Explore a large collection of convertible car seats and find the perfect one for you and your little one. The term convertible refers to the fact that this type of car seat can be installed either rear-facing or forward-facing, whereas infant seats are meant to be installed facing the rear only. Although the laws vary, many states require that a kid remain in a car seat with a five-point harness—which all infant seats and convertible seats have—until graco convertible car seat they’re at least 40 pounds or 4 years old. One of our favorite infant car seats is made by Chicco, so we were eager to try the company’s convertible seat, the Chicco NextFit Zip. For the LATCH install, the NextFit Zip has a so-called SuperCinch system, which allows you to tighten the straps with minimal effort. However, once your rear-facing child reaches 35 pounds, you must switch over to a seat belt install, which isn’t as easy.
The 4Ever harness height adjustment is a no-rethread process with ten possible levels and two placements for the buckle strap. Moving from one level to another is easier than the average option. The headrest comes out from the seat and moves smoothly up and down, but the pinch mechanism is slightly harder than others. Graco has previously sold this separately as the Graco RightGuide.
Though it looks puffy, the pillow actually compresses pretty easily so bigger noggins will be comfy with it too. The Graco 4Ever DLX Grad is a fairly compact option front to back when you have it as upright as possible. If you are using it from birth, it will take up more space, though, since it has to be more reclined. Between the versatile size and the rotational feature, we felt the slightly higher price point was well worth it. One of the most straightforward LATCH connection types is the rigid LATCH, like those seen on the forward-facing Clek Foonf. This design is virtually foolproof, with not much to do other than make the connection and slide the seat back.
The Tribute is hard to install, so much so that if you can afford something like the Graco SlimFit 3-in-1, we think it is worth the extra money for good crash test results and more straightforward installation performance. While more than twice the price of the Tribute, if you can swing it, we think it is worth it. However, if you have the tightest budget or need a secondary seat that doesn’t need to be installed often, we think having a seat like the Tribute on hand is useful. Adjusting the headrest is simple; you simply push up or pull down. (It’s nicely padded, too.) The Foonf’s seat cushion has a firm feel to it, yet it’s actually very thick—thicker than those on any of our picks, by far, and the comfiest of the bunch.
The narrowest are the Clek options at 16.9 inches, and the widest are the Cybex Eternis S and the Evenflo Gold Revolve360 both at 19.6 inches. We measure the weight and width of each car seat we test, including the forward-facing and rear-facing configuration weight and the width at the widest point (which can vary). While the convertible seat weight is likely not as important as the carrier weight of an infant seat, it can be a consideration if you travel frequently or use public transportation and need to carry it. If your seat will remain in your car most of the time, then how much it weighs might be less of a concern. The Evenflo Tribute 5 at 9.4 lbs is the highest option, while the heaviest is the Clek Foonf at over 33 lbs. We prefer the non-rethread style because it is simple, and we think busy parents will be more likely to keep the harness adequately fitted if they can accomplish this quickly without removing their child from the seat.
We liked all of the padding in the seat and felt that it was safe and secure. The fabric, while not incredibly luxurious, is soft and comfortable enough, and also easy to clean, with a removable seat pad. There’s no need to buy two car seats when you could just buy one that will grow with your child. We’ve been using the seat for 2.5 years, and it has held up great. Bulky but wonderful I’m thankful that we haven’t gotten into any car accidents so I have been able to keep the same car seat that I bought for them when they were just a few months old. My oldest has always been off the charts in her height for her age, so the extend to fit really helped give her leg room when she still was rear-facing.
We liked how easy it was to adjust once installed, and found most of the installation process to be simple. Scanning a QR code on the car seat leads to a set of simple instructions that are easy to follow, and the whole setup was fairly straightforward. The one thing our tester had trouble with was threading the seat belt through the seat, saying it felt graco turbobooster a bit tedious. Fortunately, adjusting the buckle is easy, as is converting the seat from rear- to forward-facing position, and indicators show whether the recline position is safe. Overall, the seat has a really durable feel to it, with our tester noting that even after their daughter has kicked it multiple times, it doesn’t seem to be affected at all.