Cosco Scenera Next Convertible Car Seat Baby Gear Lab
recommended by experts
The All-time Car Seats and Booster Seats for Kids, According to Experts
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Ownership the right motorcar seat for your child is mayhap one of the most important decisions yous can make as a new parent. How tight is tight plenty? Front end-facing or rear-facing? And how do you install the thing? To find the best automobile seats, we spoke to car-seat safety-installation experts, including Lorrie Walker, the safety and training adviser at Rubber Kids Worldwide; pediatrician Ben Hoffman, who helps write official American University of Pediatrics policies on child-passenger condom; Renee McCabe, the Injury Prevention and Prophylactic Kids coordinator for Safe Kids Greater Augusta; Jennifer Saxton, founder of Tot Team (who is besides a child-passenger safety technician); Jennifer LaBracio, gear editor at Babylist; Jonathan Gondek, an adept from New York–based crash-testing site Calspan; Ashlee Neuman, the Bump's deputy editor; and Kecia Healy, a CPS technician-instructor and fellow member of New York Land Kid Passenger Safety Advisory Board. Nosotros too asked a dozen parents across the state.
Each expert pointed out that every car seat on the marketplace has passed the same rigorous prophylactic-testing standards, so they're all — at minimum — equipped to protect your kid during a crash. Finding your own best seat depends on the model of your car, your child'southward age and weight (for more info, the National Highway Traffic Safety Assistants provides a guide), and which features make the car seats easier to install correctly (and thus safer). "The best machine seat for any child and family is the car seat that fits the child, fits the car, and that the family volition be able to use correctly every time," says Hoffman. "From a safety perspective, we recommend that kids stay in the safest car seat until they outgrow it," says Saxton. "Don't try to move your kid as well quickly to the next car seat, considering you're really decreasing in prophylactic each step you lot become through that four machine seat process," In other words, children should max out the weight or superlative limit of their current machine seat before moving up to the next stage. Though at that place'due south no i-size-fits-all option, we asked experts for car-seat recommendations for each stage that would fit a variety of vehicles and lifestyles, plus make installation smoother and safer.
The Uppababy Mesa continues to be a top choice among parents, including Mei Ling Starkey of the blog Family Entourage, as well as LaBracio and Saxton. This one has a no-rethread harness, which is a feature that Walker recommended for ease of installation as your child grows upward. "You don't accept to rethread your harness when your child gets bigger," she says. "You pull the tabs to tighten it, and the harness slides right down until it'southward right over the kid's shoulder. You lot can put a alpine child in it one day and become a perfect fit, or a tiny, tiny kid in it the next day." Parents besides beloved that it simply clicks into Uppababy's Vista and Cruz strollers, too as into the Minu with adapters. It can adjust infants from 4 pounds up to 35 and includes an infant insert and wedge to keep the littlest ones snug and secure.
As a side notation, our experts recommend buying motorcar seats that friction match with the stroller you're going to utilize to form a click-and-go travel system that doesn't require purchasing split up adapters. But if you want to mix and match stroller and auto seat brands, hither's a handy compatibility chart from Babylist that lists all the nigh pop car seats and strollers and the required adapters to create the travel arrangement of your option.
LaBracio, Saxton, and Neuman also recommend Nuna's infant car seats, which they say is another popular option amid parents. The line includes the Nuna Pipa and the Nuna Pipa Calorie-free, which is the lighter version of the regular Pipa. For comparison, the Pipa weighs eight pounds, while the Lite weighs five.three and is one of the lightest babe car seats on the market. It should be noted, nevertheless, that while the Pipa can exist used on the go without a base, the Low-cal requires ane — meaning that it can't exist strapped into a vehicle without information technology. For those who own a auto, that isn't a problem, since the base of operations will already be installed. Simply for urban center dwellers who don't own a machine and rely on taxis instead, it's not a convenient pick, as they would accept to take the base with them. "I personally prefer the regular Nuna, fifty-fifty if it is a piddling scrap heavier," says LaBracio. "The trade-off of weight is worth information technology for the convenience of existence able to but pop information technology in without a base and employ information technology in a ride-share."
Nuna also merely released a new base chosen the Relx, which is compatible with the entire Pipa series. While it'southward more expensive than the regular base, LaBracio says it comes with features that brand it even easier to install, including an open chugalug path and an adjustable stability leg. It also allows for on-the-get recline, a feature that Saxton peculiarly likes. "You lot can basically have the infant, when they're newborns, laying really apartment, and and so every bit they go bigger, you can get them a little bit more upright, and that'southward all built into the base," she says. The new Pipa Rx and Pipa Light R models come with the Relx base, but you can besides purchase it separately if you'd like to upgrade the base on your older Pipa car seat.
For something slightly more affordable, the Chicco KeyFit has first-class reviews, and was too a favorite amongst the parents we surveyed for its ease of installation. Says Healy, "It's and so darn easy to install." Allyson Downey, who runs a consumer review site for child and baby essentials called WeeSpring, says that for her first kid, she bought the Chicco KeyFit subsequently doing extensive inquiry. "Information technology had outstanding reviews," she says. Lauren Brown, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital's lead car-seat-prophylactic specialist, says the seat is a popular choice among parents she works with, also, considering the brand has a YouTube video that demonstrates exactly how to install it. LaBracio and Saxton similar it, too. Saxton calls it a "tried and true, solid automobile-seat pick." The Chicco Keyfit 35 is an upgrade of the Keyfit 30 and extends the top and weight limits to 32 inches and 35 pounds, respectively. Other notable features include an anti-rebound bar for added stability, a no-rethread harness and easy-extend harness, and the ability to install the seat without the base of operations for on-the-get travel.
If you're looking for an even more upkeep-friendly infant automobile seat, LaBracio recommends Evenflo's LiteMax DLX. "It'south consistently a top selection amid the child-passenger safety technicians for a safe, affordable babe seat," she says. "Information technology has a lot of features that are only found in much more expensive seats, like a load leg, which in a seat that'south a hundred dollars is a huge bonus." (A load leg adds stabilization to the motorcar seat.) Other notable features include a no-rethread harness and adjustable headrest, and it's also lightweight, weighing just nether nine pounds, which LaBracio says is "really light" for an infant auto seat. Information technology can accommodate infants starting at 4 pounds up to 35 pounds.
For a truly innovative infant car seat, consider Maxi-Cosi's Coral XP, which Saxton and LaBracio both say is one of the coolest things they've seen come out of the car seat industry in years. The Coral XP is an integrated motorcar seat and carrier in one, featuring a lightweight inner carrier that nests within the hard beat out of the automobile seat and can then be removed from the outer carrier and slung over the shoulder by way of an attached cross-body strap. This allows y'all to remove the baby from the car seat without having to disturb it. "Infant car seats in general are a huge pain to comport around, as they're heavy, bulky, and awkward," notes LaBracio. "This allows you to pop the insert right out with your baby in it, sling information technology over your shoulder and carry it like a weekender handbag. It's astonishing. Information technology just makes getting around with your little i in an infant car seat and so much easier and quicker and faster." LaBracio adds that the Coral XP is great for older caregivers who might not be able to conduct a big bulky baby automobile seat on their own, and for running into the store for ten minutes. "Y'all can literally swing this over your shoulder and carry your baby like a pocketbook," LaBracio says. Saxton agrees, saying, "This is basically like a machine seat that y'all can baby-wear. You can keep the baby shut to you and you don't have to disturb them and unhook them and do all of those things."
Clek is a premium brand out of Canada, and it recently released their kickoff infant automobile seat, which, according to Saxton, Clek fans have been waiting on for years. "The Liing is admittedly beautiful," she says, adding that the brand brings European rubber standards to the United States, making it an highly-seasoned choice for parents who are really safety conscious. (By and large speaking, European safety standards are college than in the U.South.) Saxton likes that it's got a rigid LATCH organisation, which makes it easier to install for a lot of people.
Convertible car seats, the next stride up from an infant car seat, catechumen from rear-facing to forward-facing modes, and the switch is typically made when your child maxes out of the weight limit of the rear-facing manner. We also suggest the Britax Marathon, which has a ClickTight system that makes it very piece of cake to install in the automobile. Britax in general was a popular choice amid the parents surveyed for this reason. Kenny Fried, the vice-president of Brotman | Winter | Fried tells me, "I bandy my automobile seats from car to minivan, and the farthermost simplicity of the ClickTight arrangement is THE feature. Instead of having to thread the seat belt behind the seat and have a pro install it, yous lift the inside seat upwards (like on a hinge) and then pull the seat chugalug over and click in the seat belt. Takes about 30 seconds to install." This one also has the no-rethread harness Walker suggested, to fit your child as they grow. LaBracio agrees that the no-rethread harness is a plus. If yous wanted even more protection in a crash, you could besides invest in an attachable anti-rebound bar from Britax that works with its convertible car seats in rear-facing mode: It's another characteristic Hoffman recommended for decreasing rebound move in crashes.
LaBracio loves Graco'due south Extend2Fit convertible car seat and calls it a "actually good value for existence under $200." She likes that it has a high rear-facing weight limit of l pounds (with a forward-facing limit of 65 pounds) and says that information technology's "easy to install and it'due south also a great fit for virtually any type of car." Another notable feature is its 4-position adjustable extension console that gives an actress five inches of legroom, which, equally LaBracio notes, ways you can have your child seated rear-facing for longer.
And for something a bit higher-end, consider the Nuna Rava. "Nuna is really big in the car seat marketplace all of a sudden," says LaBracio." Saxton agrees, maxim that Nuna fans are "dice hard." They both note that Nuna's convertible automobile seat, the Rava, is definitely premium, with a price tag of $450 to match, and that information technology's simply sold through specialty stores like Nordstrom. "Nuna is merely beautiful," Saxton says. "There's a lot of things well-nigh it that are really easy to employ, and from a prophylactic perspective, they're bringing in a lot of those European safety standards." LaBracio adds that people love that it has a high rear-facing weight limit of 50 pounds. Information technology also has an extended leg residuum, slim profile, a x-position recline, an easy installation system, and is outfitted in flame-retardant-free fabric, amidst other features. "It's a really loftier quality, lovely seat," LaBracio says.
Healy's pick for an fifty-fifty more affordable (but basic) convertible car seat is the Evenflo Sonus65, which has a rear-facing weight range of 5 to twoscore pounds and forward-facing weight limit of upward to 65 pounds. Information technology also has a compact frame, allowing y'all to install 3 of them across nearly midsize vehicles. "It doesn't accept many bells and whistles but for less than $100, if you are looking for a spare seat for a second vehicle or a seat that yous tin can travel with," it's a good choice, says Healy. She adds that it's worth zippo that Evenflo motorcar seats crave children to exist at least ii years old to ride forward-facing.
And if you're looking for a convertible machine seat that does a flake more, consider the Sirona Southward from Cybex. Information technology's the first 360-degree rotating machine seat to hit the U.S. market, and it swivels from rear- to frontwards-facing at the touch of a push, allowing parents to get their children out of the seat much more than easily. "That characteristic is really peachy because it makes it so much easier to get your lilliputian one out of the seat, especially when they're rear-facing," says LaBracio. This convenience also encourages parents to accept their kids seated rear-facing longer. Plus, when it's time for your kid to sit forrad-facing, you don't have to reinstall the whole thing. "You but literally flip the button, swivel the seat back around and, boom," she says. It also offers an on-the-go recline part, allowing you to adjust the seat up to 12 different positions, even when the child is in the seat. Neuman, who calls the swivel part "truly innovative," also mentions the safety features as "specially impressive": "The load leg stabilizes the automobile seat, the anti-rebound console reduces rebound movement in the event of a crash, its linear side bear on protection absorbs touch on forces and the SensorSafe chest clip alerts you to a number of unsafe situations (similar if you happen to forget infant in the back of the car)."
While this is technically a convertible auto seat (in that it goes from rear-facing to forward-facing), it also has a tertiary stage and can be used in the belt-positioning booster manner. Saxton used this for her child and said she was "delighted with how much I liked information technology," especially for its toll tag of $160. It can exist used in the rear-facing position from 5 pounds to 40, and in the forward-facing position upwardly to 65 pounds. Removing the harness converts it into a booster seat that can adjust up to 100 pounds.
All-in-i automobile seats — seats that convert from infant rear-facing to forwards-facing to booster mode, assuasive a child to use it from birth to 4 years old and older and up to 120 pounds in weight — are gaining in popularity due to their one-and-washed quality. (Instead of buying two or three split car seats (infant, convertible, and booster) over the class of your child's first years, the thinking with an all-in-one is that you can buy only ane and save money in the process.) All the same, it should be noted that one of the experts nosotros spoke to wasn't and so great on them, hypothesizing that the misuse charge per unit of all-in-one auto seats is higher than on other car seats, since there are so many features and parts that they're harder to get right. And if you're going to utilize one car seat over the course of 10 years or so, you should expect to practise some piece of work to keep it clean.
Even with those caveats, there are a couple of new models out at that place that are worth mentioning, similar the Nuna Exec, which both Saxton and LaBracio say will almost probable be a popular choice among Nuna fans. "Ane of my colleagues is testing it out right now, and she loves it so far," says LaBracio. "She said that it was actually easy to install, that the material is beautiful and wipes clean actually easily, and that the padding is really soft." Information technology tin be used from birth (starting at v pounds in rear-facing mode) to upwards to 120 pounds as a booster.
For something a little more than affordable, Saxton and LaBracio both mention that Graco's 4Ever all-in-one car seat is gaining in popularity among parents. It'southward suitable for apply for babies starting at 4 pounds (with a 50-pound rear-facing limit) up to 120 pounds in the booster mode. It besides has a six-position recline, a feature that LaBracio particularly likes.
Neuman's pick for best all-in-i car seat is Britax's One4Life ClickTight car seat, calling it one of her favorites. "It'southward piece of cake to install, cheers to the color-coded belt paths, recline angle indicators and the brand'southward ClickTight technology," she says. Saxton, who also loves Britax's ClickTight line, agrees, saying, "That is what I recommend to my personal friends and family unit." She adds, "Installing a car seat with a ClickTight system is the easiest car-seat installation on the planet." And it'south also piece of cake to use one time it's installed, says Neuman, calling out the seat "that boasts 15 head and neck positions, nine recline positions, and a no-rethread harness." Plus, like many other all-in-1 car seats, information technology can abound with your child through age 10, as it'due south rear-facing from five to 50 pounds, forward-facing from 22 to 65 pounds, and, in booster mode, tin can suit a kid that weighs between 40 and 120 pounds.
Healy is a fan of Evenflo'southward EveryStage DLX all-in-one for its even more affordable price and the fact that it uses the make's EasyClick LATCH system for a tight installation, which she calls "awesome." It's rear-facing from 4 to 50 pounds, forrard-facing from 22 to 65 pounds, and in the high-back booster manner, can suit up to 120 pounds.
A combination machine seat is forrard-facing only machine seat that goes from forward-facing mode with a born five-point harness to a booster seat that uses the car'due south seat belt when the child outgrows the harness weight or pinnacle limit. Saxton'southward favorite in this category is the Britax Grow With You lot car seat (an update of the Peak) because of the ClickTight system. She adds that this seat besides has added side impact and prophylactic-jail cell bear on protection, which are honeycomb compression towers in the base of the auto seat that lower the centre of gravity and reduce forwards move in a crash. Information technology tin can back up kids up to 120 pounds in booster way, and has a steel frame.
Booster seats are the concluding stage in car seats, which is typically going to starting time around the ages of 7 to ten years former, though the weight limit for them is around 110 pounds. Some booster seats will be high-back-simply, backless boosters, or tin can convert between the ii modes: this Clek Oobr one that Saxton recommends is the latter. "What I e'er recommend is a booster with lower anchors, then it attaches to the car," says Saxton. This model has a rigid latch system, so it'due south easy to use, has energy-absorbing foam, and she likewise calls out the fact that it reclines, and so your kid tin can take a nap. "It's got some of the best crash-test results and has a high weight limit, likewise." Neuman agrees, saying, "The condom is outstanding." LaBracio also likes the Oobr, saying that Clek in general makes very durable, well thought-out products, but notes that information technology is an expensive brand.
While the best and safest auto seats are typically sturdier, they're usually non lightweight, which is why many parents finish upwardly buying a split one for traveling in cars and planes. Saxton adds that for car travel, rental car seats are a no-get because you lot never know their history (if they're expired, muddied, or damaged). Here, our experts recommend some popular lightweight, portable machine seats, most that comply with Federal Aviation Administration standards (and if not, we've indicated so). Saxton and LaBracio as well add that it's ever safer for your child to travel on an airplane in a motorcar seat than sitting on your lap (something that the American Association of Pediatrics, Federal Aviation Administration, and National Transportation Safety Board all recommend travelers practice) — fifty-fifty if that means buying an extra seat (babies under ii years old are not legally required to use a car seat in an airplane and usually ride for costless.) "They strap downwards peanuts in a airplane, why not your babe?" LaBracio says.
For an all-in-one traveling unit, you tin't vanquish the Doona baby car seat and stroller (it's basically a automobile seat and stroller in 1). Charlie Stein, brand relations manager at Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, says he used the Doona for his firstborn and that it made existence a outset-time parent much easier. "I have had multiple people ask me what it is, particularly because the Doona fits perfectly in airplane seats, and I say 'Transformers for adults.'" He adds that for car travel, information technology's very easy to install, and clicks to let you know that the car seat is locked in. Information technology does run slightly expensive at $500 for the seat and stroller, but for the streamlined traveling experience, it could exist well worth the investment. Saxton, who used information technology every bit her everyday machine seat (and stroller) when her baby was an baby, agrees, saying that its convenience cannot be beat. One note: Healy says that there's a bunch of apocryphal and knockoff car seats in today's market place, adding that simulated Doonas are especially a problem. Every bit with all things, she recommends doing your due diligence and purchasing your automobile seat from reputable retailers.
In the convertible category, both McCabe and Saxton suggested the eight-pound Cosco Scenera, which is hands accessible in most retail stores. "It's a $40 car seat that you can discover at Walmart," Saxton says. "It's like shooting fish in a barrel to install in planes, can be installed upright and so babies tin have neck control, and comes in a jumpsuit shell, so there are no extra parts you accept to deal with." LaBracio also recommends this car seat for travel, saying that "people honey it. Everyone in the city has ane when their kid ages out of the saucepan seat. Piece of cake to install, no-frills, super affordable, and you lot can bear it." Information technology can be used in the rear-facing position for infants starting at four pounds and upwardly to twoscore pounds in the forwards-facing position.
While Healy admits that it's not the lightest automobile seat, the Graco Contender is her favorite for air travel. She says that information technology's a more basic seat as compared to other Graco convertibles, just what she loves about it is that it has what she calls "an enclosed forrad-facing chugalug path." This characteristic makes it more comfortable for the child when seated forward-facing, considering the aeroplane's big, bulky metal buckle is backside plastic instead of digging into their back. Healy is too a fan of the no-rethread harness. "Y'all literally merely pull the lever up on top and you movement the headrest up and down, and the harness moves with information technology."
For a travel seat, both Neuman and Saxton recommend the Pico from new machine seat visitor WAYB. While information technology it just launched last year, Saxton says that information technology'south already generating a lot of buzz amongst bloggers. "I experience like it's one that everybody wants," she says, "but it'southward just a little scrap pricey." It's a lightweight seat that you tin apply with a five-indicate harness, and can be installed with LATCH or with the seat belt. It weighs just 8 pounds (Saxton says in that location's a picture show of her lifting it with ane finger) with a compact aerospace-grade aluminum frame and tin can be hands folded, stowed, and carried, making it platonic for ride shares and airplane travel. It'due south suitable for children 2 years and older and weighing betwixt 22 and 50 pounds. It'south available for pre-lodge to transport between 4 and six weeks.
Editor'due south note: WAYB issued a voluntary recall of certain Pico car seats later customers reported breaks in the headrest-support tubes (which connect the headrest to the back of the seat). Picos ending in model number -001 and manufactured between February one, 2019, and August 23, 2019, are afflicted, and WAYB is issuing free headrest replacements for any affected auto seats. Read more than here .
For a loftier-back booster seat that's great for travel, Saxton raves virtually the Hifold, which she calls "one of the about innovative things that'south striking the marketplace this year in terms of motorcar seats." "The Hifold is awesome. It's made to global safe standards, and those things fold upward so portably, if yous want to simply stuff information technology in a haversack, for instance," she says. "Merely you lot nonetheless get the security of a high-back booster seat. It'southward super cool." It's three times smaller than a regular booster seat and is adjustable in the seat width, the body width, the head width, and meridian, which, co-ordinate to the website, "ensures optimal seat belt fit and comfort, no matter the size or shape of the child." That ways it can abound with your child, from 33 to 100 pounds. The Hifold was created by the makers of Mifold Grab and Go Booster Motorcar Seat, a tiny, folding booster — "perchance the size of my ii hands next to each other, and that width equally well," according to Saxton, — that instead of lifting upward your child, creates a path for the seat chugalug that hits your kid at the right spot, instead: depression on the hips and across the shoulders. Saxton recommends starting with the Hiback then transitioning into the Mifold every bit your kid gets bigger.
Here'southward a cheaper alternative for a high-back booster seat that McCabe, the Injury Prevention and Safe Kids coordinator for Safe Kids Greater Augusta, with over 20 years of installation experience, recommends. It runs about $twoscore and is only nearly eight pounds, so information technology's very lightweight for travel. This one transitions to a no-dorsum booster seat and has six superlative settings to adjust to your kid, plus a congenital-in cup holder.
For something that'southward so lightweight, you could keep it in your pocket, Saxton, McCabe, and LaBracio pointed united states in the direction of this inflatable Bubblebum travel booster seat, which has a huge following among parents. "This is an inflatable machine seat that's the size of a balloon. A lot of families beloved these for carpool considering it can fit in a backpack," says Saxton. Boosters are not approved to employ in an airplane, but McCabe notes that it's ideal for hopping in cars or Ubers.
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