Top Rated Infant Car Seats
Not all baby car seats are created in the same way. The top seats come with features that enhance crash test performance. For example load legs are shock-absorbing components that are affixed to the seat or base and reduce the movement of the seat during a collision.
A popular choice among CPST instructors is the Chicco KeyFit, which has a high rear-facing weight limit and height limit, an indicator for the level of bubbles, and an reclining foot with a spring that makes it easy to install.
Graco Mesa Max
The Graco Mesa Max is one of the top infant car seats for user-friendliness. It is made of great materials, a simple design, and a convenient feature to connect a child's harness to the headrest, making it easier to tighten. It also comes with an enormous canopy that makes it easy to keep your baby shaded while traveling. The only drawback is that it is a little heavier than average this could be an issue if you intend to carry it around or if you want to pair it with your UPPAbaby stroller, which is a winner.
Mesa Max's impressive performance in crash tests show its dedication to safety. It scored well in both frontal and side impact tests, ensuring that your child will be safe from both sides of a collision.
infant car seat travel is the Graco's anti-rebound panel which reduces the force of rebound during an accident and ensures that your child's head is protected. This feature is unique among infant car seats, and makes the Mesa Max standout among its competitors.
When used with the included base When used in conjunction with the base Graco Mesa Max can be installed easily and securely in your vehicle by using LATCH. The load leg as well as recline angle adjustment and tightness indicator ensure a quick and accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6 lbs which is slightly heavier than an average infant car seat but not enough to be an issue.
Similar to its predecessor, the UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric which is free of harmful chemicals. It has an infinitely adjustable backrest as well as an extremely sturdy insert for infants between 4 and 11 lbs. The fabric is GREENGUARD gold certified, which ensures low chemical emissions and low VOCs.
The UPPAbaby Mesa Max is slightly more expensive than some other alternatives, however it comes with premium features and advanced safety technologies for an optimal travel experience. The base is included and comes in a variety of fashionable colors. This adds to the value proposition. Its thoughtful design and robust features provide peace of mind for parents on their every trip.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight
The Britax Blvd ClickTight is a great option for parents who are looking for a car seat that their child can grow with. Its rear-facing weight limit is 40 pounds, which is higher than many infant car seats. It can be used forward-facing as well until your child reaches 65 pounds.
Its most prominent selling feature is the ClickTight Installation System, which is the most secure and simple on the market. The seat belt can be tightened by pressing a red release and pulling the strap. This makes it unnecessary to remove and rethread your seatbelt. This minimizes the chance of not tightening the correct belt which is the most common cause of car seat failure.
The EZ-Buckle Pad is a further security feature that keeps the buckle out the way when you put your child in the car seat. This feature, as well as beltpath cutouts that run along the sides of the seat, make it easy to get them into and out of the car.
All 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, a rip-stitch energy-absorbing harness pad, a tether that is HUGS as well as a steel reinforced frame and EPP energy-absorbing foam.
The seat is quite heavy, though, so you may want to consider a lighter option if you plan to use it for travel or frequent car swaps. The seat is quite large, so it might not fit in smaller cars.
If you want a more budget-friendly option, but with the same quality, check out the 4Ever DLX from Graco. The seat has lower crash test analysis scores than the Boulevard however it's an excellent choice for your baby.
The Graco also has LATCH connectors with push-on connections that make it simpler to take the seat off. The Boulevard's LATCH connectors feature an additional release mechanism, which requires the user to press a grey button and then pull on the webbing to loosen it. This can be difficult if your webbing is tight. This seat has a convenient storage compartment for belt straps.
Clek Liing
If you're looking for an infant car seat that offers all of it -- style, safety convenience, and luxury- you'll love the Clek Liing. This rear-facing car seat can be easy to install, has an impressive crash test score and a range of features.
The Liing is designed with features that exceed US and Canadian safety regulations. It's engineered to allow for a simple, secure installation in any seating position - and is packed with safety features that are advanced such as an energy-absorbing metal load leg as well as an outer shell that is lined with EPP foam for enhanced side-impact protection. The base features 7 recline positions as well as a reliable bubble indicator that lets you know when the seat is set at the correct angle for your newborn.
Parents love the Liing's sleek and modern design, and its unique safety features such as the rigid lower anchors that are much easier to attach than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing has a one-handed quick release, making it easy to remove the base and connect it to strollers compatible with it. With less than 17 inches wide it's just narrow enough for 3-across in the majority of vehicles. It also can easily fit into convertible car seats as a booster.
This infant seat is an impressive 1st place in terms of ease of installation thanks to its unique rigid-LATCH system. The lower anchors of the Liing click directly into the lower seat belt slots and the seat's top tether strap snaps into the vehicle's headrest to create an extremely secure, tight fit that eliminates the risk of the child being thrown around during an accident.
The seat is light, with the base weighting 9 lbs and the carrier itself coming in at an easy 10.5 pounds. Some other rear-facing only seats have a much heavier weight, but if you're planning on schlepping the car seat and its base around, the slight difference won't be too obvious (especially when you add a baby into the mix! ).
Parents appreciate the Liing's built-in canopy and 100+spf sun-protection with the mesh peekaboo window. Caregivers love the merino-covered cover that keeps babies warm, and they also like the handle's ability to pivot past the canopy which makes it more comfortable for them to grab when needed.
Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX
The Graco Trio GROW SnugLock is a 3-in-1 seat that can be converted from a rear-facing infant into a forward-facing harness, and later to the highback booster. It features the SnugLock system that allows for a simple and smooth installation using either lower anchors or car seat belts. It also has the option to use the top tether in booster mode (although we recommend using the lower anchors at all times to ensure security).
We like that this seat can be used by children of all age groups. It has an infant insert for younger babies that helps support their backs and necks. This insert can be removed once the child is older and the seat can be used as a regular 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 quite compact from front to back, so it shouldn't pose a problem fitting into the majority of vehicles. It does require the headrest to be raised in order to provide a clear path to the lower anchor webbing. Thankfully, there's a handy headrest adjustment knob that can easily do this, and you can view the position of your headrest in the display window.
The SnugLock system is among the coolest features about this seat. It's a bar that is inside the belt path. Installing this car seat with lower anchors is simple and is almost as easy as installing the car's seat belt.
The manual also provides an excellent diagram of how to correctly guide the lower anchor connectors while routing them through the new belt path which can be a bit difficult at first. It's important to keep them out of the crotch buckle loop and away from the chest clip, to ensure they don't interfere 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 testing in the industry. This includes tests for side, rear and rollover crashes as well as frontal collisions.