When I was looking for a car seat for Mister Awesome I researched for months and ended up getting him the Evenflo Triumph 65 LX. I started researching car seats 4 months ago and realized the changes that have been made in regard to safety. With my son I was told that he should stay rear facing until he was a year old, however, now I understand the importance of extended rear facing. I plan to keep Bunny rear facing at least until she turns 2 (hopefully longer). I searched for the top rated extended rear facing convertible car seats and the three I choose were consistent among forums and reviews.
Graco Smart Seat™ All-in-One Car Seat
The brand is a name I instantly recognized (What the heck is a Foonf?). It can be used from birth to booster, which is cool, but my daughter is past the infant seat stage and if I have another baby it would be before Bunny's out of this seat. I love that this is the last car seat we would have to buy for her. The seat is pretty wide, which is a con for me because I drive a compact SUV and already have one car seat in the back seat. The chair retails for $250 half the price of the Foonf and less expensive than the RXT. The prints this seat comes in are also pretty cool.
Diono Radian RXT
The Diono retails for $270. I fell in love with the Radian RXT when I watched a review on YouTube a while ago. It goes from birth to booster like the Smart Seat, but is slimmer. The RXT got high marks for comfort and has a steel frame. It folds up and straps can be purchased to carry it on your back, however; the seat weighs a little over 26 lbs. After some research I was pretty much sold on the greatness of this seat. However, something did not sit well with me when I found out that the company had re-branded changing the name from Sunshine Kids to Diono. My inquisitive mind just had to find out why. I was expecting to find a lawsuit of some sort regarding safety issues, but it appears that executives at wanted the company to have a name that was more international. I guess Sunshine Kids was not sophisticated enough. Whether its Sunshine Kids or Diono this company makes a great seat. I absolutely love the look of this seat. It's kind of race car-esque.
*I watched a few installation videos on YouTube for the RXT and they raised my concern of whether or not I could handle installing this seat on my own. Most of the YouTubers I watched seems to get frustrated installing the seat rear facing.
Clek Foonf
Then along came the Foonf. When I heard the name I wondered what in the world is a foonf. Now I'm pretty sure that "Foonf" is the sound that's heard when you hit the floor after hearing the price of this innovative seat. This seat retails for about $500, but can be found cheaper in various stores. Unlike the other 2 seats you can't bring home a newborn with this one. The baby has to be able to sit unsupported. On the Clek website is says that the seat is made for children ages 6 months to 6 years old. What really drew me to the Foonf were the height and weight maximums for when the seat is rear facing. These limits surpass all other car seats on the market's rear facing limits, and my daughter would be able to remain rear facing for longer. The fact that the Foonf is 100% recyclable and has a lower toxicity level than other car seats appeals to my crunchiness. The Foonf uses Rapid Energy Absorbing Crumple Technology. This safety feature is a crumple zone much like one you would find in a car reducing the force caused by a collision. With its steel and magnesium substructure it weighs 36 lbs which made me pause for concern, but the ease of installation I observed in various YouTube videos eased my mind a little. However, we're a military family and if any future PCS involves a plane ride I don't believe I would enjoy lugging this heavy seat from terminal A to terminal. I would definitely have to buy a Go Go Kidz Travel-mate.
So which car seat are we going to get??? That's a great question. I'm still not quite sure.We plan to have a decision made this weekend on which car seat to get Bunny, but I'm pretty sure it will be either the RXT or the Foonf. The Smart Seat is a bit too wide and being able to have 3 car seats across is important.
Until next time....
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