Innovative design that my toddler loves!
February 4, 2022
First, I want to thank the Stellar Product Testing Panel for providing me with this car seat to test. My overall first impression of the car seat was, "Wow, how innovative!" Upon opening the box, it was somewhat intimidating looking at a more complicated install than I was used to with my current convertible car seat. However, by quickly reading the book while studying the car seat base it became obvious how simple the install would be. My daughter is still rear-facing, but I love that when she is ready to turn around I won't have to re-install the whole car seat.
As for the day to day function of the car seat, a few things I love and a few areas for improvement. First, obviously I love the fact that it turns to get my daughter in and out easily. She loves it too - we call it her "spaceship" and she loves the quick turn and lock into place once she is buckled in. It really saves my back from having to awkwardly lean into the car, although I'll admit it has led to me bonking the back of my daughter's head on the door frame a couple times. Additionally, all of the padding seems high quality and very comfortable for her, and she loves having two cup holders of her own!
Areas of improvement - when pulling the strap to tighten the harness, it is hard to pull and feel like it is getting really tight. I pull and pull and pull and still feel like it should be tighter than it is on her shoulders. Additionally, the "button" you push to release the strap is also less intuitive and kind of "buried" under the padding.
Finally, this really pertains more to the instructions, but I could not find anywhere in the instruction manual that indicated how long (what weight/size child) this car seat should be using the seat pad. Maybe that's because there isn't a specific time, but for a mom who really likes to follow car seat safety perfectly, it leaves a feeling of uncertainty. Lastly, it is not clear in the book if the back pad or seat pad should go "in front" when you have the additional seat cushion removed. It seems like the back pad goes in front, but then it kind of strangely bunches if your child isn't very tall.
Overall, the innovation and convenience of only installing the seat base once, and being able to more easily get my toddler in and out of the seat outweighs any of the downsides. I am thrilled to have this wonderful car seat that will grow with her for many years.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.