not as bright as you might think, so this was a good thing.

Anyway, bolted right up to the 2009 Subaru Outlook, rear facing, with no issues. It does intrude into the seat in front of it, but my wife is short so that is not too much of an issue.

Side entry of the child is great, and the harness just goes together, better than the other two seats we have had prior. This seat seems the most comfortable for our 18month daughter. She can also still see out of the seat into the window and the back.

Yes, it is heavy, but since I have installed it into the car, I have not had to move it or carry it anywhere…so the weight is not really a problem, is it?

Instruction manual was easy to follow, although the top tether in RF configuration seems a little ‘unsafe’ since most cars do not have a RF front tether mount point on the floor under the seats.

Anyway, really like the seat. Wish I would have gotten it sooner to maximize the use of it in these first [too short] years.

It is narrow, harness is nice, color is nice, kid likes it, wife likes it so win-win for everyone!

This car seat is an exceptional value for the price. It is recommended by Consumer Reports for its safety. The seat is made in the USA. Seat covering is made in China. Seat is easy to install and an exceptional value. Lots better than many seat that are much more expensive.

This seat does not have any super soft padding/cushioning but the way the seat covering is installed it leaves some room between the cloth and the plastic of the seat – so its not hard for your toddler.

This infant seat is excellent. It is rated as a top recommendation by Consumer Reports. Price is a lot lower than comparable products – excellent value. The Infant carrier and base are “Made in USA”. The cover is Made in China.

The seat feels very sturdy and is relatively easy to install following the instructions.

We are expecting our second child and I purchased this car seat after being not so impressed with the infant carrier we had with our son. I rated it a 4 out of 5 because I have not had my baby yet and can not speak to the ease of use in that sense. However, the padding is far better than any other seat we “test drove”. The fabric is soft yet wipe-able and has a nice sheen. The extra padding for smaller babies is far more supportive than any insert we bought to fit into other seats. I put my 20 month old in it and his legs could still fit without dangling over the end. Possibly my favorite feature (in practicality) is that all unused straps are stored under compartments in the base. Thus, there is no tangling or dangling of straps. The one click latch system makes installation a breeze! I have not idea if the air impact system really works, but it looks much more secure than most seats; more supportive if nothing else.

We got this seat because at the time it was the only one that would fit my infant daughter in her hip brace. And I have never liked it. We bought it in 2008, so they may have improved it since then, but it has nothing going for it. The buckles are extremely hard to get undone (good thing I guess for a toddler – she can’t escape), the seat pitches her forward making it uncomfortable for her to sleep in (her head falls forward), the latch straps are tough to remove/insert (I have to put my full body weight into the seat to latch them and even sometimes I struggle with it). I would never buy this again, and after two years and another baby on the way, we’ve purchased another seat because I am just tired of fighting with it.

This car seat is fantastic. It is used in our second car and my daughter seems comfortable. I like that it is tall and when she falls asleep her head doesn’t slump. At 21 mos she is very tall and this car seat allows her legs to be in a comfortable position. It is heavy and not for those who move it in and out of a vehicle. My first concern was the red spacers for a shoulder strap, but my daughter’s shoulders don’t touch the hard plastic at all.

I bought this car seat from Babies R Us when my daughter was 10 months old. We still have it and I love it! I saw great reviews…it looked and felt comfortable in the store..it matched the grey interior of my car perfectly. Easy to adjust the straps whether it is cold, hot or raining and my daughter loves riding in it. We just took a 10-drive to and from Florida and she never complained once about wanting to get out of it (she is now 2 years old). Because of the dark color, dirt does not show easy. The cover is very easy to take off for washing…be careful when putting in the dryer…place it on low heat. Overall…great buy for a convertible seat.

We bought this as a spare so my husband or the grandparents could have access to a car seat. For the price it is good. It is not very padded and would likely not be good on a long trip.

This seat is a bit heavy and cumbersom to move around, but at the same time it is super sturdy and well constructed. My 6-month old outgrew the baby seat and this fits him great. He seems comfy in it and fell right asleep during the ride. It fits well in my small SUV, because it is narrow, but when it is placed in the middle seat (rear-facing)the seat back extends into the driver’s seat area. I’m not sure how safe that is for front seat passengers. Also lots of straps, but once you read the directions you realize they are mostly carrying straps, and fitting it in the car was a breeze.

I was looking at a lot of brands and options for an in-between transitional booster for my 3 year old. She weighs 35 lbs so I wasn’t ready for a booster without a 5-point harness yet. This seat was perfect. The arms are somewhat flimsy. My 3 year old can pop them off but I don’t even have them on half the time because it’s not really needed. It also comes with a detachable cup holder and a separate detachable activity holder. For the price, this product is awesome! Highly recommend. Oh, I liked it so much, I bought an identical one in a different color for my husband’s truck.

I was looking at a lot of brands and options for an in-between transitional booster for my 3 year old. She weighs 35 lbs so I wasn’t ready for a booster without a 5-point harness yet. This seat was perfect. The arms are somewhat flimsy. My 3 year old can pop them off but I don’t even have them on half the time because it’s not really needed. It also comes with a detachable cup holder and a separate detachable activity holder. For the price, this product is awesome! Highly recommend. Oh, I liked it so much, I bought an identical one in a different color for my husband’s truck.

When we found out we were having twins I thought, Oh my gosh, I am going to have 4 children age 4 and younger, holy moly what am I going to do? So of course, to add to the overwhelming reality of this, most of the things we would need we already had or knew immediately what we wanted but as far as the carseats and stroller. Our first purchase was a bigger car, well, suv, and then what met our needs and fit our car just right. I knew I didn’t want some seat that went to 30 or 35 pounds, could you imagine carrying 60 or 70 pounds around all the time? Ummm, no thanks.

I wanted something safe but affordable. I HATE graco and no matter our situation I will never own another graco product. But I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for carseats and stuff.

My husband and I spotted this and we both just had to have it. WE LOVE THESE SEATS! My only complaints are that the fabric feels like plastic, but we still love it. They are easy to install and to use. I have NEVER had any trouble with the handles being hard to move, they work just fine and I have no trouble. They are so easy to install and they base and seat are so easy I love them.

I highly recommend this seat.

My son out grew his carseat and didn’t want to put him into a regular booster carseat with a seat belt. Wanted him to be harnessed for as long as possible. He loves the carseat, very comfortable, easy to install, light weight to change from car to car. Easy to get straps tight with twist knob on side of seat.

We are very happy with this seat. The colors are nice and neutral for a girl or boy, and goes with the interior of any of our vehicles. The Latch system makes it a little easier for installation—just tighten after using the hooks. We removed the cup holders till our son is older, because otherwise there isn’t alot of room for somene to sit beside the seat when it is installed in the middle of the backseat. Our son seems very comfortable in the seat and we are happy with this purchase!

reclines like a infant carseat – was my number 1 priority – this car seat does, my baby loves it. not very soft not very hard – great for long trips and short runs – we just love it

I have been happy with Eddie Bauer products and so wanted to buy this one for a while. I never purchased convertible car seat in the past so I had to do lot of research before buying one.

The previous carseat for infants was getting small for my son, so I decided to buy a bigger car-seat that will last for a long time. I hope this is the last carseat I have to ever buy for my son.

The car-seat fits perfectly in the car without much trouble. I was worried about it and it’s effect on the front seat.

My car is Honda Civic 2008 model, It was not a problem at all and I did not pull the front seat too much.

My son likes it and I am happy with the product.

Update:

It’s been a month now, there has been not a single instance of belt tangling. Belt tangling was a problem with the infant car-seat that I had from Eddie Bauer.

Buckling the kid is quit easy, It really does not take much effort to buckle up and I can unbuckle the kid with just one hand (with left hand, I am a right handed person)

I have attached a photo with some information for your reference.

This seat is great. We bought it for grandma. She loves sitting higher and being able to see out of the window unlike her infant seat. Reviewed highly by crash standards. Great seat for the money!

I bought this infant seat because it was literally the only infant seat at the store that wasn’t totally cheap looking/feeling or pink. I didn’t really go out to buy such a big infant seat, but am pleased with what I have.

My last infant seat my son outgrew at 3 months old and we made the switch to a convertible car seat. With this baby I am certain that he won’t outgrow. It can accomodate a baby up to 32 inches long & 35 pounds. The design is very cute & it coordinates with my Bumbleride Indie Twin stroller (in Seagrass). The fabric feels nice – NOT plastic-ey like some. The extra newborn padding can be used with the bottom & middle shoulder strap positions which is nice – but my son still became too big too use it by 3 weeks old (he is 23 inches long). The canopy is a nice size – but does tend to fall backwards towards the floor when it is closed.

This seat is also very big – big as in – doesn’t fit inside many shopping carts. Barely fits in the outside middle seat of my 2010 Sienna. Doesn’t attach to any restarant high chairs (we’ve been to 3 so far). I’ve had to put the infant seat in the booth or on the floor. It is long (front to back), and wide (side to side). So if you are really concerned about it fitting in your car – try it out somewhere before you buy it.

I am giving this 4 star because I really like the fact that my huge baby won’t outgrow it (good), but the fit has been problematic in some places. If you have big babies and a big car I would highly recommend.

Very happy with this car seat. It’s very easy to install, fits well into the car. Straps are easy to move up and down and tighten and loosen. We looked at many car seats for this next stage but decided on the evenflo after trying a number out at Babies’R'Us. It was affordable and based on other reviews, seemed to have everything we were looking for without the really high price tag. I definitely recommend it.

The car seat is of very good quality. I purchased the car seat for my 12 month old grandson and I feel confident that he will be very safe in this seat. It appears to be very well built. I am pleased with my purchase.

The car seat is of very good quality. I purchased the car seat for my 12 month old grandson and I feel confident that he will be very safe in this seat. It appears to be very well built. I am pleased with my purchase.

The car seat is of very good quality. I purchased the car seat for my 12 month old grandson and I feel confident that he will be very safe in this seat. It appears to be very well built. I am pleased with my purchase.

First off, I purchased this car seat according the Nation Traffic and Highway Safety Admin. It had four stars for crash ratings. On top of it being safe, its VERY light and easy to use. There are two level indicators on the seat, to ensure proper installation in the vehicle. Three different positions for the seat incline. The release is very easy on the back of the seat (red bar) just push and its off the base. It does come with a head pillow. I made the mistake of pulling all three tags off at once, DO NOT do this. It tore but I will take it to my alterations and make a quick fix. The color is just like the picture and I think its better in person. I am expecting July 4 so I don’t have any experience with how my child will fit, but I am sure it will be easy. I had a Britax with my son and really dislike it. He screamed all the time. So I did research to find the best and safest one out here for my son this time around. I have read over 400 reviews on this seat, so based on what I read and safety ratings I picked this seat! Hope this helps everyone out!

I do really like the carseat, except for the canopy. It is inadequate at best. On the picture it is shown fully extended. You can reattach it at the back (it is velcroed in) and move it farther front, but then you will have a gap on the back. If it is raining, the baby will get rain from head to toe.

On the other hand, everything else about the seat is wonderful. My baby is 6 month old now, and he is big – 27 inches tall and 19 lbs, and there is a lot of room for him to grow. It is nice that you can leave the handle on top, but as my baby gets bigger it is getting harder to put him in and out with handle on top, but it is nice not to have to fold it while in the car.

We never had to use the preemie and little baby inserts, my baby didn’t fit in them being born almost 9 lbs and 21 inches tall, so I cannot tell if they are any good.

Also, it wouldn’t attach to most shopping carts.

These little ones grow like crazy, and they constantly need bigger and bigger sizes in shoes, clothes, etc.. However, with the Nautilis, there is no need to purchase a new setup when they grow to the next size because this restraint is designed to accomodate the change. My daughter is growing like a weed, but with the simple design of the chair, all it takes are a few clicks and/or re-route of the belts and your back in business. The entire back even comes off so you can utilize it as a booster for when they get older. It’s like this chair’s design grows right along with your child, all the way until they are big enough for the vehicle seat belt only. A big relief knowing this will be the last restraint we’ll need for her. And I’m impressed with the quality of the device as well, from the amount of padding to the design of the restraints. We have to move the seat into different cars throughout the week as well (grandma’s car, mom’s and my car too), but because it has it’s own 3-point attachment straps, you can just snap it in whichever vehicle you use, or just use the seat belt that’s already in the car. It appears that alot of thought went into the design of this restraint. We’ve just bought another one b/c we recently learned we are expecting another little one.

We used this car seat from the day we brought our son home from the hospital and it was wonderful. We always felt that he was safe and secure, comfortably strapped in, and easy to transport.

However.

Admittedly, we do not have a ton of experience with babies – this is our first, and none of our friends had babies before us. But when we were shopping for car seats we were told that 22lbs and 29″ long (the limits on this particular car seat) would be at about 1 year of age. Our son is definitely a little bruiser, but he hit those restrictions at 7 and a half months. So we have been forced into buying yet another car seat only 8 months after buying the first one.

If I had it to do over again, I may have started with the convertible car seat to begin with – they have inserts that make them comfortable for newborns and work up to 50-60 pounds, depending on the brand.

I recently had a Peg Perego and that was so ridiculously heavy I had to buy a new car seat. This is the best one I have found! It is modern looking, the safest on the market, SO easy to install, and my daughter looks very comfortable in it. I also love that the weight max is 30 lbs instead of the usual 22lbs. You will not regret this purchase!

I just recieved this carseat yesterday. I also purchased the stroller. Both are very nice. My favorite part about this seat is that it is sooo soft. Alot of other carseats are the harder type fabric. But this has alot of soft and cushy material to it. The colors are great. Could work for both a boy or a girl (I bought mine for a boy). The straps adjust easily also. This is my favorite car seat of all time! Another big plus, is that it holds your baby up to 35lbs, instead of 22 like alot of others. I would definitely suggest this seat to everyone.

I bought this car seat a year ago for my daughter because she was growing out of her other “big girl” car seat. She absolutely adores this seat. I have read reviews where people don’t like how it sit when their children are sleeping. I really haven’t had an issue although one my daughter has fallen asleep I use the reclining option so I don’t have issues with head rolling. My only complaint is that in certain cars it is slightly difficult to get the seat in and have to go in at an angle with it. Other than that I really love this seat and enjoy the seat belt adjustments as well.

This carseat is terrible when compared to the comfort of the Britax Boulevard; however, as a second carseat (in my husband’s car), it gets the job done at a price I was really comfortable with. I wouldn’t recommend it for a primary carseat or for long trips.

At the end of the day we have a carseats to protect out children. Convience and ease of use is important, but nothing matters more than keeping our children safe. A few days ago my car spun out 360degrees and flipped, landing upside down in the woods off the highway. After crawling to the back I easily removed my child and got him out of the car. Amazingly he didn’t have a scratch bump or bruise on him. The police commended the instalation (which I did myself following the directions, it took me about 30mins to get right the first time, after I got the hang of it, it was a five minute process, which we have done often because we move it between two cars)

Several days now after the accident, he is as happy as ever, showing no signs of any physical trauma(he did have a chest x-ray at the hospital)

I have kept my child rear facing even though he is 15months, It was one of the things I liked about this carseat was you could keep them rearfacing longer. While rearfacing the carseat does take up a lot of room and my husband doesn’t like sitting in the seat in front of it because it squished his legs (small price to pay for safety). I have never had a problem with buckling my son into or out of the seat or adjusting it to his size.

For me this carseat passed the ultimate test. I am so thankful for it and we will be loyal users for a long time

I have very little experience with car seats, as I only started helping out with my roommate’s now 18-month old son some 9 months ago. From what little I’ve seen and the research I’ve done, however, this seat is definitely one of the easiest and most flexible around.

* In both roomie’s ’03 Pontiac Vibe and my ’01 Ford Focus wagon, installation couldn’t be easier: plug the two LATCH clips into the seat/back gap like plugging in a power cord, then kneel on the seat while clipping the top tether on the back of the seat and pull that tight, and it’s rock solid and good to go in 30 seconds.

* Releasing the LATCH clips is as easy as pushing one button on each, then loosening the tether with a button push and a tether pull, then unclipping the tether. The tether unclip is the only remotely difficult part; you just have to make sure the anchor is all the way in the end of the clip before pressing on the flexible part of the clip, then push the open clip straight in the opposite direction to get off the anchor. It’s easy to get blocked from unclipping it if you’re impatient and can’t see what you’re doing.

* The shoulder straps are insanely easy to adjust upward as baby grows – just a little upward tug while holding the red part and they slide right up; there are no detents. Tightening the crotch belt is similarly easy, as is adjusting the height of the headrest.

* The buckles are also easy to operate; his baby seat (BabyTrend Flexloc) buckle button was nearly impossible for me to push one-handed, and putting the puzzle pieces together to fasten it was a pain, but this one operates smoothly and easily both on and off.

* The recline function is, again, super easy – just a little pull to release the clip and rotate the angle of the seat in its base. I noted that this is easier without the headrest on the seat in my Focus (as is routing the top tether).

* Tonight I took the cover off to wash, and I was shocked at just how easy it was to remove – just a few strategically-placed plastic clips, and I expect it will be just as easy to replace. The tag says machine wash cold, tumble dry 10-15 minutes on low heat. (The BabyTrend FlexLoc seat was a pain to take apart and wash and had to be flat-dried.) Note that you should restick the velcro to its mate before washing lest you tear up some of the edge tape like me. Like one of the bad reviews here, I did note that you can’t take the straps off to wash. I wiped these down with some white vinegar (Mom’s classic anti-pee smell remedy) and we’ll see how they do. I also wiped down all the hard surfaces with vinegar for good measure. I think I might gift roomie with a PiddlePad or two, though.

* Baby seems to like the seat just fine. He’s only about 23 pounds so far, but the seat has plenty of room for him to grow and he really likes being able to see where we’re going now (his rear-facing baby seat was making him cranky).

* The seat is rated up to 65 pounds, so with luck this will be the only seat roomie ever has to buy, and I know his wallet will appreciate that.

Check other stores for other colors than this brown – at the least, a major kids’ chain carries a gray one and a gray one with a circle pattern for the list price and probably qualifies for free shipping on their website.

I searched all over for an infant carrier at a reasonable price. All the stores were well over $100.00 for nice seats. I got a great price on amazon and this is the cutest girlie seat ever. It has bright and beautiful colors and make you smile just to look at it. If you are having a girl this is the best product I have found and at such a great price. I ordered this item on a SUnday and received it on the following Tuesday. I was very impressed.

I have been holding on to review this seat but now that my little guy is 4 months old, I feel it’s time to do this review.

Firstly, it’s a great looking car seat and I get many compliments on it – women frequently ask me where I got it. It has a decent canopy on it for shade and it can be adjusted backwards to various positions, each side independently. On a recent trip I was able to max it out to full shade on the car window side and have it clicked back on the inner side so that baby’s older siblings could see him and keep an eye on him. Out of the base, the gentle curve on the bottom can act as a rocker, if you wish. Out and about, I use this seat with Kolcraft’s black Universal 2 Infant Car Seat Carrier and it makes a wonderful travel system and back saver.

The seat comes with various padded inserts for a newborn or preemie, they can be removed or kept in. A head support and bottom support – in all there are two or three adjustable/removable supports. The straps are easily adjusted, I believe there are four different height positions, and the seat buckle has three outward adjustment positions. I loosen the straps and pull it out and then pop him in and zip it back in to a comfortable position. The seat seems as safe and as well padded as the many Britax seats I’ve owned over the years. My son also seems to really like this seat, I think he feels like he is being held. There have been a few ex-poo-sions too over the months and the cover comes off easily for washing. It has been in the washing machine several times and the colors have not faded.

As for the car, the docking base goes in very well; however, you don’t need it, the seat can easily be secured without the quick release base – we’ve used it this way a few times in my husband’s vehicle. There is also a leveling device on the seat to help you get the angle just right for your child’s age.

Finally, a big issue for me was how long would this seat serve us? With my other kids, they all outgrew their infant seats by 4 months and I didn’t want to waste money on a seat that would only be used for a few months. With this Safety 1st Onboard 35 seat my child has in no way outgrown it and still has plenty of headroom and bottom room and leg room. He’s a big guy in the 90th %ile yet there is easily another six inches above the top of his head to the top of the seat.

For us, there have been no negatives, as infant seats go, we love it and so does baby. It is well designed with features, it’s stylish – and your child is unlikely to outgrow it before they are ready for the next stage seat. If you get one, be prepared for plenty of compliments.

We purchased this as a seat for my husband’s car. We decided to take it with us on a trip since it is also airline approved. The seat itself is light to carry. Easy to install in rental cars/plane seats and comfortable enough for my daughter. There isn’t a lot of padding but didn’t seem to bother her. A great purchase for the money!

The price is great, it looks cute. I gave it four stars because the butt part isnt as cushioned as I would like, but easily fixable by just adding extra padding underneath the material. Other than that I like it alot.

Have been using it for 1 year now (my son is +11 months old and 26lb now).

It is good except latching to Aria stroller. Latching to stroller is frustrating. It looks like my wife and I will never get used to it.

We are happy with the quality and look&feel.

We just moved my 6 month old to this seat and she no longer cries in the car. She loves that it sits high up and she can see high up and I love that we can keep her rear facing for up to 40lbs! This seat is a great price and was a bit hard to install but with my husband’s help its in tight. For those having issues getting a tight fit you’ve got to get someone very strong to yank on it. I just didn’t have the strength.

I own several high weight harness seats, and this is my favorite! My son (5 yrs old, 47″, and 43 lbs) has previously been in a Radian XT and a Graco Nautilus. He started to complain about the crotch strap being tight on both seats- I looked at it closer and it turns out the straps were coming out from underneath him even though they were on the furthest setting out- in both seats! We tried the Frontier 85 and he was much more comfortable- he has at least an inch or two until he’ll be up against the crotch strap in the FN 85. I was worried about install, especially after reading about the original Frontier not installing well (or at all) in Toyotas. I had the FN 85 installed with the seatbelt in my ’05 Highlander within 10 minutes, and that includes trying the short belt path first (I had to recline the seat and use the long belt path, but I have a rock solid install.) It really helps to watch the Britax install videos before trying to install it, as I could see how I would have had some trouble if I didn’t watch the video first. The 9 year lifespan of the set is also a huge bonus!

Lots of extra features to keep everyone happy. Cup holders + Arm Rests + 2 reading lights. What more can you ask for.

Radians are really great seats and this model delivers all of the features of the other great Radian seats without the high price tag. Most children can use this seat in the Rear-Facing position from birth (5 lbs) well into the toddler years (45 lbs). The big selling point over Britax seats is that the Rear-Facing harness slots will accommodate a child 53 inches tall, where the Britax Marathon only goes to 49 inches. For a toddler, that can equal another year or two in the safest Rear-Facing position.

This seat is very narrow, and is ideal for fitting three seats across a small sedan. It is also one of the only seats that can be used in the forward-facing position without the use of the rear tether anchor, making it ideal for trucks and older model cars that may not have a place to clip the anchor.

Most vehicle manufactures do not allowed the use of LATCH for children over 45 lbs. If you are considering a Radian because of the Super Latch feature, be sure to consult your vehicle’s owners manual or call the vehicle manufacturer to verify the LATCH limits for your specific make and model vehicle.

Reasons I purchased the Sunshine kids randian XTSL are:

compact width wise. i have no doubt you can fit 3 car seats or 2 car seats and have an adult sit in a small to mid size vehicle without a problem. Diplomat is wider so with 1 diplomat in my wife’s Toyota Rav 4 (small “SUV”) 2 small 5’4″ woman were cramped in the back seat with diplomat. And there’s no way a person can sit in the back with 2 Diplomat, where as with XTSL it seems possible.

Holds an infant up to 45 lbs rear facing and 80 lbs foward facing so i know I can use it for a long time. (non-SL version- rear facing 35lbs vs 45lbs on -SL so get the SL) Britax has 35lbs rear facing weight limit. It is recommended that you keep the kids in rear facing for longer than recommended 1 year and 20lbs weight limit. My son’s already 23 lbs in 9 months so it’s good to know that I have that extra weight limit.

XTSL has bigger side impact cushion than the 80SL however Britax has a big side impact cushion.

Don’t like about XTSL:

the car i bought this for does not have the latch so trying to install it correctly took awhile since the manual like most manuals has the jist of it but does not go into great details, so it took me a while to fiddle with it. The place to insert lapbelt was big small and me being a 6′ guy with big hand had trouble inserting through the lapbelt hold and grab it from other side. My main car seat is Britax Diplomat is easier to install with lapbelt since you can lift the seat cushion and see where the lapbelt is going through.

Car seat is compact width-wise but not too compact lengthwise so it compromised some leg room in the front passenger seat. And I’m glad I installed it behind the front passenger seat since i’m 6′ and would’ve made it cramped if i placed behind the driver’s seat (if you’re shorter or have the seat facing forward once baby reaches the age you probably won’t have problem) Once again Britax Diplomat seems to be bit more compact lengthwise but Diplomat does take up more room widthwise.

XTSL’s harness has to be unhooked and rehooked as the kid grows. Britax Diplomat carseats have this knob on the side that turns to raise and lower the shoulder seatbelt without detatching the harness. The other day I put him in the seat ready to buckle then realized that he grew and the shoulder belt is big low so I turned the know few times with him in it and presto. Very convineint. In addition the side impact cushion rises and lowers together with the twist of the harness knob so it is where the child’s head is supposed to be compared to the XTSL which is stationary so if you place a infant right out of the hospital, I’m not sure the baby’s head will be protected by the side impact cushion where as once they get older it won’t be a problem

XTSL seems to be twice heavy as the Diplomat which really isn’t a problem for me since the seats won’t be moving. Just an observation since they seem to be big on being able to carry it around with a strap. They do have airplane installation guide.

My son hasn’t sat in the XTSL yet so that’ll have to come later. My son hated his infant seat with the base, always trying to get out of the seat. He loves his Britax Diplomat. No fuss putting him in the seat and puttnig on the harness.

Britax Diplomat – $169.99 from amazon (some freak sale i happened upon)

Sunshine Kids Radiant XTSL – $239 from ebay (it’s still new so i’m sure the price will drop later) Reason for buying it on ebay vs amazon. Love amazon but this vendor, Healthcheck Systems Inc., notified me over a week after a purchase of when the car seat was supposed to arrive to tell me that they did not receive the item and i won’t get it for another month. Would’ve been nice if they told me before I purchased it that they are waiting on a shipment so i can decide based on that information. But it saved me $60 bucks and i got the XTSL model with bigger side impact cushion (Originally tried to purchase 80SL since it was cheaper.)

So beware of the vendor Healthcheck Systems Inc. Might sell you something that they don’t have then you’ll end up just wasting time. Good thing it was my spare carseat. If it was going to be my main carseat and they’ve wasted my time I’d be furious.

I’ll see how much he likes the XTSL after this weekend when we have to take him to the hospital. I just realized that I haven’t checked the shoulder harness height with my son. The twist knob would come handy in time like this. Quick observation: XTSL seems to have big wider butt room compared to the Diplomat so might be better once my son gets bigger.

Verdict for now: Using Britax Diplomat for now in the Main Car. Love it. My son loves it. Got a great deal on it.

Sunshine Kids Radiant XTSL – time will tell but for now seems like a great buy… got like $60 off MSRP. It’ll probablyl become the main car seat once my son gets bigger and will be around longer with 80lbs max weight limit compared to Diplomat’s 60lbs

While I haven’t used this seat yet, I bought it because of the many great reviews on here and on consumer websites. However, I wanted to point out that the color is a bit different than what is pictured (which is the manufacturers fault, not the seller). While it appears black and light blue-ish gray in the picture, in real life it is black and a medium grey

I am very please with this purchase. I thought it was a little overpriced, but it provides good comfort for my son and I like the side restraints for his head. You almost think it’s like they have horse blinders on at first, but he doesn’t seem to mind and they offer a place to rest his head if he falls asleep. I would definitely recommend giving this product consideration if you’re in the market.

We bought this carseat for our 2yo daughter who was close to outgrowing the weight limit on her Alpha Omega Elite’s 5pt harness rating. We want to keep her in the harness for as long as possible. We have a Subaru WRX, and the backseat space is limited. Even with as small as our backseat is, there is still plenty of room for another carseat. The seat fits in either the middle or the sides great. It looks much more bulky than it is in your car. She loves the big sides for the side impact, they’re perfect for when she falls asleep. Her head doesn’t fall forward at all. The cupholders are an added bonus.

I decided on this car seat based on my own research and the input of another parent who uses it and likes it. We do too! While it is heavy, it is very safe. Although it is bulky, it is very user friendly. The latch for the base and the SIP adjustment lever are very easy to use. The adjustable strap in front of the seat allows you to make certain that the child is very snug and safe. One note though, when we took this to the hospital to be tested with our child, the nurses did not know how to operate it and told us we had to buy a new one. After showing them how to operate it they said it was cool and the doctor seat it was a great seat. Therefore, don’t expect this seat to be as simple as cheaper ones but it won’t require a degree in rocket science. Just read the directions. The SIP cannot be removed from the seat. Moreover, the fact that this fits with ANY of the Peg Perego strollers sealed the deal for us. Moreover, our child was born premature and under five pounds and, with the insert provided by the hospital, she fits in it with no problem. When our daughter was released from the hospital her doctor and nurse said that they wish more parents would have this brand and model of seat upon discharge. Also, the nurse stated that the base appears to fit tighter than any other car seat base she has seen in her many years at the hospital. Setting the seat up is very easy and the base stays tight and snug with many removals of the seat. The tightness of the base is achieved by using the Latch system and the seat belt with the seat belt clamp. The latches for the system are more than just mere clamps found on cheaper seats. The latch system clamps on this model are similar to seat belt latches allowing for very easy installation and removal of the base. Our baby rests comfortably and safely in this seat and I am pleased with the purchase. I gives this seat my highest and strongest recommendation.

It is a great car seat! It fits in my silverado great. I love the color. The cover comes of easy to be washed. it was easy to install.

The only problem I have with the seat is when the cover is off you have to becareful to not damaged the foam under the cover. But other than that I love it, My 7 month old fits in it great with much more room to grow!

This is a great car seat for me to keep at home when the grandchildren come over. It can safely handle the little ones who need to face backwards as well as the toddlers. It has the side impact protection that is very important and can be taken in and out of our cars without worrying about needing a base. For what I need it for it is a perfect versatile car seat.

Just purchased one of these Baby Trend Phantoms to use as a second car seat in our other car.Got it at Target for $100. I chose this model because it was narrow enough to allow the front seats in my car to slide all the way back, I’m 6’3, and the colors matched the interior of the car perfectly. We use the seat in compact sedan, 2007 Mercedes C230. As far the seat being too heavy, I have to disagree. Its definatly lighter than our other Graco carseat, and either way I don’t think either one weighs over 5 pounds. If you have any kind of upper body strength this shouldn’t be an issue. I carried my son(21 lbs)around the mall today for an hour and half, and I’m no muscle head by any means. I would definatley reccomend this car seat to anyone, especially if the overall width is a concern, and if you have a small car it will be. I was impressed with the base tie down straps too. They look like industrial grade ratchet tie downs, and there is one for each side,allowing you to tighten each side individually; my Graco unit only has one strap with cheap hooks on both ends. As far as the childs’ safety harness goes, I don’t have any problems getting my son in or out, but this does require half a brain to do efficiantly.(Just Kidding) My Graco seat has the same setup so I was already used to that, in fact all the infant seats I looked at use the same style buckle. And if your kid is screaming and crying every time you put them in a car seat then you’re probably doing something wrong anyway. I’ll shoot and post a video of baby installation and removal when I get a chance. Hope this review helps Thanks.

I did a lot of research before purchasing this car seat. Consumer reports liked it so i keep looking at it. I also purchased the stroller that this car seat fits in (which i also love – maybe even more than this car seat). The car seat is very easy to use. It was very easy to put together ( so was the stroller). This car seat comes in and out of the base very easily. I do recommend purchasing a base for each vehicle. The only think i’m not crazy about is my son is 7mths old and is approaching the weight limit for this seat. Had i known more about car seats i probably would have purchased a convertible seat in the beginning. I don’t mind spending extra money if i know its something i’m going to use for a long time. Now 7 mths into it, and i have to find a new car seat that can accomidate my son. With that said… I do love this carseat.

Normally people don’t look for bargains when it comes to safety, let alone your child’s safety. However, this is a bargain you cannot overlook. The Britax goes for $300, there are other models on Amazon and at Babies R US for $100. I got 3 of these for a little over $100! These days people with more than 1 car, and with family members aiding in child care can use more than 1 car seat.

So here are the facts, Consumer Reports rated the Cosco Protex a best buy, however that model is discontinued. So then I found the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety had the most recent reviews, December 2009. They rated the Cosco Pronto a “Best Buy”. Here is the article I encourage people to do their own research. [...]

Basically with the booster seat you are elevating the child so that a shoulder seat belt with come across a child’s shoulder. They are designed for children 30lbs to 100lbs. Now that state laws require children to be in booster seats longer this is nice because we will not have to buy anymore seats now we have this one.

The Cosco is simple and my daughter cannot get out of our car’s seat belt once I pull it out all the way and have it lock into place. In her car seat she would take the shoulder harness off, making it less safe. So the fact that this is simple, the cloth parts can be removed to be washed, and we are utilizing the seat belt of our car which is stronger than any carseat belts, I definitely recommend this booster seat. Plus you can buy 3 of these for the price of 1 of the other brands.

The upgrade from car seat to booster seat couldn’t have gone better without this booster seat. My son loves that he’s in a booster (big boy) seat using the grownup seatbelt, and I love that it’s sturdy, and will help to protect him in case of a car accident. It also has the latch system to keep the booster in place, so it doesn’t become a harmful object if involved in an accident without your child in the seat. The colors looks great, we got the red and black one. The bag is a convince if your ever traveling. The back of the booster comes off too, in case you wanted/needed only the seat. The 2 cup holders are a convince for the child, for drinks or snacks. Just be careful what they try to hide in them, since they fold into the booster seat. The only improvements could be the arm rest, they are kinda short, and won’t adjust, as your child gets older. Also the weight is about the same as a car seat, so it’s not light like most booster seats. Overall a great booster seat, that will last a lot longer than most boosters, since it can accommodate up to 6′ 3″.

One warning for parents is to just go over the basic rules when transitioning to any booster seat. Such as NEVER unbuckle the car seat until being told to, or when the car is parked and turned off. Also not to lean all the way forward, pull the seat belt all the way out (otherwise the seatbelt won’t be able to do its job to protect the child if involved in an accident). Make sure to check that the seatbelt is actually buckled in after the child buckles themselves, sometimes they think they are buckled when they really aren’t, which is something you cannot fix of course after an accident occurs. Of course just remind them that the booster and seatbelt is there to protect them, kids usually don’t realize this is about safety, and not about the cool colors or the 2 cup holders they can use. I also had to remind my son a few times that the seatbelt goes over your shoulder, crosses his body to the other side where the seatbelt buckles, and that the lap part of the seatbelt should be on his lap, nowhere else, especially shouldn’t be pulled on. Kids just need that reminder so they don’t play with the seatbelt. In the booklet it does state if you have a car that has the automatic seatbelt (such as the ones that are located above the window, and move so you can get out when the door is open), that this car seat should not be used with those seatbelts(just a little FYI before you spend money on this). One other thing I must add is that while this is more pricey than most booster seats, it is well worth the money for your child’s safety.

This seat has been perfect. Easy install, cup holder is really nice. So much easier for my daughter to get into with the raising armrest. This was a perfect transition seat. Some have complained about the harness twisting but I have not had any issues with this. My daughter looks very comfortable in it and loves it.

Watch out if your car doesn’t have LATCH! It’s Britax so I expect high safety standards AND as much convenience as possible. I love that the Frontier 85 straps don’t have to be re-threaded to adjust for height, there’s storage for the LATCH mechanisms and tether, and I used it once as a booster and it fit really well with the seat belt — it was a nice, snug fit. I do have one pretty big complaint though. It does not come with a seatbelt locking clip. My vehicle does not have the latch system so I have to use the seatbelt to secure the carseat since my child is still harnessed. There is no way to tighten it enough unless you purchase a clip (not expensive, but a hassle), and that clip makes the carseat harder to install. I’m just surprised that Britax didn’t provide something to help tighten the seat down. We had been using a Marathon which had it’s own seatbelt locking device. But of course the Frontier 85 is still an excellent carseat.

We used an infant carrier seat when our daughter was facing backwards, but love this seat as a forward facing seat. I definitely wouldn’t use it to face in reverse, but it was easy to install in the forward position and our daughter seems very comfortable in the seat. I like that it reclines and the cup holder comes in pretty handy. The material is great as well… doesn’t get too hot or cold and really cute. The seat is kind of big, but all the seats seem to be pretty big. I’m thrilled that this is the last seat I’ll have to buy for her since it converts to a booster.

We bought this for air travel and for a small Subaru wagon after our daughter was spilling out of her infant seat. It has many installation options, so you have to find the right one in the manual. There are little quirks that you can’t gloss over, e.g. you have to use the safestop accessory in forward facing <40 lb installation. The LATCH system works fine, and I finally figured out that the "top tether" in my cargo area wasn't just some random tie down. I tried to mount this seat rear facing at first, but there was NO way I was going to get a passenger in the front seat, because it was slid all the way up.

For air travel, I think we need a seat belt extender because if you cinch the aircraft belt in the forward facing path, you’ll never be able to release the seat belt. While the baby loves it, it is very heavy to lug around the airport and you can clock people with it if you’re not careful. We bought the bag for it, but it’s completely unsatisfactory. Sturdier sewing is essential and wheels would be nice.

We are thrilled with the purchase of this booster seat, and my 5-year-old son loves his new car seat! It’s a bit more expensive than other booster seats, but considering my son will be using his seat for the next several years, his safety was worth the investment. What truly sold me on this booster seat above all other brands were four things: 1) This seat has LATCH connectors which connect the seat firmly into the installed hooks in the 2nd row captains chair of my mini-van preventing the seat from wiggling around. Usually the base of booster seats tend to slide around/wiggle around. When connected with the LATCH connectors, this seat doesn’t move. 2) This seat has side impact bars/reinforced sides to protect the child in the event of a side crash. 3) This booster seat can be used until the child is 63″ tall and 120 lbs. This is more than most boosters allow which is great for those of us with taller children. 4) The head section is deep and well padded which keeps his head from “flopping” from side-to-side or forward when he falls asleep in his seat–which is quite often. He just rode in his new seat on a trip for 14 hours there and back and had no problems with his head falling forward when sleeping. Definitely a great purchase!

After some research I bought this car seat for my baby. The product is very strong, very secure and it looks so comfortable that I even want to use it. The first time the baby used it he fall asleep although it wasn’t his time. One of the first things I was looking for was the side impact security system that this seat has. I found many product at the stores that claim to have this system, but if you touch those car seats it seems that the baby it’s going to get more harm with them. This chair is easy to use, it grows with your baby, and I like that it can be converted in a booster seat. This is our second car seat, we had another brand and it was smaller. We are really happy with it and it looks that the baby is really really safe.

Why I bought this: I have a 3mth old, she is under 16lbs. We have a graco convertible carseat that is supposed to hold a 4yr old. Last weekend we loosened the straps out as far as they go, & it is uncomfortable on her & if she grows will not fit. I bought this safety 1st because it goes up to 35lbs.

Why I love it: It was delivered today. I re-adjusted the straps, loosened them all the way, & put my daughter in it & there is plenty of room for her to grow. The seats are deep & she has plenty of leg room (she’s a tall baby). The convertible carseat we tossed today, I could barely figure it out, it was heavy, hard to make adjustments & hard to strap in the car. The safety 1st, only weighs 8lbs & I barely even had to get out the manual, it is quite easy to make adjustments & is very user friendly.

Appearance: I thought I was getting a blue one, but when you get it home it is teal & chocolate. It looks very nice & the cover is made well.

Safety: The seat is very deep & there is more carseat around the head, the one I tossed we had to buy extras to get her head to slumping over the side. It seems more snug. The belt stays perfectly in place (my convertible carseat, the chest straps would always end up sliding down to her waist). Under the cover there is stirofoam to absorb the shock if in an accident.

I research car seats extensively. I have four kids and only want the safest stuff for them, not the most expensive, but the car seats that will protect them the most. This one was highly rated by Consumer reports, whom I trust, with their testing and the price is reasonable. In fact, it was the only one with an EXCELLENT rating for protection. That made it a no-brainer for me. It is very nice easthetically too and will look great in your car installed.