I have purchased and used a lot of different car seats between my two kids so I thought I was share my thoughts.
Infant Seats
For me, when evaluating infant seats my priorities are as follows:
1. ease of getting baby in and out of the seat/tightening the straps
2. ease of getting seat in and out of the base
3. installation of base in vehicle
4. strap adjustment as baby grows
I don't like carrying the seat around so the weight of the seat was less important to me. I also liked the idea of the higher height and weight limit seat but both of my girls were on the smaller/shorter side so they ended up being able to fit in the seat longer than the virtues of the infant seat (taking it out of the car) were necessary. But, if I had larger kids this would have become very important.
We bought a Chicco Keyfit 30 before the birth of my first daughter after seeing it highly rated by Consumer Reports, and the Baby Bargins book. To this day, this is still my favorite infant seat. It is so easy to buckle baby in and the the straps tighten effortlessly. The base is low profile which makes the seat easy to get in and out and it installs easily using either latch or seat belt. The only drawback to this seat is it is on the heavy side and adjusting the strap height requires rethreading. When we were using this seat stroller compatibility was a bit more difficult than some other seats but I think that has improved in the past 6 years.
Before the birth of my second I fell in love with the UppaBaby stroller so purchased a Mesa car seat to match. The base installs even more easily than the Chicco, installation with latch is a breeze with the ratching straps and a solid install with the seat belt is simple as well using the built in seat belt tie off. It is also easier to raise the straps as baby grows with the no rethread harness. However, I prefer the Chicco for ease of getting baby in and out. The straps do not tighten as smoothly in the Mesa and I found the chest clip hard to move up and down once the straps were tightened. However, if I wasn't comparing to the Chicco I don't know that I would notice these minor complaints. This seat does work beautifully with the UppaBaby stroller and I loved this system.
The only other baby seat I have experience with is the Peg Perego Viaggio SIP that my sister owns. This seat has a no rethread harness, and tightens fairly smoothly. However, I have found the base far more difficult to install than the Chicco and UppaBaby. The installation of this base is similar to cheaper seats and I have struggled to get a tight installation with both the latch and the seat belt. This is also a heavier and more expensive seat than the Chicco.
Convertible Seats
When it comes to convertible seats my priority is to allow for extended rear facing and harnessed forward facing and of course easy in and out followed by easy installation. I have a tougher time picking an outright favorite in this category as I have favorite features of each seat. We have owned the following convertible seats: Britax Boulevard, Britax Boulevard Click-Tight, Chicco NextFit, Diono Radian, and Evenflo Titan.
Currently my 5 year old is forward facing in the Diono Radian (although she could probably still rear face in this seat) and the 1 year old is rear facing in the Chicco NextFit in my car and the baby is in the Boulevard Click-Tight in the second vehicle. As for my favorite of these . . . I couldn't pick. It depends on the situation.
Diono
The Diono is an all around great seat. This is a very narrow seat (intended to allow 3 installed side by side in a typical sedan).
The unique build of this seat allowed it to fit in the middle with the top fitting between the front seats when it was rear facing and allows another seat to be installed easily beside it. We currently have this installed forward facing in the center seat with the NextFit installed beside it on the passenger side. This allows space for a passenger in the back without removing a car seat!
I also love it for traveling as it fit easily through the aisles on the airplane and in the airplane seat. It is also great for older kids as there is less seat to get in their way and block the view. I also found that it was easier for my daughter to get in and out of independently and get herself buckled in. However, this seat is very tall and very heavy. Installation in the car is also very basic with no seat belt tie-off built into the seat and latch that must be fed through the seat belt path. However, I have not had any issues getting a tight install in either the rear facing or forward facing position in any of the vehicles.
Britax
The Britax Click-Tight on the other hand has the simplest installation I have encountered. It is so easy to get a good tight installation with this seat using the seat belt. You pop the seat up, feed the seat belt across the seat and buckle, pull out the slack and close the seat down (this is the hardest part). Done! Super tight and super simple! I have never tried the latch on this seat but the seat belt installation is so effortless I have no reason too (plus, then I don't have to worry about exceeding the latch weight limits).
With my first we used the Boulevard without click-tight. This was a great seat as well and I found installation with both the latch and the seat belt to be very manageable (although unlike the click-tight, solid installation does require a bit more effort). The seat has built in seat belt tie-offs and latch connectors attached to the frame. The latch connectors tighten easily.
The harness in both Britax seats is good and tightens smoothly. Both have a no retrethread harness which is nice especially once the seat is forward facing and the back no longer accessible without removing fit rom the car.
Chicco
I loved my Keyfit infant seat so much and was disappointed that Chicco did not have a convertible seat when my first outgrew her Keyfit. So with my second I was excited to try out their convertible seat. They did not disappoint. In most ways I find this seat very comparable to the Britax Boulevard. It has the no rethread harness and side impact protection. The harness tightens easily, and it is a very similar weight and size. There are a few differences though; the 9 position recline (versus 3 for Britax), the SuperCinch latch, and the straps are held back to keep the harness out of the way and ready for the child. The 9 position recline is great to allow for a better position in a variety of vehicles. The SuperCinch latch makes for easy installation (I can't speak to seat belt installation on this seat as I haven't used it), and I love having the straps out of the way when putting the child in the seat.
Evenflo
My least favorite seat is the Evenflo. It is difficult to buckle kids into the seat and the installation in the car is a nightmare. I have never managed to get a rear facing installation I am happy with (and I have installed this seat in at least 5 different vehicles) using either the latch or the seat belt. Forward facing installation is slightly better but the latch strap is very difficult to tighten and seat belt installation isn't much of an improvement. This seat doesn't allow for rear facing as long as I would like, my short (20% percentile height) daughter exceeded the height limit of this seat before she was 3. However, this seat does have two redeeming qualities; it is cheap and it is light. If I was going to fly with a seat checked as baggage this would be my choice as I wouldn't want to risk one of the more expensive seats to the perils of the airline cargo hold!
Forward Facing Only Seats
We have also purchased a Britax Frontier Click Tight. This is a harness to booster seat. This has higher height and weight limits for the forward facing harness position and also converts to a booster but does not allow for rear facing installation. This is a Click Tight seat (like the Boulevard above) so installation with the seat belt is effortless (I can't remember if this seat has latch but at the point this seat is necessary the child's weight likely exceeds the latch limits). The seat has a no rethread harness and is easy to buckle and tighten. However, it is a very large seat and depending on the size of the car the arm rests can be in the way when the child is getting in and out of the seat.
I am a huge fan of the high height and weight limits of this seat, however, they are only a bit above the Diono which also does rear facing and is a much more compact seat (which I love). However, if you need to move the seat from car to car often this seat would be a preferable to the Diono due to the far simpler installation.
The bottom line
The chart below gives an overview of the seats I have experience with listing height and weight limits and rating the seat (1 worst, 5 best) for installation and buckling in the child.
For an infant seat you can't go wrong with the Keyfit or the Mesa in my opinion.
As for the convertible seat, a few more things come into play.
In my eyes the Britax Click-Tight and Chicco NextFit are pretty comparable. For me it comes down to latch or seat belt install. If you are installing in the middle seat (or cannot use latch for another reason) the Britax is the way to go. If you prefer to use latch the Chicco is great. Either one would switch between vehicles easily (although both are heavy).
The Diono is amazing for the narrow width, and open build. However, it is harder to install than the Britax or Chicco so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who plans to switch between vehicles often. The height of this seat may also be a problem rear facing in smaller cars.
Please note that my experience with the Evenflo, Peg Perego, and Chicco Keyfit seats is with seats from my first child 5 years ago and the design may have improved/changed since then.
| | | Height (see note below) / Weight Limits |
Buckling in Child
| Installation |
Weight of Seat
|
| Type | Brand | Model | Rear Facing | Forward Facing | Booster | Latch * | Seat Belt |
| Infant | Chicco | Keyfit 30 | 30" / 30 lb | | | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9.6 lbs |
| UppaBaby | Mesa | 32" / 35 lb | | | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9.9 lbs for 2015 version |
| Peg Perego | Viaggio SIP | 30" / 30 lb | | | | 2 | 2 | 11 lb |
| Convertible | Britax | Boulevard | 49" / 40 lb | 49" / 65 lb | | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19.5 lb |
| Britax | Boulevard ClickTight | 49" / 40 lb | 49" / 65 lb | | 4 | | 5 | 29.4 lb |
| Chicco | NextFit | 49" / 40 lb | 49" / 65 lb | | 5 | 4 | | 25 lb |
| Evenflo | Titan Elite | 40" / 35 lb | 47" / 50 lb | | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14.9 lb |
| Diono | RadianRXT | 44" / 45 lb | 57" / 80 lb | 50 - 120 lbs | 5 | 2 | 2 | 26.15 lb |
| Forward Facing | Britax | Frontier ClickTight | | 59" / 90 lb | 62" / 120 lb | 4 | | 5 | 25 lb |
* Latch should not be used with a child over 40 lbs (combined child and seat weight of 65 lb)
Important fit note - the child may not fit properly in the seat up to the heights listed above.
A child is generally considered too tall to rear face in any given seat when the top of their head is within 1" of the top of the seat. Despite knowing (and having) some short cubby babies, I do not know anyone who had a child that exceeded the weight limit for rear facing prior to their head getting within 1" of the top of the seat.
For safe forward facing, the top of the child's ears should be below the top of the seat and the shoulder straps should be at or above the child's shoulders.
