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Recaro ProSport Combination Baby Car Seat
The Recaro ProSport Combination Car Seat is a top of the line car seat at the crossroads of safety and comfort. Recaro’s Side Impact Protection system focuses on protecting the five vital regions of your child’s body: the head, face, pelvis, neck and torso.
To serve this purpose, Recaro has enlarged the protective wings on the sides of the ProSport to maximize safety. There is no better protection for your child on the market than the ProSport.
The Recaro ProSport Combination Car Seat is a top of the line car seat at the crossroads of safety and comfort. Recaro’s Side Impact Protection system focuses on protecting the five vital regions of your child’s body: the head, face, pelvis, neck and torso.
To serve this purpose, Recaro has enlarged the protective wings on the sides of the ProSport to maximize safety. There is no better protection for your child on the market than the ProSport.
The Basics: Infant Car Seats
An infant car seat is the most important purchase a new parent can make. A properly installed infant car seat with a correctly fitted five-point harness is essential when transporting a newborn, beginning with baby’s first ride home from the hospital. And, it’s the law: All 50 states require the use of a child car seat. Until a child reaches his or her first birthday and at least 20 pounds, it is required that the child be seated and strapped into a rear-facing car seat when riding in any automobile.
All car seats manufactured and sold in the United States must meet Federal government safety standards. As of September 2002, all new child car seats and vehicles are equipped with a Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system. These LATCH systems are designed to make installation of a car seat easier and safer by attaching it directly to the vehicle instead of using the vehicle’s safety belt to secure it. Rear-facing infant car seats are required to be equipped with lower anchors only.
The majority of infant car seats are designed for infants weighing 5 pounds to 22 pounds, and a maximum of 27 inches to 29 inches tall. A handful of infant car seats unveiled in 2007 accommodate infants up to 30 pounds and 33 inches.
A note of caution: Steer clear of used car seats found at resale shops and yard sales. Unless you know the history of a car seat, and can confirm that it has not been in a moderate or severe crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that you not use it. Plus, new car seats come with a manufacturer’s warranty.
How To Shop
Manufacturers are launching new infant car seat models with a variety of improvements. Energy-absorbing EPS foam lining is becoming more common on many models. Once the gold standard of high-priced infant car seats, now some mid-range seats are offering EPS foam lining. Be aware, however, that some lower priced car seats only offer EPS foam in the head area, while others line the entire car seat in EPS foam.
Watch for an increase in safety-friendly features, including bubble levels to ensure correct installation angles, car seat base leveling feet, and simplified Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) adjustment. Most infant car seats also come with a detachable base that can be separately installed on the rear seat of a vehicle, allowing the infant seat to be transported with ease.
Plus, it’s now a straightforward task to custom-fit the average car seat’s five-point harness, thanks to helpful one-hand adjustment and multiple harness slots that don’t require re-threading harness straps. This is important because if a harness is easy to adjust, busy parents are more likely to continue to properly fit the harness to a growing child.
It’s important to note whether an infant car seat can be used as a car seat without its base. Don’t assume that just because a car seat detaches from its base that it can be used as a separate car seat. Most infant car seats can double as carriers, but few are comfortable to carry for more than just a short distance. A number of infant car seats can be combined with strollers to create travel systems; several stroller brands are now made to universally accept infant car seats. An infant car seat also can double as a rocker or feeding station.
Toy bars, canopies and designer fabrics on car seats are nice touches, but are not necessary to a baby’s safety and can raise the price. Breathable fabrics are important because they are thought to offer a more comfortable cushion for the baby.
Glossary
Adjustable Base
An adjustable base allows you to position your baby properly.
Canopy
Retractable hood that protects against sun, wind, or rain.
Detachable Base
The base stays in the car and you simply lock the seat into the base; the seats can be used with or without the base, but you can purchase additional bases for other cars.
Harness
Three-point harnesses go over the shoulders and crotch; five-point harnesses go over the shoulders, legs, and crotch and are more secure.
Level Indicator
The part of the adjustable base that allows you to see proper positioning.
Tether Strap
A tether is a strap that hooks the top of the car seat to a special, permanent anchor in the vehicle and offer added protection and security in case of accident.
As a forward facing, five-point harnessed car seat, the ProSport will protect your child up to 90 pounds. The ProSport will then convert to a belt positioning high back booster seat for your child up to 120 pounds.
The Recaro ProSport Combination Car Seat is padded with high quality PUR foam for extra cushioning. Aside from the safety effects of this foam, this cushioning has earned the respect of many customers who call the ProSport the most comfortable car seat on the market. Your child will sleep with ease through all sorts of bumps and turns.
Lauded as a very well built, sturdy car seat, the ProSport is sure to keep your child safe in a consistent manner. But the seat is also easy to use. The head restraint can be adjusted with just the turn of a knob. The harness is easily removed to convert the ProSport to a booster seat.
This ease of use, combined with the sturdy, safe build and extremely comfortable padding, earns the Recaro ProSport the number one spot at Baby Car Seat Reviews.
It should be mentioned that some users have found this car seat to be a bit on the bigger side, should that be an issue for you. But if you have the room, there should be no excuse to give up a little bit of room in order to keep your child safe and comfortable.
With this combination of features, we have found the Recaro ProSport Combination Car Seat to be the best on the market.
Product Features
Cotton 60%/Rayon 40%
5 points of protection
Recaro’s Side Impact Protection (SIP) system with its extra large wings
Accommodates children from 20 pounds to 120 pounds
5 point harness accommodates children up to 90 pounds
Remove harness to switch to a high back booster
Britax Frontier 85 SICT Booster Baby Car Seat
The Britax Frontier 85 SICT Booster Seat offers all the same great features of the Frontier 85, with the addition of new protective technology, SICT.
The Side Impact Cushion Technology is Britax’s most advanced protection system. With a slight addition to the protective wings of the Frontier, Britax has managed to drastically reduce the effects of impact in the case of a crash. With SICT, Britax has improved on the already advanced technology of the Frontier 85, whose features follow.
This new technology costs a slightly higher price, which BestBabyCar-Seats highly recommends to keep your baby safe.
Not only is the Britax Frontier 85 SICT one of the safest car seats for your child, it maintains value for years, as it can be converted from a front-facing car seat to a booster seat as your child grows.
Starting at 2 years of age, you child can use the Frontier 85 as a harnessed seat from 25 pounds up to 85 pounds.
The Frontier can then accommodate your toddler as a booster seat while he or she is between 40 and 125 pounds.
The Britax Frontier SICT seat has a solid head support and deep side walls to distribute force in the case of an accident. These factors work to keep your child’s most vital parts, his or her head, neck and spine, especially safe should an accident occur.
The Frontier 85 also boasts Britax’s advanced Versa-Tether system to hold the car seat in place, minimizing the effects of sudden movement on your child. Another Britax technology,
Harness Ultra Guard System or HUGS, works to prevent your child’s head especially from experiencing jerky motion. All of these technologies combined with a sturdy five-point harness provide an incredibly safe car riding experience for your child.
While safety equipment is extremely important in the case of a car accident, Britax also works to keep your child comfortable during typical travel.
The Frontier SICT features a soft foam seat surrounded by a premium plush cover to provide an ideal napping environment, or otherwise a comfy place to ride along.
The cover is also easily removed for cleaning. Also for your child’s comfort are two armrests with cupholders for drink cups or snacks.
The Frontier SICT suits up to ten harness positions to accommodate to your child’s height. This means continued safety for your child as he or she grows, all from one car seat. The harness system can be easily loosened or tightened via the front harness adjuster.
The harness will hold your child in a front facing car seat up to 85 pounds. The belt-positioned booster seat will secure your child up to 125 pounds.
An ideal combination of comfort and safety, the Britax Frontier 85 SICT Booster Seat is a great long lasting transportation aid. Your child will ride cozy and well-protected thanks to Britax’s patent safety technology. The Britax Frontier SICT Booster Seat is highly recommended by Baby Car Seat Reviews.
Product Features
Side impact cushion technology features energy-absorbing cushions on the exterior of the child seat to reduce side impact crash energy by 45%, by diverting crash forces away from your child and providing extra protection for the adjacent passenger
True side impact protection distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, contains the head and body, and keeps the head, neck and spine “in true” or aligned, to limit injury
Energy-absorbing versa-tether features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat
Energy-absorbing base deforms in the event of a crash to absorb impact forces
Energy-absorbing foam Liner absorbs and distributes crash forces
Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Seat
Offering True Side Impact Protection technology, the Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seat is one of the safest car seats on the market. But not only is the Britax Frontier 85 one of the safest car seats for your child, it maintains value for years, as it can be converted from a front-facing car seat to a booster seat as your child grows.
Starting at 2 years of age, you child can use the Frontier 85 as a harnessed seat from 25 pounds up to 85 pounds. The Frontier can then accommodate your toddler as a booster seat while he or she is between 40 and 125 pounds.
The Britax Frontier 85 seat has a solid head support and deep side walls to distribute force in the case of an accident. These factors work to keep your child’s most vital parts, his or her head, neck and spine, especially safe should an accident occur.
The Frontier 85 also boasts Britax’s advanced Versa-Tether system to hold the car seat in place, minimizing the effects of sudden movement on your child. Another Britax technology, Harness Ultra Guard System or HUGS, works to prevent your child’s head especially from experiencing jerky motion.
All of these technologies combined with a sturdy five-point harness provide an incredibly safe car riding experience for your child.
While safety equipment is extremely important in the case of a car accident, Britax also works to keep your child comfortable during typical travel.
The Frontier 85 features a soft foam seat surrounded by a premium plush cover to provide an ideal napping environment, or otherwise a comfy place to ride along.
The cover is also easily removed for cleaning. Also for your child’s comfort are two armrests with cup-holders for drink cups or snacks.
The Frontier suits up to ten harness positions to accommodate to your child’s height. This means continued safety for your child as he or she grows, all from one car seat. The harness system can be easily loosened or tightened via the front harness adjuster.
The harness will hold your child in a front facing car seat up to 85 pounds. The belt-positioned booster seat will secure your child up to 125 pounds.
An ideal combination of comfort and safety, the Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seat is a great long lasting transportation aid. Your child will ride cozy and well-protected thanks to Britax’s patent safety technology.
The Britax Frontier 85 Combination Car Seat is regarded by Baby Car Seat Reviews, but we highly recommend checking out the updated SICT model of the Frontier.
Product Features
Highest 5 point harness seat capacity allows your child to remain harnessed up to 85 pounds or in booster mode to 120 pounds
True side impact protection distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, contains the head and body and keeps the head, neck and spine “in true” or aligned, to limit injury
Patented versa-tether introduces a staged-release tether webbing that anchors the top of the child seat at two points to minimize forward movement in a crash
Quick-adjust head restraint and no-rethread harness easily adjust the harness shoulder height and head restraint without disassembling the harness
Britax Marathon 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat
The Marathon 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat is a convertible car seat by one of the most trusted companies in baby safety, Britax. Marathon 70-G3 will accommodate your baby’s needs in its rear-facing mode from 5 to 40 pounds, and in forward facing mode from 20 to 70 pounds.
The Marathon utilizes Britax’s Side Impact Protection System to protect your baby, should a crash occur. The sturdy, deep seat, lined with dense EPP foam, will surround your baby with a shell of safety and deflect impact energy to minimize the crash impact felt by the baby.
The landmark safety feature of the Marathon is its SafeCell technology. SafeCell Technology is made up of SafeCell material which compresses during a crash to act against the seat’s rotation, preventing head injury. The Versa-Tether strap keeps the seat and your baby from moving forward with a sudden stop.
The top of the seat is secured to the vehicle to stay in place. To further aid against sudden juts forward, the Harness Ultra Guard System uses a chest pad restraint to hold your child securely in place.
The Marathon’s five-point harness system can be adjusted to appropriately suit your child’s height, for maximum comfort and security. EZ Buckle system keeps the harness buckle lined up correctly so that the harness stays in order and untangled.
The Marathon rests on an anti-slip base to keep the seat secure. With the LATCH connectors, installation is simplified while remaining secure, and removing the seats becomes as easy as the click of a button. For ease of use, the plush seat cover can be removed separate from the seat for washing.
Among the top points with which customers are pleased is the comfort provided by the Britax Marathon 70-G3. Also, many users are extremely pleased by the ease of use, from the ability to adjust the straps easily to the simple, quick installation.
With consistently top-notch reviews among users, and no complaints, the Britax Marathon 70-G3 is Baby Car-Seat Reviews’ favorite rear- to forward-facing convertible car seat on the market. With all of its incredible features packed into a car seat that maintains competitive pricing, the Britax Marathon is a no-brainer.
Product Features
100% Polyester
Base with safecell technology designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels the child toward the front seat
Integrated steel bars strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash
Energy absorbing versa-tether features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement
HUGS- Harness Ultra Guard System chest pads provides resistance to forward movement in the event of a crash
Side impact protection comprised of deep side walls lined with energy-absorbing EPP foam distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, and contains the head, neck and body
Diono Radian RXT Convertible Car Seat
The Diono Radian RXT Convertible Car Seat is arguably the most versatile car seat on the market, with the ability to seat your child from birth up to 120 pounds. From rear-facing baby seat to front-facing booster, the Radian RXT is meant to last, as evidenced by its steel frame and aluminum side walls.
The Diono Radian RXT has walls that are reinforced with aluminum and are lined with EPS foam to absorb energy during side impact. With SafeStop technology, the harness provides extra protection for smaller children facing forward to slow their forward motion during quick stops or impact.
This reduction of impact on your child is achieved by utilizing energy absorption in a bungee fashion. In rear-facing mode, the Radian RXT can be tethered to reduce rotation from turns or crashes.
The Radian RXT’s unique feature, of course, is its adaptability. As a 5 to 45 pound baby in rear facing position, a 20 to 80 pound front-facing toddler, and a kid up to 120 pounds, this single car seat has your child protected.
As such an adaptable car seat, the Radian RXT makes use of 12 different height settings to keep you child securely locked in as he or she grows. Diono’s SuperLATCH system makes the Radian RXT compatible with LATCH able vehicles, so you can be sure that your car seat is safely installed every time.
While highly versatile and practical, the Radian RXT remains a slim car seat, and can fit three across in most vehicles.
It can be folded up for easy transportation. In addition to its extreme utility, the Radian RXT also manages to maintain a sense of comfort. Its deep shell allows for a snug fit within the soft padded walls that are covered in plush cloth. An extended seat also provides better leg support.
Despite much praise for its utility, the Radian RXT has received its fair share of scorn about trying to be too much.
Some customers complain that the seat doesn’t quite accommodate the needs of larger children, that the booster seat function isn’t quite sufficient. Others say that the rear facing function is a bit awkward and that the seat works best in forward facing position.
Essentially, the seat tries to be too much at once, thus children at both ends of the spectrum, small and large, may be a bit uncomfortable. Regardless, the Diono Radian RXT is an incredibly versatile car seat, especially given its competitive price.
If you are willing to give up a bit of comfort for your child in favor of the ability to make a one time purchase on a safe, adaptable car seat, the Diono Radian RXT might just be for you.
Product Features
Adjustable head support, reinforced for complete side impact safety
Infant body support cushions
Expandable sides and longer seat bottom for leg support and comfort
12 height positions a for adjustable head support
Fits 3 across in a mid-size vehicle and offers more shoulder space
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