Category: Reviews

Introducing the Grow & Go, Safety 1st’s new 3-in-1 fresh to the market. The Grow & Go can accommodate children rear-facing, forward-facing, and as a booster. We’ve tried it here in all modes and given it our usual thorough treatment!

Safety 1st’s manual, and matching colour coded labeling on the seat, is an excellent first glimpse at what the seat can do. Very clear, very easy to follow along, and a super way to get an overview of the seat and understand how it might work for your family.

Seat Specs:

• Rear facing: 5-40lbs AND between 19-40″ tall AND at least 1″ of head rest above the head
• Forward facing: 22-65lbs AND between 29-49″ AND harness coming from at or above the shoulders AND at least two years old
• Booster: 40-100lbs AND 43-52″ AND at least four years old
• Lowest harness height on infant harness routing (with required body padding): approximately 5.25″
• Lowest harness height on no-rethread harness routing (with optional body padding): approximately 9.5″
• Highest harness height (without optional body padding): approximately 17″
• Maximum seated height while rear-facing: approximately 26″ (chances are the 40″ standing height limit will be reached first however)
• Three crotch buckle positions: approximately 4.75″, 6″, 7.25″
• Highest booster belt guide position: approximately 18.5″
• Ten year expiry period
• Available at Babies R Us for $279.99

Seat features:

• Premium push on UAS connectors
• No-rethread “Quick-Fit” harness (except for when the infant routing is used – babies grow fast, don’t worry!)
• Dual cup holders
• Sleek styling with a grey herringbone fabric
• Lots of leg room rear facing
• Easy to convert between modes of use
• More – see photos below!

Really handy harness holders so you don’t have to dig the buckles out from under your child. Two ways to use them: hook the harness over top (we found this easiest) or pop the buckle tongue into the slot made especially for it.

Colour coded, easy to read labeling on the side of the seat. Blue for rear-facing, red for forward-facing and booster (there is some overlap in instructions with these two modes hence the doubling up of colour). One handed, super-smooth recline adjustment for rear- and forward-facing, and large visible indicator of position.

Easily removable soft goods and seat cover (not an iPod plug-in as I thought when I first glanced at it). The fabric is nice and feels like it would not pill or snag. The padding provides ample body and head support. Most is optional so customize fit to your liking. Harness pads are a new design and are longer on the underside and shorter on the outside. They were easy to position, and removed quickly with velcro.

Rear Facing:

Great news – this seat will fit from birth, and quite easily. The harness tightens fully, the harness is slightly below the doll’s shoulders, and the fit is good. Setting the seat up for newborn use requires re-routing of the harness to both shorten and lower it. Safety 1st has found an ingenious way to make the seat actually fit a newborn through a school-age child. Pay careful attention to the steps in the manual to set the seat up for newborn use (and the reverse when ready to move to the no-rethread “Quick-Fit” harness system). It’s not difficult nor time consuming, but does require manual reading and following the steps as indicated.

Modeling the seat we have a newborn doll, a ten month old, a 25 month old, and just turned 3 year old (the 3 year old in the green sweater is 38″ tall for reference).

Kids liked the dual cup holders, ample leg room, and squishy padding. Parents liked the harness covers, attractive fabric, nicely positioned headwings that provide head support but don’t block the view, and low profile of the seat shell itself that enabled easier loading. One parent noticed that the harness release button is discreetly tucked away to make it just a little bit harder for those Houdini kids to wriggle out.

Forward Facing:

The features that appealed rear-facing also appeal forward! Dual cup holders, easy to adjust no-rethread harness, and squishy comfortable fabric. The crotch buckle pad is optional, as is the body padding and extra head pad. All are easily removable. This seat can not be used forward facing until age two, and should fit most kids in harness mode through at least age five. Shown here is aged 2.5-5, approximately 30lbs through 42lbs, all of whom declared it comfy. Of course all kids come in different sizes and proportions so shorter torsoed kids will fit in harness mode for longer (blond girl in summer attire has always been long in the torso for example).

Booster Mode:

The Grow & Go may be used as a booster once a child reaches the minimums for this mode but we’d recommend you keep kids harnessed as long as they fit, and then ensure they’re mature enough for a booster. If that describes your child, then carry on! Belt fit is quite good on the kids we tried it in but there isn’t much time for booster use (by torso height) beyond when it’s outgrown in harness mode.

At 5.5, 46lbs, and 45″ tall (pink sweater) and 7.75, 55lbs, and 50″ (blue tartan) these two both fit in booster mode. The older child is just squeaking in (her shoulder is grazing the head wing). Lap belt fit on both is excellent. Use of the upper shoulder belt guide is optional if needed to properly position the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder, and on the buckle side both lap and shoulder belt should tuck under the harness storage tab as shown above. The booster weight limit of 100lbs is hugely overstated in our opinion – as you can see height is much more of a limiting factor than weight.

UAS and tether are not to be used while the seat is in booster mode – follow storage instructions, and teach your child to rebuckle the empty booster when it’s not occupied so it doesn’t become a projectile in a crash. It is a very simple process, however, to switch between harness and booster mode. No unthreading of the harness necessary – tuck it behind the red plate as shown in the photo. Then a quick removal of the crotch buckle, tuck the tail of the harness adjuster under the seat pad, and remove all padding and accessories. Our tip: stow it all together in a labeled Ziploc bag so you don’t forget what seat it belongs to.

Fit to Vehicle:

The Grow & Go installed quite nicely in our test vehicles. Two important aspects to note for rear-facing however: the red bracket shown below, and the rear facing level line. Both of these elements are shown in the following installation pictures but they are important enough to highlight here so they aren’t missed later on.

Our representative small sedan is a 2012 Honda Civic. A centre installation allows a decent amount of leg room up front – enough for an average driver – but those requiring the seat all the way back are going to want to use an outboard position (more on that shortly). Installing centre means a seat belt must be used (most vehicles do not allow the use of UAS in the centre, check your vehicle manual to know if yours does).

The single recline line rear-facing means that this is how it will fit for the entire time spent rear facing. Make sure this setup suits your family; there will be ample room in medium-large vehicle interiors. If your vehicle seat is too sloped to achieve the needed recline a small tightly rolled towel or chunk of foam pool noodle cut to length can be placed at the seat bight to further recline the Grow & Go. The base of this seat is nice and slim, and at 9″ wide should fit easily between the plastic hinges present in many vehicle interiors.

Note the proper belt routing here relative to the red brackets. Slide only the lap portion through – it’s easily accessible and the webbing slides freely to tighten, but must be routed through the red guides for proper installation.

For comparison here is an outboard installation with UAS. Driver’s seat is all the way back, with dazzling pink running tights showing off the resulting front passenger room for a leggy 5’8″ person when the seat is properly installed behind it. It is important to note that the UAS strap (when used) also routes through the red guides on both sides.

Forward facing installation is very straightforward – quick and easy whether you are using UAS or seat belt. The adjustable head rest sits slightly forward of the seat shell and will limit interference with forward-leaning head restraints in vehicles. Always check your vehicle owner’s manual for proper tether routing (under, over, or around a vehicle head restraint). The belt path is high enough that installation should be simple in most vehicles.

Overall Impressions:

For families wanting to buy one seat for use from birth through to the high back booster stage this is a very attractive option. Those of you with medium-large vehicle interiors should have no trouble attaining the required recline rear-facing through that use of the seat. High five to Safety 1st for blazing the trail to require a minimum age of two to use the seat forward-facing. This seat should reasonably last for most kids through age 6 if not longer, depending on proportions. If you have one of those immensely long torsoed children — something you won’t obviously know if you are shopping while still pregnant! — you can always cross that bridge when you come to it. At a minimum you will need a backless booster to last your child through age 10-12 when their boostering days are over and they pass the Five Step Test for seat belt fit.

The finishing is nice, the features are easy to use and clearly labeled, and kids and parents alike find it comfortable and user-friendly. It has to be rather difficult to design a seat that truly will fit a newborn AND a 6 year old well – but Safety 1st has done it.

To celebrate this accomplishment our generous friends at Safety 1st are giving away one Grow & Go to you, lucky readers! To enter please use the Rafflecopter widget below. Thank you to Safety 1st for providing the seats used in this review, but all opinions are our own.

Contest now closed, congrats to the lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Properly introducing the Evenflo SecureKid! It has had a place on our favourites list for some time now, but we haven’t had much chance for hands-on experience. The model we were sent to review is the SecureKid Platinum DLX in Emory, which features Evenflo’s Outlast fabric, buckle pockets, and new SureLatch technology (more on that one later).

The SecureKid is available at Babies R Us and Shop.ca (where it’s also under the Snugli label) with a regular price of $220-$230 depending on trim levels, but the Snugli is on sale for $140 right now (Aug 20 2015) on Shop.ca. It is also at Costco.ca in the ‘LX’ trim for $190, with premium push on connectors and variation in head padding.

In harnessed mode it fits children 22-65 pounds and 28-50 inches and the tops of the ears are below the tops of the child restraint head rest and child is at least one year old and the harness is coming from at or slightly above the child’s shoulders.

In booster mode, it fits children 40-110 pounds and 43.3-57 inches and at least four years old and the tops of the ears are below the tops of the child restraint head rest.

Features:

• Outlast fabric, which Evenflo says will regulate the temperature and keep baby comfortable on particularly hot or cold days — We didn’t have any cold days to test it on, but the fabric did stay cool on the really hot days we had while testing the seat
• Buckle pockets to tuck the buckles away when the child is not in the seat
• Dual cup holders
• SureLatch UAS connectors, a neat system to make UAS installation easier in many vehicles
• Easily removable cover that can be machine washed (never machine wash the harness straps!)
• Easily transitions from harness to booster and includes handy storage for the harness straps when in use as a booster so they are not lost

Fit to child:

At 22 months, 35”, and 32 pounds, we would recommend this child still be rear facing, but he fit nicely in the SecureKid. The head protection is nice but does push forward slightly, which may be an issue for children who still sleep in the car especially, though the large head wings make a nice place for a tired child to rest their head.

This child is five and about 43” and 38 pounds. She said the seat was very comfortable and loved the cup holders. She noticed that the hip straps were placed further forward on her legs than on most seats she’s tried, but they didn’t bother her. This could be a good thing in some situations (such as certain surgeries or a child who finds the straps uncomfortable when they are closer to the body).

This seven year old is around 47 pounds and also found the seat comfortable in both harness mode and as a booster. The belt fit is excellent. The lap belt sits nice and low on her thighs and the shoulder belt is centered nicely on her shoulder.

The belt fit on this 50 pound, 50” seven year old was also excellent. She found it was a bit narrow in the shoulders but otherwise was comfortable, and it would make an excellent seat for tall, slim kids. She had some trouble buckling around the large side wings, which may provide additional side impact protection, but thought she’d be able to do it with a bit of practice. 

Fit to vehicle:

The seat installed well in harness mode and the shoulder belt retraction was good in booster mode in every vehicle we tried, including one with notoriously long buckle stalks. However, we always recommend trying it in your vehicle before buying as fit can vary widely with different vehicles. We found the top tether to be quite short, which could be an issue in some vehicles (particularly vans with tethers on the floor or further back on a tail gate). Don’t despair though! Evenflo does have a tether extender available if this is an issue in your own vehicle, and you can contact them to have them send you one.

One feature we were keen to try is the SureLatch technology, which are retractable UAS anchors that are supposed to make the seat easier and faster to install. These are not available on all trim levels but we did get a chance to try them out on the review model. We found it lived up to expectations in the vehicles we tried it in, and you can see a video of it in action here. We do know there are some vehicles that, due to the angle of the UAS hooks or the seat bight, the SureLatch is not as easy to use, but overall I could see this being an excellent choice for a grandparent, someone who needs to move the seat around, or anyone with joint pain in their hands who may have trouble pulling a strap tight.

Note that your child must be under the latch weight limit for both the vehicle and the seat. The weight limit for this seat is 50 pounds, but your vehicle may have a lower limit so always double check. If your child is over the weight limit, or your vehicle does not have UAS or does not allow for UAS use in the position you are installing the seat, using the seat belt is just as safe provided you can get an acceptable installation. Overall the seat was easy to install with both seat belt and UAS.

One thing that is different about the SecureKid in booster mode than most other booster seats, is that it has a level to line ground and a towel can be used at the back of the seat if needed to level that line (this doesn’t apply in harness mode though). This is one reason it’s very important to always read your manual, as no rules are universal!

Overall impressions

This seat is a nice, lightweight seat that makes both a good harnessed seat as well as a nice-fitting booster seat on the children we tried it on. It has 18” top harness slots, meaning that while it is not the tallest seat on the market, it will get all but the tallest or longest-torsoed children to an appropriate age for a booster seat, and then makes a good high-back booster that will last those children until they are ready for a low-back booster seat. With the SureLatch technology, light weight, and easy conversion from harness to booster, this would be excellent for grandparents, daycares, or anyone else who has to transport more than one child. It would also be great for anyone with hand or joint pain who struggles tightening the straps on most seats.

Thank you to Evenflo for providing the seat in this review. All opinions are our own. They have also generously offered one Secure Kid Platinum DLX in Emory to one of our readers. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below and tell us in a blog comment what feature of the SecureKid would be most useful to you and why.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Clek Fllo — the so-called ‘lite’ version of the previously reviewed (and loved!) Clek Foonf — is a star in its own right, a much appreciated addition to Clek’s already impressive line up of seats, and absolutely earns its place on our list of favourite seats.  We are thrilled to put it through the paces and test it out. Thank you Clek for providing us with a seat to review.

Clek has trimmed several pounds off Fllo, coming in 10lbs lighter in rear-facing mode and 8lbs lighter in forward-facing mode, due to a change in the base of the seat.  For someone switching between vehicles frequently, your back will surely notice. For those keeping their seat in one spot, a minor detail.  Foonf comes with an anti-rebound bar plus a detachable wedge-shaped base; Fllo with an anti-rebound bar plus integrated ‘flip foot’ that swings and locks into place for different modes of use.  This chart nicely compares the two seats.

We are so pleased to see that Canadian Tire carries Fllo in Drift (the only non-Crypton fabric available), making it easily accessible to so many parents coast to coast.  Fllo can also be found in various cover options at Amazon.ca, Shop.ca, Babies R Us, at boutique stores, or directly from Clek for $369-$450 depending on the cover.

The lesser weight of the seat also comes from a change in the energy-management system integral to Fllo. Foonf features REACT (Rigid-LATCH Energy Absorbing Crumple Technology), an energy-absorbing honeycomb structure much like a crumple zone on a car. REACT relies in large part on the use of the rigid LATCH for maximum benefit.  Lacking the rigid LATCH (rigid UAS) of Foonf, Fllo features instead EACT (Energy Absorbing Crumple Technology) to deliver the crumple-zone technology without the need of rigid LATCH.  Rigid LATCH accounts in part for the extra weight and cost of the Foonf, but isn’t always usable by a parent based on a variety of factors.  Fllo offers a very attractive alternative!

Based on the Foonf, the seating area and fit-to-child remains the same. Either seat will accommodate your child interchangeably as the internal seating area is identical.  As with any seat, however, the way in which it installs in a vehicle can cause you to effectively lose or gain harness height in a way that is often described as magical. Furthermore, kids come in different shapes and proportions.  It is important to try a real child in a seat and not rely just on a tape measure to determine fit. Fllo is an extremely good gamble though, for kids within the stated fit range.

We are especially excited to see how fit on the lower end of the range will be affected by the soon-to-be-released ‘infant thingy’ that will be compatible with existing Foonf and Fllo seats, and enable proper fit and safe use by babies from birth (5lbs+). Woohoo! Knocked that one out of the park Clek, if the production units are as good as the prototype looks.  Not quite exciting enough to want another baby to test it out with…but almost.  Update: Infant Thingy is now available…and it’s awesome.

Fllo scores high marks for aesthetics, and the new fabric on this seat is called Thunder — and it’s beautiful! “Thunder” is grey on a black frame (also available on a white frame for Foonf and called “Cloud”), and has a look like a linen suit but feels more like thick k-way (pretty sure I just dated myself there with that reference). Very sleek and classy looking, and will coordinate nicely in grey or black interiors. Easy to clean up as well as it is a Crypton fabric.  Four year old girl child cried that it wasn’t pink, but sometimes mom or dad gets to pick.

For those familiar with Foonf a few other tidbits that are different:

Fllo has one manual recline position in each mode – accomplished by swinging the flip foot and then locking it into place.  How it then sits in the vehicle will depend largely on the contours and compressibility of the vehicle seat, as well as your installation technique.  Perfect your ability to shimmy it around how you want it, and install it tightly in place with 1” or less of movement in any direction at the belt path and you can sweet talk it into installing just about any way you want it.  There are two level lines that must be followed when rear facing, one for infants under 14-22lbs, and one for children 22-40lbs.  If you are unable to shimmy the seat as reclined as you want it to be, it is permissible to use a rolled towel at the seat bight to make the seat more reclined.  Pool noodles won’t work properly with the shape of the foot, so Clek allows a rolled towel only.  Clek has clarified that provided the child has adequate head control and is comfortable, the seat may be installed anywhere in between the two recline lines at any weight.

First editions of Foonf came with a single length crotch buckle, but later versions came standard with a dual-length strap, as does Fllo. It’s an ingenious design and greatly improves fit for bigger kids both rear and forward facing. Note that the longer crotch buckle position can not be used in the inner slot, but as that position is for smaller kids anyway, it should not be a problem.

So how do these physical differences reflect fit to vehicle?  Here are my results, but your mileage may vary. We’ll talk about why as we go.

In the following photos Fllo is in Thunder (grey) and Foonf is in Flamingo (pink).

This vehicle is a 2003 Honda Civic – fairly small, and decently representative of compact vehicles.  Fllo sits a tad lower than does Foonf, when rear facing at the more upright angle. This may be beneficial if you have limited clearance to load a child in through.  Installed at this angle there is still adequate room for an average to short driver.

I was able to shimmy the Foonf to be more upright than shown, and gain a bit more front-to-back space by doing so (only appropriate if the child can tolerate the more upright angle based on age/head control), but that ran the fully extended head rest into the curving head liner of the car — not something I’m okay with, and potentially an issue if you have side air bags in that location (read your vehicle manual to know).  If you are seat shopping make sure to try a seat in all of the configurations and positions you may one day use it in.

I tried installing Fllo to the more reclined angle suitable for infants 22lbs and under — and my long-legged self could comfortably sit in the passenger seat:

Centre installs are often a great solution when extra front seat room is needed, as the shape of Fllo cooperates quite nicely with the contours of the front seats, nestling right in between without making firm contact.  Here it is with the front seats all the way back – tall drivers take note!

The shape of Fllo’s head rest will potentially gain you extra front-to-back space, depending on how it meshes with the head restraints of your vehicle.  Here in this 2012 Focus hatchback I would not be able to drive comfortably with the seat behind the driver (it’s a tight squeeze with most rear-facing seats), but installed centre – ample room.

When rear-facing it is a requirement that ALL of the base be supported by the vehicle seat with no overhang. This overhang as shown (left) would not be permitted. If you have shallow vehicle seats (extended cab trucks, for example), you must be aware of this requirement. However, install technique may be able to overcome this barrier.  With a bit of effort I was able to turn the incompatible install on the left into a wonderful fit on the right.

Fit in this 2012 Ford F-150 Super Cab (extended-cab version – wide but not deep) was extremely tight behind the passenger. It seemed like it was practically made for the centre position though, even at the more reclined angle.

Fllo comes with premium push-on connectors for use with lower anchors (UAS)…

…and an easy to use open rear-facing belt path for use with the seat belt: remove the seat cushion to reveal it. Fllo has lock-offs (blue) for use with a lap/shoulder belt, and Clek allows the use of either or neither (if your belt locks at the retractor). This flexibility is wonderful depending on your needs.

Forward-facing fit is similarly excellent, with potentially a slight bit more natural recline than Foonf due to the shape of Fllo’s base.  Fllo also sits a tad lower than Foonf.  Four year old girl child was so pleased that she could reach the ceiling handle while riding in her Fllo for this test!  The shape of Fllo’s head rest works very well with vehicle head restraints that jut forward.

I dazzled myself with my contortionist abilities to take this picture (in a Civic!) but it nicely demonstrates the front profile of the two seats. Foonf (pink) sits up a bit higher than Fllo (grey). This could be advantageous, or not, depending on your vehicle and your preference.

Other fabulous forward-facing features (yeah, alliteration!) include easy-to-use lock-offs (in red on left), a top tether locking mechanism that is smooth and easy to adjust, and a nice high belt path (on right) to avoid interference with long buckle stalks. My inner car seat geek swooned a little when I saw the genius bit of engineering that was!

Two other attractive features Fllo has to offer is its narrowness, at 16.9” at the widest point, and the anti-rebound bar for use while rear-facing.

The slim profile of Fllo is no guarantee it will fit in any given location, but chances are excellent that it will. If you are fitting three children across, or need two side by side, give Fllo a chance to impress.

Here it is with room to spare on the ‘40’ part of a 60/40 split of this truck:

The anti-rebound bar is required for use rear-facing, and inserts easily into the base.  Excellent instructions in the manual walk you through this process. Store the ARB for use while forward facing.  What’s the point of an ARB, you wonder? Why bother with another part to keep track of? It can make it easier to achieve a rear-facing install, it limits post-crash movement toward the back of the vehicle (rebound), and can offer improved stability in a side-impact.  This is a feature we’re seeing more and more on rear-facing seats lately.

Fit to child in Fllo is super:

For all but the tallest or long-torsoed of kids it is reasonable to expect to get to a safe, mature booster age in Fllo.

This child (requiring a bribe to a) sit in the seat for a photo, and b) produce a tiny smile) is at almost age 7, 50lbs, and slightly over the standing height of 49”, still able to just fit by harness height (the top harness position must be at or above a forward-facing child’s shoulders).  She does not ride in Fllo because it is outgrown, but it’s a nice indicator that kids with her torso height still fit.

This child  fit in Foonf a year ago, and the minimums of 14lbs and sitting unassisted are very reasonable minimums. Ignoring them would be unwise, potentially compromising a younger baby’s airway.  As mentioned above, stay tuned for the ‘infant-thingy’ to enable use by younger babies.  Have we mentioned how excited we are to see this development?

This child is quite close to the rear-facing limits at 37lbs and about 41” tall, but at age 4 she is a great indicator of who this seat is made to fit. TONS of leg room make for a super comfy ride for her.  Fllo is an absolutely wonderful contender for those who want to rear face well beyond the legal bare minimums and kudos to Clek for not only actively promoting that practice, but making it easy to do.

Overall impressions:

Fllo is..fabulous. Sleek appearance, excellent fit to vehicle, superb longevity both rear and forward facing, LOTS of leg room,

butter-smooth harness adjuster, easy-to-follow labelling and manual, and some lovely ease-of-use features as described above.

Potential cons, compared to every other seat on the market?

• Cost (there really are some long-lasting economical seats out there);
• Colour or fabric preference – maybe you just aren’t a fan of the feel of the various fabrics available;
• High profile – maybe you prefer something with lower sides, or you have limited roof clearance in your vehicle to load a child;
• Frequent use by more than one child – the need to swap out parts, and rethread the harness is going to be cumbersome if you use the seat for multiple kids or in both rear- and forward-facing modes on a regular basis.

So you’re sold on all the features that Clek brings to the table, but can’t decide between Foonf and Fllo. Why might you choose

Fllo over Foonf?

Perhaps if you are moving it often – the lighter weight of Fllo will be noticeable.

Perhaps if you are after the energy management system of REACT but can’t make use of the rigid UAS connectors in your vehicle in the position you want to install the seat in – capitalize on the technology with EACT of Fllo.

Perhaps Fllo simply fits better in your vehicle – that one’s a no-brainer!
Thank you to Clek for providing a Fllo in Thunder to review – but all opinions are our own.

This giveaway is now over – congrats to the lucky winner!

And now we share the love with you! Clek will provide one (1) Fllo in a solid colour of your choice (pending stock availability) to one lucky reader in Canada. Contest closes 11:59pm Pacific 30-Oct-2014. See the fine print in the Rafflecopter widget to enter, and for all terms and conditions. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Having between the three of us owned at least six Radians over the years we were thrilled to get our hands on Diono’s new line-up of seats, the Rainier, Pacifica, and Olympia, the beefier cousins to the Radian series of seats.  Here we will review the Rainier and Olympia specifically, the bookends of Diono’s new seats.

Olympia ~$299

Rear-facing: 5-45lbs, or 44″ tall, or head within 1.5″ of top of shell

Forward-facing: 22-65lbs, or 57″ tall

Booster: 50-110lbs

Expiry: 8 years in harness mode, 12 years in booster mode

Two colours: Graphite, Shadow (shown)

Pacifica ~$339 (not reviewed in this post)

Rear-facing: 5-50lbs, or 44″ tall, or head within 1.5″ of top of shell

Forward-facing: 22-65lbs, or 57″ tall

Booster: 50-120lbs

Expiry: 8 years in harness mode, 12 years in booster mode

Three colours: Graphite, Shadow, Sunburst (shown)

Rainier ~$379

Rear-facing: 5-50lbs, or 44″ tall, or head within 1.5″ of top of shell

Forward-facing: 22-65lbs, or 57″ tall

Booster: 50-120lbs

Expiry: 8 years in harness mode, 12 years in booster mode

Internal head-wings with 12 adjustment positions, infant insert included

Five colours: Houndstooth, Graphite, Glacier (shown), Orchid, Shadow

Being extremely familiar with Radians we were keen to compare the seats for size, features, and fit. Folded they are the same height (grey is the Rainier, Purple is a Radian RXT).  The Rainier (say it out loud, pronounced RAIN-eer) appears much larger than the Radian (not a shrinking violet by any means!), but other than extra width at the top, it’s the same height. The extra depth offers potential side impact protection, a feature we are likely to see on more and more seats as side impact requirements are phased in on US seats.

An optical illusion? Looks taller, but isn’t. What that means for you? Height wise, if your child fits a Radian then they’ll also fit the Rainier (and Olympia, and Pacifica), and the same goes for your vehicle (more on width later).  Grab a friend’s seat to give it a go before committing to purchasing.

The Rainier and Olympia are very cushy, coming with a squishy and comfortable 1″ of memory foam in the bum area, compared to the lesser amount in the Radian. Jen has driven cross-country more than once in Radians and her kids have never complained (not about that anyway…), but who says no to extra padding for the derriere?  This could potentially mean that the Rainier is outgrown a hair earlier than the Radian as you lose a tiny bit of internal seated height, but it will really be minimal as the foam compresses.

The required rear-facing boot is, to our eyes, identical, which again means that if a Radian installs in a vehicle then a Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia will too (have we mentioned the importance of trying before you buy?). As Jen has several, she chose to label them, so when the time comes she can retire an expired boot with the seat it came with.

Deluxe infant padding – shown in grey. Comes standard on the Rainier, regular infant padding comes with the Pacifica, not available on the Olympia. Same proportions as the Radian RXT’s padding (shown in brown), but the grey ‘deluxe’ padding is definitely squishier.  Whether you choose to use it with your baby or not is up to you, as it’s there for comfort and is optional. It may improve fit with a small baby (see fit pictures below).

The Rainier comes out of the box set up for a larger forward-facing child – adding an unnecessary and potentially misuse-inducing element to parents who largely purchase this seat for its impressive rear-facing capabilities.  If it were up to us it would come with the harness on the lowest setting, and the crotch buckle on the innermost position.  READ YOUR MANUAL when you pull it out of the box to ensure the seat is set up properly for your child.

This new fabric, however, is a hit with Jen’s kids.  It’s called “Smooth Sport Silk Fabric with Sport Tek trim” and it IS quite soft. It has a look sort of like neoprene but isn’t that texture at all. We were worried it might catch or get pilly, but so far that’s not at all the case. Jen’s texture-particular 6 year old described it as ‘rhinoceros skin’ which she insisted was a good thing, and the usually sweaty 4 year old has been markedly cooler in this one versus the Ultra Suede of the purple RXT pictured earlier.  Time will tell if it holds up as well as the purple RXT has.

Let’s talk about width now, the biggest visual difference between the Radians and the Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia.  Based on the Radian shell, the new seats ARE wider at the top. Peel back the cover and you’ll see the extra shell width and depth is due to this black plastic add-on. Adding approximately 3″ in width at that point it could mean the difference between a Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia fitting or not.  Still nice and narrow at the base though, so WHERE that width is situated in your vehicle will matter very much.

When seats are in alternating directions the extra width won’t matter much: forward-facing Olympia (looks tippy but isn’t, just the camera angle),  rear-facing Rainier with approved angle adjuster to make it more upright, and then a pink Monterey booster. Super tight squeeze to buckle the booster, but three-acrosses are challenging in most vehicles.

The extra width could be the deal-breaker if the seats are all in the same direction. Not a chance of fitting another Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia into the middle spot, but the skinny-minny purple Radian RXT fit with a millimetre to spare.  Note that in this particular vehicle you CAN have three forward-facing harnessed seats across the 3rd row as there are tether anchors in all three spots. For many mulit-row vehicles that is not the case – time to bust out that vehicle manual for a consult!

How about fit to vehicle from a front-to-back perspective? Like the Radians, it is a large (and heavy!) seat when rear-facing, weighing in at approximately 26lbs. No noodles or rolled towels are permitted to make the seat more reclined, so if you’re intending it for use with a newborn or young baby make sure the seat installs sufficiently reclined for your needs — it is absolutely critical that you protect the airway of a newborn and eliminate the potential for head flop. Vehicles with very flat seats will naturally enable Diono seats to install very reclined — but take up a ton of room while doing so. Vehicles with very sloped seats will naturally enable Diono seats to install quite upright – super for older kids, not so much for newbies.  Once a child has complete head control and can sit up unassisted you may use an Angle Adjuster (foam block) to sit the seat more upright, leaving more leg room in the row in front of it.

Sometimes the Angle Adjuster can mean the difference between being incompatible due to size, and a perfect fit.  Here we try it in a small car (2003 Honda Civic) and compare leg room for the front seat occupants.

Above, from left to right: behind the driver with angle adjuster: a moderately tall person can easily drive; centre with angle adjuster (and a seat belt install because you can’t ‘borrow’ lower anchors in most vehicles) allows enough room to put the driver’s seat ALL the way back!; behind the driver with no angle adjuster: no human could safely drive like that.

The shape of the ‘boot’ required for rear-facing can create some challenges or incompatibilities when installing rear-facing. Features such as a raised bight or lots of hard plastic at the bight or hinge can create issues for any seat. We always recommend trying a seat before buying, and don’t base your evaluation on looks alone. Read manuals and try installing it.

One aspect we love about these seats is the low profile, enabling easy loading of kids in and out, whether you are doing the hoisting or kiddo is climbing in and out themselves.  However, that low profile — and low belt path — can also be problematic in vehicles with long buckle stalks. You MUST be able to install the seat safely and correctly with 1″ or less of movement at the belt path, and if the buckle stalk is going to run up into the belt path that could mean an incompatibility. With the high rear-facing weight limit of 50lbs, ensure that you CAN install with the belt in your car both rear- and forward-facing, as lower anchors (UAS, LATCH) come with a weight limit. Discontinue use of lower anchors at the weight indicated by your vehicle; if you don’t know what weight limit your vehicle states, switch to a seat belt installation when your child weighs 40lbs.

Fit to child was marvelous, as we expected!

This tester turned 4 while trying the seat out, weighing in at 39lbs, and about 41″ tall.  She has quite a bit of time remaining in this seat by height and weight, and was pleased to ride rear-facing  to share her impressions.  Low sides to enable easy climbing in, lots of leg room, comfortable fabric (although she does wish it were pink…but that’s the case for everything these days) — she gives it two thumbs up.

Teeny tiny! At about 8lbs this wee one fit beautifully with the included infant padding. The lowest harness position was approximately 1″ below her shoulders, meaning she could have been that much shorter in the torso and still fit.

4 months old and about 15lbs. Another nice fit!
Getting bigger and fitting well. Again the big foam comfort pads are optional rear-facing. They will be too large on a small baby as there just won’t be enough torso room to place them, but if they fit go ahead and use them!

Forward-facing the Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia provides long-lasting harnessing opportunities. Kids close to outgrowing it (6.5, 45lbs, 46″ tall shown on left/ 6, 52lbs, 48″ tall shown on right) might find the head wings confining, and if that’s the case the head-wing-less Pacifica or Olympia might be a better option (shown centre: 4 years old, 39lb, 41″ tall). Memory foam harness pads are required in this mode. You get used to them, although they are very stiff in winter.

The Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia is least impressive in its booster function. Belt fit varies greatly in any booster, depending entirely on the belt geometry of the vehicle and the shape and size of the child. The Diono seats can not be used in booster mode until the child weighs 50lbs — at which point many kids will be too tall to fit properly. In our tests the lap belt fit was good (yay!) but the shoulder belt fit was hit or miss — and not adjustable any higher on the Rainier (left, in blue dress), or at all on the Olympia (right, with sunglasses).  In addition the shoulder belt guide on the Olympia holds the belt so far out from this child’s chest that it would really take a much heftier child to fill it out sufficiently. It’s important that the shoulder belt makes contact with the chest for proper belt fit while in a booster or adult seat belt alone. This leggy child complained that the seat pan was too short to comfortably support her legs.  As a booster it may fit your child for a short period of time, but we recommend you don’t count on it. These seats are excellent options for long-lasting rear-facing and forward-facing, and shop with that in mind, leaving the booster decision for when the time comes.

Final observations:

Diono has made some nice changes to the much-loved Radian line, although in really tight squeezes a Radian might be a better option.  Cushy fabrics in fun colours (Jen loves orange…why can’t her kids?), super comfort features like plush memory foam in the seat pan, and exceptionally high rear-facing specs make the Rainier/Pacifica/Olympia a definite contender for those wanting to rear-face well past the minimums as is currently recommended by everyone.  MOST kids will reach the height limit before the weight limit, so the added poundage seen on these new seats, while impressive, may not be needed in most cases.  The top harness height is sufficient to keep all but the tallest or long-torsoed kids safely harnessed until they are booster-ready, and low sides make it easy to load a child in and out.  Offering similar specs on a range of seats allows parents and caregivers to choose the features they need and want (head wings, infant padding, etc), and pay accordingly.
These seats are heavy – if you are moving them frequently between vehicles that may be a deterrent.  The harness adjuster (the pull tail to tighten the harness) is a ratcheting tug-tug-tug motion, and takes some getting used to if you’re familiar with one long smooth pull instead. Getting the last bit of slack out so the harness passes the pinch test can be challenging, but if you get in the habit of not loosening and tightening the harness every time it’s not a deal breaker at all.  Booster mode may not work well, or for very long, with your child, and if it does – great. But if you are shopping for this seat for your young baby remember that boostering is years away, and cross that bridge when you come to it.

Diono generously provided the seats used in this review – but our opinions are our own. Thanks to them we are able to share the love! One Olympia in Graphite will be given away each locally on Vancouver Island, BC and the Barrie, ON area (or further away if you are the lucky winner and wish to pay for shipping).  Woohoo! See the Rafflecopter below to enter, and thanks for reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A recent move from balmy Vancouver Island to my home turf of north-central Ontario — smack in the middle of the snow belt — had me thinking more carefully about how to keep my kids warm and safe in their car seats this winter.  My kids were quite used to wearing only a fleece while buckled up, and I had already found two nice cozy blankets to keep in the van (matching of course – who wants to hear arguing about which kid has which blanket?), but I wondered about my other options.

Enter the Cozywoggle, a very innovative car seat-safe coat that looks and performs like a regular winter jacket, yet creatively unzips so there is no interference or extra bulk between the harness and the child.  That is the most important message in this post: no interference or extra bulk between the harness and the child.  A car seat’s effectiveness depends on the seat being appropriate for the child, installed properly, and used properly — at all times — and close contact between the harness and the child is a key component of that trifecta of car seat safety.

The Cozywoggle coat was invented by a mom of two young kids, out of frustration and necessity, and I first encountered it nearly a year ago when I foisted myself upon the inventor Cherlyn Jenkins asking about her product. I was full of questions, and to be honest, somewhat skeptical about a coat claiming to be crash tested as there are no standards, American or Canadian, for unregulated aftermarket products.  Cherlyn, to her great credit, began an in-depth conversation with me, and went so far as to send me the crash test results and report. They showed the injury criterion for the dummy was within all allowable ranges while wearing the coat.  And then she sent me a sample of the coat to try out!

I once asked Cherlyn why she went to the trouble and expense of testing something that doesn’t come between the child and the harness and she told me, “I wasn’t going to have it crash tested because it just made sense to me that it would be safe. Then one day I had a little “what-if” thought. What if there was something that I couldn’t foresee? I would hate to put something out on the market that would harm a child so I did it to put my mind at rest. I wanted to be responsible about it.”  Music to a tech’s ears!

When seeing the sample coat (navy, size 3T, pictured above left) I was impressed: well-made (I sew, so I notice these details), high quality materials, well-proportioned, and warm.  My two year old didn’t want to take it off and pronounced it ‘so cozy!’  The outer shell is a heavy-duty water-resistant polyester, and is lined with cozy fleece on the body, and a slick nylon on the sleeves for ease of dressing. If your kids are anything like mine and freak out if their shirt sleeves pull up when putting on a coat you will appreciate that small detail!

This year we wanted to really try it out during daily use, and in colder weather.  Both Laura and I received a coat to test on our kids.  First a few pictures of how it works.

This child is harnessed under the coat. The coat unzips along the sides so the back of the coat can be flipped up behind the child’s head, and the front can spread out on the child’s lap. We do this once she’s already sitting in her seat to minimize exposure to the cold.  Note that the hood can be removed for those kids who don’t like them.

Under the coat is a well-adjusted harness — no interference at all.

When it’s time to get out of the car seat simply unbuckle the harness and have your child pop their hands through the wrist holes, which are never fully unzipped for quicker re-zipping.  Older toddlers can easily learn to do this step themselves.

Final step, either while still in the vehicle or once outside, as you prefer, hand up and one quick and easy zip straight down to do the coat up.  And that’s it.

The Cozywoggle works just as well for a forward-facing child.

Don’t worry parents of older kids — it works well in boosters too!  Close contact with the seat belt is important for boostered kids and adults, and that applies to you too!

The Cozywoggle is available in sizes 12m, 18m, 2T, 3T, 4, 5, and 6, and comes in light pink, navy blue, royal purple, and red.  The navy coat pictured above is a 3T (on a large 2 year old), the red a 5 (on a tall 5.5 year old), and the purple a 6 (on an 8 year old), and the red in the snowy pictures is the same size 5 but on a large 3 year old. They are sized generously enough to accommodate layers for added warmth, but the coat itself is very warm on its own. No need to size up when ordering – if your child wears a 3 now then ordering a 3 will leave room for layers this year and most likely fit next year too. I have to admit I was surprised that my 3 year old didn’t want to wear more than her usual t-shirt on a recent snowy day, even though the 5 is big on her.  Those in a cold snap, or outside for extended periods, will want to layer up though, as would be the case with any coat.

The Cozywoggle purposely does not come in sizes smaller than 12m to avoid any risk of the hood or back of the coat pushing an infant’s head forward. Doing so could compromise the airway of a baby, and this product should not be used until a child properly fits the 12m size.

You can watch Cherlyn tell her story and see the coat in action here:

If the idea that car seats and bulky coats are not compatible is news to you, but the Cozywoggle isn’t your thing, there are other safe ideas in this article and this article.

The Cozywoggle retails for $74.99, and can be ordered directly from the inventor.  Stay tuned for news of the coat coming directly into Canada to make the product more readily accessible.  CJ’s Kids, maker of the Cozywoggle, is giving our readers a $15 discount through January 31st; use the code VITECHS at checkout.  Given the flexibility of the coat, longevity of fit, and high quality of the construction we feel that is good value for a great product.

Big thanks to CJ’s Kids for providing two Cozywoggle coats for us to use and try out. All opinions are our own.  Go forth and stay warm!

How fun to come home and find a brand new car seat on the front porch! Since Laura and I (Lindsay) both have new babies, we got the opportunity to review Graco’s new Snugride Click Connect 35. The new Click Connect line involves a different attachment method from the older Classic Connect seats, as well as some structural and shell changes. Depending on the trim level of the seat, it may have a lock off on the base, as well as infant body support and/or harness covers. It states it will fit infants from 4 pounds, making it a great choice for preemies and twins.

Right now, the Snugride Click Connect 35 is available at Toys R Us starting at $220 for the seat on its own. As of this writing, one of the travel systems that includes this seat is on sale for $300 (regular $400) in a trim level that includes infant body support and harness pads. The base, which is compatible with the Snugride Click Connect 35 but not the Classic Connect seats, is now available on its own at Toys R Us for $74.99. Keep an eye out for it as it starts to be available in more locations.

Before putting it through its paces, I decided to pull out an older Snugride 35 seat and see what the differences are. For ease of identifying in these pictures the older Classic Connect version is beige, while the new Click Connect is black. I noticed right away that the Click Connect is lighter. According to Graco, the new one is a mere 7.5 pounds without the base, more than 2 pounds lighter than the older model, which is a large difference when carrying an infant seat around with an infant in it. Another very obvious difference is the width. The Click Connect no longer has the flare present in the Classic Connect, making the base only 14” across at the widest point, as opposed to 17” of the Classic Connect. The seat itself is also significantly trimmer, making the Snugride Click Connect 35 a strong contender for parents needing a seat that will fit in a 3-across situation. As you can see in the photos above, the dial for changing the angle of the base has been moved to the front of the seat, and on this particular model there is no lock off on the Click Connect. For those wanting a lock-off note that it is available on some models of the SnugRide Click Connect 35, and the stand alone base available for purchase separately also comes standard with a lock-off. The version we were sent for review came with a removable all-weather boot and an infant head support, but no infant body support or harness covers.

We tried out the seat with a variety of children and vehicles. First, the children.

Our first model is Alexandria, who was 7 days old, 7 pounds 8 ounces, and 20” at the time of these pictures. I was very impressed with how well the seat fit a baby of her size. There was no need for a crotch roll and the harness straps were well below her shoulders on the lowest setting, as required when rear-facing. Other seats (including other infant seats and infant/child seats) often say they will fit babies as small as five pounds, but the lowest harness slots may not actually be low enough to take into account how short newborns are. Remember, the harness slots must be at or below the shoulders when rear facing. This seat definitely doesn’t have that issue and I can easily see a smaller baby still fitting this seat very well. I felt like the seat had plenty of support for her, and I did not miss the body support cushions that some trim levels provide. However, I would use receiving blankets or the provided head support in the vehicle, whichever gave the better fit. Always consult your manual for specifics regarding required or optional infant inserts, padding, body support, head positioners, harness covers, belly pads, etc, but in general, so long as they are not interfering with the correct harnessing of the child, it is acceptable to use tightly rolled receiving blankets for added support as in this picture. The chest clip doesn’t seem huge with such a little baby and the straps were nice and close together. The crotch buckle is small and didn’t dig into her. Please see our YouTube here for a demonstration on harnessing a newborn into an infant carrier, including how to use crotch rolls and receiving blankets safely.

Our next model is Thea, who is 4 months old and about 16 pounds and 26″ long. Thea normally cries a lot in the car in her usual car seat. Laura found that she seemed much happier in this seat and seemed to enjoy being able to look around more since the sides of the seat are not as deep around her head. She was still on the second from bottom slot with lots of room to grow. Laura loved the smooth adjuster, how light the seat is, and the substantial canopy.

Guinevere is 5 months old, 16 pounds, and 27” long. Prior to trying out the Snugride I had her in an infant/child seat, and so I was immediately taken by how close together the straps are on her. With a baby her size, I do miss the harness pads, but love how nicely the straps fit on her shoulders. The handle is comfortable to carry around and the seat doesn’t feel overly heavy, even with her inside it. It is easy to get her in and out of it.

Lastly is Calista, who is 2 1/2 years old, and just shy of 32” and around 25 pounds. While she is well under the maximum weight, she is very close to outgrowing the seat by overall height. This is fairly typical, and most children will outgrow most seats by height before weight. The seat has two sets of loops on the harness strap, providing a better fit for a wider variety of children. For children on the third or fourth slots from the bottom, the outer loops need to be used, resulting in a longer harness to better fit a larger child’s size. Not surprisingly, Calista was over the top harness slot. There was lots of room left on the harness and I could see that even a heavier child at the max end of the height would still have room in the harness. Calista still fit in the seat, with just over an inch left over her head on the shell. It is hard to see that from a frontal picture but she had told me I could take one picture and she held me to that, so I didn’t get a chance to take a good side view photo. See here for a good pictorial on how to check if a child has outgrown a rear-facing seat. She told me she didn’t like how close the harness straps were on her neck at first, but said they were okay when I pulled her shirt up between them and her neck. Otherwise she told me it was comfortable. If this were her seat now, I would be advising her parents to move her into an infant/child seat sooner rather than later due to how close she is to outgrowing it, but there are likely not many other infant seats on the market that a child this size would still fit.

With all the children, we loved how smooth and easy to use the harness adjuster is. The straps are very close together, which is great on smaller babies but we would like to see them a little further apart on the higher settings for older children. I did miss the harness pads, though in the winter it’s fairly easy to pull the child’s clothing up a bit to protect their necks. All our models fit well in the seat and seemed comfortable and happy in it. We were very impressed by how well the seat fit such a wide range of models, from birth to 2 1/2 years old.

Next we tried it out in a variety of vehicles. Since many parents ask about seats that will fit well in small spaces, I was curious to see how well it would fit in our 1990 2-door Honda Civic hatchback. There is not a lot of room in the back seat, disqualifying many seat options from being able to fit back there, especially at the approximately 45 degree recline angle a newborn needs. I tried the seat both in the center at one of the more upright angles (above left) and behind the driver at a reclined newborn angle (above right) and as you can see it fit with room to spare, especially in the center. I am 5’11” and have long legs and was able to sit comfortably in the seats with lots of room left to drive. This seat would definitely be in the running if I needed an infant seat for a compact car. There is no UAS in this vehicle, but I found the seat belt install with the lap belt in the center to be pretty straight forward. I needed a locking clip to lock the belt outboard as the belts in this vehicle don’t lock except in an emergency. I would likely opt for the base with the lock off if I were purchasing a seat for this vehicle, for ease of use and faster installation.

The next vehicle is a newer Toyota Yaris, a compact vehicle with a small back seat. On the left is an install with the base using the UAS. Again, the seat installed easily and there was plenty of room for the driver to sit comfortably. The base is equipped with basic hook connectors, which helps to both keep the price of the seat down, and reduces overall weight. I found them relatively easy to use. I tried a baseless install (right) and again found it to be straight forward and to fit nicely with ample room in front for the passenger.

My van is a 2003 Kia Sedona. I wasn’t surprised that it installed quite easily and quickly with the UAS and seat belt in the middle row. The rear row of my van can be a challenge though, due to a lack of lower UAS and extremely long buckle stalks, and many seats are incompatible in those seating positions. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get the base installed acceptably with the stalk twisted three times and the base at the highest position. As always, try a seat out in your own vehicle before purchasing and consult our vehicle shopping guide if you’re in the market for a new one.

Laura tried it out in a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The leather in this vehicle can make installing seats tricky, but it went in okay with some pressure with both a UAS install and a seatbelt install. There was plenty of room for the front passenger to sit in front of it.

Overall, this seat was very easy to install in all of the vehicles we tried it in. It is a compact seat front to back as well as side to side, making it a good contender for both compact vehicles and situations where a parent may need to install three seats across the same row, and yet it retains the high weight and height limits parents and techs have come to love about the SnugRide 35, and accomplishes it all while still shaving 2.5 pounds off the weight of the carrier.

One thing we noticed was that in vehicles with flatter seats (particularly the Yaris and Sedona above, but also the Civic), the level indicator never got to the more upright 3+ month level, even with the base at the lowest position. This means it is unlikely to need pool noodles to achieve the proper recline for a newborn (bonus!), but you may not be able to get it more upright for older babies. Reading through the manual, having it at the more upright angle for babies 3+ months seems to be optional, though it is worth noting that some babies are happier with the seats more upright once they have the neck control to handle it. My daughter does not seem bothered by being a little bit more reclined than she was in our infant/child seat. For baseless installs, there is a line on the side of the seat to ensure that it is at the right angle for an infant. There is only one line when baseless, regardless of the infant’s age or size. Note that the handle must be in the upright position at all times for use in vehicles.

Overall, this seat is an excellent value for the price. It would be a great choice for parents expecting twins or with a history of preterm infants, is an excellent fit for an average newborn, and will fit smaller babies comfortably right into toddlerhood while also being a good choice for parents with larger babies who want to keep them in an infant carrier as long as possible. We loved how narrow and compact it is compared to older versions, the ease of install, and the wide variety of children and vehicles it fit well in. It is nice that there are alternate trim levels available for parents who would prefer a lock off on the base or are interested in infant body support and harness pads. After using this seat for the last several weeks, I definitely feel that it deserves its spot on our favourites list. For help installing, please don’t hesitate to contact a tech, we now have both a Vancouver Island and a Canada-wide list.

We would like to thank Graco Baby Canada for providing the seat used in this review. All opinions are our own.

Graco Baby Canada is also giving away a Snugride Click Connect 35 to one of our lucky readers in Canada. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Make sure to leave a blog comment letting us know what you look for when you are shopping for a new seat. If you do not have a child who would fit, feel free to enter on behalf of someone you know who could use the seat for themselves. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh how I love coming home and seeing a big shiny new box on my porch!

This review will detail the Graco AFFIX, a new backless booster that has UAS attachments for installation into the vehicle.  It’s what we commonly call latchable, even though the Canadian term is ‘UAS’ and not ‘LATCH.’ UAS-able doesn’t have quite the same ring to it… It’s wonderful to see this capability on a readily available seat (Sears, Canadian Tire, Walmart, Babies R Us, possibly more soon!) at a very accessible price point of about $50, with a 10 year life span!  It’s also rather amazing to consider the immense safety difference a relatively simple piece of equipment like a booster can make to belt fit, hugely improving outcomes in crashes for children.  The AFFIX is intended for children who are between 40-57″ tall, 40-100lbs, and aged 4-10, although we encourage parents not to rush to boostering too early.

Having come recently to the world of boosters with my oldest just moving into one this past summer at about 45lbs, 48″ tall, and 5.5 years old, I very quickly discovered that I vastly prefer a latchable booster if it’s to be used in a seating position with lower anchors.  Without that capability, the booster must be re-buckled when unoccupied to avoid becoming a projectile for everyone else in the vehicle, which is time consuming and can be tedious if the buckling isn’t easy to do for the child.  A booster with UAS also makes a booster more stable when entering and exiting the vehicle as it prevents it from tipping or shifting around.  For independent bucklers this is a much-appreciated benefit!  Daughter #1 usually rides in a high-back booster but a backless is a reasonable option for short trips at her age if the belt fit is good.

Opening the box I found a tidy little package with a little assembly required.  I located the manual in the pile and read it carefully before doing anything — as should you with any new car or booster seat!  It’s easy to assume things and become complacent, and that’s how errors are made and misuse happens.  Inside were the two arm rests, the manual, and the shoulder belt positioning clip (more on that later).  The arm rests popped in easily, and are ‘handed’ so will only fit in their designated right or left hand sides.  And bonus to those of you familiar with Graco’s other booster, the beloved Turbo: there are NO SCREWS to lose, forget about, or install.  YAY!  (Do you own a Turbo and are now thinking to yourself “uh, what screws?” Your Turbo came with them…see here for a pictorial to help you determine if you’re screwless, and what to do about it!).

Diligently reading my manual, I discovered that the cup holder comes packed on the underside of the booster, tucked away in a little cubby.  It also easily snapped into place.  Voila! The AFFIX is ready to go.  Now to find some willing model testers…

I had a booster riding 5.75 year old help me with the installation. First she located the lower anchors in the seat bight.  Then she clipped the UAS connectors on, and pulled on each easily accessible tab at the front of the seat to tighten the straps and secure the booster firmly to the car.  Easy peasy. Some might notice the basic hook-style UAS connectors and be disappointed that they’re not premium push-on connectors.  A premium style isn’t really necessary on a booster that is lightweight and easily moved, and would only drive up the cost unnecessarily.

At 46lbs, 49″ tall, and 5.75 years old the belt fit on Tester #1 in this ’03 Civic was excellent. The lap belt is low and flat and touches the tops of her thighs, and the shoulder belt sits nicely against her chest and crosses her collarbone exactly where it should.  At her age I’m more comfortable with her in a high back booster for longer rides as she’s more likely to get squirmy or fall asleep, but for short rides around town this is a super option.  As with all backless boosters, in-vehicle head support is required up to at least the tops of the child’s ears.  This child would be too tall in the centre seating position in this vehicle where there is no head rest, and a high-back booster would be needed there.  Thankfully a high-back version of the AFFIX is due out soon! Update: the high back version is now available, yay!

At 62lbs, 49″ tall, and 9 years old Tester #2 is a very good example of why age is not a good indication of readiness to ride without a booster seat.  Booster laws vary between provinces and territories but height is a much better indicator of whether the adult belt will fit, with 4’9″ the height at which children generally start to ‘5-step’.  This tester is the same height as tester #1 above but with a stockier build, and not surprisingly the belt fit is excellent on him as well in a ’12 Focus.  Width-wise he was comfortable in the seat with room to spare, and liked the feel of it.  A latchable booster is especially nice on leather upholstery where the seat is more likely to slip and slide around as kids climb in and lean over to buckle.

Tester #3 is too light and too young to ride in a booster (and still rides rear-facing in fact…and yes, does have kitty whiskers on her cheeks) but meets the minimum height requirement of 40″. I decided to try her out to see how a shorter-statured child would fare in the AFFIX.  The lap belt fit is still excellent which is encouraging for smaller kids ready to ride in a booster. I did need to use the shoulder belt positioning clip to — you guessed it — better position the shoulder belt. It’s a piece of black webbing that easily attaches to the lower back of the booster, and a red clip (at her right shoulder) that slips onto the seat belt. Shortening or lengthening the black webbing adjusts the position of the shoulder belt for a potentially better fit on the child, and is a necessary step if the belt fit is not naturally optimal.  Seat belt geometry varies widely though and sometimes even with the clip the fit isn’t acceptable. Without this clip the shoulder belt would rub against her neck, an irritant that most kids will not tolerate, and contributes to the dangerous misuse of putting the belt behind the back or under the arm.  An additional consideration for a shorter child is the depth of the seat pan.  For a one minute photo op most kids should be able to sit still. However, start driving and the discomfort resulting from the knees not bending easily at the edge of the booster will mean slouching, squirming, and shifting about, all of which will make the belt fit less than optimal and decrease safety.  If you’ve determined that your 40lb+ child is mature enough for a booster please ensure it’s one that fits them properly.

For older, leggier children I very much like the deeper seat pan offered by the AFFIX, and yet it’s not so deep that it won’t fit and be supported by vehicle seats.  Here it nicely completes a 3-across in an ’05 Sierra extended cab, known for its shallow seat depth.

Graco’s Turbo Booster is a tried and true performer in our favourite boosters line-up and I was particularly curious to see how it compared to the AFFIX.  The arm rest shape is different but is virtually the same height as the lower setting on the Turbo. The AFFIX is a tad wider and deeper, to better accommodate the slightly larger child.

Last but not least the AFFIX features not only an integrated cup holder but a hide-away tray for all of the treasures and detritus children inevitably collect.  My daughter’s is usually full of hair bows, clips, rocks, and pony elastics…how about yours?

The AFFIX impressed me. It’s easy to use, and it provides wonderful lap belt fit. Shoulder belt fit will vary greatly from child-to-child, and in different vehicles, and should be evaluated carefully for optimal fit, but that is the case for every booster, backless ones in particular. Sub-optimal fit may be corrected with the shoulder belt positioning clip.  The latchability is the selling feature for me, at a very good price point and readily available at many stores.  Don’t have a vehicle with UAS? The AFFIX is still usable of course as the connectors will just tuck away, but must be re-buckled with the seat belt when unoccupied.  The AFFIX has absolutely earned its spot on our list of favourite boosters.

Thank you go Graco Baby Canada for providing the AFFIX used in this review.  All opinions are our own.

…and – thank you Graco Baby Canada for giving away one awesome AFFIX to a lucky reader!  Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – but make sure you expand the option for the blog comment, there’s a specific question we’d like you to answer that requires some thinking!  Don’t have a booster-ready child?  Enter anyway and give it to a child you know!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

It was a very exciting day a few weeks ago when I arrived home to find this little beauty sitting on my front porch. The day had finally come: our inaugural seat review. And what better seat to start things off with than one we’ve been hearing about for ages, but rarely get our hands on! Let me introduce you to the Clek Foonf, and all the ways we’ve gotten to know each other over the past little while as I put it through its paces to really test it out.

Foonf was designed to accommodate a rear-facing child able to sit upright with good head control and who is 25-43″ tall and 14-40lbs, and a forward-facing child who is at least one year old, 30-49″ tall, and 22-65lbs. Clek advocates for rear facing to the limits of the seat, with age two as a minimum goal before turning forward facing. Foonf can accommodate even the largest of children rear facing for quite some time past that age two threshold. Update: the Infant Thingy, available as a separate add-on to the Foonf, now enables use from birth…and it’s awesome.

Some interesting features of the Foonf I was keen to explore: anti-rebound bar, rigid UAS, Crypton fabric, narrow width, nice smooth seat bottom that will be kind to vehicle upholstery, gorgeous colours, and trendy prints.

The primary seat tester for our Foonf is this three year old (and me of course). Her favourite colour has been blue for…well, forever. There was a back order on the denim-like Blue Moon cover and my second choice was Flamingo, a striking bright pink on black. Conveniently for everyone said three year old decided the day before the box arrived that she no longer liked blue and PINK was her favourite. I didn’t tell her about the colour change until she opened the box and discovered it herself!

I wanted to evaluate both fit-to-child, and fit-to-vehicle. That’s hard to do and boring all in one picture, so here are some kid pictures first. They’re obviously the most interesting, and luckily I have some super cute kid testers who were willing to be my car seat models.

Main tester: just turned 3, 35lbs, 40″ tall with a long torso, 97th percentile for height. She’s outgrown almost everything else rear-facing so I was especially thrilled to see she still has about two inches in torso height or about three inches in overall height, or 5lbs, before outgrowing Foonf in the rear-facing mode. I’m optimistic that will get us at least through the winter. Lots of leg room for her to stretch out. She’s on the 3rd harness slot from the top but close to moving up to the 2nd from the top.

Same child, forward-facing. She’s on the 2nd harness slot from the top which is just a hair above her shoulders. This being her first (and only, for quite some time yet!) forward-facing ride she didn’t know what to do with her feet and discovered there’s ample room to cross her legs.

Tester #2: just turned 5, 48lbs, and 45″ tall. He’s on the top harness slot with about 1/2″ to grow. There’s enough harness length left to buckle him easily. He had adequate shoulder room and could easily get into the seat and his arms into the harness, while wearing his car seat safe outerwear.

Tester #3. At almost six she usually rides in a booster and did not enjoy being back in a harness, even for a quick photo. She still had about 1/4″ of harness height left though, despite having outgrown many other harnessed seats on the market. Miss Grumpy’s only complaint was the shortness of the crotch buckle. She likes to buckle and unbuckle herself but couldn’t. Thankfully Clek has listened to consumer feedback and is about to release a new crotch buckle for their 2014 seats, with a replacement available for purchase for those already with a Foonf. The new buckle will have two lengths and the longer option will be usable in the outer crotch buckle position, solving the problem for bigger kids.

My 22-month old tester wouldn’t allow a photo that didn’t include crying; he thought I was taking him with me, and although his parents were able to get him in and buckled I don’t like torturing children for the purposes of testing a seat. Sorry little guy.

Tester #4 is six months old, 15lbs, and 28″ long. She was in between the lowest and second-lowest harness slot. She fit really nicely in the seat, and with the head rest on the lowest setting and the seat in full recline for her age it was compact enough to sit comfortably in front of it in a small sedan. The belly pad is required for the under-22lb crowd for those observant readers who might have noticed its absence in all photos except for this one. Main tester #1 pulls the belly pad off of every seat she rides in, so thankfully it’s optional at that higher weight.

Tester #5 is here to show that Foonf is NOT for small babies – not without the Infant Thingy anyway. The minimum of 14lbs, 25″ and sitting is a very appropriate minimum and I appreciate that Clek doesn’t claim to fit every child from birth to booster. This little helper is 7 weeks old and much too short — his shoulders are well below the lowest harness slot and we didn’t even try to buckle him. He was trying to convince his older brother (crying 22-month old) to try it out, but alas, to no avail.

Overall impressions of fit to child: Very realistic height and weight specs for the bottom and top end of the spectrum. The smallest child I tried forward-facing was the large three year old. Given Clek’s and our stance on rear-facing to the limits of the seat a person buying a Foonf should be encouraged to do just that, and be prepared to easily rear-face their child to age 3-4 if not longer. Forward-facing longevity was surprising as the older testers have outgrown other seats, and for all but the tallest or long torsoed kids it’s reasonable to expect Foonf to last to booster readiness. It’s important to remember that each child is different and due to their shape might fit a seat, or not, that a tape measure might indicate they’ve outgrown. My only complaint — the short crotch buckle — is being rectified now and I’m pleased that Clek was responsive to consumer feedback. The harness height adjustment is straightforward and similar to many other brands of seats, and the harness adjuster was the smoothest I’ve ever tried. Anyone who’s ever been frustrated by an uncooperative adjuster might swoon when trying Foonf out.

How about fit-to-car? You might have noticed that this is a big seat. It’s tall, it sits up high on a base, and weighs in at a hefty 36lbs. I gave myself a workout, a stern reminder to lift with my legs, and had a go in a variety of vehicles both rear- and forward-facing, and installed with UAS or seat belt. In all photos the head rest is fully extended showing maximum height.

’03 Civic, and ’03 Odyssey in the 3rd row and 2nd row. Excellent fit overall. A range of angles is permitted when installing rear-facing, and the installed angle can be adjusted by shifting how the Foonf snugs up to the vehicle seat; depending entirely on the geometry of the vehicle seat it was sometimes easier to manipulate it with the seat belt instead of UAS. Before using this seat I was concerned with how high it sat in the vehicle – would I be able to lift my daughter into it and would she be able to climb in? Not a problem. Although the seat itself sits up high the sides are low, so it’s a straight-across movement with a child rather than hoisting up and over a deep shell. After a few tries the 3-year old perfected her climbing-in motion and now quickly scampers up on her own.

’12 Focus in the centre and then driver’s side outboard, and ’98 Taurus wagon. In a small car like the Focus the Foonf was a much nicer fit rear-facing in the centre. The shape of it seems to be made to nestle in between the driver’s and passenger’s seats, leaving ample room for a long-legged 5’8″ driver like myself. Foonf is also very 3-across friendly, easily taking the place of the narrow infant seat that usually occupies its spot in the ’98 Taurus. For those with long buckle stalks in their vehicle the Foonf is an ideal choice with its high belt path.

Fit forward-facing was excellent. The high, narrow centre hump in an ’03 Civic was no barrier to successful installation. Its forward-facing height certainly fills a rear-view mirror but no more than an adult passenger or high back booster would. Head rest interference is likely to be minimal due to the shape of the Foonf at the top. Two thumbs up for forward-facing fit!

Clek has recently come out with instructions for installing with UAS and seat belt at the same time. Woah, you say. That’s not right. Right? Due to recent American changes (that will likely trickle north eventually) in total allowable weight of child+car seat when using the lower anchors it’s becoming impossible to use lower anchors for as long as many would like. As the Foonf was developed with some very interesting energy management technology in the form of the REACT cartridge, and the full benefit of REACT isn’t realized unless the seat is installed with the super-duper-easy rigid UAS connectors, Clek tested the seat when installed with both systems. Provided the car doesn’t forbid doing so and there is no /overlap of the rigid UAS and the belt it’s a great solution to UAS limits that will no doubt eventually make their way to Canada.

A few other features: Foonf comes with Crypton fabric on most of its covers, making clean-up easy. I poured some milk on the belly pad to test it out – it beads up easily. After rubbing it in I was then easily able to wipe it clean with a cloth. Good news for kids who are spilly. Straight out of the box the Foonf comes with quite a few parts, with most of the extras required for rear-facing. Thankfully they’re all nicely labeled for easy identification. The smooth-bottomed base of the seat will be very friendly to vehicle upholstery.

Clek is unique among manufacturers in that they have eye-catching, trendy covers on their seats that consumers seem to either love or hate. The Paul Frank (Julius the Monkey) covers are discontinued and are being replaced by Tokidoki prints. Not something I was familiar with before seeing them on a Foonf I have to admit they’re growing on me. They would certainly hide dirt amazingly well and you could play ‘I Spy’ for hours!

Foonf is heavy, has a lot of parts to manage when switching between rear and forward facing, and comes with a hefty price tag. It’s not a seat I’d pick to truck around an airport or onto an airplane (although it’s approved for aircraft use and others have done it with success!), not a seat I’d want to move between vehicles on a daily basis, or frequently switch between rear- and forward-facing modes.

However…it’s also got rebound management in the form of an anti-rebound bar, rigid UAS, built-in lock-offs that make a seat belt install as easy as with UAS if not easier at times, super specs for rear-facing and forward-facing longevity, striking covers, is made in Canada, is good for nine years before expiry, and is overall extremely awesome. It has absolutely earned its spot on our list of favourite infant/child seats. If I was seat shopping today and budget was no issue it would top my list. As always we recommend trying a seat in a vehicle first, and your child in the seat, to ensure it suits YOU, because no one seat is perfect for everyone.

Thank you to Clek for providing the Foonf used in this review. All opinions are our own.

Thank you also to Clek for giving away a Foonf in a solid colour to one lucky reader in Canada! Woo hoo!

a Rafflecopter giveaway