15 Trends To Watch In The New Year Top Rated Infant Car Seats
Top Rated Infant Car Seats
A good infant car seat is a safety requirement, but not all car seats are made equal. The best ones have features that improve the performance of crash tests, such as load legs, which are shock absorbing components on the base of the seat that help reduce movement during collisions.
Chicco KeyFit is a favorite of CPST instructors. It features a rear-facing weight and height limit that is high as well as a bubble-level indicator and a spring loaded foot that can recline to make it simple to set up.
Graco Mesa Max
The Graco Mesa Max ranks as one of the most simple infant car seats to use. It comes with great fabrics with a simple design and a handy feature that allows you to attach the child's harness to the headrest, making it easier to tighten. It also has an enormous canopy that makes it easy to keep your baby sheltered while traveling. The only drawback is that it's a little heavier than average, which might be a problem if you plan to lug it around or want to use it with your UPPAbaby stroller, which is a winner.
Mesa Max's impressive performance in crash tests demonstrate its dedication to safety. It scored high in both the frontal and side impact tests, which means that your child will be safe from the two sides of a collision.
Another notable safety feature is the Graco's anti-rebound panel which reduces rebound forces during an accident and ensures that your child's head is protected. This is a rare feature in infant car seats and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its rivals.
When used with the included base when used with the base Graco Mesa Max can be installed easily and securely in your vehicle by using LATCH. The load leg as well as recline angle adjustment and tightness indicator ensure a quick, accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6 lbs, which is slightly heavier than an average car seat for infants, but not enough to cause an issue.
Like its predecessor, UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric that is free of chemicals that cause fire. It also comes with an infinitely adjustable headrest and an extremely durable infant insert that enhances the fit and body position of babies approximately 4-11 lbs. The fabrics are GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means they are tested for low chemical emissions and VOCs.
The Mesa Max from UPPAbaby is more expensive than the other alternatives, however it has top features and modern safety technologies for an optimal travel experience. The base included and a range of stylish colorways enhance the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and sturdy design give parents peace of mind during every excursion.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight is a great choice for anyone who wants an automobile seat that can grow with their child. The weight limit for rear-facing is 40 pounds, which is higher than many infant car seats. It can also be used forward-facing until your child weighs 65 pounds.
Its biggest selling factor is the ClickTight Installation System, which is the most secure and simple on the market. The seat belt can be tightened by pressing a red release button and pulling the harness strap. This means that there is no need to loosen and rethread the seatbelt. This reduces the chance of not tightening correctly the belt, which is the main cause of car seat failure.
Another safety feature is the EZBuckle Pad, which keeps the buckle in place when you're placing your child in the seat. This feature, along with beltpath cutouts on the sides of the seat, makes it easy to get your child into and out of the car.
All three ClickTight convertible seat models (Boulevard CT, Marathon CT, Advocate CT) share the similar features. ClickTight Installation System is one of them. Also included are an impact-absorbing frame with seven recline positions.
It's a hefty seat, so it may be worth looking at alternatives that are lighter if you intend to use it for frequent car swaps or travel. Also, the seat is large, which means it might not be suitable for smaller vehicles, particularly when it's rear-facing.
If you're looking for a low-cost seat with the same quality, the Graco 4Ever DLX is a great option. The seat has lower crash tests scores than the Boulevard but is a great option for your child.
The Graco has also connectors that can be pushed on for LATCH, which makes it easier to take off the seat. Boulevard's LATCH connectors use a different release system that requires you to pull the webbing and press a gray button. It can be difficult to do this if your webbing has a tight fit. However, this seat does come with a handy storage compartment for belt straps when they are not in use.
Clek Liing
If you're looking for an infant car seat that has all of it -safety, style, convenience and luxury -you'll love the Clek Liing. This rear-facing car seat can be easy to install, comes with a high crash test rating and a range of features.
The Liing is designed to protect infants with features that meet and exceed both US and Canadian safety standards. It's designed for a simple, secure installation - at any seating position. It's packed with safety features that are advanced such as an energy-absorbing metal load leg as well as an outer shell that is lined with EPP foam to provide greater side-impact protection. The base has 7 recline positions and a bubble indicator that tells you when the seat is at just the right angle for your child.
The Liing is loved by parents for its modern and sleek design and also its innovative safety features like rigid lower anchors that are much easier to attach than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing also has a convenient one-handed quick release that makes it easy to take it off the base, or to use with a variety of compatible strollers. At less than 17 inches wide it's small enough to fit 3-across use in most cars and fits nicely into many convertible car seats as a booster.
The Liing infant seat is rated 1st for its unique rigid-LATCH installation system. Lower anchors of the Liing snap right into the vehicle's lower seat belt slots and the top tether strap snaps into the headrest of the vehicle, creating an extremely secure, tight fit that eliminates any chance of the child being thrown around in a crash.
The base weighs 9lbs and the seat weighs 10.5 lbs. Other rear-facing only seats are much heavier in weight however if you're planning to carry the car seat and its base around it won't be too obvious (especially once you add a baby into the equation! ).
Parents appreciate the Liing's built in canopy and 100+spf sun protection with a mesh peekaboo window. Parents appreciate the merino blanket that keeps the baby warm, and the ability of the handle to pivot past the canopy. This allows them to grab the seat when needed.
Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX
The Graco Trio GROW SnugLock is an all-in-one seat that converts from a rear-facing infant into a forward-facing harness, and later to the highback booster. It is equipped with the SnugLock installation system which allows for a smooth and simple installation using either the vehicle seat belt or lower anchors. It also offers the option to use the top tether in booster mode (although we recommend using the lower anchors at all times to ensure security).
We like that this seat does so much for children of different ages. It comes with an infant insert for younger babies that helps support their necks and backs. When best infant carrier car seat get older, the insert can be removed and the seat can be used as a regular toddler car seat. This is one of the few car seats that allow the top tether to be used in booster mode. We recommend it.
Its base is compact from front to back, which means it shouldn't have a problem fitting into the majority of vehicles. It requires the headrest to be raised however, to allow an open path for the lower anchor webbing. Thankfully, there's a handy headrest adjustment knob to easily accomplish this, and also see the headrest position in the display window.
One of the most impressive features about this seat is the SnugLock installation system that is a bar that is located in the belt path. Installing this car seat using lower anchors is simple, and almost as simple as using the vehicle's seat belt.
The manual offers a wonderful illustration of how to run the lower anchor connectors correctly through the new belt path which at first can be confusing. Keep them away from the chest clip and the crotch loop to avoid interfering with the buckle system.
The Graco Trio Grow belongs to the Protect Plus Engineered Family, which means that it has been put through some of the most rigorous testing in the market. This includes tests for rear, side and rollover crashes as well as frontal collisions.