Additionally, we found it difficult to maneuver a child into the seat, which is perched higher than average. It comes with the super easy Clicthight technology. The weight range is 5-65 pounds. (The panel is not intended for forward-facing use.) Additionally, once we did get the seat unstuck, we were unable to install it tightly in a Honda Odyssey minivan, because the seat belts fabric loop obstructed the locking mechanism. To remedy the issue, owners of affected seats should contact Clek to receive a plastic piece that can be fitted over the buckle area, blocking access to the foam. Theres no additional tightening or snugging of the seat required because the ClickTights internal seat belt lock-off mechanism automatically removes all the slack from the seat belt. When we had visitors and I suddenly needed to put a car seat in the third row of our minivan, I opted for the Foonf out of about eight models in our garage at the time to choose from. The Advocate has one more layer of padding than the Boulevard, and it typically costs about $30 more. All you have to do is pop open the seat in forward facing or rear-facing mode and feed the seat belt or the latch system through. We spoke with 10 experts on car seat safety, policy, and installation. Weve interviewed safety experts, pored over reviews, endured our share of aching muscles from installing literal towers of car seats, and concluded that the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible is the overall best choice. The straps should be tightened snugly on the child and pass the pinch test. To encourage the likelihood of actually keeping kids in that position longer, we also took into account design features that would make the ride more comfortable and the fit better for bigger kidsby creating more room for the child and by providing more space for the caregiver to buckle and adjust the child into the seat. The straightforward installation, whether via seat belt or LATCH, is the same, too. We still think a dedicated convertible seat is the way to go for most families, as weve previously explained. It weighs 33 pounds when its in forward-facing mode, and its a whopping 38 pounds when its in rear-facing mode with the anti-rebound bar and base attached. Its heavy, but thats a compromise you will have to do if you want the safest car seat. Observe your seats size and weight limits. Our friends were coming home from a long road trip. In order to adjust the height of the straps on the Foonf as your child grows, you must slide them off the splitter plate (tucked behind a panel in the seat), thread them through a different slot, and then reattach them to the splitter plate. (Because it can be tricky to get the seat belt tight and locked, we prefer the LATCH install method for this seat.) Then, as youre holding the belt tight, you must close and latch a pair of belt lock-offs, two plastic tabs that fold down over the belt to cinch it into place. All Clek seats last nine years from the date of manufacture before they expire, and they have a three-year warranty, if you register the seat within 90 days (one year if you dont register it). (Seats that dont have a no-rethread harnesslike our also-great pick, the Clek Foonfrequire you to manually remove the straps and then rethread them into higher slots as a child grows taller, which can be tedious.) The Marathon has the same easy ClickTight installation system that we love in the Boulevard. 2022 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company. For a better angle you can use a pool noodle. Not sure where to dispose of an old seat? The Extend2Fit Convertibles LATCH install system can be used for children who weigh up to 45 pounds, the highest LATCH weight limit of any of the seats we tested. Education & Inspiration from Pregnancy through Parenthood. To turn the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 from a five-point harness seat into a booster seat, you remove the bottom crotch buckle strap, move the harness straps behind the padding, and stow away the buckles in a compartment behind the padding. Installing the Foonf in the rear-facing position can be a bit intimidating for a first-timer. Five-point harness child restraint seats are highly effective in reducing the chances of injury and death, Maltese explained. We looked closely at the results of government testing conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA), the federal agency charged with road safety. As with that of the Extend2Fit Convertible, the fabric on this seat doesnt wipe clean as easily as the fabric on our other picks. If you install your seat using the LATCH system, there is a maximum weight limit that you need to be aware of; once your child reaches it, you need to switch over to a seat belt installation. It was an absolute wreck. If they do, then. We evaluated independent crash-testing scores and ease-of-use ratings (when available), as well as the seats individual safety features. With crash protection, youre getting seat rotation on long car rides. Seat dimensions: 18.5 inches wide by 23.7 inches tall (with the headrest in its lowest position), Passenger rear-facing weight and height range: 4 to 50 pounds; head must be at least 1 inch below the headrests handle, Passenger forward-facing weight and height range: 22 to 65 pounds; up to 49 inches tall (the top of the childs ears must also be below the top of the headrest). Both the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (PDF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children stay rear-facing for as long as possible. If you know you want to keep your child rear-facing until theyre 4, or you at least want to give yourself a fighting chance, then you may be better off with the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible or the Clek Foonf: Both have a 50-pound weight limit for rear-facing and design features to help make reaching that milestone more possible. The TrioGrow SnugLock LX has a 22- to 65-pound weight limit for forward-facing riders, and a 40- to 100-pound weight limit for riders in high-back booster mode. But the Foonfs rear-facing install is more complicated than that of any of our other picks, and its weight can be burdensome. The agency doesnt independently test seats before they are first sold but instead conducts what it terms safety compliance testing of multiple seats each year, and it makes its database of results available (though it takes some digging to find and interpret the results for individual seats). If you stick with me until the end, I will tell you the pros/cons. (Our also-great convertible pick, the Clek Foonf, has a 50-pound rear-facing weight limit too.) The car didnt budge. If the baby was unharmed in that crash, then it will protect your little one as well. After careful consideration and consultation with experts, we reached the decision that field testing alone, without crash testing, should dictate our picks within this guide. They dont compare. Once the Foonf is installed, it feels rock-solid, but it may be a better fit for families that dont need to move the seat frequently, especially when its in rear-facing mode. (However, uninstalling the seat with LATCH was easier than usual.) Besides security, it is easy to clean. The Evenflo Stratos has been discontinued; it was an inexpensive seat that we tested in 2018. Guidelines vary widely by brand and model, and if you ignore them, you could cause damage to the materials or textiles, which may compromise their ability to function safely. But for testing purposes, we wanted to see what Clek was bringing to the table.). As with any convertible car seat, the Boulevards hook-style top tether strap should always be used when the seat is installed in the forward-facing position. If you like our runner-up pick, the Britax Boulevard, but want even more padding: The Britax Advocate ClickTight has the same ClickTight installation system, but it adds an extra layer of padding, which makes this seat about a pound heavier. The NHTSA crash-testing data for this seat (PDF) is available, but this exact model has not received an ease-of-use rating. (This seat also comes with an infant insert and can accommodate babies as small as 4 pounds in rear-facing mode only, though many people prefer an infant seat.). You just recline the seat to the appropriate position (there are guides on the seat to let you know how much recline is needed, based on your cars angle and the childs age), push the LATCH clips onto your cars LATCH anchors, and tighten the straps. The seat has low sides, which make it easy to get your child in and out (similar to the Convertible). The Gold Revolve360 also has one of the lowest rear-facing height limits of any we tried, at just 40 inches (our main picks in this guide accommodate kids up to 49 inches). But as of this publication they are all still available. To be clear, theres nothing uniquely wrong with how the Boulevard performs on this frontits 40-pound rear-facing weight limit is on a par with that of many other convertible seats out there. The clicktight system speeds up the seat installation process. (You have to pull the seat belt very tight and then maintain tension while you slide the seat belt into a piece on the side of the seat.) And its easy to mistake other parts of the vehicle, like cargo hooks, for them, but cargo hooks dont have the same load-bearing capacity. According to a spokesperson for Britax, the company is planning to eventually phase out its other fabrics for the SafeWash line. According to pediatrician Alicia Baer of The Car Seat Lady website, with the Foonf, if the headrest were to come off in an accident, the harness system would still be intact. For the first version of this guide, published in 2018, we elected to perform independent crash testing on the convertible car seats we considered to be our top contenders. It was an uneventful drive for our friends and their 13-month-old daughter. Come Live Life With Care. Once theyve been clipped to the cars anchors, the Foonf feels like it has been welded to your vehicle. Theres also a jersey knit fabric in a bold print with black sides, and a natural wool-blend option called mammoth (black fabric, black sides). This is not a flaw thats particular to this seatweve found readjusting crotch buckles to be a nuisance on plenty of other car seatsand youre unlikely to be changing from convertible to booster mode all that often. We commissioned Calspan, an independent lab in Buffalo, New York, to conduct the tests. Like the Extend2Fit Convertible, the 3-in-1 has a no-rethread harness thats linked to the headrest; its smooth and simple to adjust. However, while the Extend2Fit Convertible has a 45-pound rear-facing weight limit for the LATCH install (which we appreciate, since installing this seat rear-facing with LATCH is the quicker and easier method), the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 has a 40-pound rear-facing LATCH weight limit. What can the Britax Marathon ClickTight car seat do for you? (In a crash, if a forward-facing childs shoulder straps are too low, this could cause their collarbones to break, and if a rear-facing childs shoulder straps are too high, the child could slide up the seat.). This seat is easy to install and adjust, and with a generous rear-facing weight limit (50 pounds) and an extendable panel to provide additional legroom as kids grow, its one of the best convertible seats for enabling kids to stay rear-facing longer. The design of Radian seats may help stave off carsickness, as well, since they have an L shape, rather than a more typical C shape. Adjusting the straps could also be hard, and the low shell height and low top-shoulder-harness slots meant that the Tribute could be outgrown early, before a child was ready for a booster seat. Otherwise, the Britax Clicktight car seats are easy to install. With many car seats, getting a tight install relies on human force or skill. Alisa Baer, a pediatrician and co-founder of The Car Seat Lady website, points out that a 2-year-olds head makes up about 18% of their body weight, whereas an adults head comprises only about 6% of their body weight. The NHTSA crash-testing data for this seat (PDF) is available, and Clek also publishes its own crash-testing results for the Fllo; there is no ease-of-use rating from the NHTSA for this seat. Once they weigh more, you must switch over to the seat belt install method. Please always read your vehicle manual and car seat manual to ensure compatibility and proper secure installation and use. That is, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat manufacturer, according to the AAP. The Foonfs chest and crotch buckles function smoothly and without issue. Eventually, my 4-year-old would go on to declare that he liked this seat the best out of any that we testedand I dont think this was merely because his little brother was still coveting it. And we also found it tougher to install than others. The seat has a no-rethread harness, so making height adjustments to the harness straps as your child grows is a quick and easy processno dismantling and rethreading required. After adjusting the pitch of the seat to the appropriate angle for your child, you pull the LATCH connectors out from the base of the seat, align them with the cars LATCH anchors, and click them into place. We're Danny and Linda, husband and wife team. The Foonf was also a favorite among our kid testers, who appreciated how well padded and roomy it felt. The Foonf also comes with an added safety feature: an anti-rebound bar, which is a steel support piece that, in the case of a crash, can help to reduce the rebound motion of the seat. But in general, here are the guidelines: And remember: Your child is growing, so all of these adjustments will need to be made and checked regularly. Additionally, the Radian 3QXTs anti-rebound baran added safety feature that helps to prevent the seat from rebounding in an accidentwas not fully flush to the seat. The chest clip should be resting at the armpit level. We have not tested them because the other Graco models that we did test are more popular and widely available. All of them have the same proprietary, innovative install system, and all of them are by far easier and quicker to install than any other convertible car seat weve come across. Although the Foonf feels roomy to its passengers, this is one of the narrowest car seats on the market, at only 16.9 inches wide, making it a good candidate for families that need to fit three seats across. The Knox comes in four colors, and the Jordan (charcoal) fabric is free of added flame retardants but costs about $50 more. Or you could consider hiring an expert to come to your home to do an installation and training on one or more seats; just be sure that the person you choose is a trained CPST. If your kid isnt bothered by scrunched-up legs, then they dont pose a problemtheres no inherent safety issue. But it is fussier. For the 2022 edition of this guide, I personally installed 12 different convertible and all-in-one seats in the second row of my Honda Odyssey minivan. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing to save people time, energy and money when making buying decisions. Graco makes a number of additional all-in-one seats, including the Graco SlimFit 3-in-1, the Graco SlimFit3 LX 3-in-1, and the Graco Milestone 3-in-1. All car seats sold in the US are self-certified by their manufacturers to pass the NHTSAs strict standards (PDF) for safety testing. Unlike the Extend2Fit Convertible, the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 converts to a high-back booster seat. Britaxs incredibly simple ClickTight installation process helps parents feel confident about every installation. Their install methods are identical, and many of their features are the same. And on both sides of the seat, there are nifty little harness holder pockets, where you can temporarily rest the strap clips while youre getting your child settled in (rather than plunking your child down on top of the straps and then fishing around to locate them again). How comfortable is the Marathon clicktight made by Britax? But its not nearly as narrow as our also-great pick, the 17-inch-wide Clek Foonf. The Graco Extend2Fit Convertible is a well-designed, well-executed convertible car seat that ticks the most important boxes on our wishlist at a great price. It has many of the qualities we like about the Extend2Fit Convertible, such as easy installation and an extendable footrest (which adds legroom to help keep your child comfy in the rear-facing position longer). The marathon clicktight has high safety ratings. The main difference is in the layers of padding throughout the seats. Close the seat and youre done. Subscribe now for unlimited access. There are other limits to keep in mind. The weight and height maximum for the forward-facing position is 65 pounds and 49 inches, respectively. But my sons scrunched-up legs did make it difficult for me to get him buckled in, because I didnt have much room to operate.