Top Rated Infant Car SeatsNot all
infant car seat best car seats are made equally. The
best car seats newborn ones have features that improve the performance of crash tests, such as load legs, which are shock absorbing components on the base or car seat that help reduce movement during collisions.
Chicco KeyFit is a favorite of CPST instructors. It features an upper-right rear-facing weight and a height limit that is high and a bubble-level indicator and a spring-loaded reclined foot that makes it simple to set up.
Graco Mesa Max
The Graco Mesa Max is one of the top infant car seats due to its convenience of use. It comes with great fabrics and a simple design and a convenient feature to connect the harness of a child to the headrest, making it easier to tighten. It also comes with a large hideaway canopy which makes it easy to keep your baby cool when traveling. It's a little heavier than the average stroller, which can be a problem if you want to transport it around or use it with your UPPAbaby that has won awards.
The Mesa Max's impressive results in crash tests reflect its dedication to safety. It scored well in both frontal and side impact tests, which means that your child will be safe from the two sides of a collision.
The anti-rebound feature is a notable safety feature. It reduces the forces of rebound in a crash and also protects the child's head. This feature is rare in car seats for infants and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its competitors.
Graco Mesa Max can easily and securely be mounted in your vehicle with LATCH when used with the base included. The load leg as well as recline angle adjustment and tightness indicator all help to ensure a quick, precise installation. The base weighs 12.6, which is slightly more than the average car seat for infants but not enough to cause any issues.
Like its predecessor, the UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric that's free of fire-retardant chemicals. It also comes with an adjustable headrest that can be adjusted infinitely and a robust infant insert that improves the body's fit and positioning for babies approximately 4-11 lbs. The fabrics are GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which tests for low emissions of chemicals and VOCs.
The Mesa Max from UPPAbaby is more expensive than some other models, but it offers premium features and advanced safety technology to ensure a safe
travel infant car seat experience. The base is included and comes in a range of attractive colors. This is a great addition to the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and robust design offer parents peace of mind on every excursion.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight is an excellent option for those looking for a car seat that can expand with their child. Its rear-facing capacity is 40 pounds, which is more than the majority of infant car seats. Additionally, it can be used as a forward-facing car seat until your child weighs 65 pounds.
Its most prominent selling factor is the ClickTight Installation System, which is the most secure and user-friendly on the market. It allows you to tighten the seat belt by pressing the red release button and pulling on the harness strap without the need to untie it and re-thread it. This decreases the risk of incorrectly tightening the belt that is the most common cause of failures in car seats.
Another safety feature is the EZBuckle Pad, which holds the buckle out of the way when you're placing your child in the seat. This feature, along with beltpath cutouts that run along the sides of the seat, make it easy to get them into and out of the car.
The three ClickTight convertible seat models (Boulevard CT, Marathon CT, Advocate CT) share the similar features. These include the ClickTight Installation System with an impact-absorbing base that has 7 recline positions as well as a rip-stitch energy absorbing harness pad, a HUGS tether and a steel-reinforced frame and EPP energy-absorbing foam.
It's a heavy seat, and it could be worth looking at a lighter alternative when you are planning to use it for frequent car swaps or traveling. The seat is large, so it might not fit in smaller cars.
If you're looking for a budget-friendly seat with similar quality, the Graco 4Ever DLX is a great choice. It has lower crash test scores than the Boulevard however it's a great seat for your baby.
The Graco also has push-on LATCH connectors that make it simpler to take the seat off. The Boulevard's LATCH connectors feature a different release mechanism which requires you to press a grey button and pull the webbing to loosen it. It isn't easy to accomplish this if the webbing isn't fitted properly. However the seat comes with a handy storage cubby to store the belt straps when they are not in use.
Clek Liing
Clek Liing is the infant car seat you should consider if you want it all with style, safety, and comfort. This rear-facing only car seat has an excellent crash test score, an impressive variety of features, and is simple to install on most vehicles.
The Liing is designed with features that exceed US and Canadian safety regulations. It is designed for easy installation and security in all seating positions. It also comes with advanced safety features, such as an energy-absorbing metal foot and two-piece shell lined with EPP for enhanced side impact protection. The base comes with 7 recline positions, and an indicator bubble that tells you that the seat is just the perfect angle for your child.
The Liing is a sleek, modern stroller that parents are raving about. It comes with innovative safety features, like strong lower anchors that are more convenient to connect than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing also has a handy quick release with a single-handed button that makes it simple to take it off the base and to use with various compatible strollers. At less than 17 inches in width it's just narrow enough for 3-across in most vehicles and is a good fit in many convertible car seats as a booster.
The Liing infant seat is rated as 1st for its unique rigid-LATCH installation system. Lower anchors of the Liing snap directly into the lower seat belt slots. Additionally, the seat's
top rated infant car seats tether strap snaps into the vehicle's headrest to create an incredibly secure, tight fit that eliminates the possibility of the child being thrown around in a crash.
The seat is light, with the base weighting 9 pounds and the carrier itself at just 10.5 pounds. Other rear-facing seats are heavier but the difference is not noticeable if you plan to transport the car seat and base around. ).
Parents love the Liing's built-in canopy and 100+spf of protection from the sun's rays by a mesh peekaboo. Caregivers appreciate the blanket made of merino that keeps the baby warm and the capacity of the handle to move past the canopy. This allows them to grab the seat if they need to.
Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX
The Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX is a 3-in-1 car seat that goes from rear-facing infant, to forward-facing harness, and then to highback booster. It is equipped with the SnugLock installation system that allows for a smooth and simple install with either vehicle seat belt or lower anchors. It also allows you to use the top tether in booster mode (although we recommend using the lower anchors at all times for added security).
We love that this seat can be used by children of all age groups. It comes with an infant insert for smaller infants that can support their backs and necks. This insert can be removed once the child is older and the seat can be used as a standard car seat for toddlers. It is one of the few car seats that allows the top tether to be used in booster mode. We recommend it.
Its base is pretty compact from front to rear, so it shouldn't be difficult to locate a place for it in the majority of vehicles. The headrest has to be raised to allow the lower anchor webbing to pass through. There's a handy knob for adjusting the headrest, and the display window displays the position of the headrest.
One of the coolest things about this seat is the SnugLock installation system that's a bar that is located within the belt path. This makes installing this car seat with the lower anchors an easy task and is similar to using the car seat belt.
The manual provides a fantastic illustration of how to guide the lower anchor connectors correctly through the new belt path, which can initially be confusing. Keep them clear of the chest clip and crotch loop to prevent interference with the buckle system.
The Graco Trio Grow belongs to the Protect Plus Engineered Family, which means it has been subjected to some of the most rigorous tests in the field. This includes rear, side and rollover crashes, as as frontal impact tests.
