This is the third rotating convertible on the market (4th, if you count Orbit Baby) and its clear that this is a new trend in the US market. No matter how or where you hope to install your new car seat, at some point, you must install it using the vehicle belt as LATCH connectors have weight restrictions that most children will outgrow. We needed a towel for the rear installation of the Evenflo Tribute to obtain the proper angle of the seat. While this method isn't particularly hard or frustrating, it takes more time and requires you to remove your child from the seat for access, and if the car seat is forward-facing, you may need to remove the convertible seat from the car to reach the seat splitter plate. This press release and additional information about Newell Brands are available on the company's website, www.newellbrands.com. No sponsored content. The Evenflo Tribute LX earned just 6 (the lowest result), but interestingly is still easier to install with the vehicle belt than LATCH. It is also heavy, so it may not be the right option for traveling or carpooling, as we believe most parents won't want to carry this heavy seat for very long. Some seats are easier to install using a seat belt than competitors, and most of these seats have a trick by way of a belt lock-off located on the seat. Using the belt lock-off/tensioner on the Sirona S isn't difficult but it is a two-step process. Whatever your ambitions, the Baby On The Move team can help you realise them. Dr. Spurrier's kids love it, and she likes the quality and ease of use. This means baby can stay rear facing up to 40 pounds. The Evenflo Tribute LX is a dark horse compared to our usual selections for best value as it doesn't rank very high in the competition. Our tests determined that some seats are easier to install using LATCH instead of the vehicle belt. For comfort and quality, we consider materials and overall construction. Read review: Britax Boulevard ClickTight ARB. There is no way to tell what each manufacturer means when they use terminology that lacks an agreed-upon meaning (like SIP). Both can potentially impact overall safety. The Chicco NextFit has a unique LATCH design with a 2-step strap tightening system that is very easy to tighten, requiring no extreme strength. The further below the Federal HIC maximum of 1000 indicates a better result, so a taller bar indicates potentially better protection. Given that some injuries result from an incorrectly installed car seat, this Britax is a contender for parents concerned with proper installation, thanks to the stupendously easy ClickTight design. The Britax Boulevard ClickTight convertible car seat earned a top overall score thanks in part to its ease of installation scores. The Britax Emblem is a quality convertible product with easy-to-use, non-rethread shoulder strap adjustment, a push-button LATCH, and better comfort padding and fabric. We like handwashing methods over spot cleaning only, but because there is a high potential for throwup, spit-up, and poopy blowouts, it is ideal to have a machine washable cover you can remove quickly. The Clek Foonf has the highest weight limit for rear facing installation out of all the car seats we tested. This seat is a unique choice that we believe many families will love. Installing the Extend2Fit using the LATCH method isn't difficult, but the one-sided tightening strap made it more difficult to secure the seat than competition with center straps or self-ratcheting features. Your email address will not be published. This seat is also easy to use, so it is an excellent product for a straightforward and safe convertible seat. As previously noted, the Clek Foonf doesn't have straps for forward-facing installation, and the Chicco NextFitand Chicco NextFit Zip have the "SuperCinch" method with a 2-step tightening system engineered to do the hard work for you. Our favorite seat LATCH installation is the Clek because of the forward-facing rigid LATCH installation. None of the seats in this review have straps or buttons that are impossible to use. You push the rigid LATCH connectors onto the anchors, and that's it! Don't despair! The buckle on the Evenflo Tribute LX is one of the easiest in the group to use. If your car seat remains in your car for the most part, then weight may not be an issue. These combined results mean that Extend2Fit may potentially provide an additional margin of protection over the competition in this review. It earned a 9, which is better than the LATCH score of most competitors. Our panel of experts also includes Dr. Juliet Spurrier, a Board-Certified Pediatrician, mother, and founder of BabyGearLab with a background in urgent pediatric care. The Graco chest clips are the most challenging to operate during testing, with clips that require excessive squeezing of buttons that hurt to operate. The unique RF rotation feature positions your child closer to you, and helps you maintain a more upright posture when lifting your child in and out of the seat. An analysis of auto crash injuries for children shows that head and chest injuries are the two most significant risks of fatal or severe injuries. We like that it is easy to use and the better-than-average crash test analysis indicates a potential margin of safety over the average seat in this review. While it does cost a little more than those already mentioned, it is still less spendy than the average car seat in our tests and is one of the higher-ranking selections. This information makes it an excellent option for those who want top safety indicators. The seat bottom tightens and locks the seat in place for you. The Chicco NextFit has a unique chest clip with a two-setting adjustment for a more customizable fitting. The Boulevard earned a 10 of 10 for this installation. A lower number is preferred. LATCH installation is both easier and feels slightly more stable than using the vehicle belt. MaryClaire Cieplymaryclaire.cieply@zenogroup.com, View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baby-jogger-announces-new-innovation-with-city-turn-convertible-car-seat-301426829.html, Baby Jogger Announces New Innovation with City Turn Convertible Car Seat, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baby-jogger-announces-new-innovation-with-city-turn-convertible-car-seat-301426829.html. Then we buy a second unit of each car seat to put through our rigorous hands-on testing process. If your chosen option is challenging, you may not use it as the manufacturer advised, or you could become chronically frustrated. Some testers struggle to tighten the LATCH straps to secure the convertible car seat to the vehicle properly. The Britax Advocate ClickTight ARB is also easy to install using the vehicle belt, earning a 9. Rear facing seat belt installation of the Boulevard is easy to achieve with the ClickTight system. The least helpful storage type is clip attachments on the seatback (above right) that leave straps dangling and accessible to children. 5.0 out of 5 stars based on 24 product ratings, 5.0 out of 5 stars based on 7 product ratings, 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 12 product ratings, 5.0 out of 5 stars based on 1 product rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 20 product ratings, 5.0 out of 5 stars based on 5 product ratings. The Britax Boulevard ClickTight ARB has the highest score for tightening and loosening. Let us know! Alternatively, the Evenflo Tribute (above right) is basic and functions well despite the lack of additional features and details with a more unfinished look overall. In general, it is considered the quickest easiest method of car seat installation. The Evenflo has a price significantly lower than the other contenders, a machine washable cover, easy-to-use vehicle belt pathway, and one of the nicest buckles we've seen in testing. While this option doesn't meet every family's needs, given the lower quality and lack of comfort, we believe it is a terrific option for the price and an excellent choice for anyone with a tight budget who still longs for better crash-test results. BabyGearLab contracts with the same crash test facility that the NHTSA uses to perform our convertible seat crash tests. Given that many of the products have a weight limit of 50-80 lbs, it is clear that most children will utilize the vehicle belt at some point. In this update, we bought and crash-tested the top 18 convertible seats available today to find the best. The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable).Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag.See details for additional description. Almost half of the car seats in our review have non-rethread harness adjustment methods. The lock-off works smoothly, and the belt is easy to thread. This metric is influenced by the head and chest sensor data recorded by the crash test dummies in each seat. The Clek Foonf, Clek Fllo, Britax Emblem, and the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible also offer impressive features for comfort and quality. The scoring helps quantify the products that offer an additional margin of protection, in our opinion, over and above the basic level of protection found in all seats. The Cybex Sirona M with SensorSafe 2.0 also has a unique chest clip that includes SensorSafe technology that relays various information to a device connected to the car and your smartphone. Parents should familiarize themselves with the user manual as your installation options can change as your child grows. The simplest are the Britax Marathon ClickTight, Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Britax Advocate ClickTight, Britax One4Life ClickTight, Nuna Rava, and Cybex Sirona M with SensorSafe 2.0, which all have smooth moving harness assemblies. Baby Jogger supports parents and kids living life to the fullest, cultivating curiosity, taking on new adventures and rounding the corner to their dreams. This convertible seat is not the best option for families on a tight budget as it is one of the most expensive seats in this lineup. One of the most critical aspects of seat installation is ensuring the car seat is securely and tightly anchored to the vehicle. This seat has also been tested with TRUE Test Plus safety standards, which meet or exceed the US Federal Motor Vehicle Standard (FMVSS) 213 and are engineered to help protect the child in rollover, side, front and rear collisions. Here is the Clek Foonf getting ready for its crash test, complete with crash test dummy. The Emblem's overall look and feel are better than much of the competition, and its self-contained design translates to easy to clean and sharp looking. This chart includes the % below the maximum allowed HIC result of each seat we tested in this review. Probably the most straightforward and unique cover is on the Chico NextFit Zip, which has a cover that zips off all the way around for easy removal for machine washing. We conduct side-by-side tests of each convertible car seat over several months to determine the best in metrics like crash test performance, installation, ease of use, quality, and more. Because buckles are more challenging, focusing on buckle use over the chest clips is best. Nearly all convertible car seats have the LATCH connectors, and most vehicles manufactured after September 1, 2002, offer the anchors on the left and right sides of the back seat. We prefer covers that are machine washable and easy to remove and replace. While the seat weight is potentially not as critical as an infant seat's carrier weight, it can be a consideration if you regularly travel or use public transportation (like Uber or Lyft). Just real, honest, side-by-side testing by people who care. The convertible car seats are subjected to more than 39 individual tests to evaluate their performance. It also isn't your top contender if you want the absolute best crash test results, as its performance results were only average. The Clek Foonf is a steel frame convertible car seat that earns top results for LATCH installation and has innovative forward-facing rigid LATCH anchors. It is one of the few seats we tested that retain the straps and clips. You should check weight capacity too, but more often than not, the height limitwill force the switch to a convertible seat. Our in-house convertible car seat test protocol development was led by Certified Passenger Safety Technician, Bob Wofford. Most of the top seats are more substantial, likely related to the increased padding and steel (or alloy) frames. The forward-facing installation of the Clek Foonf for kids over 2 years old using the vehicle belt is very secure feeling and easy to accomplish. Since creating the very first jogging stroller in 1984,Baby Joggerhasexpanded beyond joggersand created baby gear to feed every passion and lifestyle strollers for travel or off-road adventures,lightweight car seats and slim highchairs to simplify city living. It is also easier to use than most of the competition. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. Despite these minor hiccups, the Foonf is impressive and includes other safety features. Looking for the right diaper for your little one? For more details on the Baby JoggerCity Turnand brand refresh, visitwww.babyjogger.comand follow @babyjogger onInstagram,YouTubeandFacebook. The Britax Emblem has a manual LATCH strap, unlike the popular ClickTight models. Hi there, thank you for your inquiry, the city turn does turn 180 either way when in rear facing mode. The Clek Foonf lock-off (above left) is super easy to use, even though you need to lift the seat bottom to access the rear-facing lock-off. With the rethread style, we worry parents will put off adjusting the harness when needed because it requires an empty seat and requires more effort. CarseatBlog makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. With several award-winning seats offering reasonable prices and better-than-average crash results, you can find a convertible car seat with a potential additional margin of protection without draining the bank.