Very well made!

I love this car seat! This is the second brand that I have owned and it is incredibly well made. It's sturdy and feels very safe. My child doesn't sweat in it and seems comfortable. Spend the extra money and buy this car seat. It's worth the extra money.More detail ...

A rare seat: fullsize convertible that fits small-medium cars

This is an exceptional design that offers full-size convertible car seat features and specs but can fit (rear-facing) in cars a few inches too short for other full-size convertible seats. The features and quality is also competitive with the better brands out there like the Britax Diplomat/Boulevard and Recaro Signo which all have side impact protection.



I only use this in rear-facing mode for my 18mo 22lb baby so this review is written in the context of rear-facing usage.



PROS:



1) Its outer shell is 2-3 inches shorter than other full-size convertible seats. It can rear-face to 35lbs or forward-face (harnessed) to 65lbs like the biggest convertible seats available. However the the shorter shell allows rear-facing in cars that normally could not fit a full-size convertible like the Britax Boulevard or Recaro Signo. Although the main shell is shorter the adjustable heat restraint can be raised for taller children once you are in forward facing mode. It just barely squeezes behind the driver seat (rear facing) in my Mazda 3 with the driver seat moved up a bit. The top edge of the shell squeezes between the top of the driver's seat and the extended head rest.



2) Compared to many Britax convertibles it has about 2 inches more leg room for the baby in rear-facing mode. This is measured from the baby's back to the car's rear seat back. It may not sound like much but when there's only 8-10 inches to work with another 2 helps a lot. If it means my baby can comfortably stay rear facing until she's 2.5yr that's a big plus. I did this comparison with my Britax Marathon (now up for sale).



3) Noticed the giant latch clips on this seat? They contain a spring loaded auto retracting belt feeder. When installing the seat you extend the latch clip to clip into your car push the seat down with your weight and the auto retractor pulls up any slack in the latch clip belt. As you take your weight off the seat the seat stays down and is quite secure. This is WAY easier than manually tightening the latch straps in every other convertible seat design.





CONS:

To achieve the shorter shell design the adjustable head rest can extend 5-6 inches above the shell when in forward-facing mode. When fully extended the head rest (including the head side impact part) is quite flimsy. It looks a bit unsafe but I feel like it will do the job of keeping some energy absorbing foam between the baby's head and any intruding structure during a side impact. It's certainly not going to keep the head in place if the seat is on the driver side and the car is hit on the passenger side. Only convertible seats with the head side impact protection built into the main shell may possibly pull that off (Recaro Signo Priori etc).



Overall I really like this seat because it actually fits in my smaller Mazda3 and leaves enough room for a shorter adult in front. It also achieves this w/o compromising features safety or use with taller/bigger toddlers. The fit offers plenty of leg room and recline that's impossible with other large car seats in a smaller car.More detail ...