Evenflo recently released a brand new booster seat to the Canadian market. After Evenflo announced the retirement of the much loved Big Kid AMP Booster last year, we have been eager to try its replacement, the GoTime Sport! So far, the kids we’ve had ride in this booster have given it two big thumbs up!

GoTime Sport Limits:

  • 40 – 120 lb (18 – 54.4 kg) in high back booster mode and backless booster mode
  • 44 – 57” (112 – 145 cm) in high back booster mode and backless booster mode
  • At least four years old**

**It is worth noting that only the tallest of four year olds will meet the height minimum of 44?, as 50th percentile kids don’t reach that height until age 5.5 — an excellent age to start thinking about boostering. Most kids don’t have the impulse control or maturity to properly and safely use a booster seat until 5.5-6 years old. Some might be ready sooner, and others not until later. It’s important not to rush this step.

GoTime Sport Important Info:

  • Expires six years from date of manufacture
  • Does not require a vehicle head restraint behind it
  • Highest belt guide position is 19”
  • Shoulder belt clip for use in backless booster mode
  • Machine washable and dry-able
  • MSRP $79.99

GoTime Sport Measurements:

  • Tallest shoulder belt guide position: 19”
  • Lowest shoulder belt guide position: 14”
  • Widest point (at cupholders and side wings): 19.25”
  • Width at the back (arm rest to arm rest): 14”
  • Internal width at shoulders: 12.5”
  • Internal width at hips: 11”
  • Depth of seat pan as high back booster: 13.75”
  • Depth of seat pan as backless booster: 15”

Assembly

The Evenflo GoTime Sport ships in a relatively small box for a high back booster seat, much to my surprise! This is because the GoTime arrives disassembled. Assembly instructions can be found in the manual and additional assembly instructions are included on the “Troubleshooting Your GoTime Booster Assembly” supplement found in the box with the booster. Assembly is an 8 step process for the Canadian version of the GoTime Sport. Set aside a few minutes to read over the instructions in the manual and the additional assembly supplement carefully before getting started.

Especially important is not to miss the step for installing the booster inserts on the back of the GoTime. The booster inserts are mandatory and must be installed before using the GoTime booster in high back booster mode. It may be easy for parents and caregivers to miss this step as it comes after the last step of checking your work in the manual. Do continue reading on to the next page where the instructions for installing the booster inserts are outlined.

Booster inserts – cheekily nicknamed “bat wings” amongst techs getting to know this seat – line up roughly with a child’s shoulder blades, but are attached on the outside back of the seat.


Using the GoTime Sport

When used in high back booster mode, the head rest of the GoTime is easily adjusted. Simply squeeze the grey handle at the top of the head rest and pull up or push down until the shoulder belt guides are at or just above the child’s shoulders. With the GoTime, there’s no need to reach in behind the seat as the adjustment handle is accessible from the front of the head rest. The GoTime has seven headrest positions and the highest shoulder belt guide position is approximately 19”.

When your child has outgrown the shoulder belt guide height in high back booster mode, you can remove the back of the GoTime and continue using it as a backless booster. In backless booster mode, the GoTime has the same height and weight limits as it does in high back booster mode (44 to 57” or 40 to 120 lb). The GoTime comes with a shoulder belt clip for use in backless booster mode. This clip will help position the shoulder portion of the seatbelt properly over the child’s shoulder. It should be used if the shoulder belt fit is not optimal without it.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cup holders on the GoTime. I know for some kids, cup holders can be the deciding factor in choosing their favourite seat. The GoTime has two cup holders that are part of the seat shell. That means they are not removable for washing. They are smooth on the inside though which makes wiping them out easy enough.

Fit to Vehicle

We tried the Evenflo GoTime Sport in a 2017 Nissan Versa Note, 2019 BMW X4, 2016 BMW X5, 2014 Honda Odyssey, 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan with Stow & Go, 2014 Honda CRV, 2015 Toyota Sienna, and 2022 Tesla Model 3.

As the Evenflo GoTime Sport is quite a bit wider than its predecessor, it’s unlikely to be a top pick for tight seating situations (like fitting two seats side by side or fitting three across). That being said, it is narrower in the back than at the front which may allow it to fit well in sport-style vehicle seats that might have more pronounced side bolsters in the outboard seats.

The Booster Inserts (aka bat wings) on the GoTime will keep this booster sitting more upright in some vehicles. In vehicles with seats that are naturally more reclined, the GoTime only seemed a little more upright than other boosters we’ve tried. In vehicles with relatively upright vehicle seats, it was definitely noticeable that the booster was sitting quite upright. An added bonus of these booster inserts is that in vehicles with fixed or forward leaning head restraints, it’s unlikely those vehicle head restraints will make contact with the GoTime or push it forward at all. That’s great news for those with forward leaning head restraints that must remain in place.

If you have a middle vehicle seat with an arm rest or cup holder that pulls down from the seat back, you may find that the booster inserts of the GoTime sink into the seams/edges of that stored arm rest/cup holder assembly in the vehicle seat back. I found this to be the case in a 2017 Nissan Versa Note where the width of the booster inserts just happened to perfectly match the width of the arm rest/cup holder pull down when it was stored in the seat back. The GoTime booster inserts did sink into the seat back in this vehicle, but after sending photos to Evenflo, this was given the okay. This was a non-issue in the other vehicles I tried the GoTime in as the booster inserts didn’t line up perfectly with those middle seat arm rests/cup holders in the other vehicles.

We were pleased to see that the GoTime Sport fit so nicely in the 2022 Tesla Model 3. It has been challenging to find booster seats that work well in this vehicle as it has fixed forward leaning head rests, pronounced side bolsters, and recessed fixed buckle stalks. The narrow back of the GoTime Sport base meant it did not sit on top of the buckle and it left lots of room for easy buckling. The Booster Inserts (aka bat wings) kept the GoTime well in front of the vehicle head rest so there was no interference.

The only difficulty we experienced with the GoTime in any of these vehicles was in the third row outboard seats of the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan – known for its notoriously challenging seat belt geometry. In the outboard positions (driver side and passenger side), belt retraction was poor. That means that when the child leans forward slowly (nose to knees) and then sits back upright quickly, the shoulder portion of the seatbelt lagged behind the child and remained loose. Good belt retraction is a key component of proper booster fit, and we want to see that shoulder belt stay with the child’s torso and remain snug against their body when they sit back upright. For this reason, we would not recommend using the Evenflo GoTime Sport in the 3rd row outboard seats of this generation Dodge Grand Caravan, or in any other vehicle seating position where retraction is poor.

As with any new car seat or booster seat you intend to purchase for your children and your vehicle, we recommend trying it out before buying.

GoTime Sport High Back Booster

We recommend that children remain in their high back booster until they outgrow it. Belt fit in a booster, whether that’s a high back or a backless, is key to booster fit. In our experience, belt fit is best in a high back booster. Regardless of whether your child is riding in a high back booster or a backless booster, proper belt fit is the same: the lap belt should be low across the thighs and hips, and the shoulder belt needs to make contact with the chest, cross the collarbone, and sit centred on the shoulder.

The advantage to a high back booster seat, especially for new booster riders, is that the back of the booster provides a physical reminder to the child to sit upright for the whole ride, every ride. The headwings also help prevent a child who has fallen asleep from slumping or leaning out of position. If you have a child who still sleeps in the car, teach them to look up at the ceiling of the vehicle when they feel sleepy. This will help ensure they remain upright in their high back booster seat even if they fall asleep. The headwings and sidewings of the GoTime Sport Booster are nice and deep, providing great support to keep a child properly positioned and minimizing the likelihood a child can lean side to side out of position.

Our GoTime Sport testers are 6 years old, 46lb, and 48″; 7 years old, 47lb, and 47″; 8 years old, 52lb, and 50″; and 10 years old, 62lb, and 53″. (Special thanks to Lindsay of Car Seat Cubs for sharing her 6 year old GoTime tester with us.) All four of our testers can still use the GoTime Sport in high back booster mode. The 10 year old needs the headrest in the highest of the 7 positions, but the 6 and 7 year olds have lots of room to grow.

Despite their depth, none of our testers found the headwings to feel confining. They found the cover to be comfortable, even for longer drives, and I’d have to agree. The padding does feel soft and squishy and I can’t press down and easily feel the hard shell of the seat through the seat pad.

Buckling up the GoTime is really simple. The armrests are surprisingly short making the routing for the seatbelt quite open. This made it easier for our 7 year old tester to buckle himself into the seat (something he still needs help with in other boosters). There’s an indentation under the armrests that the seatbelt nestles into, ensuring it’s not going anywhere during the drive.

The GoTime Sport’s seat pan in high back booster mode has a nice depth. It’s not so deep that the 7 year old’s knees can’t bend nicely over the edge of the booster, but it’s not so shallow that the 10 year old’s thighs feel unsupported. It’s a great balance.

Belt fit at the shoulder was excellent for our testers. Our 7 year old tester has narrower shoulders, and finding a booster that positions the shoulder belt centred on his shoulder has been a bit of a challenge. No problems here with the GoTime. Belt retraction is also excellent in high back booster mode for both children in the majority of the vehicles we tried (see my note above regarding the 3rd row outboard seats of the Dodge Grand Caravan).

Although the GoTime Sport does look to be more upright in high back booster mode than other boosters, none of our testers complained about this. The overall comfort of the seat certainly seemed to outweigh the more upright seating position.

GoTime Sport Backless Booster

I quite like the Evenflo GoTime Sport in backless booster mode, and our 10 year old tester does too. As a backless booster, the GoTime is comfortable and supportive. The seat pan is fairly deep at 15”, offering plenty of support for a child’s thighs.

Our 10 year old tester still has 4” to grow before he’s outgrown the height limit of the GoTime in backless booster mode. With a maximum height limit of 57” (or 4’9”) the GoTime should get many kids to the height where they can ride safely using the adult seat belt without a booster. In general, kids need a booster seat until they are at least 4’9” and they pass the 5-step test for seat belt readiness. You should expect your child to need a booster of some kind until they are between 10 and 12 years old. At 53” tall, our 10 year old tester has some time before he’ll be ready to ride without a booster seat. Some kids will need a booster seat beyond 57” before they can safely 5-step in their vehicle, so it would be nice if the GoTime had a higher standing height limit than 57”. That being said, boosters with a higher standing height limit are few and far between.

Our 10 year old tester does not need to use the shoulder belt clip with the GoTime in backless booster mode. Belt fit across the shoulder is good without that clip. Our 7 year old tester, on the other hand, does need that shoulder belt clip. Our 7 year old tester is a couple years away from riding in a backless booster on a regular basis, but for testing purposes we tried him in the GoTime in backless mode. Belt fit is great with the shoulder belt clip for him, and he found the seat comfortable.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Evenflo GoTime Sport is a great replacement for the Evenflo Big Kid AMP. Its open belt path makes routing and buckling the seatbelt a breeze, even for new booster riders. The cover feels plush and comfy and even long drives garnered no complaints about comfort from our testers. The seven head rest positions provide a fit that grows with your child, allowing the seat to be used in high back booster mode for a good long time. Though we would prefer to see a top height for the shoulder belt guide that’s higher than 19” for this high back booster, it was more than sufficient for our testers. Our own 10 year old tester has not yet outgrown the back of the GoTime Sport, though he has long legs and a slightly shorter than average torso. The cup holders and sidewings of the GoTime Sport are fairly wide at 19.25” making this a booster that’s less likely to fit side by side with another seat or three across. With that limitation in mind, we still think the GoTime Sport booster is a great choice. The Evenflo GoTime Sport retails for $79.99 which makes it a nice price point for a long lasting booster that fits well in most vehicles.

Also available is the Evenflo GoTime LX. The difference between the Sport and the LX, according to Evenflo is minimal. “The use, child fit and key features are consistent between the two. The big differences are primarily aesthetics of hard goods and soft goods (which is easier to see when the product is side-by-side.”

Your chance to win one!

Thank you to Evenflo for providing the GoTime Sport used in this review. All comments are our own.

Also thank you to Evenflo for offering one up to our readers! Enter for your chance to win an Evenflo GoTime LX in Chardon Black fashion. Use the widget below to enter.

 

About the author:

Originally from Vancouver, Stefanie spent twelve years in Calgary and moved back to BC with her family in 2018. A CPST since 2017, she now lives in Victoria with her cat, husband, and two boys (aged 10 and 7). Stefanie is available for in-person car seat checks in Victoria. You can book with her right here.

Updated July 2023 with details about the Evenflo Revolve Extend and Evenflo Revolve Slim; this review originally was focused only on the original Revolve, specifically the GOLD edition.

I had the chance to use the Revolve 360 Rotational All-in-One car seat for a few weeks when I had a friend and her young child visit…and the short version of this review is that I love it.

I started drafting this review in my head before I actually sat down to write it, and distracted myself with witty titles, usually involving songs with ‘spin, revolve, or around’ in them, and of course that sent me down the rabbit hole and I listened to all sorts of songs I didn’t know existed. And do you see that I settled on the really exciting “Evenflo Revolve 360?” Sigh. Anyway…

I also noticed recently that Walmart had the Revolve on sale for $360 and I wondered if that was someone in marketing or sales being really crafty. Good for them (and a smoking deal too). So many interesting ways to put a clever spin on this seat (haha, see what I did there?), but it doesn’t need slick marketing to convince me. It’s well-designed, it’s nice to use, and it offers some super features. Of course it has limitations, as do all seats, but it’s a really interesting choice and a game changer when accessibility is needed.

This review features the Evenflo Revolve 360 GOLD but the standard version has many of the same features and I will point out where the GOLD differs. Updated July 2023: also watch for updates for where the Revolve Extend and Revolve Slim differ.

Who will fit in this seat?

Original RevolveRevolve ExtendRevolve Slim
Weight limits4 - 40 lb rear facing
22 - 65 lb forward facing
40 - 120 lb booster
4 - 50 lb rear facing
22 - 65 lb forward facing
40 - 120 lb booster
4 - 50 lb rear facing
22 - 65 lb forward facing
Height limits17 - 40" rear facing
28 - 49" forward facing
44 - 57" booster
17 - 48" rear facing
28 - 49" forward facing
44 - 57" booster
17 - 48" rear facing
28 - 49" forward facing
Top harness height19"19"19"
Age requirementsage 2 - forward facing
age 4 - booster
age 2 - forward facing
age 4 - booster
age 2 - forward facing

As always we appreciate Evenflo’s minimum age limits and promotion of best practice. Don’t rush through the stages!

Highlights and features:

  • It rotates! That’s the game changer here. A full 360° at times.
  • SensorSafe alert system (GOLD), more on that later
  • Tether is integrated to the base so it’s potentially a one and done installation – or easily swapped between differently-sized users (grandkids, perhaps – or a daycare, or family support agency)
  • Hook-style UAS connectors (standard), premium UAS connectors (GOLD) 
  • Plush, removable, machine-washable padding
  • Harness heights between ~7” and ~19”
  • Booster seat shoulder belt guide max height ~19.5”
  • Width at widest point: Original & Extend 19.8″, Slim 16.7″ 
  • Dual dishwasher-safe cup holders 
  • Range of recline angles (some variations between models, see details below)
  • Easy-to-use LockStrong seat belt tensioner (not a lock-off…more on that later)
  • Multiple crotch buckle positions
  • No-rethread harness
  • Tidy storage for all the things (UAS connectors, tether, harness)
  • 10 year expiry
  • MSRP: $549.99 base price to $749.99 depending on model and trim level
  • Available at major retailers
  • Did we mention it rotates?

Fit to vehicle

Evenflo Revolve 360 installed in a vehicle with the door open, and rotated to load
White hand with red and pink sleeve cuff showing grabs a handle labeled lift to rotate

So the rotational feature first. We know that’s what draws your attention as it certainly did ours. It’s visually interesting and I had several people approach me in parking lots while I was loading or unloading to ask me what it was, and I was happy to share my thoughts. 

The rotation is easy to use. You can rotate a full circle in one of the recline settings, but you don’t need to so don’t worry about the fact that you can’t in all three rear-facing recline settings. You are really only going from side-loading to rear-facing travel, and back again. If you do try to force it all the way around when it is not on the setting where that’s possible you might jam it. Evenflo has instructions for how to unjam it, but best to avoid that situation. You must never, ever drive with the child side-facing, that is not a travel mode and is very unsafe, and if you are driving without a child in the car with you make sure to rotate it into a stable, locked position even when empty.

You might be able to rotate it one-handed, or may need a second hand to guide the turn. It will depend on your dexterity and the weight of your child and how cooperative they are. It’s a smooth motion but toddlers and preschoolers with boots on will need to lift their feet a bit to avoid bumping up against the base. As kids get heavier the rotation will require more effort to manage.

Young white child with brown hair wearing black pyjamas is buckled into a car seat

I drive a Honda Odyssey, which means I have plenty of roof clearance, and a sliding door. This makes for great access to my 2nd row and if you have been resisting a van let me tell you, I’m never going back. Team Loser Cruiser all the way. I really enjoyed the access and ease of loading with the Revolve 360 and my van. I could use the floorboard as a staging area to remove my little buddy’s coat (practice safe winterwear people, even in Winnipeg when it’s -30℃, which was a lot of days last winter), lift him straight up into the seat, get him buckled, remove boots, coat back on like a blanket, and then rotate into the locked travel position. I am over 40 and getting more decrepit by the day, so my out-of-practice toddler-wrangling self appreciated not having to hoist and twist sideways to load a toddler. 

Generally, the Revolve 360 is better-suited to vehicles that have more front-to-back space, but I also tried it with my Honda Civic, and it was highly functional there too with my 5’8” self sitting comfortably in front of it. 

You may find the rotating feature handy if you have children riding in the 3rd row. Larger vehicles may have enough room for kids to walk past a rotated Revolve 360 installed in the second row, to access the 3rd row. 

The Revolve 360 is likely not a good choice in super compact vehicles but it’s worth a try if you really want to make it work. Yes, you could even install it in the middle (where rear-facing seats tend to have more front-to-back space to work with) but by doing so you’d really lose the functionality of the rotation because you’d be leaning into the middle seat to load. 

The Revolve 360 is not going to have room to rotate if installed directly next to another car seat, so if you are looking at a 3-across the Revolve is not a good choice. The possible exception to this is if you go with the Revolve Slim (it is among the very narrowest of seats on the market at only 16.7″ wide at the widest point!), and are rotating it next to an infant base. This is so dependent on the specific vehicle and seat combinations that it’s worth a try if you’re desperate to not replace your car.

Evenflo Revolve installed rear facing in a Civic; head rest is fully extended
Evenflo Revolve installed rear facing in an Acura MDX with black interior

Accessibility:

This seat has caught the attention of those who require more accessibility than a traditional car seat tends to offer. If you or another caregiver have any difficulty lifting, the ability to load straight-on will be a great feature for you. 

If you just want the convenience of that – that is also a valid reason to buy one!

Further, if the child you are transporting needs help to get into their seat, and their weight or mobility makes that a challenge for you, consider this seat, especially if you drive a vehicle with lower roof clearance. The rear-facing weight limit of 40 lb on the original Revolve won’t be a long-term solution for kids who need to ride rear facing beyond that time, but it’s something to consider if it makes loading and unloading easier. Note that the Extend’s rear-facing weight limit of 50 lb does, ahem, extend this time frame somewhat, but the shell height and child fit are essentially the same – so this added weight limit is only useful for shorter, heavier kids. Slight variations may occur with different trim levels that have certain padding options.

Rear-facing recline:

The Evenflo Revolve 360 has a weight-based rear-facing recline range, and three mechanical recline positions that you set with a handle. You should have no difficulty attaining the required recline position unless your vehicle seat is extremely sloped or extremely flat. If that describes your vehicle then please please try before you buy, and make sure you can use the seat throughout the entire weight range and not just for the size your child currently is.

Note: the original Revolve and the Revolve Extend require the seat to be more upright at higher weights. The Revolve Slim allows the seat to be more upright, but does not require it. 

Super smart base design:

When you install a lot of car seats like I do you quickly notice if a feature is awesome, or not so much. The base on the Revolve 360 is definitely in camp awesome. This base is not like the base on an infant seat:, although the seating area part of the Revolve does come off (it’s called the shell in the manual) they can’t be used separately. When the shell comes off it looks like a weeble and must be laid gently on its side. I do worry a bit – possibly unfounded – that the rotating mechanism could get gritty or gunked up with sand, food crumbs, etc., so if it were me I’d take dirty boots off, and I’d vacuum regularly (haha, yeah, vacuuming regularly is not a thing I do in my car, to my spouse’s disgust. But you definitely should). 

Evenflo’s designers knocked this one out of the park, and here’s why:

  • It’s easy to install using either the seat belt or UAS (not both).
    • Note: when installing with the seat belt make sure the UAS connectors are stored, and also fully loosened so a snug strap doesn’t interfere with the seat belt and LockStrong mechanism. 
    • Note: seat belt ‘buttons’ or ‘loops’ (features to prevent the latch plate from sliding down to the floor) can be difficult to manoeuvre around. And unfortunately you won’t know it’s a problem until you see exactly where it hits the LockStrong mechanism. Another reason to try before you buy.
  • The storage locations for the UAS connectors are intuitively located and nicely integrated into the base. 
  • The LockStrong belt-tensioning arm makes getting a tight seat belt installation easy by using the mechanical advantage of the lever. It’s not a lock-off though, so don’t forget to switch the seat belt to locking mode or using the locking latch plate on your seat belt.
  • Excellent red/green markings let you know if the arm is locked or not (this theme repeats elsewhere on the seat). 
  • The tether for the seat is part of the base, and is required in both rear- and forward-facing modes
    • That means you must install it only in a seating position in your vehicle where there is a tether anchor, even when rear facing. If you aren’t sure, check your vehicle manual for this information.
    • That means that you can rotate the seat between rear- and forward-facing modes without uninstalling anything. It literally takes 5 seconds to swap between modes, which is an excellent feature for someone who transports kids of different ages and stages, such as daycare providers, grandparents, or family support workers.

Comfort features:

If you are a first-time parent and are reading up on what seat to get your little one…spoiler alert. Kids are messy. Even if they never eat in the car (which I suppose is possible, although I was never successful!) they shed kid detritus constantly. Messy hands, messy footwear, crumbs, sand, you get the idea. Of course you can limit the damage with a brand-approved under-seat mat, or a towel to protect the upholstery, but that’s just harm reduction really. There will still be mess. See my note above about some concern about grit getting into the rotation mechanism.

Like most (all?) Evenflo seats the soft goods (cover, pillows, padding, harness covers, etc) can be removed and machine washed. Always check for specific cleaning instructions in your car seat manual, usually near the end.

Cup holders are dishwasher safe. You will appreciate this fact when you realize the flowers or the really cool dead bug your child found at the park were left in the car, along with a handful of goldfish and the granola bar they took a bite of, didn’t like, and spit out. Yummy.

Harness covers:

Kids who don’t like things at their neck may not like the feel of the harness strap pads of the original Revolve – and they will seem really large on a small baby. The harness covers though are entirely optional and easily removed.

Original: The harness has two separate components at the neck area. The harness strap pads are permanently attached to the car seat and help to position the harness correctly on the child’s body. The harness covers are for comfort, and may be removed. It may take a bit of practice to get used to adjusting and manipulating the two different pieces but it gets easier the more you do it. 

Extend & Slim: No integrated harness strap pads, and the harness pads are optional and removable.

Check out Evenflo on YouTube for videos of the Revolve 360 in action.

Quick Clean cover (on some models):

Some Revolve models (the Extend is shown here) have a Quick Clean cover that makes it easier to remove and wash only the part of the cover that is dirty. Seats with this feature will have this orange tag readily visible on the front top corners of the seat.

Fit to child:

My kids are big now, so thank you to Canadian CPSTs who provided photos of their kids in this seat.

Always make sure a car seat is as reclined as allowed for newborns – this protects their airway. Pay careful attention to instructions for how to position the body pad for a small baby. When fully reclined the Revolve 360 takes up a fair bit of front-to-back space, so make sure your vehicle can accommodate it before intending to use it from birth. 

Some users found it a bit tricky to centre their floppy newborn on the slightly side-angled seat when loading. Older kids experienced this less, but take the time to position your child before buckling.

Rear facing:

The Revolve seats will fit most kids who are between 4-40 lb and 17-40” tall (original), and the additional height and weight of the Extend and Slim (4 – 50 lb and up to 48″ tall) will provide more use for kids who are heavier for their age, or who carry more of their height in their legs. The shell heights are comparable across all versions so all versions of this seat are the shortest lasting for long-torsoed kids, or for those who have big heads and/or long necks. And here’s why (this applies to any rear-facing seat with a no-rethread harness): when rear facing, the harness is positioned at or below the child’s shoulders AND there must be car seat head rest or shell (varies by model) above the head, usually at least 1″. This is to keep the child’s head contained and protected in a crash. With this type of seat, when you raise the head rest to get more coverage, you also raise the harness height…potentially to above the child’s shoulders. If you are not sure how your child is fitting you should absolutely reach out to Evenflo for support.  

The harness has ample length for most kids in that range, and there is lots of legroom. 

Young white child is buckled rear-facing in a car seat; he is wearing a grey toque, black sweater, blue pants, and red boots. He is holding one finger up near his face

Forward facing:

This seat has one recline position when forward facing, and it is fairly upright. The harness height is very tall – among the tallest of available Canadian seats! – but the interior space at the shoulders, and crotch buckle length may get uncomfortable for kids at the higher end of the weight limit.

Booster seat mode:

While the original and Extend versions of this seat do convert to a booster (quite easily, with handy storage for the harness so you don’t lose any parts) in most cases the booster mode will be outgrown shortly after the harness mode is outgrown (by height). It would be a very petite 10yo who fits in the Revolve 360 as a booster seat, and while most kids of that age do still require a booster seat for the adult seat belt to properly (and safely!) fit them, they also tend to have strong opinions about what they ride in and what is cool (or not). Consider this a back-up mode should it ever be needed, but it is rare for families to use it beyond the forward-facing stage. This is true for any 3-in-1/all-in-one seat: nice to have, great if it’s needed, but not a daily rider.

Neither of the experienced booster riders below could buckle themselves due to how high the Revolve 360 sit up off the vehicle seat, however, the belt fit was excellent on both of them. They have nearly outgrown it though, by shoulder height. 

SensorSafe:

Available on a range of Evenflo seats, SensorSafe is an added safety feature intended to reduce the incidence of hot car deaths (hyperthermia) and other in-vehicle safety concerns. It works with a unique bluetooth-enabled chest clip, a mobile app, and on some products (including this review seat) a piece that Evenlfo calls a dongle that plugs into the OBD port on your vehicle. If you’ve ever had an emissions test or run your own diagnostic test on an error code on your vehicle, that’s what you plugged into. It’s on the underside of your steering wheel area, near the driver’s knees, and requires no special skills to install.

From Evenflo: “SensorSafe…monitors the well-being of your child through a smart chest clip that syncs up with your smartphone via Bluetooth (and on some older versions, a vehicle dongle that plugs into your OBD port). Breathe easier knowing that the SensorSafe mobile app will send you a notification in real-time if:

  • Your child unbuckles the chest clip while the car is in motion
  • The back seat has become too hot or too cold (above 35°C or below 7°C)
  • Your child has been seated for too long (more than 2 hours)
  • You’ve accidentally left your child buckled in the car

Read all of the SensorSafe FAQs here.

SensorSafe is not available on all versions of the Revolve. How do you know? Look for the white chest clip, shown here on the Evenflo Revolve Slim.

I downloaded the app and installed the dongle and got myself set up to use SensorSafe. It was very straightforward, with plenty of help text and how-tos integrated into the setup (see screenshots above). Note: the dongle version has been phased out and all current seats are set up to communicate directly with your smart phone via Bluetooth.

My little buddy (age 2.5) was delighted to discover that the system sings, and the notifications to the app were immediate. I played around with some of the settings, and I liked that I could have multiple car seats loaded into one app. This would be handy if I had multiple kids with seats in multiple vehicles. 

I also really liked the safety aspect of setting up a cascade of emergency notifications to people I pre-selected should it have been necessary. This works a lot like a safe arrival program at school or daycare, where if the first person on the list doesn’t respond the rest get notified in order. And, since you have location services enabled on the app, your contact list will be notified in short order about exactly where you were when it pinged. My physical location is redacted for privacy on the screenshot here but the lat/long it reported was exactly where I was when I captured this, and I didn’t have real family members set up to test, but you get the idea.

So in theory it would go like this. You drove to work, and because it was not your usual routine, you forgot you were on daycare drop-off that day, so your brain took over and did what you usually do: parked the car, grabbed your bag, and walked into your building. As soon as you got out of range of the buckled chest clip the app would notify you on your phone. Let’s say you didn’t respond right away by clearing the notification – it was loud and you didn’t hear it and got distracted by the cute puppies in the lobby of your building…SensorSafe would then contact the people on your emergency list to tell them that there’s a child in the seat and GPS coordinates of where. If your contact tried to call or text you and you didn’t answer they could call 911 or other help and know exactly where you were parked. 

Once I walked away from my van to put my garbage cans back into the garage before driving away, and that was too far for the app’s settings; most people are going to want to choose a bigger buffer before getting notified. I also laughed at the temperature range. It was March in Manitoba but it was still well below freezing. Being constantly reminded that it was cold is a feature that did get a bit annoying. Thanks SensorSafe, I live in Winnipeg, I KNOW. I didn’t use it in hot weather to see how sensitive it was to temperature on the warm end of things. 

Originally designed to alert the user if the chest clip was buckled, and then not unbuckled after a drive (simulating leaving a child in a hot vehicle), SensorSafe has smartly evolved to do more than just note the chest clip situation. It will also:

  • Notify if you walk too far away from the vehicle and it senses there is still a child in the seat (via the buckled chest clip)…this assumes your phone is with you. It’s communicating with the phone of course, not you. But whomst among us doesn’t have a phone glued to their body at all times?
  • Your child unbuckles their chest clip while the car is moving. This can be helpful if your child is an escape artist, but will only notify you, and of course you are driving. Have a plan for how to address this behaviour to make it stop.
  • The back seat is too hot or too cold. 
  • If you’ve been driving for more than 2 hours, as a reminder to take breaks. I didn’t take any trips of this length to test this notification.

Final thoughts:

The Revolve is a very nice option for those with room to rotate, offering smart design and comfort features to make loading an unloading a breeze. Whenever possible, test fit before buying to make sure there is room to rotate, and that you can properly install both rear- and forward-facing in your vehicle. 

Your chance to win one!

Thank you to Evenflo for providing the Revolve 360 GOLD (as well as the Revolve Extend and Revolve Slim) used in this review. All comments are our own.

Also thank you to Evenflo for offering one up to our readers! Enter for your chance to win an Evenflo Revolve 360 in Amherst fashion. Use the widget below to enter.

About the author:

Jen Shapka has been a CPST since 2010. She lives in Winnipeg with her two dogs, husband and kids, and a winter that never ended. It snowed a few days before writing this review. 

Prize grid with day 12 of 12 showing, winner's choice!This event is now over but please scroll down to enjoy our poem!

It’s time to give back to our readers, contributors, fans, families, and caregivers, in thanks for engagement over our many years of providing Canadian child passenger safety information.

COVID Times are a challenge and maybe winning something fun and useful will brighten your day. For sure it will brighten ours – we love giving things away.

Beginning the morning December 13th through to the 24th we’ll post a new giveaway that will be open until midnight Pacific that night; the next morning we’ll draw a winner and post a new giveaway. Twelve days in a row!

Earn entries by sharing, liking, and generally spreading around our car seat and booster seat information. After all, we wrote it for you! Go digging and you might find some content you’ve never seen before.

Check back here each day for a new entry and a new prize, and make sure to follow our posts on Facebook so you don’t miss a single one. Find the follow settings (three little dots near the thumbs up page like button) and check or click on the ‘following’ option so you see our posts higher in your newsfeed and not days later…because by that time the contest will be over!

And now, a poem:

The board was all covered at T-minus-1,
You must wait until Sunday to start up the fun!

Today is the day when the giving begins!
A wee little intro to start off the wins.

Day two is a two pack, hurray, how neat!
To suit a big and a little all snug in their seats.

Day three we hope for you to never need,
If necessary though you’ll have sharpness and speed.

Day four is for cleaning because kids are a mess,
You will be glad of this kit you possess.

Day five is a twofer, a two-pack, a pair,
You can keep two or give one, a spare or to share.

Day six is a newbie, a small little seat,
It’s slim and it’s low and we think it’s quite neat.

Day seven keeps kiddo so warm and so toasty,
But safe and not squished and happy, mostly.

Day eight is compact and lightweight and wee,
Fits well for newborns and at 1, 2, or 3!

Day nine is for those of you growing your crew,
For your first or your fifth we’ve got you, it’s true.

Day ten, day ten! Who is booster-seat ready?
We really just wanted to rhyme with spaghetti.

Day eleven is here with a great little choice,
It’s slim and compact and it’s really quite noice.

Day twelve, we made it, we’re here at the end!
And now it’s your choice, on what will you spend?

13 days in a row we composed stanzas and tweets,
We raffled and posted and it was quite the feat.

The graphics were done, in advance, and with care,
In the hopes that our readership all would click share.

It was super fun for us as the car seat fairy,
To make this time of year more joyous and merry.

We hope that you found some new info to read,
An article or favourite list, something helpful indeed.

We loved all the comments, the likes, and the questions,
So we could share our knowledge with car seat suggestions.

The fun is now over, it’s time to relax.
Enjoy all the prizes, the wins, and the sass.

Congrats to the winners, and thanks for the fun.
We’re going to go rest now…we’re spent, we’re done!


1st Day of Giving:

The winner of the Unbuckleme car seat helper tool is: Stephanie G.! This tool is great for those with reduced hand strength who find pressing the crotch buckle release button to be a challenge.

2nd Day of Giving:

The winner of the Evenflo Generations 2-pack (Sonus 65 + Big Kid Amp) is: Michelle H.!

3rd Day of Giving

The winner of the ResQme pack is Amanda V.! We hope you never need to use this!

4th Day of Giving

The winner of the Clek car seat cleaning kit is Colleen R-C. Don’t wait until spring cleaning to use it!

5th Day of Giving

The winner of two Harmony Youth Boosters is April Z. What colours will you choose?

6th Day of Giving

Erin M. won a Graco RightGuide booster seat. Yay!

7th Day of Giving

Eran J. won a BuckleMe Baby Coat in a colour and size of her choice. Cozy!

8th Day of Giving

Shannon C. is the winner of the Cosco Scenera NEXT.

9th Day of Giving

Anna B. is the lucky winner on day nine, for an Evenflo LiteMax. Woohoo!

10th Day of Giving

Anne L. wins day 11, a Britax SkyLine booster seat.

11th Day of Giving

Katie R. won the Graco Contender! And no one commented on our Brooklyn 99 reference. Oh well.

12th Day of Giving

Kelsey G. is the lucky winner of the twelfth and final prize.

Thanks to everyone who played!

Happy new year! It’s been a tough year for some, a great one for others. Regardless, we’d like to celebrate, and thank you for doing your Amazon shopping through our links, most often our weekly Friday morning sales post on Facebook.

Over the weeks our fund builds, and allows us to buy seats for families in need. We have supported:

  • Roadside stops, in cooperation with law enforcement, where instead of fines and tickets, families get support, education, and where needed, a new replacement seat to replace their unsafe one.
  • CPSTs across Canada, working with a family in need of a little help purchasing a new seat. A new seat and help installing it is our favourite way to work.
  • Full or partial CPST training scholarships to those wanting to become a technician, but are struggling to fund their course fee. Sometimes funding students also means that an instructor-candidate completes the work to become an instructor…and we like this ripple effect!

Thank you!

For all of your support – we say thank you. We love what we do, but our volunteer time and knowledge only goes so far. It’s your purchasing that makes this happen! Please remember us the next time you need to do any Amazon shopping.

Contest is now closed! Thanks to all who entered.

 

Happy Child Passenger Safety Week!

What better way to celebrate than a give away? We are going to try something different this time. We would like to give away *two* car seats, up to a value of $350 each. To enter, nominate a friend, family member, or group (or dinosaur!) who you feel is in need or deserving of a new seat, and tell us why you chose them when you enter. The winner will be chosen randomly, and both the winner and their nominee will receive a new seat! Please be sure to read the contest rules below completely before entering.

Click here to enter!

Contest rules:

Open to residents of Canada age 18 or older except where prohibited. Not open to the four admins of VICST or their immediate family members, nor to anyone who won something from us in the past year or their immediate family members. One entry per household please. Winners must respond within 48 hours to claim their prize. Winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. Contest ends Saturday, September 23, at 5pm pst.

The products offered for the giveaway are free of charge, no purchase necessary, up to a value of $350 each. The seats chosen must be in stock and available for free shipping within Canada and from our favourites list, and we ask that you follow best practice when choosing which seat (we can help!). Final seat selection is at our discretion. We will need contact with both winners for seat choices (but the winner can break the news to their nominee if they desire!).

If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email or a message on our page! (info@vicarseattechs.com)

We have hit 10,000 fans on this page! It’s also the five year anniversary of our website. We think a celebration giveaway is in order. How about a seat of your choice up to a $500 value? We’ve decided to try something different from our usual Rafflecopter and run it on our page. To enter, see this Facebook post for details. Contest ends Sunday, April 30, 2017 around noon pst.

Don’t forget to follow us on YouTube and Twitter too!

Contest rules:

Open to residents of Canada age 18 or older except where prohibited. Not open to the four admins of VICST or their immediate family members, nor to anyone who won something from us in the past year or their immediate family members. Winners must respond within 48 hours to claim their prize. Winner will be chosen randomly with the help of AgoraPulse

The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary, up to a value of $500. The seat you choose must be in stock and available for free shipping within Canada and from our favourites list, and we ask that you follow best practice when choosing which seat (we can help!). Final seat selection is at our discretion.

If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email or a message on our page! (info@vicarseattechs.com)

Please note: This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

cozywoggle05In celebration of Child Passenger Safety Week the lovely folks at Cozywoggle are giving away one of their fabulous winter car-seat-safe coats to one lucky reader!

The winner will have the choice of navy, purple, or red in sizes 4/5/6, or pink in sizes 2/3/4/5/6.

What’s a car-seat-safe coat you ask? We reviewed it thoroughly here. For other car-seat-safe winter ideas check this out.

Learn about Cozywoggle here or see a video about the concept here. We very much appreciate the thoughtful and quality design that went into this product — and the designer and inventor Cherlyn Jenkins soon after became a CPST herself!

This give-away is open through midnight PST on Saturday night, September 24th. Winner will be notified by email. To enter you MUST use the Rafflecopter widget below – good luck!

Note: comments are moderated and will not show up right away. That’s okay – tell the Rafflecopter widget that “I entered!” on the blog comment part, and we’ll take care of the rest…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

51vjLh3oJHLAmazon.ca is having a super deal on certain seats for Prime members! We want to take advantage of this
with a quick flash contest as a thank you to everyone using our links for their shopping. We will be using random.org instead of Rafflecopter for this one.

Just fill out the below linked form and we will draw at 7pm pst on Monday, July 11, 2016. You can choose between any of the sale Frontier CTs assuming they are under $300 and qualify for free shipping at the time of contest close. If the Frontiers are out of stock or the sale is over, or your child is years away from forward facing, you can use $300 towards a seat on Amazon that is in stock, qualifies for free shipping, and is on our favourites list.

We will contact the winner shortly after 7pm Pacific…and plan to order immediately to take advantage of sales. If you do not respond to our call or email within ten minutes we’ll move on to the next person. The entry form gives you the option for email and phone…we suggest you do both!

One entry per person please! Multiple entries will be disqualified. Open to residents of Canada who are the age of majority in their province who have not won one of our contests in the last year, excluding the admins of VI Car Seat Techs and their immediate families. Void where prohibited by law. We love comments but you must click the below “enter here” button to qualify.

Choices available for this contest as of contest opening are Frontier ClickTight in Vibe, Kaleidoscope, Congo, or Cowmooflage.

Contest is now closed! Thank you for your entries! Stay tuned for the winner shortly.

Want to take advantage yourself? Here’s how!

There are other deals available, but you must sign up for Amazon Prime to take advantage. You can cancel the subscription before 30 days. Buying through our links helps us buy seats for donation and run future contests, so thank you!

_MG_9083-copyIt’s been just over four years since we started providing online help via Facebook and this website. FOUR YEARS of good stuff! It’s been awesome. Four busy moms with ten kids between us we hope our passion for child passenger safety has shone through with kindness, knowledge, and no judgment. Maybe you’ve enjoyed our silliness, or nabbed a seat on a super sale. Maybe one of our posts helped you to make an important decision for your family’s safety?

We’ve enjoyed fantastic relationships with manufacturers as we bring real, useful reviews to Canadian readers and have written about and given away more than 22 seats to lucky winners in our weird and wonderful contests.

What we also do, and could not do without your support, is provide seats to families who need them. Families who want to make sure their children are safely seated in the vehicle and need a little help to be able to do that. Over the years we’ve given away many seats to grandparents and parents. Other kids have received booster seats or harnessed seats at roadside stops. Sometimes we hear of a family by referral, or sometimes a seat is given out at a roadside stop in cooperation with local law enforcement. We are so fortunate to work with community partners who seek to educate and connect families with the resources they need!


We purchase seats with referral funds that don’t cost you anything extra when you shop at Amazon.ca (for anything, not just car seats), or when you sign up for and make a purchase from shop.ca or via an ebates.ca account. Alternately, if you’re feeling extra generous, we’d love to ensure that a new-in-box car seat or booster seat that you want to purchase for a family gets to someone who needs it. Be in touch if that’s the case, we can make it happen.

We post sales every Friday morning — more often if there’s a super car seat deal — and shopping via those links contributes too.


Do you know of someone who could use our help? We’d like to be a resource for local Vancouver Island families. A few conditions apply:

  • The family, ideally the whole family or everyone involved in child transport, needs to meet with a tech to learn how to use and install the seat. This means you need to be near a technician, or willing to travel to a technician.
  • The family needs to be open to the idea of best practice, meaning exceed the bare minimums. What that means will depend on the child, the vehicle, and the family’s needs but we’d like to have that conversation, and provide a seat(s) to allow best practice to happen with ease! Of course we can’t make anyone do anything, nor do we want to. Our style is gentle education while providing the tools and knowledge to make it work for the family.
  • In consultation with a family we will help to choose an appropriate seat. Where choice exists we’ll provide it as best we can. Often this means we need to know who else rides in the vehicle, including the children’s ages, weights, and heights. A family’s privacy is important so this information is used only to enable the selection of a suitable seat.

Are you in need of a little help? Do you know of a family who would appreciate a new seat but can’t quite swing it on their own? Please tell us via this form. Info we collect is used solely for the purpose of doing our best to get seats to kids who need them, and we will absolutely respect the privacy of any information you submit. Please understand that we can’t possibly fulfill every request but we sure will try our best.

kid helper
Be safe people!

We are pumped to announce a fun contest in honour of child passenger safety week…but you have work at it a bit to earn an entry! And work fast…contest closes Saturday night at midnight Pacific (Sept 20th at 12:01 am).

Up for grabs: a seat of your choice!

The conditions:

  • it is from our favourites lists, unless there is a good reason for something else
  • it is available to order online from a Canadian retailer, and for free shipping
  • is in stock
  • $400 cap pre-tax but should you choose something pricier you can pay the difference
  • your choice of colour within reason…for example if another colour of the same seat is significantly less than others we have the final say
  • other fine print in the terms on the Rafflecopter
  • you MUST leave a blog post comment on this post to qualify, and you MUST record your entries on the Rafflecopter widget. Comments are moderated which means they won’t appear immediately, but proceed with the Rafflecopter anyway once you’ve left your comment.

To qualify:

Craft a haiku or a limerick that is car seat, booster seat, or otherwise child passenger safety related. We aren’t judging on creativity or poetry-writing skills but making one is your ticket to entry and you MUST submit it as your “blog entry” and then record it on the Rafflecopter below! Submissions must be original, suitable for a general audience (no PG-13 or more adult submissions please, leave those Nantucket references for elsewhere!), and may be shared on our Facebook page.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

O22599_10153240015751351_2841763408889106860_nnce again, Shop.ca is having a super deal! We want to take advantage of this with a quick flash contest as a thank you to everyone using our links for their shopping. We will be using random.org instead of Rafflecopter for this one. Just fill out the attached form and we will draw at 9pm est on Wednesday, June 3rd (6pm pst). You can choose between any of the MyRides or the Snugli SecureKids linked below as long as they are in stock and showing free shipping.

One entry per person please! Multiple entries will be disqualified. Open to residents of Canada who are the age of majority in their province who have not won one of our contests in the last year, excluding the admins of VI Car Seat Techs and their immediate families. Void where prohibited by law.

 

Choices available for this contest:

Snugli Harnessed Booster in grey (Evenflo SecureKid) $124

Snugli Harnessed Booster in camo (Evenflo SecureKid) $137

Graco MyRide in Spritz (pink/brown) $142

Graco MyRide in Marston (green/brown) $132

Contest is now closed! Thanks to those who entered. Big congrats to Kelsey G, the lucky winner!

Want to take advantage yourself? Here’s how!

The deal is good for anything, not just car seats. If you would like to take advantage of it yourself, go through these steps.

  1. Get a shop.ca account here and we get $25 for our seat donation fund the first time you make a purchase of $75, and you get a bunch of Aeroplan points if your order is over $99, and a big Aeroplan bonus on the first order with your number added to your account; http://www.shop.ca/?plcktb=ZwBzWm4KZg2
  2. Add your item to your cart – specific links for spectacular deals below.
  3. At checkout use coupon code RMN50OFF125JUNE for $50 off an order of $125 or more. If you have a second seat to order (or anything else for that matter) do a separate order and use coupon code RMN40OFF100JUNE. You can use each code once per account.
  4. Tell us here or on Facebook what awesome deal you scored because we like to live vicariously through you!

    ALL car seats and booster seats

     

    We couldn’t have a Hump Day post without a camel picture!

GWWe can scarcely believe it – we’re creeping up on 5,000 readers and despite our regional name have become known from coast to coast. Yay us! And yay you for keeping us going!

A milestone like that deserves a contest, but since we like to mix things up and keep it interesting this one is different.

The entry form will move about. We might give a clue for where it is, or you might happen upon it by reading through our website materials: blog posts, lists of favourite seats, FAQs and the like.

Every time it moves you’ll the get opportunity to earn extra entries.

And most importantly – what can you win? Well…that depends on what you need. We don’t want to limit it or cap it, and everyone has different wants and wishes. So dream big! If you are the lucky winner we’ll consult with you and decide what is in stock, readily accessible, and works for your situation (within reason – final decision is up to us as we’ve not yet had luck getting our money tree to grow).

Good luck! And don’t forget to go hunting for the entry form (it will disappear from THIS page after a little bit), and keep watching on Facebook for where to find it next.  Contest closes at 11:59pm Pacific on March 31st. We thought that would be amusing to contact the winner on April Fool’s Day.

The only mandatory entry requirement is to leave a blog post comment on THIS POST, but you must use the Rafflecopter to actually submit the entry.  But first you have to find it. Check Facebook for a clue about where to look!

Thank you for all the entries! The contest is now closed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

_MG_9083-copyHow about a quick New Year’s Eve contest as a thank you to everyone for shopping through our links? Thanks to you all, we have managed to take advantage of sales and secure donation seats to help local families in need, and for a booster drive we hope to run in the new year.

Shop.ca is having a super deal that ends tonight where a purchase over $250 gets $70 off. We want to take advantage of this with a quick flash contest as a thank you to everyone using our links for their Christmas shopping. We will be using random.org instead of rafflecopter for this one. Just fill out the attached form and we will draw at 9pm est tonight (6pm pst). You can choose any car seat between $250-$300 that shows as in stock and free shipping. If you’d like a more expensive seat, you must be around at 9pm est to emt the extra funds. Please select a seat off one of our “favourites” lists.

The deal is good for anything, not just car seats, so if you would like to take advantage of it yourself, add your items to your shopping cart, and at checkout use code RMN70OFF250 Bonus? we get $25 into our donation fund if you are new to shop.ca!

One entry per person please! Multiple entries will be disqualified. Open to residents of Canada who are the age of majority in their province who have not won one of our contests in the last year, excluding the admins of VI Car Seat Techs and their families. Void where prohibited by law.

Contest is now closed!  Good luck – and happy 2015!

~Laura, Lindsay & Jen

_MG_0214-copy

Contest now closed – thanks to all who entered!

Child Passenger Safety Week is September 14-20 and we’re giving a way a seat of your choice, up to a $350 value at Shop.ca! What better way to celebrate…but you’re going to have to work for extra entries.

Check back often for the option to up your chances of winning – we’ll post additional questions to the Rafflecopter entry widget (below) at random times between now and contest close. Happy hunting, and good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!  Winner(s) to be announced soon.

It’s Story Time at Vancouver Island Car Seat Techs…and we’re feeling generous 🙂

Thanks to many of you doing your online shopping via Amazon.ca, shop.ca, and via ebates.ca we have amassed a small nest egg with which to buy you…something. What better way to brighten up this long and frosty winter than with a story!

thea

We’ve shared many stories with you: traveling with babies, how we became involved in this field, our thoughts on new seats, and more. Now it’s time for you to share your stories with us.

Submit via a paragraph, a photo, or a video. Tell us a car seat related story about something you need, something you want, some problem we’ve helped you solve, something that’s just fun and car-seat related, something inspiring you learned from us or another tech, nominate a friend who could use a little help to keep his or her kids safe in the car and what you’d pick for them. Tell us anything you’d like to share! Please keep in mind your photo, video, or paragraph could be shared with our readers (whether they win or not), so keep personal privacy in mind, and ensure you have the right to share a photo or video of any children pictured. Please include a line with any video or picture of children shared that you are the legal guardian/parent of the child and/or have permission from the legal guardian/parent, and that you give Vancouver Island Car Seat Techs permission to share the picture or video. (If you are not the legal guardian/parent and ultimately win, we will need permission directly from the parent as well.)

We’ll whittle the entries down to our top favourites and then let our readers narrow it down further. The final winner is up to us though! But bonus – a random winner will also get to choose one of several smaller prizes, to be determined based on need and location.

The ultimate first prize winner will get to choose a seat or seats as needed, from a retailer of our choice and eligible for free shipping, to a maximum value of our choosing. The seat must be a good fit for the child and vehicle at the time of the contest close following best practice guidelines. (ie. We won’t be buying a forward-facing seat for a one year old or a booster for a three year old!) We may, at our discretion, choose one or more honorary mentions to win further prizes or our choosing.

To enter your story:

  • Post a photo or video to a file sharing site like flickr, photobucket, youtube, etc.  Provide the URL of the photo or video in the Rafflecopter box below where it asks for it.
  • Or, email it to us. Please don’t email videos, but please do email photos, your story, or email a link to where the photo/video is hosted.  Include your email in the Rafflecopter box below so we know where to look for it.

One entry per household please.

The random winner will be chosen via the Rafflecopter below. One entry for submitting an entry for the first place prize, plus additional entries for liking our page, sharing content, tweeting about us, etc. Please note, you will receive 10 bonus entries if you refer a currently-certified CPSAC tech to our find-a-tech map on the Canadian Car Seat Network page. It must be a tech that is not currently listed. The tech must fill out the form located above the map, and then you can enter their name in the appropriate place below.

Open to residents of Canada 19 and over except where prohibited by law, and excludes the three admins of VI Car Seat Techs and their immediate household family members, and anyone who has won a prize from us in the past six months. Only one entry per household please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

KiwiPioneerThis contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to our lucky winner, Lorna in Ontario!

Enter to win a fabulous Britax Pioneer child/booster seat in a colour of your choice (subject to availability at time of winning), courtesy of a mystery donor who likes to do nice stuff like give away an awesome car seat to a random lucky winner. For real…isn’t that amazing?!

Seat must show as in stock and available for free shipping within Canada from Snugglebugz.ca.  Please note this seat is for children who are aged two and up, and who weigh 25lbs at a minimum.

Some of our favourite features on this seat? No-rethread harness and easy front-adjust harness height, easy switch from harness to booster mode, nice tall top harness height (~18.5″), and a cover that can be removed for cleaning without uninstalling the seat.  And…it comes in Kiwi!

Laura, Lindsay and Jen have put hours and hours into our Facebook page, website, and YouTube channel, developing resources and answering questions.  With eight daughters between us we are busy – but this is our passion.  We love it, and we know we are making a difference.  So help us reach more people by sharing our resources and earning extra entries in the process!

Please see the Terms and Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter link for the rules and the fine print.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our giveaway is over – congratulations to the winner, and thank you to all who entered. Stay tuned for more coming soon!

THANK YOU! Help us celebrate our 2nd birthday as Vancouver Island Car Seat Techs with our very first seat giveaway contest! And exciting news to add — our giveaway is co-sponsored by car-seat.org!  Knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly since 2001, we have learned much from the community there and are so thrilled with their support.

Thank you to all of the parents and caregivers who have been with us from the beginning, and welcome to those who have just joined us.  Thank you to all the amazing techs who have inspired us!

Enter to win a car or booster seat of your choice from Amazon.ca up to a value of $200. Seat must show as in stock and available for free shipping within Canada from Amazon, be from one of our favourites lists (of infant seats, infant/child seats, child/booster seats, or dedicated boosters), and ideally used according to best practice.  If you are the lucky winner but your seat of choice exceeds $200 don’t despair – we’ll work something out!

Laura, Lindsay and Jen have put hours and hours into our Facebook page, website, and YouTube channel, developing resources and answering questions.  With eight daughters between us we are busy – but this is our passion.  We love it, and we know we are making a difference.  So help us reach more people by sharing our resources and earning extra entries in the process!

Please see the Terms and Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter link for the rules and the fine print.

 

Laura, Lindsay & Jen - cold and bedraggled after a long, wet car seat clinic!
Laura, Lindsay & Jen – cold and bedraggled after a long, wet car seat clinic!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway