This past weekend I had the daunting task of picking out a new car seat for my son. He had recently outgrown his seat from the infant travel system we had received as a shower gift. After struggling with infertility for so many years, I am probably somewhat obsessive about keeping my kids safe. So, yes, it took me hours (not one hour) – hours to find the car seats I felt comfortable with to put in my vehicle. I finally decided on the CHICCO NextFit car seat for my vehicle, and I wanted to let you know my thoughts about this car seat!
After reading this article from Consumer Reports, I decided to even buy a subscription to their website to see side-by-side comparisons of 25 convertible car seats. While I did buy a different seat for my husband’s car, we wanted the seat for my car to be the absolute best since he would be spending a tremendous amount of time in my car compared to anyone else’s car in our family.
Also, please note that this was one of the most expensive car seats that I saw between two different stores, retailing at $299. I purchased mine at Target because I was able to use a $20 gift card from a previous purchase, and my Target Red Card, making the final price around $265. I decided to write this review, because I wanted to stress that sometimes you get what you pay for, and so far I have been very pleased with this car seat.
The CHICCO NextFit car seat received the highest rating out of all the seats listed in all four compared areas. Once we purchased it and started installing it, we realized that the installation process was very smooth. My husband made several comments about the weight of the seat, and noted that it was much heavier than the seat we purchased for his vehicle. Obviously, in the event of an accident, weight will inhibit the projection of an object, and I felt that extra weight was a good thing. However, this does make it more cumbersome to switch between vehicles in the event of changing cars. I do not plan on taking this car seat out of my car for any reason, so my husband’s car seat will be the one we exchange between family members.
There is a cup holder that attaches to the side, however, please note that my son’s zippy cup was not able to fit into the holder. After three days my husband also removed the padding from the shoulder straps, mostly because my son was constantly chewing them, not because they were aggravating him.
As you can see the buckles are similar to any other car seat, and I have no issues with getting either buckles to latch. It was also very important to me that there be enough head protection, and I feel the CHICCO NextFit car seat offered a tremendous amount of protection, and the headrest has different settings as your child grows. Directly after car seat safety, comfort was my next concern. I really feel that the plush padding on this chair sets it apart from all of the other chairs that we tried. I even took the baby along and had him sit in various car seats to see how they fit.
The ReclineSure Leveling System also allows for ensuring safety and making sure the seat is level, and there is an actual level on the side of this car seat! We have also included the installation video below! You can see all of the CHICCO NextFit videos on their YouTube channel!
While we aren’t giving you any safety advice, or telling you which one you should buy, I do feel that I made a very good purchase and want to share this with my readers.
I’m looking for a new car seat. I hate ours. To get it to be safe, I have to use an after market seat belt lock and a seat belt ratchet. If I don’t, the seat is not even remotely secure. It makes it a terrible pain to switch around as it is the only car seat we own and the grandparents don’t have one. Does this one sit tight with a seat belt, not the Latch system?
(visiting from Thrifty Thursday)