The holidays are my favorite time of the year, hands down. I love winter, sledding, spending time with my wife and kids, putting on the snow tires, and yes, gifting car seats to friends and family!

Yup. If you’re wondering what to do for your loved ones as we approach the holidays and Christmas gift-giving, my top recommendation would be a good car seat. I know, it sounds strange in a world full of tablets and big screen TVs. However, even though you might not think of car safety as the holidays approach, the truth is that car accidents are the number one killers of children between 1 and 13, and if there’s anything we can do to keep our children safe, as well as the children of our dear friends and extended family members safe, it’s worth doing. To me, that means being open to new car seats when necessary, and it means being aware of the mistakes we make too often with our car seat installations, especially with the miles so many families will put on their vehicles in the next few weeks.

The holidays are a time when we should be joyful and celebrating time with our loved ones. However, there are many families around the country who will sadly lose loved ones, including children, to preventable car accidents. Each year there are more stories, but the one that comes to mind was one from some years ago that took the life of an infant while her family drove home from a Christmas party on Christmas day.  Her father reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line. However, every occupant in both vehicles survived, except for the 13-month old baby.

If there’s anything we can do to reduce the likelihood of our children being injured or worse this Christmas, we should do it, and do it gladly.

These are my favorite car seats currently on the market. I chose them based on how well they fit a range of children, how easy they are to safely and correctly install, and most importantly, how long they allow children to rear-face. Each of these seats will make a great holiday gift that will give the gift of safety whenever children are in cars for the next several years. In order to learn why these kinds of seats are important, be sure to read my guides to extended rear-facing, extended harnessing, and boostering.

Because I’ve spent years writing about car seats and child safety, I’m always up for scouring the safest seats on the market at all price points. Here are a range of the best convertible car seats, combination, infant, and booster seats that I find myself recommending repeatedly when parents ask me for safe and affordable car seats that fit in most vehicles. Check out my 3 across vehicle guides for additional suggestions for your particular vehicle.

I’ve included my personal evaluations of each seats, links to reviews I’ve written, and direct links to Amazon pages for when you’re ready to make a purchasing decision.

Good luck shopping and I wish you the safest of travels and family times as we approach the end of the year. Please remember to rear-face until 4 if possible, forward-face until 8 if possible, and booster until your child passes the 5 step test. It takes a bit of work to do so, but the rewards in keeping your kids safer for longer are worth it.

Looking for more car seat reviews, recommendations, and tips on best practices? You can read all of my reviews of recommended car seats here. Friends in Canada, your recommended list is here.

The 5 Top Convertible Seats that Rear-Face to 50 pounds

    

The Graco Extend2Fit – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Fllo – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Rainier – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Foonf – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Pacifica – Review Here, Buy Here.

These are the five best car seats available today in the United States when it comes to extended rear-facing. Any of these seats will allow you to rear-face just about any child from birth until age 5, and any of these seats will also allow you to forward your face afterward for some amount of time.

The Graco Extend2Fit is the best value for your money if you’re purely interested in rear-facing for the longest amount of time, as it features the highest effective height limit when rear-facing. The Dionos are the best value for the money if you’re looking to maximize the time you spend between buying car seats, as both offer longer forward-facing usable times than the Clek seats, and also include booster modes, even though those modes aren’t going to be useful for some kids. The advantage of the Clek seats is that they’re as narrow as convertible car seats get, which means it’s possible to fit them 3 across in just about any vehicle.

My favorite seat of the five is the Fllo, followed by the Rainier and Extend2Fit, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. No seats on the market will allow you to rear-face longer than these 4, and since rear-facing is the safest position we can place our children in whenever traveling with them in a vehicle, this is where you want to be if you can afford it in terms of child safety.

Remember to pick up the infant insert as well if you’re buying one of the Cleks and want to use them from the day you leave the hospital, otherwise you’ll need to wait until your child has head control and can sit up independently. Similarly, if you’re buying one of the Dionos, make sure to pick up an angle adjuster so you’ll have a reasonable amount of room when driving or sitting as a passenger in the front row of your vehicle.

The 4 Best Convertible Seats for Rear-Facing to 40 pounds

   

The Britax Advocate ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Marathon ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Chicco NextFit – Review Here, Buy Here.

The 40 pound convertible seat market is packed, but these seats stand out time and time again. They all have astronomically high seat backs, which means that your children are all but guaranteed to reach the 40 pound weight limit before they need to be forward-faced. Of the seats, the Advocate offers the best side impact protection, while I think the Boulevard or NextFit are the best value.

3 Great Convertible Seats on a Budget (i.e., at or under $150)

  

The Graco MySize 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Size4Me 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Contender – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to absolute value for rear-facing, you can’t get any better than the Graco clones, including the MySize 65 (which is almost exactly the same seat as the Head Wise 65), the Size4Me 65, and the Contender. In fact, these are my three favorite convertibles, bar none, under $150. I have all three seats installed in family vehicles right now, and between the three, the main differences are that the MySize 65 has more side impact protection and head support, while the Size4Me feels a bit bony in comparison due to the thinner fabrics used. The Contender only comes with one set of LATCH anchors and takes up a bit more space when rear-facing. As a result, I’d choose the MySize or Size4Me over the Contender if you can afford it. All three seats are great, however, and come with exactly the same height and weight limits.

3 of the Best Infant Seats that Rear-Face to 35 pounds

  

The UPPAbaby MESA – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Cybex Aton 2 – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to infant seats, I’m looking for ease of installation and ease of use, and these three seats are the best in the market when it comes to both of those factors, as well as when it comes to stroller compatibility in the case of the UPPAbaby MESA. Of the three seats, my favorite is the MESA, but all three are solid choices and are among the best in the market in rear-facing weight limits for infant seats.

The 2 Top Infant Seats on a Budget (i.e., under $200)

 

The Chicco KeyFit 30 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Snugride Click Connect 40 – Review Here, Buy Here.

If you’re interested in infant seats below $200, Chicco and Graco are doing excellent jobs with the KeyFit 30 and the Click Connect 40. The KeyFit 30 is very user friendly and compatible with a range of strollers, including the Bravo, while the Click Connect 40 will allow many children to rear-face well past 1 without needing to switch seats due to its additional height.

Personally, I’m a fan of just starting out with a great convertible so you don’t have to switch later on in order to keep rear-facing, so if I had $200 and a baby on the way, I’d go with either the Head Size 70, Size4Me, or Contender and skip the infant seat stage. However, if that’s not an option or if you need to be able to transport your infant in and out of a vehicle without waking him or her, then these are two great infant seats that won’t break the bank.

The 2 Top Combination / Booster Seats that Forward-Face to 90 pounds and Booster to 120 pounds

 

The Britax Frontier G1.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Pinnacle G1.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Frontier and the Pinnacle are combination seats, which means they can both be used as forward-facing harnessed seats and as booster seats. Often seats that do one thing well do something else poorly. However, in this case, you’re looking at the two best forward-facing seats and the two best booster seats available in the United States as of this writing. I think that’s pretty cool.

There isn’t another car seat that does either of these jobs (forward-facing or boostering) better than these two seats. I love the Frontier and Pinnacle because if you buy either, it’s pretty much guaranteed to last your child until s/he no longer needs a car seat any more (i.e., when s/he can pass the 5-step test). That’s pretty awesome in my books.

Best3 Booster Seats with More than 20″ of Shoulder Height

The Clek Oobr – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Maxi-Cosi RodiFix – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro – Review Here, Buy Here.

Although the Frontier and Pinnacle are my favorite boosters, if you’re not able to pick either of them up or are on a shorter budget, then your best best will involve the Oobr, RodiFix, and CruisterFix pro. Of these, the Oobr is my favorite; it has a long history of quality and is a solid choice for belt positioning and keeping kids safe until they’re old enough to use the adult seat belt.

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.

I’ve had the privilege of reviewing hundreds of car seats sold in the US and Canada in the last several years, and I’ve spent enough money to know what’s worth buying and what isn’t. When I shop, I head to Amazon to get the most for my money, because the more I save shopping there, the more money I have left over to buy and review more car seats. Parents contact me each month looking for car seat recommendations, and aside from the reviews I’ve put together, I also compile annual guides to the best seats to look for and when and where you’re likely to find them for the cheapest at various times of the year. Today’s guide is centered on the seats to focus on for Cyber Monday 2016, and really for the holiday season from now until the end of the year.

If you’re shopping on a budget, you might find yourself tempted to buy the cheapest seat you can find in the nearest box store. However, even though almost any car seat is better than no seat at all for children who haven’t outgrown booster seats, you’ll keep your kids much more protected if you take the time to find seats that are a good fit physically and in terms of best practices. In other words, you want seats that help your kids stay in safer configurations for as long as possible, and that’s why I take the time to write these guides each year.

Because I’ve spent years writing about car seats and child safety, I’m always up for scouring the safest seats on the market at all price points. Here are a range of the best convertible car seats, combination, infant, and booster seats that I find myself recommending repeatedly when parents ask me for safe and affordable car seats that fit in most vehicles. Check out my 3 across vehicle guides for additional suggestions for your particular vehicle.

I’ve included my personal evaluations of each seats, links to reviews I’ve written, and direct links to Amazon pages for when you’re ready to make a purchasing decision.

Good luck shopping and I wish you the safest of travels and family times as we approach the end of the year. Please remember to rear-face until 4 if possible, forward-face until 8 if possible, and booster until your child passes the 5 step test. It takes a bit of work to do so, but the rewards in keeping your kids safer for longer are worth it.

Looking for more car seat reviews, recommendations, and tips on best practices? You can read all of my reviews of recommended car seats here. Friends in Canada, your recommended list is here.

The 5 Top Convertible Seats that Rear-Face to 50 pounds

    

The Graco Extend2Fit – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Fllo – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Rainier – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Foonf – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Pacifica – Review Here, Buy Here.

These are the five best car seats available today in the United States when it comes to extended rear-facing. Any of these seats will allow you to rear-face just about any child from birth until age 5, and any of these seats will also allow you to forward your face afterward for some amount of time.

The Graco Extend2Fit is the best value for your money if you’re purely interested in rear-facing for the longest amount of time, as it features the highest effective height limit when rear-facing. The Dionos are the best value for the money if you’re looking to maximize the time you spend between buying car seats, as both offer longer forward-facing usable times than the Clek seats, and also include booster modes, even though those modes aren’t going to be useful for some kids. The advantage of the Clek seats is that they’re as narrow as convertible car seats get, which means it’s possible to fit them 3 across in just about any vehicle.

My favorite seat of the five is the Fllo, followed by the Rainier and Extend2Fit, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. No seats on the market will allow you to rear-face longer than these 4, and since rear-facing is the safest position we can place our children in whenever traveling with them in a vehicle, this is where you want to be if you can afford it in terms of child safety.

Remember to pick up the infant insert as well if you’re buying one of the Cleks and want to use them from the day you leave the hospital, otherwise you’ll need to wait until your child has head control and can sit up independently. Similarly, if you’re buying one of the Dionos, make sure to pick up an angle adjuster so you’ll have a reasonable amount of room when driving or sitting as a passenger in the front row of your vehicle.

The 4 Best Convertible Seats for Rear-Facing to 40 pounds

   

The Britax Advocate ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Marathon ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Chicco NextFit – Review Here, Buy Here.

The 40 pound convertible seat market is packed, but these seats stand out time and time again. They all have astronomically high seat backs, which means that your children are all but guaranteed to reach the 40 pound weight limit before they need to be forward-faced. Of the seats, the Advocate offers the best side impact protection, while I think the Boulevard or NextFit are the best value.

3 Great Convertible Seats on a Budget (i.e., at or under $150)

  

The Graco MySize 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Size4Me 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Contender – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to absolute value for rear-facing, you can’t get any better than the Graco clones, including the MySize 65 (which is almost exactly the same seat as the Head Wise 65), the Size4Me 65, and the Contender. In fact, these are my three favorite convertibles, bar none, under $150. I have all three seats installed in family vehicles right now, and between the three, the main differences are that the MySize 65 has more side impact protection and head support, while the Size4Me feels a bit bony in comparison due to the thinner fabrics used. The Contender only comes with one set of LATCH anchors and takes up a bit more space when rear-facing. As a result, I’d choose the MySize or Size4Me over the Contender if you can afford it. All three seats are great, however, and come with exactly the same height and weight limits.

3 of the Best Infant Seats that Rear-Face to 35 pounds

  

The UPPAbaby MESA – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Cybex Aton 2 – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to infant seats, I’m looking for ease of installation and ease of use, and these three seats are the best in the market when it comes to both of those factors, as well as when it comes to stroller compatibility in the case of the UPPAbaby MESA. Of the three seats, my favorite is the MESA, but all three are solid choices and are among the best in the market in rear-facing weight limits for infant seats.

The 2 Top Infant Seats on a Budget (i.e., under $200)

 

The Chicco KeyFit 30 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Snugride Click Connect 40 – Review Here, Buy Here.

If you’re interested in infant seats below $200, Chicco and Graco are doing excellent jobs with the KeyFit 30 and the Click Connect 40. The KeyFit 30 is very user friendly and compatible with a range of strollers, including the Bravo, while the Click Connect 40 will allow many children to rear-face well past 1 without needing to switch seats due to its additional height.

Personally, I’m a fan of just starting out with a great convertible so you don’t have to switch later on in order to keep rear-facing, so if I had $200 and a baby on the way, I’d go with either the Head Size 70, Size4Me, or Contender and skip the infant seat stage. However, if that’s not an option or if you need to be able to transport your infant in and out of a vehicle without waking him or her, then these are two great infant seats that won’t break the bank.

The 2 Top Combination / Booster Seats that Forward-Face to 90 pounds and Booster to 120 pounds

 

The Britax Frontier G1.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Pinnacle G1.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Frontier and the Pinnacle are combination seats, which means they can both be used as forward-facing harnessed seats and as booster seats. Often seats that do one thing well do something else poorly. However, in this case, you’re looking at the two best forward-facing seats and the two best booster seats available in the United States as of this writing. I think that’s pretty cool.

There isn’t another car seat that does either of these jobs (forward-facing or boostering) better than these two seats. I love the Frontier and Pinnacle because if you buy either, it’s pretty much guaranteed to last your child until s/he no longer needs a car seat any more (i.e., when s/he can pass the 5-step test). That’s pretty awesome in my books.

Best3 Booster Seats with More than 20″ of Shoulder Height

The Clek Oobr – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Maxi-Cosi RodiFix – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro – Review Here, Buy Here.

Although the Frontier and Pinnacle are my favorite boosters, if you’re not able to pick either of them up or are on a shorter budget, then your best best will involve the Oobr, RodiFix, and CruisterFix pro. Of these, the Oobr is my favorite; it has a long history of quality and is a solid choice for belt positioning and keeping kids safe until they’re old enough to use the adult seat belt.

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.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are on the way, and as the temperatures drop throughout the US and Canada, I always try to remind parents of how to drive safely during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and how to find the best car seat deals for a variety of needs and budgets.

If you’re on a smaller budget, it can be tempting to just pick up the cheapest seat you can find at the local big box store, and it’s definitely true that you’ll be better off with your kids in a cheap seat than without any car seat at all. However, you can give your kids significantly better protection if you look for seats that fit them well and allow them to stay in safer configurations for longer amounts of time, and that’s what this guide is here to help you find.

Because I’ve been an advocate for car seat and child safety for years, I never tire of discussing the safest seats on the market, as well as the best ones at various price points. Here are several of the best convertible car seats, combination, infant, and booster seats I’m most likely to recommend when suggesting safe car seats to parents. I’ve included my personal evaluations of each seats, links to reviews I’ve written, and direct links to Amazon pages for when you’re ready to make a purchasing decision.

Good luck shopping and I wish you the safest of travels and family times as we approach the end of the year. Please remember to rear-face until 4 if possible, forward-face until 8 if possible, and booster until your child passes the 5 step test. It takes a bit of work to do so, but the rewards in keeping your kids safer for longer are worth it.

Looking for more car seat reviews, recommendations, and tips on best practices? You can read all of my reviews of recommended car seats here. Friends in Canada, your recommended list is here.

The 5 Best Convertible Seats that Rear-Face to 50 pounds

    

The Graco Extend2Fit – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Fllo – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Rainier – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Foonf – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Pacifica – Review Here, Buy Here.

These are the five best car seats available today in the United States when it comes to extended rear-facing. Any of these seats will allow you to rear-face just about any child from birth until age 5, and any of these seats will also allow you to forward your face afterward for some amount of time.

The Graco Extend2Fit is the best value for your money if you’re purely interested in rear-facing for the longest amount of time, as it features the highest effective height limit when rear-facing. The Dionos are the best value for the money if you’re looking to maximize the time you spend between buying car seats, as both offer longer forward-facing usable times than the Clek seats, and also include booster modes, even though those modes aren’t going to be useful for some kids. The advantage of the Clek seats is that they’re as narrow as convertible car seats get, which means it’s possible to fit them 3 across in just about any vehicle.

My favorite seat of the five is the Fllo, followed by the Rainier and Extend2Fit, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. No seats on the market will allow you to rear-face longer than these 4, and since rear-facing is the safest position we can place our children in whenever traveling with them in a vehicle, this is where you want to be if you can afford it in terms of child safety.

Remember to pick up the infant insert as well if you’re buying one of the Cleks and want to use them from the day you leave the hospital, otherwise you’ll need to wait until your child has head control and can sit up independently. Similarly, if you’re buying one of the Dionos, make sure to pick up an angle adjuster so you’ll have a reasonable amount of room when driving or sitting as a passenger in the front row of your vehicle.

Top 4 Convertible Seats that Rear-Face to 40 pounds

   

The Britax Advocate ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Marathon ClickTight – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Chicco NextFit – Review Here, Buy Here.

The 40 pound convertible seat market is packed, but these seats stand out time and time again. They all have astronomically high seat backs, which means that your children are all but guaranteed to reach the 40 pound weight limit before they need to be forward-faced. Of the seats, the Advocate offers the best side impact protection, while I think the Boulevard or NextFit are the best value.

Top 3 Convertible Seats on a Budget (i.e., at or under $150)

 

The Graco MySize 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Size4Me 65 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Contender – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to absolute value for rear-facing, you can’t get any better than the Graco clones, including the MySize 65 (which is almost exactly the same seat as the Head Wise 65), the Size4Me 65, and the Contender. In fact, these are my three favorite convertibles, bar none, under $150. I have all three seats installed in family vehicles right now, and between the three, the main differences are that the MySize 65 has more side impact protection and head support, while the Size4Me feels a bit bony in comparison due to the thinner fabrics used. The Contender only comes with one set of LATCH anchors and takes up a bit more space when rear-facing. As a result, I’d choose the MySize or Size4Me over the Contender if you can afford it. All three seats are great, however, and come with exactly the same height and weight limits.

Top 3 Infant Seats that Rear-Face to 35 pounds

  

The UPPAbaby MESA – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Cybex Aton 2 – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to infant seats, I’m looking for ease of installation and ease of use, and these three seats are the best in the market when it comes to both of those factors, as well as when it comes to stroller compatibility in the case of the UPPAbaby MESA. Of the three seats, my favorite is the MESA, but all three are solid choices and are among the best in the market in rear-facing weight limits for infant seats.

The 2 Best Infant Seats on a Budget (i.e., under $200)

 

The Chicco KeyFit 30 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Graco Snugride Click Connect 40 – Review Here, Buy Here.

If you’re interested in infant seats below $200, Chicco and Graco are doing excellent jobs with the KeyFit 30 and the Click Connect 40. The KeyFit 30 is very user friendly and compatible with a range of strollers, including the Bravo, while the Click Connect 40 will allow many children to rear-face well past 1 without needing to switch seats due to its additional height.

Personally, I’m a fan of just starting out with a great convertible so you don’t have to switch later on in order to keep rear-facing, so if I had $200 and a baby on the way, I’d go with either the Head Size 70, Size4Me, or Contender and skip the infant seat stage. However, if that’s not an option or if you need to be able to transport your infant in and out of a vehicle without waking him or her, then these are two great infant seats that won’t break the bank.

The 2 Best Combination / Booster Seats that Forward-Face to 90 pounds and Booster to 120 pounds

 

The Britax Frontier G1.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Britax Pinnacle G1.1 – Review Here, Buy Here.

The Frontier and the Pinnacle are combination seats, which means they can both be used as forward-facing harnessed seats and as booster seats. Often seats that do one thing well do something else poorly. However, in this case, you’re looking at the two best forward-facing seats and the two best booster seats available in the United States as of this writing. I think that’s pretty cool.

There isn’t another car seat that does either of these jobs (forward-facing or boostering) better than these two seats. I love the Frontier and Pinnacle because if you buy either, it’s pretty much guaranteed to last your child until s/he no longer needs a car seat any more (i.e., when s/he can pass the 5-step test). That’s pretty awesome in my books.

Top 3 Booster Seats with More than 20″ of Shoulder Height

The Clek Oobr – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Maxi-Cosi RodiFix – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro – Review Here, Buy Here.

Although the Frontier and Pinnacle are my favorite boosters, if you’re not able to pick either of them up or are on a shorter budget, then your best best will involve the Oobr, RodiFix, and CruisterFix pro. Of these, the Oobr is my favorite; it has a long history of quality and is a solid choice for belt positioning and keeping kids safe until they’re old enough to use the adult seat belt.

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 holidays are among my favorite times of year. Family close at hand, good food, snow tires, and…car seats?

Yup. If you’re wondering what to do for your loved ones as we approach the holidays and Christmas gift-giving, my top recommendation would be a good car seat. I know, it sounds strange in a world full of tablets and big screen TVs. However, even though you might not think of car safety as the holidays approach, the truth is that car accidents are the number one killers of children between 1 and 13, and if there’s anything we can do to keep our children safe, as well as the children of our dear friends and extended family members safe, it’s worth doing. To me, that means being open to new car seats when necessary, and it means being aware of the mistakes we make too often with our car seat installations, especially with the miles so many families will put on their vehicles in the next few weeks.

The holidays are a time when we should be joyful and celebrating time with our loved ones. However, there are many families around the country who will sadly lose loved ones, including children, to preventable car accidents. Each year there are more stories, but the one that comes to mind was one from some years ago that took the life of an infant while her family drove home from a Christmas party on Christmas day.  Her father reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line. However, every occupant in both vehicles survived, except for the 13-month old baby.

If there’s anything we can do to reduce the likelihood of our children being injured or worse this Christmas, we should do it, and do it gladly.

These are my favorite car seats currently on the market. I chose them based on how well they fit a range of children, how easy they are to safely and correctly install, and most importantly, how long they allow children to rear-face. Each of these seats will make a great holiday gift that will give the gift of safety whenever children are in cars for the next several years. In order to learn why these kinds of seats are important, be sure to read my guides to extended rear-facing, extended harnessing, and boostering.

Looking for more car seat reviews, recommendations, and tips on best practices? You can read all of my reviews of recommended car seats here. Friends in Canada, your recommended list is here.

The Four Best Convertible Car Seats in 2016 for Rear-Facing (Convertibles that Rear-Face to 50 pounds)

   

The Clek Fllo – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Rainier – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Foonf – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Pacifica – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to car seat safety, the science is clear: the safest position for all children is rear-facing. This goes for adults too, but until we have autonomous cars, rear-facing adult seats aren’t likely to occur. But we know that for children, the longer we can keep them rear-facing, the safer they are when traveling in cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans, and the less likely they are to suffer serious or fatal injuries should crashes occur.

Unfortunately, many parents forward-face at 1 because that’s when the law allows us to turn our children around in most states (except for California, New Jersey, and Oklahoma), and most parents are forward-facing by 2 in the remaining states. However, rear-facing longer keeps children safer longer, and the aforementioned seats that allow children to remain rear-facing until they weigh 50 pounds are the best on the market.

The Dionos are the best value for the money if you’re looking to maximize the time you spend between buying car seats, as both offer longer forward-facing usable times than the Clek seats, and also include booster modes, even though those modes aren’t going to be useful for some kids. The advantage of the Clek seats is that they’re as narrow as convertible car seats get, which means it’s possible to fit them 3 across in just about any vehicle.

My favorite seat of the four is the Fllo, followed by the Rainier, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. No seats on the market will allow you to rear-face longer than these 4, and since rear-facing is the safest position we can place our children in whenever traveling with them in a vehicle, this is where you want to be if you can afford it in terms of child safety.

Each of these seats will allow you to rear-face the average child through the preschool years and likely into kindergarten, or age 5. They can then be turned forward-facing and used for varying amounts of time in that orientation; you’ll get much more time with the Dionos than with the Cleks, if you’re interested in getting a longer overall seat lifespan per child.

Remember to pick up the infant insert as well if you’re buying one of the Cleks and want to use them from the day you leave the hospital, otherwise you’ll need to wait until your child has head control and can sit up independently. Similarly, if you’re buying one of the Dionos, make sure to pick up an angle adjuster so you’ll have a reasonable amount of room when driving or sitting as a passenger in the front row of your vehicle.

The Four Best Convertible Car Seats on a Smaller Budget ( under $200) in 2016

 

 

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

While there are lots of parents who aren’t aware of the benefits of rear-facing, there are also parents who are, but who simply don’t have the budgets necessary to purchase the high-end rear-facing seats above like the Cleks and Dionos. For these parents, I always recommend the Graco clones, which includes seats like the Head Wise 65, the Size4Me 65, the Contender, and the Fit4Me 65.

These are my favorite convertibles on the market under the $200 price point, and as I wrote in an earlier post, I have had three of these seats installed in family vehicles for a while (the Head Wise, Size4Me, and Contender), and recently ordered and reviewed the fourth (see here). All four seats are quite similar to each other, with a few slight differences.

For example, I find the Head Wise 65 to be the most comfortable of the four seats due to the additional padding it provides; it also has more side impact protection as a result. The Size4Me features a removable head support padding, while that in the Head Wise is fixed. The Contender takes up more room when you use it to rear-face, as I found out in my ultimate rear-facing convertible car seat comparison. The Fit4Me is most like the Head Wise in that it includes a ball lever on the side to indicate the recline angle.  All of the seats are great, but if I had to choose an order or preference, it would be the Head Wise, Fit4Me, Size4Me, and then the Contender. You can’t go wrong with any of them, however.

Concluding thoughts on the holidays – and more traditional gift ideas

This year, loving parents throughout the country will undoubtedly bring lots of flashy gadgets and whiz-bang devices to children all over the United States, including electronic doo-dads like the Kindle Paperwhite or a 6″ Fire HD, card games like Exploding Kittens, or books like Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids (a great book for elementary-aged kids) or First 100 Words (an excellent book for toddlers).

Are these great gift ideas? Oh yeah! However, none of these gifts will do more for your kids’ development than a car seat that keeps them safe enough to have the rest of these experiences. This holiday season, make a long-lasting investment in your children and the children of your friends and extended family. A good car seat can make all the difference in the world.

Have fun shopping and remember to rear-face until 4 if possible, forward-face until 8 if possible, and booster until your child passes the 5 step test.

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.

After reviewing hundreds of car seats, strollers, and child safety gear, I’ve spent enough money to realize when I’m getting a good deal and when I’m not. For me, Amazon is the place to be when it comes to making the most of my money, as every dollar I save shopping there helps me with the car seat review budget. My readers are always on the lookout for car seat deals, which is why I made the 2015 Black Friday car seat guide, and which is why I’m now making the guide to finding high quality car seats on Amazon for cyber Monday. Naturally, I’ve also included my reviews of these seats to help you with choosing between them.

If you’re like most people, you’ve got a lot of things on your plate as the holidays approach, and you might not have much time to find the best deals for everything. That’s where The Car Crash Detective comes in!

I searched through Amazon to find the best values for infant seats, convertible seats, combination seats, and booster seats, and included my personal thoughts on which of the seats are must-haves if you’re in the market in their respective categories. Have fun shopping and remember to rear-face until 4 if possible, forward-face until 8 if possible, and booster until your child passes the 5 step test.

Looking for more car seat reviews, recommendations, and tips on best practices? You can read all of my reviews of recommended car seats here. Friends in Canada, your recommended list is here.

The 4 Best Convertible Car Seats on the Market for Rear-Facing (Convertibles that Rear-Face to 50 pounds)

   

The Clek Fllo – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Rainier – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Clek Foonf – Review Here, Buy Here.
The Diono Pacifica – Review Here, Buy Here.

When it comes to car seat safety, the science is clear: the safest position for all children is rear-facing. This goes for adults too, but until we have autonomous cars, rear-facing adult seats aren’t likely to occur. But we know that for children, the longer we can keep them rear-facing, the safer they are when traveling in cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans, and the less likely they are to suffer serious or fatal injuries should crashes occur.

Unfortunately, many parents forward-face at 1 because that’s when the law allows us to turn our children around in most states (except for California, New Jersey, and Oklahoma), and most parents are forward-facing by 2 in the remaining states. However, rear-facing longer keeps children safer longer, and the aforementioned seats that allow children to remain rear-facing until they weigh 50 pounds are the best on the market.

The Dionos are the best value for the money if you’re looking to maximize the time you spend between buying car seats, as both offer longer forward-facing usable times than the Clek seats, and also include booster modes, even though those modes aren’t going to be useful for some kids. The advantage of the Clek seats is that they’re as narrow as convertible car seats get, which means it’s possible to fit them 3 across in just about any vehicle.

My favorite seat of the four is the Fllo, followed by the Rainier, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. No seats on the market will allow you to rear-face longer than these 4, and since rear-facing is the safest position we can place our children in whenever traveling with them in a vehicle, this is where you want to be if you can afford it in terms of child safety.

Each of these seats will allow you to rear-face the average child through the preschool years and likely into kindergarten, or age 5. They can then be turned forward-facing and used for varying amounts of time in that orientation; you’ll get much more time with the Dionos than with the Cleks, if you’re interested in getting a longer overall seat lifespan per child.

Remember to pick up the infant insert as well if you’re buying one of the Cleks and want to use them from the day you leave the hospital, otherwise you’ll need to wait until your child has head control and can sit up independently. Similarly, if you’re buying one of the Dionos, make sure to pick up an angle adjuster so you’ll have a reasonable amount of room when driving or sitting as a passenger in the front row of your vehicle.

The 4 Best Convertible Car Seats on a Modest Budget ( under $200)

 

 

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

While there are lots of parents who aren’t aware of the benefits of rear-facing, there are also parents who are, but who simply don’t have the budgets necessary to purchase the high-end rear-facing seats above like the Cleks and Dionos. For these parents, I always recommend the Graco clones, which includes seats like the Head Wise 65, the Size4Me 65, the Contender, and the Fit4Me 65.

These are my favorite convertibles on the market under the $200 price point, and as I wrote in an earlier post, I have had three of these seats installed in family vehicles for a while (the Head Wise, Size4Me, and Contender), and am about to purchase the 4th after borrowing it last week from a friend. All four seats are quite similar to each other, with a few slight differences.

For example, I find the Head Wise 65 to be the most comfortable of the four seats due to the additional padding it provides; it also has more side impact protection as a result. The Size4Me features a removable head support padding, while that in the Head Wise is fixed. The Contender takes up more room when you use it to rear-face, as I found out in my ultimate rear-facing convertible car seat comparison. The Fit4Me is most like the Head Wise in that it includes a ball lever on the side to indicate the recline angle.  All of the seats are great, but if I had to choose an order or preference, it would be the Head Wise, Fit4Me, Size4Me, and then the Contender. You can’t go wrong with any of them, however.

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.