Infant Car Seats

Hey L.,

Like many of the other moms, I swear by Britax. I was in a minor accident (we didn’t need to go to the hospital but the cars were banged up) and my daughter didn’t even know anything happened. My 10 month old is almost out of the infant seat (Peg Prego) and I am actually going out to get another Britax seat. My first daughter is 3 and almost ready to get out of her seat and into a boaster but I love her seat so much and feel so confident when she is in it that I think I will keep her in it for a while longer.

Hope that helps!

Beth

Another vote for Britax. We've had a Roundabout and 2 Marathons. While all seats do meet minimum standards, some exceed them (as others mentioned). I haven't shopped carseats in a while, but at the time we were buying the Britax was considered the safety gold standard. If you shop around (look online too), you can often get a good deal on one - sometimes it will be last year's cover color/pattern, but the same seat. I'm generally not one to buy the pricier baby/kid items - probably more a midrange girl - but carseats are the one thing I refuse to compromise on. They use them so much (at least most kids I know do) and safety is the top priority.

My kids all outgrew the infant carrier byt length by about 6 months and went right into a Britax seat. I really like the higher weight rating too, as I know my kids were not ready for boosters at 40 pounds, which is the weight at which some carseats max out. In addition to the safety ratings, though, I also love the Britax seats because they are comfier than many others, easy to install, and best of all the straps don't get all twisted up like many of the less expensive models do (learned from out "backup" seat we had in my husband's car with my first).

Hi L.,

I am a first time mom and did a lot of research on car seats. I was completely sold on the Britax. They have a lot a reports out there on them so you tend to think they are the best. Once I got to Babies R US, I was able to take them off the shelf and try them in an actual car like environment. I put my son in the Britax and not only did he look really uncomfortable but the seat was MASSIVE. I drive and SUV but there was no way that was going to fit in my car. We got an Evenflo, that had all the same things the Britax and I found were even easier to access on the EvenFlo for a much better price. My suggestion to you is to go with what feels right! There are so many safety standards out there, you should feel good about any seat your purchase!

Hi L.,

I went to consumer reports to find out their recommendations and the top of their list was Britax. I purchased the marathon for my little girl who is big for her age and was outgrowing her infant seat by the time she was 9 months (she's now 15 months). She seems very comfortable in the Britax and has room to grow. My only complaint with the seat are the straps as they get twisted easily, but that is minor. The fit is very secure in our car, and we have a small car, and the five-point harness fits very well on her. I know she's comfortable in the seat as she does not complain during trips (unless she drops her toy) and falls asleep easily in it. I went back and forth on the price since we have a tight budget, but I felt the investment in the seat would be well worth it. So far it has worked great! By the way, I got the seat from a retailer in California for the lowest price I've seen, with no tax, and free shipping. I also know that Amazon has sales on Britax once or twice a year (I missed one which is how I found the retailer in California). It pays to look around on the net. Good luck!

D.

L.,

Yes there is a difference. I do a lot of traveling also and when my son got too tall for his car seat I did some investigating. Britax Frontier is the one I ended up with. It has side impact protection and a bunch of other safety features. What I really liked about it is that it is the only one rated for airline travel and you never have to move the shoulder straps!! I don't know if it is rear facing. If you want the best idea of what is the safest pay a few bucks and go to consumer reports and read their ratings of car seats. Since we had our son we have gone there more than once to find unbiased opinions about baby products. Good luck!

L.,
Funny, an associate at Babies r' Us told me that the ony difference was comfort. We got the Evenflo Triumph Advance, and have been very happy with it. It is also reversable, which was great for us, because our baby just reached the 20 pound mark, and will be 17 months old this week, so we can finally turn her around. I think we paid around $160, it was in the middle price wise. Good Luck!

I have a Britax and it is amazing. It is definatly more expensive but I feel it is a safer seat. It hooks in easily and is super secure. I had an evenflo with my older child and it was good too, yet very hard to put in and take out.

We have the Sunshine Kids Radian 65. It's comparable to the Britax from a safety perspective, but is less expensive as it's not as well known. I drive a sedan, so I also didn't want a car seat that wouldn't allow us to put a second car seat right next to it. It's not as wide on the sides as some of the other car seats, so we can put a 2nd car seat next to it (I've tried with with the car seat my 3 1/2 yr old niece uses).

My oldest sons are 10 and 8. My youngest will be 8 months tommorow. My older sons used your average Graco seats. My youngest will be getting a Britax convertable. They are rated number one in safety. Had I known about Britax when the boys were younger I would have scrimped to get them the seats.

We like the Britax Roundabout. High safety ratings and easy to use, especially with the LATCH system. It's also easy to take apart to clean.

Wow, I can't believe you got so much use out of your infant seat. My sons, who were preemies and always on the small side, did not fit the length by the time they were 6 months old (their little feet hung over the edge). At that time I bought the Britax Marathon and absolutely love it. They are now 5.5yo and still fit in it well. They are a little pricey, but not super high end, but you will never need to buy another one. They are a big seat though, so depending on your vehicle the Roundabout might be a better option. I have also heard good things about Radian and considered that as an option. Even though all seats on the market pass the standards, the basic standards aren't enough for me, there are extra safety features, just not comforts built in to some seats. For example, your car seat straps should never be twisted, that compromises how they will work in an accident. Britax straps will never twist and I love that. I also love the wings to protect the head from the sides. Good luck.

From what I've learned (through sales associates and Consumer Reports), the best is Britax. I've registered for the Roundabout model (I'm pregnant and due in May). My sister has one and loves it.

I am under the impression that ALL car seats offered for sale meet the safety requirements and tests. The difference are features and comfort. More importantly, be sure to make sure you are using your car seat correctly by taking the time to go to a car seat safety check. They are free and well worth your time. You can start by checking out www.seatcheck.org.
Sadly, most people do not have their seats installed correctly or are using the wrong car seat for their child's age/weight/height or have it installed incorrectly. Good luck!

A friend is a car seat "checker." One of the most important things she always says is to find a seat that fits your car as they don't all fit every car nicely. Every car has different contours and shapes and so do the car seats. You can ask to do a trial install in your vehicle and my friend strongly suggests doing so.

I am not one to go low end on safety items like car seats. Early on we looked for the seats with the best reviews without going ultra high end. They seemed reasonably comfortable and had some convenient features. Then we ended up buying a Britax seat for our third child because we needed a very specific size to fit our 3 kids across. We fell in love with it. It's so super easy to install with built in locking clips. You really can feel the difference in quality. We would have continued with Britax except we needed to upgrade our oldest 2 into extended harnesses as using booster in our wagon with 3 across wouldn't work. The Britax seats that were for older kids were too big. So we opted for Radian 80 seats. They are similar level to Britax - price and quality.

L.,the difference between the 60.00 and 170.00, is the weight limits.

No difference! For our first seat we got the expensive Britax, and for the next step up I literally got the cheapest one available on special at Wal Mart for 30 bucks. We love it so much, we bought another one for my second. It will hold them in place in a collision or crash, as they are held in place with seat belts. That's all you can hope for, none of them have the power to keep your car from collapsing. Both kids sleep soundly in comfort in them. And feel fine on long rides. Don't spend a bundle!

We bought Britax based on the Consumer Report tests. We absolutely love it. I have one in my car as does my husband (we switch pick up at daycare too much to trade cars that often). We also bought a Britax Boulevard for my parents...I had a coupon and it ended up being less than the Marathon. Babies R Us often has 15 and 20% off coupons...keep an eye out for those and make sure they can be used on car seats and you'll save tons (I have an extra one that is good until 12/6 if you want to email me I'll mail it to you).

I recently went on car-seat.org and was asking about car seats. If you can't afford a Britax, you should definately check out the Graco Nautilus... they suggested it to me.
It has the higher weight limit, and also the harness straps are 18 inches high. This is very important, because most kids outgrow their harness in height before they do in weight. It's best to keep kids harnesses as long as possible, and this seat will let you do that. They sell it at Target and at babies-R-Us for about $150. Good luck!!!!!!

http://www.target.com/Graco-Nautilus-3-in-1-Car-Seat/dp/B...

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3009610

All I know is that Britax car seats are European tested (there is no speed limit in Europe)so the car seats are safe at high speeds. American car seats are only tested with our speed limits. I can't put a price on my child's safety especially in a car accident. We have the Britax Roundabout as recommended by Consumer Reports.

Hey, L.. I see that you've got lots of responses, so I'll try to keep this one short! I have the Britax that goes from 5 to 65lbs. It is big and expensive, but when you're at an intersection try to count the number of large SUVs you see - hummers and that sort - and remember that those type of vehicles may be the ones to hit you and cause the most harm to your child. Also, try to keep your little one in a 5 point harness as long as you can. It truly is the safest way to transport a child. Good luck!

We have 2 britax frontiers. They are much bigger and sturdier. This was one of the few seats that allows you to have the child in a 5 point harness up to 80 pounds, then as a seat belt booster to 100 pounds. Well worth the price.

I swear by Britax seats! I really do feel that their quality is unsurpsassed! They are built extremely well & far exceed safety standards in the US. Plus, unlike almost every single other carseat, they don't necessarily HAVE to be replaced after even a very minor car accident (most need to be replaced even if you have a very minor fender bender).

I LOVE the Britax Marathon. That's probably my favorite (the Roundabout is outgrown too quickly).

The Radian 65 & Radian 80 are very good too & I've heard very good things about the (I think) Saftey First Trufit (which they sell @ Target).

Hope that helps some!

L., I would suggest you go back to babysrus and pick up a $40 car seat and then pick up the Britax Marathon. You will see a HUGE difference. Not only does the Britax have the #1 rating on consumer reports but it is made of steel and not plastic like the cheaper ones. It also has side impact and it goes up to 65 lbs. When you see the weight difference you will be able to see that they are not even close to the same. I highly recommend it. I also recommend the Sunshine Kids Radian80 car seat. It can carry a child up to 80 lbs eliminating the need for another seat ever. It is also cute which helps! LOL! It is also a heavy car seat and installs easily and you could technically use it on an infant because it also rear faces. It is also rated very high on consumer reports. I hope this helps! I love and own both seats and recommend them both. I also own the cheaper ones for the kids I babysit and will be replacing them as soon as i have the money. Take care!
A.

L.,

All carseats sold in the US are subject to MINIMUM standards so they are all considered "safe". In my opinion, however, there is a difference between minimally acceptable and safe; just like there's a difference between going out to play in the snow wearing thermal underwear and a sweatsuit vs wearing a hat, scarf, boots, and jacket/pants designed for snowplay. Both will get the job done, but one is definately preferable.

We have used a Britax boulevard for our daughter since day one. At 14 months, we've just removed the infant insert. She is approx. 29 inches and 20 lbs and still rear facing. She will remain rearfacing as long as possible - in the boulevard - that's 33 lbs!!! Having looked at the crash test videos, keeping her rear facing as long as possible is our goal - it is statistically safer than forward facing.

We are on our second boulevard. Our first was involved in 2 minor accidents (scratches to the car only) and then we took a tire head on while traveling on a highway and the car was undriveable. We replaced with the exact same seat! DD slept through 2 of the 3 incidents and was awake at the time of the third.

I could not be happier with this seat. To us, it was worth the investment. She'll be in this seat till she's 65 lbs so by the time we are ready to move her to a booster, we'll most likely be using this seat for our next infant.

I decided on this seat because of the true side impact ptorection and the depth of the seat but what has become the best feature to me is the shoulder harness adjustment. The Britax Boulevard harnesses adjust on a sliding scale by turning a knob so the harness can be adjusted to fit her exactly. No putting it through whatever slot is closest and hoping for the best fit. Further, using this knob to adjust the harness allows me to change the harness position WITHOUT uninstalling the carseat.

I cannot speak highly enough about the Britax line and really believe they are worth the cost. If they are truly out of your price range right now, I would find an inespensive seat that you can live with and save. There will be another britax sale in the spring (around March - I believe); so that gives you 3-4 months to save for the seat you really want.

S.

HI L., All Child car seats go through a lot of testing and re-testing. My personal favorites are either Graco or Evenflo products. They are reasonably price and very safe. You can always research any car seat by going to the manufactur's web site. Keep in mind that if you ever are in an accident your child will be moved from the accident in the car seat (they are designed for that & any paramedic/fireman will tell you it's the safest way to move them) & the car seat will have to be replaced the same day. You want to find a car seat that fits your needs, is easy to use, and fits around winter outerwear, and fastens into your car well. Best wishes.