Tag Archives: comparison

Why Can’t We Buy 55-Pound Rear-Facing Car Seats in the US Like Sweden?

The Britax Multi-tech III rear-faces from 20 to 55 pounds in Sweden. Why isn't it sold in the US?
The Britax Multi-tech III rear-faces from 20 to 55 pounds in Sweden. Why isn’t it sold in the US?

One of the most interesting facets of car seat safety involves the differences in cultural attitudes toward car seat usage and auto safety overall, which is reflected in the availability of different seats in different regions of the world. For example, Britax regularly sells car seats capable of rear-facing up to 55 pounds throughout Europe, particularly in the UK, Sweden, and Norway. However, they don’t sell any seats capable of rear-facing past 40 pounds in the United States as of November 2017, and this has been the case for years, despite the availability of such 55-pound rear-facing seats overseas for more than a decade. Why is that? And does it really matter? Let’s take a closer look at these questions today.

There’s (almost) no demand for 55-pound rear-facing in the United States

The Britax Two-Way also rear-faces from 20 to 55 pounds in Sweden. But almost no one would buy it if it were available in the US...so it isn't.
The Britax Two-Way also rear-faces from 20 to 55 pounds in Sweden. But almost no one would buy it if it were available in the US…so it isn’t.

The primary reason why 55-pound rear-facing seats aren’t yet available in the United States is because there’s almost no demand for them. Car seat manufacturers don’t stay in business by making seats no one buys; there’s a large demand for rear-facing seats in Sweden and Norway, where most children rear-face until 4 to 5. However, in the United States, where most children are forward-facing by age 2, there’s much less demand for seats that allow kids to rear-face far beyond that.

There are definitely exceptions; as of today, there are 7 convertible car seats that allow children to rear-face until they hit 50 pounds: The Clek Fllo, the Clek Foonf, the Diono Rainier, the Graco Extend2Fit, the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1, the Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit, the Nuna Rava, the Safety 1st Advance EX 65 Air+, and the Safety 1st Grow and Go EX Air. However, only one of these existed when I started this blog in 2014, the Clek Foonf. We’ve made progress in raising awareness of the importance of rear-facing, and more parents are doing so in the US than ever before, but it’s still a very, very, very small market here compared to what’s the norm in Sweden.

It’s also important to note that while you can buy Swedish seats and import them to the US to use them with children on this side of the pond, this is illegal because Swedish seats aren’t legal for US use since they aren’t tested by the NHTSA. There are plenty of ways to get around the law if you’re interested in doing so for a number of things in life, but we’re focusing here on why such seats aren’t legally sold in the United States or Canada.

With that in mind, it’s important to note that just because we can’t rear-face past 50 pounds in the United States doesn’t mean our kids are leaving a lot of safety on the table compared to their Swedish siblings. In fact, the best rear-facing seats in the US have a lot in common with the best Swedish ones. Next we’ll take a look at four 55-pound rear-facing Swedish seats.

Which Swedish car seats rear-face until 55 pounds, and how do they compare to American seats?

I recently reviewed the Britax Max-Way II (which rear-faces from 20-55 pounds) and compared it to US convertible seats. It's not that different from the best ones here.
I recently reviewed the Britax Max-Way II (which rear-faces from 20-55 pounds) and compared it to US convertible seats. It’s not that different from the best ones here.

I recently wrote about how one of the most common Swedish rear-facing car seats, the Britax Max-Way, was not that different from extended rear-facing convertibles available in the US (e.g., the Clek Fllo or Diono Rainier). It’s one of four commonly sold 55-pound rear-facing car seats available overseas via Britax; three others are the Britax Hi-Way 2, which succeeded the Britax Hi-Way some years ago, the Britax Two-Way, a much older but still relevant design, and the Britax Multi-Tech III. Three of these seats rear-face from 20-55 pounds while one rear-faces from birth to 55 pounds. None of these seats are available in the US but all are readily available in Sweden and a number of other countries throughout Europe (e.g., via Britax Sweden). The manuals for these seats are typically available in English, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, and Swedish, reflecting sales in the UK, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and of course, Sweden.

The Britax Hi-Way II is designed to rear-face from 0-55 pounds. However, Britax only sells it in Europe.
The Britax Hi-Way II is designed to rear-face from 0-55 pounds. However, Britax only sells it in Europe.

While all four of these seats may seem far more advanced, sophisticated, and yes, safer, than anything available in the US, it’s essential to note that the Swedes themselves don’t credit the seats with their exceptional safety record for the fewest children lost to car crashes per capita year after year. To the Swedes, the difference comes primarily from rear-facing. Indeed, if you look at the seats more closely, you’ll realize that, practically speaking, you can’t rear-face in them any longer than you can in the best American seats.

Really?

Yes! As with American seats, the usability of Swedish car seats is primarily limited by height instead of by weight, even though seats there, like seats here, are primarily marketed by height.

How long can Swedish car seats actually be used to rear face compared to the best US convertibles?

Want Swedish rear-facing time on a budget? Just get a Graco Extend2Fit--or any of the other 50 pound seats.
Want Swedish rear-facing time on a budget? Just get a Graco Extend2Fit–or any of the other 50 pound seats.

When it comes down to it, you can actually get about as much time rear-facing in the best US convertibles as you can from the best Swedish seats. Let’s compare the four above to some of their closest American counterparts.

The Britax Max-Way is a Group 1/2 seat designed for kids from 9 months to 6 years of age. It rear-faces (and only rear-faces) from 9-25 kg, or 20-55 lbs. It has a height limit of around 120 cm, or 47 inches.

The Britax Hi-Way II is a Group 0/1/2 seat designed for kids from birth to 6. It rear-faces from 0-25 kg, or 0-55 lbs. It has a height limit of around 110 cm, or 43 inches.

The Britax Two-Way is another Group 1/2 seat for kids between 9 months and 6 years. It rear-faces and forward-faces from 9-25 kg, or 20-55 lbs. It has a height limit of 125 cm, or 49 inches.

The Britax Multi-Tech III is a Group 1/2 seat aimed at kids between 9 months and 6 years. It can both rear-face and forward-face between 9-25 kg, or 20-55 lbs. It also has a height limit of 125 cm, or 49 inches.

According to growth charts from the Center for Disease Control (which are the same for girls and boys), a 50th percentile child won’t reach 50 pounds until 7 years and 25 kilograms (55 pounds) until approximately 7 years and 9 months. Height-wise, the child won’t reach 43″ until 5 and 49″ until 7 years and 5 months.

A Clek Fllo will give you the same amount of effective rear-facing time as a Britax Max-Way or Hi-Way II despite having a 50-pound weight limit.
A Clek Fllo will give you the same amount of effective rear-facing time as a Britax Max-Way or Hi-Way II despite having a 50-pound weight limit.

In other words, for a 55 pound seat with a 49″ height limit, height is the limiting factor for a typical child, and it limits a seat to 7 years and 5 months, and a 43″ height limit limits a seat to 5 years. There are several 50-pound seats in the US with 49″ height limits, including the Nuna Rava, the Safety 1st Advance EX 65 Air+, the Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit, the Graco Extend2Fit.  The Diono Rainier tops out at 44″, which a 40th percentile child will reach by 5 years and 5 months. The Clek Fllo and Clek Foonf top out at 43″, which a 50th percentile child will reach by 5.

What this shows is that any of the 50-pound rear-facing seats currently available in the US will allow you to rear-face as long as you can with two of the four most common 55-pound rear-facing seats available in Sweden, and four separate 50-pound US seats sold in the US will match the rear-facing time an average child can get out of the two tallest 55-pound seats sold in Sweden. There are some unique situations (e.g., heavy, short children) where certain kids could potentially get more time from a Swedish seat than an American one by being too heavy for an American seat yet falling within the height limits, but these will be very, very rare situations. Practically speaking, if you want to rear-face until 4 or 5 or even 6 or 7, you don’t need a Swedish seat; you just need to make the most of an American one. Sort of like how you don’t need the newest cars to travel safely.

Does this mean we don’t need 55-pound rear-facing seats in the United States to keep our kids as safe as those in Sweden?

In a word, yes. Their incredibly low rates of child deaths come from a combination of factors including and beyond extended rear-facing, such as their much closer adherence to best practices in road design and driver behaviors than that found in the US. Swedes drive half as often as Americans, which automatically cuts the risk of death for children and adults alike in half. If we want numbers like those seen in Sweden, we can’t just rear-face and call it a day. As with most societal-scale changes, it’ll require societal-scale commitment. And the US shows no sign of lowering speed limits, reducing auto travel, and redesigning roads to make slower, safer travel a priority over faster, riskier transportation.

If you replaced every 55-pound car seat in Sweden with, say, Clek Fllos, they’d still have the lowest child death rates on the planet. Our seats are good enough. We just aren’t using them–and our driving culture and infrastructure aren’t helping.

Until we adopt societal-level changes, the secrets to keeping your family safe will continue to be found in choosing safe speeds, following best practices with car seats,  and choosing safe roads.  Don’t wait for the government or your neighbors to follow best practices, or you’ll be waiting an awfully long time.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can buy my books here or do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Send me an email at carcrashdetective [at] gmail [dot] com.

Four of the Narrowest Infant Seats for 3 Across Car Seat Installations

When it comes to 3 across car seat installations, the good news is that you can fit 3 car seats in almost any vehicle sold in the US if you have the right seats; this is why I put together (and continue to add to) my mega 3 across car seat guide. However, I don’t have every combination that will work in every vehicle listed, and sometimes you just want a quick guide to seats that are pretty much guaranteed to work in whatever you’re driving. I’ve written a guide to convertible seats that will fit 3 across in pretty much any vehicle out there, but a lot of parents asked for an equivalent guide for infant seats. This is that list. It doesn’t cover every single narrow infant seat on the market, but these are the narrowest I’ve measured that also have at least 30-pound rear-facing weight limits.

It took a while to test these in my narrowest vehicles (e.g., the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris) to make sure they really would work just about everywhere, but I’m now confident that if you’ve got three functional seat belts and three seats attached to them, you’ll almost certainly be able to get 3 of the infant seats below to work in them. These seats can also be mixed and matched with the super narrow convertible seats I profiled earlier. As usual, you’ll want to use seat belts instead of LATCH when attempting any installation where space is an issue; remember that it’s just as safe as LATCH but far more convenient when it comes to multiple adjacent car seat installations.

The 4 narrowest infant car seats for 3 across installations in nearly any vehicle

Chicco KeyFit 30 – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

keyfit30-1The Chicco KeyFit 30 is my default infant seat recommendation for parents looking for a straightforward and 3-across-friendly infant option. It’s easy to install, it’s affordable at under $200, it has a great reputation, and it’s also among the narrowest infant seats you can buy.

Additional things I like about the KeyFit 30 include its compatibility with a range of Chicco strollers, the included infant insert that makes it easy to use with smaller babies, and the single pull tightener to adjust harness tension. The main downside to the KeyFit 30 is that its weight range is 4-30 pounds rather than 4-35 like much of the competition. I’d also like the 30″ height limit to be larger. However, it’s also one of the easiest infant seats on the market to install, and that’s a big, big pro for first time parents. And on the aesthetic end, it’s available in at least 9 colors.

Cybex Aton – 17 inches. Review coming, buy here.

cybex-aton-1The Cybex Aton raises the bar compared to the KeyFit right off the bat by including a 4-35 pound weight range, offering more room for growth by weight before you’ll need to look for a convertible seat (because you’ll want to keep rear-facing long past when your baby outgrows his or her infant seat). The seat itself also comes in at a svelte 9 pounds without the base, which makes more of a difference than you’d think when toting a 10 pound baby around.

Like the KeyFit, the Aton comes in at 17 inches in width, meaning you’ll be able to install it just about anywhere. It clicks into the base with a satisfying click and, like almost all infant seats on the market, can also be used without the base through a seat belt installation. I also like how it includes European belt routing as an option during baseless installs; it’s a nice alternative to the standard American belt routing, although either is safe. The main con to the Aton is that it costs a bit more than the KeyFit 30 and may not be as easy to find in stores; I recommend buying seats from Amazon anyway due to their hassle-free return system. 

Cybex Aton 2 – 17 inches. Review here, buy here. 

aton2I reviewed the Cybex Aton 2 years ago and am still a fan of it as a well-designed and functional infant seat. The Aton 2 retains many of the great features of the original Aton while adding 10 color options and an adjustable load leg, which I discuss in detail in my review above. Overall, either seat is a solid choice when looking for a more high-end infant seat. It’s worth noting that the Aton 2 is also a little lighter than the Aton at slightly fewer than 9 pounds.

Something else to note is that I consistently found myself able to fit the Atons in slightly shorter spaces, in terms of front-to-back distance, than I did the KeyFit, when really pressed for space. In most situations, the seats were interchangeable, but it wasn’t always the case. The main disadvantage to the Aton 2 is the price, which is steeper than that of the original Aton, and significantly steeper than that of the KeyFit.

Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

peg3Finally, the Primo Viaggio deserves mention as yet another strong competitor in the 17″ waistline range. As with the Atons, you’re also paying at least partly for the additional style and prestige of a European car seat, for whatever that’s worth, as the Atons are made in Germany and the Primo Viaggio is an Italian product. All of the seats I profile here are good ones, and the Viaggio is no exception.

Things I like in particular about the Primo Viaggio include the dizzying array of colors and fabric styles available for choosy parents (there are 18 options at last count), as well as the 4-35 pound weight limit and 32″ height limit, which is handy since most infants will end up outgrowing their seats by height before they do so by weight. The seat is a bit heavier than the Axons at 9.5 pounds, but is still comfortably under 10 pounds. The biggest downside is the price, which hovers consistently between $280 and $330 or more, depending on which color print you’re interested in and how available (or unavailable) it currently is.

Once I’ve got my infant seat, do I still need to worry about convertible seats or rear-facing down the line, or can I switch straight to forward-facing or booster seats after my child outgrows one of these seats?

Once your child outgrows his or her infant seat, you’ll absolutely want to continue rear-facing, and continue to do so for as long as possible. I recommend all parents rear-face until at least 4 if at all possible, just as parents do in Sweden (and now Norway). It’s safer than rear-facing at all ages, and we finally have seats in the US that are capable of allowing kids to stay safely harnessed rear-facing until the preschool or even kindergarten years. Seats like the Fllo, Foonf, Rainier, Pacifica, and Extend2Fit allow for rear-facing until 50 pounds, and in the case of the Extend2Fit, can be had for under $200. The protection they offer kids is immense, and well worth the investment.

If $200 is too much, you can still get at least 40 pounds of rear-facing goodness from seats like the Size4Me or Contender, which will allow most kids to rear-face until 4 or close to 4. Once you forward-face, I’d then recommend continuing to do so until your child turns 8 if possible, but that’s covered in detail in a different article (as is boostering until the 5-step test is passed, and remaining in the back seat until at least 13). Keeping kids safe in cars might seem complex, but it’s not too hard once you get into the habit of doing so.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!

 

The 2016 Guide to The Best and Safest Car Seats Under $200

Two years ago in 2014, I wrote a guide to the best and safest car seats currently available in the US market for under $200 shipped. Back then, the Graco Size4Me 65 was the best bargain you could find for a convertible seat at that price, while the Britax Pioneer 70 took the prize for a combination (forward-facing harnessed and booster-capable) car seat with a $200 budget. However, that was 2014, and two years later, I’ve received a number of requests from parents to update my recommendations in light of the much greater number of seats available these days. Today we’ll take a look at the best infant, convertible, combination, and booster seats on the market.

Before going into the seats themselves, it’s always worth reviewing why certain seats are important to use and when they should be used to keep your kids as safe as possible. recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.

However, safety in the past has often come at a price. The cars with the safest features (e.g., those I describe in Safety Level 4 or even Level 3) cost significantly more than the older ones (e.g., those in Level 2 or Level 1). Similarly, in the world of car seats, the best seats for rear-facing (i.e., those that allow rear-facing until 50 pounds) are often among the most expensive (such as the Clek Fllo, Clek Foonf, Diono Rainier, and Diono Pacifica). The picture is the same with the best seats for extended harnessing and booster use (the Britax Frontier G1.1 and Britax Pinnacle G1.1), and it doesn’t get any better for the best pure booster on the market (the Clek Oobr). So what do you do if you’re invested in car seat safety but have a lot of kids to shop for, or simply have a smaller budget to work with?

This is what I set out to answer in this post. In my opinion, the best choice for extended rear-facing currently on the market below $200 is the Graco Extend2Fit, while the best choice under $200 for forward-facing and boostering is the Britax Pioneer G1.1, a slightly updated version of the Pioneer 70. These two seats allow parents to keep children safe without draining their future college funds. Let’s take a closer look at them together.

The Best and Safest Convertible Car Seat for Extended Rear-Facing under $200 in 2016

extend2fit - 8Why am I such a huge fan of the Graco Extend2Fit? Well, I’ve written a complete review of it here, if you want all the details. However, to make a long story short, the Extend2Fit is one of a handful of seats that allows you to rear-face children from the day they leave the hospital (or birthing center) until they weigh 50 pounds (the full weight range is 5-50 pounds), and includes a shell height of around 30.” A shell height this high is something to talk about, because it means that close to every child who sits in the Extend2Fit will be able to grow to 50 pounds before outgrowing it by height.

To put it another way, if your child is in the 50th percentile by weight, she or he he could theoretically rear-face until 7 years old. This is huge! Of course, while it’s not necessary to rear-face a child that long, the research shows that rear-facing is safer than forward-facing at all ages (even as adults), and if you’re interested in keeping your child rear-facing as long as kids do in countries with the best rear-facing policies in the world (Sweden and Norway, which aim for 4 years), this is a great seat that’ll help you get there. Additionally, given the cost of the seat, it’ll cost you less than $50 a year to rear-face until 4, and less than $40 a year to rear-face until 5. This seat is a game changer in the US rear-facing market.

Additionally, once you’re done rear-facing, you can then flip the Extend2Fit forward and use it as a forward-facing seat until a child reaches 65 pounds or 49″ tall. This is as long by weight and height as two of the other best 50 pound-capable convertibles on the market, the Fllo and the Foonf.

There are drawbacks to the Extend2Fit, of course. For one, it’s not nearly as narrow as the Cleks, which limits its usefulness in 3 across installations. Additionally, the Diono seats offer longer forward-facing modes and potential booster modes to take advantage of. However, if you’re primarily interested in extended rear-facing and are on a budget, this is the best seat on the market right now, in my opinion.

I recommend the Graco Extend2Fit wholeheartedly. You can buy the Graco Extend2Fit in Gotham, Kenzie, or Spire here.

Of course, there’s more to car seat safety than rear-facing. Eventually, your child will need to forward-face, and the Extend2Fit tops out at 65 pounds. There are a number of expensive seats that will allow you to forward-face in a harness for a long time, but what if you’re on a budget?

The Best and Safest Combination Car Seat for Forward-Facing and Booster Use below $200 in 2016

pioneerg1-1The Britax Pioneer G1.1 is the successor to the wildly popular Pioneer 70 released by Britax a few years ago. You can read the full review of the 70 / G1.1 here; the only meaningful differences are improved lap belt guides and logo and color changes. The Pioneer G1.1 allows you to forward-face in a harness from 25-70 pounds and includes a top harness height of 19.5.” This means that most children will actually be able to reach 70 pounds before outgrowing it in harnessed mode.

For a 50th percentile boy or girl by weight, that weight range won’t be reached until around 9 years, an age at which almost all children will be ready to use booster seats. This is a seat that will allow your child to forward-face in a harness well into the range at which most children are developmentally mature enough to begin using a booster (age 8) and for less than $50 a year over the course of its useful forward-facing life if used from age 4 to age 8. To me, that’s worth writing home about

From there, it can then be used as a booster seat until a child weighs 110 pounds or 60″ in height, and comes with a belt guide 22″ tall, which means your child will actually be able to take advantage of its height and weight limits. Most children will need boosters until they are between 4’9″ and 5′ in height, which means that the Pioneer could be the last car seat your child ever needs. Those kinds of savings (both financially and in terms of time spent shopping for and thinking about car seats) are well worth considering.

There are drawbacks to the Pioneer G1.1, of course. For example, children who are much higher on the height or weight percentiles will outgrow it as a forward-facing seat before turning 9. For such children, seats like the Frontier G1.1 or Pinnacle G1.1, with their 20.5″ top harness heights, 23″ booster belt guides, and 90 pound forward-facing weight limits, would be better choices. But for typical weight children of parents on a budget, this is currently the best seat on the market, in my opinion, for forward-facing and then boostering children.

I recommend the Britax Pioneer G1.1 wholeheartedly. You can buy the Britax Pioneer G1.1 in Grey, Kiwi, Pink, Beckham, Pacifica, and Silver Cloud here.

What about the Best Infant Seat Under $200 in 2016?

keyfit30-1Personally, I’m more interested in great convertible seats for rear-facing than infant seats, simply because almost all convertible seats will allow you to rear-face longer than almost all infant seats, and the orientation is what keeps children safe. However, if you’re interested in starting out with an infant seat to allow for easier transport of infants before transitioning to a convertible seat, which many parents appreciate the first time they successfully move a sleeping infant, then I’d recommend the Chicco KeyFit 30 (reviewed here). It won’t let you rear-face until the cows come home, but it’s light to hold, easy to buckle, and easy to install, which makes it a good seat for new parents, as well as for more experienced ones juggling additional children.

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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

The Best Rear-facing Convertible Car Seats for Leg Room

The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is one of the two best convertible car seats I've found for preserving front row leg room.
The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is excellent for preserving front row room.

I frequently get emails from parents either thanking me for the 3 across car seat guides I made for their vehicles or asking for suggestions for vehicles I haven’t yet tested with my fleet of car seats. For those parents, I came up with the list of narrow convertible car seats that will fit 3 across in just about any vehicle (including in a number of coupes and convertibles). However, another question I frequently get from parents involves which car seats will help them preserve front-to-back space in their cars. Believe it or not, this isn’t just an issue for parents driving subcompact or compact cars; many messages come from parents driving mid-sized or large SUVs or even minivans.

Why make a comparison of convertible car seats with the best front-to-back space?

Sometimes it’s because the vehicle inherently doesn’t have much front-to-back space to speak of, but many times, it’s because one parent or the other might be tall or have long legs. Other times one or both parents might simply want to be able to stretch their legs out and get comfortable during road trips. Sometimes it’s because of drivers or passenger who want to sit as far away from the steering wheel or dashboard as possible for fear of airbag deployments, car collisions, or due to pregnancies. Other times it’s due to having friends of different shapes and sizes.

Whatever the reason, since creating the 3 across guides, this has become one of the most frequent questions I receive or that draws people to the site in online searches. The goal is to find a high-quality, high weight- and height-limit convertible car seat that’ll keep your child safe, happy, and comfy rear-facing as long as possible, while at the same time allowing front-row occupants a safe and comfortable amount of room. Let’s get to it.

How did you measure the convertibles that took up the least amount of passenger space?

measuring the graco size4me 65 - smallMy methodology was simple: I chose a vehicle I’ve used for my 3 across guides and installed every rear-facing convertible seat I had access to in the passenger outboard position. I measured the available space between the front of the vehicle seat in which the car seat was installed (at the head rest) and the most forward-reaching part of the car seat. If the car seat had accommodations I could provide to reduce the amount of space it took up, such as the multiple recline positions in a Britax Advocate ClickTight or the angle adjuster option for a Diono Radian RXT or the removable anti-rebound bar for a Clek Fllo, I used it, as long as it didn’t create an unsafe recline angle.

I then ranked all of the car seats in the list below by the minimum measured distance I was able to achieve between the front of the vehicle seat and the most forward part of the car seat. The seats with the smallest measured distances are at the top of the list; these are the seats that are likely to use the least amount of space in your vehicle when you install them rear-facing the way I did. The seats with the largest measured distances are at the bottom of the list; these seats are likely to take up more front-to-back space in a given vehicle, leaving you with less space in the front row.

Will this list tell me if a car seat will give me lots of space in my car, minivan, SUV, or pickup truck?

Unfortunately, I can’t say if you’ll get as much space as I did in your vehicle; there are a lot of different factors that go into that, including the size of your vehicle, the angles of both your vehicle and car seats, whether your seats can move forward and back or not, and of course the amount of space your driver and front-seated passenger need. However, what this list will tell you is how much space individual seats can take up when installed rear-facing. This, in turn, tells you whether one seat is likely to give you more or less room than another, and which seats, on average, are likely to give you the most or least space.

I’ve also included links to my reviews of the seats and their weight and seated height limits while rear-facing. The seated height limits are a measurement of the amount of available height in a seat from the bottom of the seat to the top, keeping in mind 1″ rules when applicable. In other words, they tell you how tall a seated child could be before outgrowing the seat; if two seats have the same weight limit, the seat with the higher seated height will last the child longer before needing to be forward-faced. All seats are tested in their most upright positions with head rests in fully extended positions unless otherwise noted.

It’s not a complete list, but I’ll continue to add to it as I get more seats. Each of these seats is one I’ve reviewed and lauded on my recommended convertible car seat list. The equivalent Canadian recommended convertible list is here. The list below compares the most popular convertible car seats available in the US, sorted by the amount of front-to-back space they take up once installed in rear-facing configurations

Convertible Car Seat (Click on the car seat name for review) Front-to-back space used (in) Rear-facing weight limit (lbs) Rear-facing measured seated height of child (in)
 Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 31 inches  40 pounds  25 inches
 Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 31  inches  40 pounds  25  inches
 Britax Advocate ClickTight 32 inches  40 pounds  28  inches
 Britax Boulevard ClickTight 32 inches  40 pounds  28  inches
 Britax Marathon ClickTight 32 inches  40 pounds  26  inches
 Britax Advocate G4.1 33 inches  40 pounds  24  inches
 Britax Boulevard G4.1 33 inches  40 pounds  24  inches
 Britax Marathon G4.1 33 inches  40 pounds  24  inches
 Britax Pavilion G4 33 inches  40 pounds  24  inches
 Britax Advocate G4 33 inches  40 pounds  24  inches
 Chicco NextFit 33 inches  40 pounds  26  inches
 Diono Radian RXT
(with angle adjuster)		 33 inches  45 pounds  25  inches
 Diono Radian R120
(with angle adjuster)		 33 inches  45 pounds  25  inches
 Diono Radian R100
(with angle adjuster)		 33 inches  40 pounds  25  inches
 Diono Rainier
(with angle adjuster)		 33 inches  50 pounds  25  inches
 Diono Pacifica
(with angle adjuster)		 33 inches  50 pounds  25  inches
 Diono Olympia
(with angle adjuster)		 33 inches  45 pounds  25  inches
 Graco Size4Me 65
(with flush head rest)		 33  inches  40 pounds  27  inches
 Graco My Size 65
(with flush head rest)		 33 inches  40 pounds  27  inches
 Graco Head Wise 70
(with flush head rest)		 33 inches  40 pounds  27  inches
 Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible (w/ flush head rest) 33 inches  45 pounds  24  inches
 Evenflo Triumph 34 inches  40 pounds  23  inches
 Evenflo Symphony 34 inches  40 pounds  23   inches
 Graco 4Ever All-In-One 34 inches  40 pounds  27  inches
 Graco Milestone All-In-One 34 inches  40 pounds  27  inches
 Graco Contender
(with flush head rest)		 34 inches  40 pounds  27  inches
 Clek Fllo
(without anti-rebound bar)		 35  inches  50 pounds  26  inches
 Clek Foonf 36  inches  50 pounds  26  inches
 Safety 1st Advance EX 65 Air+ 36  inches  50 pounds  28  inches
 Safety 1st Advance SE / LX 65 Air+ 36  inches  40 pounds  28  inches
 All Diono convertibles
(without angle adjuster)		 38  inches  40 pounds  25  inches
More Seats to Come!

It’s important to repeat that you’re not necessarily going to get exactly the same results in your particular vehicle with a particular seat. However, this is a great starting point, and for many parents, it can make the difference between between a great amount of leg room and a very unpleasant driving or passenger experience, between forward-facing at 1 and forward-facing at 4, and ultimately, in the amount of safety we can provide our children while we travel. I’ve included below some additional notes and tips about several of the seats in the above list.

pria2 Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 – Review Here, Buy Here.
Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 – Review here, buy here.

The Pria 85 and 70 are the two convertibles that took up the least amount of space while rear-facing in this comparison. This makes these two seats the friendliest convertibles with 40-pound rear-facing limits for vehicles with limited front-to-back space.

When reclining, you can choose between the full recline of position #3 or the partial recline of position #2. The angle indicator is a line that’s supposed to be level to the ground. If you need to increase your recline angle, you can do so with either a tightly rolled towel or a pool noodle beneath the base.

advocate3Britax Advocate ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
Britax Marathon ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.

The 3 ClickTight triplets were the next-best convertibles for front-to-back space within the 40 pound RF weight limit, and also among the convertibles with the highest seated height limits at 28 inches. It’s important to note that the Marathon ClickTight seated height tops out at around 26 inches; if you’ve got a taller child, you might want to go with the Advocate CT or Boulevard CT instead.

With the ClickTight triplets, you can choose from 7 different recline positions in the base to get the rear-facing recline angle you need as suggested by the angle indicator. The more upright you can get the seat, the more space you’ll have. Keep in mind that newborns and young babies will naturally need more recline than toddlers or older children.

advocate4-1-1The Britax Boulevard G4.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Marathon G4.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.

The G4.1 and G4 seats are also great choices for rear-facing without taking too much space from front-seat occupants. There are 3 recline positions available in total, but you can only use one of them when rear-facing. If you need to use a tightly rolled towel or a pool noodle beneath the base to find an appropriate recline angle, you can do so without worry. This is most likely to be the case if you have extremely sloped car seats and have a newborn or infant in the seat.

nex1Chicco NextFit Zip – Review Here, Buy Here.

The NextFit has one of the highest seated heights I’ve yet measured (26 inches) for a 40-pound convertible seat currently on the market, which helps prolong the time you’ll be able to use it for rear-facing.

You can choose between 9 recline positions on the base to find an appropriate recline angle while rear-facing; the angle indicator will tell you what’s in a safe range and what’s not. The more upright your recline, the less space the seat will take up front-to-back. The ability to choose from so many different angles is part of what makes the NextFit such a good seat for smaller vehicles.

purplerainierDiono Radian RXT – Review Here, Buy Here.
Diono Radian R120 – Review Here, Buy Here.
Diono Radian R100 – Review here, buy here.
Diono Rainier – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Diono convertible family ranges from the R100 with a 40-pound RF limit to the Rainier and Pacifica with 50-pound RF limits. The RXT, R120, and Olympia are in between with 45-pound RF limits. All of the seats have the same basic design, and all of the seats are wonderful for small cars and small spaces when used with the angle adjuster. All of the seats also take up a large amount of space hen used without the angle adjuster. Remember that you can only use the angle adjuster if your child has full head control and can sit up without help.

s4m1The Graco Size4Me 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Fit4Me 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Contender – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Graco clones are my favorite budget convertible car seats for extended rear-facing. They all rear-face until 40 pounds and include the second-highest seated child height limits in their class; the only 40-pound convertibles that will allow you to rear-face longer than the Graco seats here are the ClickTight convertibles.

That said, the Gracos are not all created equally. While they all share the feature of 3 recline positions with only 1 allowed when rear-facing, the Contender takes up more space when installed in the same seat than the other Graco clones. I’m not sure why, but it’s something to keep in mind, and another reason to buy the Size4Me or My Size over the Contender if you can afford to. You can increase your recline angle in all of the clones with either a tightly rolled towel or a pool noodle stuffed beneath the base.

pegpink Peg Perego Primo Viaggio – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Primo Viaggio convertible is one of the best-performing seats on the list when it comes to the space it saves while rear-facing, especially since it doesn’t need an angle adjuster to provide the space it does while letting you rear-face until 45 pounds, unlike the Radian RXT, Radian R120, and Olympia.

The Primo Viaggio lets you use only one recline position when rear-facing. You can also choose between the first 7 head rest height settings when rear-facing; the top 3 are only allowed when forward-facing. As is the case with most seats on the list, you can increase your recline angle as needed through a tightly rolled towel or pool noodle beneath the base.

flloinkClek Foonf – Review Here, Buy Here.
Clek Fllo – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Clek seats are among my favorite rear-facing convertibles, as they’re two of a handful of seats that allow rear-facing from birth until 50 pounds when used with the infant insert.

The Fllo allows you to use only one recline position when rear-facing. To make the most of it, you’ll want to remove the anti-rebound bar; that’ll give you about two more inches of space to play with in the front row. Although I like the anti-rebound bar, it’s an optional feature in the Fllo, and rear-facing will give you the biggest bang for your buck anyway. If you need more of a recline angle, you can use a tightly rolled towel beneath the base. Unlike most of the seats on this list, the Fllo doesn’t permit the use of a pool noodle.

The Foonf also lets you use recline position 3 when rear-facing. However, unlike with the Fllo, you can’t remove the anti-rebound bar when rear-facing. The Foonf as a result takes up about an inch more space than the Fllo when rear-facing. However, unlike with the Fllo, you can use either a tightly rolled towel or a pool noodle to increase your recline angle if you need to.

Conclusion – what’s the best seat for rear-facing space? It depends on your needs!

In conclusion, it can be tough figuring out what the best convertible seats will be for your son or daughter in your particular vehicle. The truth of the matter is that there isn’t a universally “best” seat. Whenever parents ask me for such a seat, I never have any in mind until I’ve thoroughly listened to or read their concerns, as each family’s situation will influence what the best solutions are for them. With that in mind, I’m hoping this will serve as yet another resource for parents and caretakers in search of high-quality convertibles to keep their little ones safe without placing front occupants into dangerous or uncomfortable situations.

If you’re still looking for more information to help you decide which seat is right for your little one, I’d recommend checking out the plethora of recommended car seat reviews and best practice articles I’ve written here. If you’d like to know about the narrowest car seats that will fit in just about any vehicle, you can read my recommendations here. And if you’d simply like to get an idea of some of the car seats that are likely to fit in your vehicle, you owe it to yourself to check out the gargantuan 3 across car seat guide I’ve written up (and continue to add to) here, spanning vehicles of all sizes, years, models, and price brackets.

These are good lists to have in mind when Amazon launches their seasonal car seat sales, such as those on Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday; when you have the chance to score a deal, you want to make sure the seat you’re saving money on is a quality one.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!

The 6 Narrowest Car Seats that Will Fit 3 Across in Any Vehicle

A Guide to Narrow Car Seats that will Fit 3 Across in Nearly Any Car
With the right seats (e.g., 3 Foonfs or 3 Fllos), you can make 3 across work in just about any passenger vehicle sold in the US or Canada, as long as the vehicle has 3 seats.

If you’ve got three or more kids, you know how difficult it can be to get them all buckled into your vehicle safely. It’s why I created the 3 across car seat guide, which has more than 60 different cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks listed so far. My goal was to help parents figure out which 3 sets of car seats were most likely to fit into their particular vehicles, taking into account how models often changed dramatically from one generation to the next, and how some seats simply puzzled, or fit, with particular seats in better or worse ways.

Which car seats are the easiest to install in my car / truck / SUV / minivan?

I’ve received hundreds of emails from parents over the years thanking me for the guides for their particular vehicles or requesting more specific advice. However, one of the most frequent questions I received involved a request for car seats that would work in pretty much all vehicles without lots of struggling, stubbed fingers, or the weight of ten Sumo wrestlers to hold them in place while tightening seat belts or LATCH straps. This is that guide.

Here are the 6 safest car seats that will fit 3 across in just about any vehicle. They’re not going to help you do the impossible, such as 3 across in a Smart Car or in a car that doesn’t have a back seat at all. But they’re going to work in pretty much any other normal, street-legal vehicle made in the last 20 years. Buy 3 of them and forget about car seats for a while; if you’ve got 3 kids, you’ve got more than enough to keep you busy.

Remember, of course, to use your seat belts for installations instead of LATCH if you have any trouble fitting your seats together, as you can often gain several inches with 3 seat belt installations over 2 LATCH + 1 seat belt or 3 LATCH installations. And if you’re in a smaller vehicle, every inch is precious.

The 6 narrowest (yet safe!) car seats that will help you get 3 across in nearly any vehicle, guaranteed.

flloinkClek Fllo – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

The Fllo is easily my favorite car seat on the market right now when it comes to a seat that you can buy 3 of and rest easy knowing that it’s going to fit in your car. It doesn’t matter if you drive a Fiesta, a Fusion, or a Yukon; you’re going to be able to get 3 Fllos to fit in it, and fit well.

And when you combine the Fllo with the Infant-Thingy infant insert, you’ve got a seat that you can use from the day your baby leaves the hospital until he or she weighs 50 pounds. And after that point, you turn it around so it’s forward-facing and you’ll get another year or two out of it until your child reaches 65 pounds. It’s not the cheapest seat on this list, but when it comes to a set-it-and-forget-it seat that lets you rear-face longer than any other seat on the market (besides a handful of seats including its sibling the Foonf), the Fllo is the best convertible seat you can buy.

foo2Clek Foonf – 17 inches. Review here, Buy here.

The Foonf is like the Fllo except it has a few internal and external differences. It also costs more, weighs more, and sits up higher, making it more difficult to see behind. However, if you have the specific needs that draw you to the Foonf over the Fllo, or if you can find one at a discount, you’re still going to get one of the absolute best seats on the market for 3 across.

At 17 inches, it’s every bit as narrow as the Fllo and every bit as easy to use to get a 3 across installation in. And just as with the Fllo, you can pair it with the Infant-Thingy infant insert to get a seat that’ll be usable rear-facing from 4 to 50 pounds and then usable forward-facing until 65 pounds. You can compare the Fllo and the Foonf to decide which is the best choice for you, but if you can’t think of a reason to go with the Foonf, save some money and go with the Fllo.

rxtDiono Radian RXT – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

The Radian RXT is an excellent car seat overall, but it’s a particularly great one when it comes to 3 across installations, simply because it’s narrow, it’s been out for so long that people have had a chance to test its durability (and yes, it’s a very sturdy seat), and because it’s the first seat on this list that can be used for a great amount of time while forward-facing in addition to rear-facing.

The rear-facing weight range is 5 to 45 pounds, meaning you can use it from the day your baby leaves the hospital until s/he’s probably around 4 or 5. The rear-facing height limit is 44,” which give you a good amount of time. You can then turn it around and forward-face until your child weighs 80 pounds or is 57″ tall, which is considerably more in height and weight than what you’ll get from the Fllo or Foonf.

It even has a booster mode that extends up to 120 pounds, although you may not get to fully use it if your child exceeds the height limit of the seat belt guide, which is unfortunately fixed. Overall, the Radian RXT remains one of my favorite convertible seats and is definitely a seat you can trust to get you a 3 across installation without fuss or muss.

120Diono Radian R120 – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

The Radian R120 is basically a cheaper version of the Radian RXT; the only real difference between the two seats, besides the price and the fabric options, is that while the Radian RXT comes with head wings, the Radian R120 does not. The head wings are meant to offer head protection from side impacts, so it’s up to you whether you think the price difference is worth it or not. Personally, I do think it’s worth the difference, but I still think the Radian R120 is a strong seat and it’s still one of the best out there for 3 across installations. As with the Radian RXT, you can use it to rear-face from 5 to 45 pounds, to forward face until your child reaches 80 pounds, and to booster until your child reaches 120 pounds.

radian r100Diono Radian R100 – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

The Radian R100 is basically a cheaper and slightly stripped-down version of the Radian R120, which itself is basically a slightly stripped-down version of the Radian RXT. It remains an excellent seat for 3 across installations despite its changes, but it’s worth noting that its changes are more significant than those of the R120.

Your rear-facing limits are now 5 to 40 pounds while your forward-facing weight limit drops down to 65 pounds. Your booster range also drops down to 100 pounds. In other words, you’re not going to get as much time in each stage with this seat, which is why I’d recommend the other two Dionos before it. However, it’s still quite competitive among seats out there in terms of the time limits it does offer, and it’s still well worth consideration, especially if you’re on a smaller budget.

com1Combi Coccoro – 17 inches. Review here, buy here.

Last but not least, the Combi Coccoro deserves a special mention as by far the lightest of the seats I’ve mentioned so far, which makes it the seat you’re most likely to appreciate about if you’re constantly needing to change vehicles with your seat, but still need as narrow of a seat as you can get for 3 across installations.

That flexibility does come with a cost; it has the lowest rear-facing weight limit of any of the seats here at 33 pounds, but it also has the lowest starting rear-facing weight range at 3 pounds, meaning it can be used with very, very small babies (preemies) safely. The forward-facing weight limit is 40 pounds with a 40″ height limit, which does mean children will outgrow this seat sooner than they would any of the other seats on this list. That said, if you’ve got particular needs, such as extreme portability, very small babies, or if you simply want a seat as small as an infant seat that still offers some of the advantages of a convertible seat, this might just be the one you’re looking for.

All the seats you recommended are convertible seats! Am I allowed to use one of these when leaving the hospital?

Yes! I wrote an article about this the other day to address a number of new parent concerns about leaving the hospital (or clinic or birthing center) without a typical, rear-facing only infant “bucket” car seat. The truth is that you can do it as long as the convertible seat properly fits your child and is safely installed in your vehicle.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can buy my books here or do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Send me an email at carcrashdetective [at] gmail [dot] com.