I first wrote about the new Britax line of ClickTight convertible car seats earlier in August, when Britax announced that they would extend their ClickTight car seat installation system to the Advocate, the Boulevard, and the Marathon. I started working on getting a copy of one of the seats for review as quickly as possible, and it has arrived!

Britax Advocate ClickTight – What’s the big deal?

The Britax Advocate ClickTight is essentially what you’d get if you combined the high quality elements of the Britax Advocate G4 with the ClickTight technology already present in the Frontier 90 and Pinnacle 90, and threw in some higher height limits and additional features along the way. It’s a convertible car seat, which means you can use it as both a rear-facing infant seat and as a forward-facing car seat for older children.

Along with the Britax Boulevard ClickTight and Britax Marathon ClickTight, it’s one of the three newest convertibles from Britax, and is designed to make a safe and secure car seat installation something achievable by every caretaker, every time. Does it live up to its claims? Read on and we’ll take a look together!

Buy the Britax Advocate ClickTight on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Britax Advocate ClickTight Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 5-40 pounds. Your child’s head should not reach past 1″ below the top of the inner shell. This is a big change from the previous seats, where the outer shell used to be used to set the limits for height when rear-facing. I measure the maximum seated height limit at 27″, which rivals the tallest rear-facing seated height limits in the industry today (namely those found in the 4Ever, Size4Me, and NextFit).

Forward-facing: 20-65 pounds, and under 54″ in height. The top harness height is now a very robust 19.5″, which only comes second to the Frontier 90 and Pinnacle 90. The lowest harness harness height is 8.5″ and is adjustable in .85″ increments.

Shoulder height can reach up to 18.65″, and the tips of your child’s ears need to be below the top end of the shell. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible.

Dimensions of the Britax Advocate ClickTight

The seat is 20.5″ wide at its widest point and 23.5″ high. The seat weighs a hefty 30.1 pounds, which makes it one of the heaviest seats I’ve reviewed so far. However, that heft also includes a lot of side impact protection in addition to the ClickTight technology.

Using the Britax Advocate ClickTight

If there’s one thing Britax has built its reputation on in the United States, it’s on the provision of car seats that are both safe and simple to install. This isn’t as easy to do as it sounds, but Britax has had oodles of practice with it over the years.

The ClickTight system is designed to make the installation of a convertible car seat a straightforward affair, with a safe, secure installation possible no matter which caretaker is attempting it. You simply turn your ClickTight release so it’s in the open position, thread the vehicle seat belt through the lower rear-facing slots of the seat, connect the seat belt, and click the ClickTight system into the closed position. That’s it! It’s summarized nicely in the Britax graphic below.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: the ClickTight seats make it super-easy to install a Britax car seat with a seat belt. I’d say it’s easier than a LATCH install, and that’s saying something. At the same time, it doesn’t take up any more space than a typical seat belt install, while being substantially easier to do correctly. No more struggling to get a seat weighted down and twisting buckle stalks about…it just works. For me, that reason alone would be enough to consider the Britax Advocate ClickTight.

The seat itself arrives nicely boxed with some protective padding around it, which makes the decision to purchase one online, as I did, far more reassuring. Finding a good recline level for rear or forward-facing is easier, since there is a 7-position recline system present in the base of the seat. There is an automatic level indicator included that makes it easier to tell if an appropriate recline angle is being used when the seat is installed.

There are 14 potential harness heights on the Britax Advocate ClickTight with a top harness height of 19.5″ and a minimum harness slot height of 8.5.” A no-rethread harness is present, which makes adjusting the harness height a much easier affair than it would be otherwise.

It is important to note that the new advocate is significantly heavier than the old one for a few reasons: first, the shell is reinforced throughout with steel, and second, the ClickTight system adds a good amount of weight. The seat also has larger dimensions all around, which means that you’re going to have to make a few compromises when it comes to using this seat as a travel seat or when trying to fit 3 of them across in a vehicle.

Buy the Britax Advocate ClickTight on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Why Buy the Britax Advocate ClickTight?

This is the meat and potatoes of this car seat. The Britax Advocate ClickTight is one of several seats in the United States that allow you to rear-face a child for up to 40 pounds. This isn’t as good as it gets anymore, but it’s still decent. Every pound is precious, as the longer you rear-face, the safer your child is. In the US, parents tend to turn their children around into the line of fire at 1. In Sweden, this typically isn’t done until 4. Children in Sweden are far less likely to die in car crashes than children in the US. It makes that much of a difference. This alone is reason enough to buy the Advocate ClickTight.

However, I also love the fact that installation of the Britax Advocate ClickTight is going to be a much simpler affair for virtually every caretaker who might come across the seat. Given how the vast majority of seats used in the United States are not installed correctly, the Britax Advocate ClickTight is an impressive seat because it virtually ensures a correct install by virtue of its design. I love this!

Besides that, there are a ton of safety features built into the seat, which isn’t surprising, given Britax’s history with car seats. They outfitted the Britax Advocate ClickTight with SafeCell Impact Protection. This means that Britax didn’t stop at the federal safety standards when designing the car seat, and instead focused on adding features like an impact absorbing base, a steel frame designed to stabilize the seat during collisions, as well as side impact protection.

The shell, per Britax, is designed to not only reduce crash forces but keep debris away from your child. Similarly, the headrest itself is designed to absorb forces in collisions while keeping the head and neck secure. And of course, the famous Britax external compressing cushions are also present to distribute energy around your child while keeping adjacent passengers safe. Britax takes car seat safety seriously, and it shows in the new Advocate.

What are the main cons of the Advocate ClickTight?

The biggest strike against the Britax Advocate ClickTight is that there are  still seats that allow you to ERF significantly longer by weight. Similarly, while the ClickTight system makes it significantly easier to achieve a safe and secure install, it does add significantly to the weight and bulk of the seat. However, the fact that the height limits have been increased to a very significant degree means that virtually all children will be able to reach the weight limits while rear- and forward-facing, which makes the seat very valuable when it comes to keeping children safe.

The 10-year product life for the seat is as good as it gets in the industry for rear- and forward-facing car seats, tying the Graco 4Ever. The new Diono convertibles have 12-year product lives for the booster portions but only 8-year product lives when rear- or forward-facing. I also like that the seat is already certified for aircraft travel.

I recommend the Britax Advocate ClickTight wholeheartedly. You can buy the Britax Advocate ClickTight in a range of colors here. Canadians can buy it here.

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!

2018 update: Once again, Clek has updated the Fllo in fabric only; it’s the same seat, and still one of the best 50 pounders on the market.

The Clek Fllo is a car seat I’ve been waiting to review for a long time. I’ve been a fan of the Clek line for years, starting with the Foonf, which was the first non-Diono car seat I purchased for extended rear-facing for my own children, and when I learned from Clek that the Fllo would be coming out, I sighed, opened my wallet, and prepared to review what I expected to be one of the four best car seats in the United States for rear-facing (alongside the Foonf, Rainier, and Pacifica). My full review is below, and you can buy the Clek Fllo here.

Clek Fllo – Is it worth it?

The Clek Fllo, as noted above, is the newest baby from Canadian car seat wonder Clek, and follows in the footsteps of the highly regarded Foonf. However, it stands on its own merits and is poised to be one of the most impressive seats on the market. It’s a convertible car seat, which means it can be used in two configurations, including as a rear-facing infant seat, and as a forward-facing seat. If you want to know if it’s worth it right now without reading the rest of the review, I’ll spare you the trouble: yes, it’s worth it.

Buy the Clek Fllo on Sale at Amazon with Free Shipping.

Clek Fllo Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 14-50 pounds, and 25-43″ in height. Your child should be able to sit upright without assistance, which typically isn’t reached by most infants until after 6 months, and his or her head should not reach past 1″ below the top of the headrest.

Note: Using the Clek Infant-thingy infant insert reduces the rear-facing weight limit to 5 pounds and overrides the need for your infant to be able to sit upright without assistance.

Like the Foonf, the Fllo is now one of the best seats for making sure kids actually reach the useful limits of the seat, as it measures around 26.5″ in shell height when the headrest is extended to its fullest position.

Most seats top out at 23″ or 24″ in shoulder height, which means a lot of children will outgrow them by weight before doing so by height. Clek studied the competition, realized that most car seat manufacturers still hadn’t made significant strides here, and kept the Fllo’s height limit identical to that of the Foonf’s. I can’t say I blame them.

Forward-facing: 20-65 pounds, and 30-49″ in height. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child  auto fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible. Norway followed Sweden’s example, and they now lose fewer children per capita to car trauma than nearly any other nation on the face of the earth–aside from Sweden, of course.

Dimensions of the Clek Fllo – Height & Weight

Here are where you start to see some differences when comparing the Clek Fllo to the Clek Foonf. The seat is 16.9″ wide at its widest point, which is a hair narrower than the Foonf, and only 13″ wide where installed at the base. There are even more significant differences in weight, which I love. The seat weighs 25 pounds when rear-facing. It weighs a delicious 24 pounds when installed forward-facing.

The front/back length when rear-facing is 29 inches without the anti-rebound bar and 32.5 inches with it. The seat height when rear-facing is shorter at 23.5 inches compared to 25.75 in the Foonf, and the forward-facing seat height is 26-30.5 inches, which is again shorter than the 28.25-32.5 in the Foonf.

Using the Clek Fllo – Unboxing, Kid Approved

Let’s be honest: part of why I bought the original Foonf was because of how beefy it looked. It’s a serious seat, and I wanted the best for my kids. Of course, the 50 pound ERF limit helped, as at that point, there weren’t any other options in the US that hit that point. Things are a bit better now, but the fact remains that a seat that looks solid while having the stats to back it up is going to convince more people on a gut level, and that’s the case with the Fllo.

It still has that slick fighter pilot ejection seat look that only Clek seems to conjure up, with a new palette of crazy colors and patterns. I originally ordered my seat in Drift, and then changed my mind when I was offered the chance to pick up a Fllo in ink for a bit cheaper (blue being my favorite color).

As with the Foonf, you’re going to need to devote at least a few minutes to putting it together once you get it out of the box. However, once you get it set up, it looks good. Really good. So good my daughter (not pictured) was curious enough when she saw me installing it to ask “is this my new car seat? It looks like the other one, but…cooler.”

There you have it. Kid approved. It’s not exactly what I mean when I say parents buy these seats for their kids, but it’s a nice bonus.

Speaking about my daughter, something she enjoyed about the Foonf was the height it gave her when rear-facing. She found it quite entertaining to be able to look easily out while we went on the occasional road trip. The Fllo is similar in that it offers the ability to look out and about, but Clek specifically designed it to have a lower profile so parents would have better visibility, and quite frankly, I think they made the right decision. It’s much easier to see behind it than it was with the Foonf.

Don’t Forget the Anti-Rebound Bar

As with the Foonf, when installing the Fllo, remember that you need to install it with the steel anti-rebound bar while rear-facing, and that you should use the tether only when forward-facing. The steel anti-rebound bar, as its name suggests, is designed to reduce the rebound, or rotational motion, of the seat during a collision, absorbing energy that would otherwise go into the child.

This ideally keeps your child’s head from impacting anything besides the seat of the car itself if you’re unfortunate enough to get into a collision, which is why we buy these seats to begin with. The more forces you can reduce in a crash, the better, and as with the Foonf, Clek provides a video of their seat being crash tested in a side impact. Again, it would be nice to have the numbers regarding the forces involved, since I analyze those all day long with crash test dummies when looking at car safety tests, but it’s still a nice touch to show that they actually do test these seats beyond the marginal government requirements.

The Fllo is Lighter – Much Lighter – Than the Foonf

Much of the basic elements between the Fllo and Foonf are the same, but the weight difference is not. This seat is so much lighter! I didn’t think 13 pounds could make such a difference, but the fact that the Fllo weighs 13 less when rear-facing than the Foonf is enough for me to recommend it over the Foonf if deciding between the two. The fact that it weighs 9 pounds less when forward-facing and is shorter in both forward and rear-facing configurations is just icing on the cake. I love, love, love the lighter weight and lower profile of the Fllo. It’s far easier to take along on vacations or in taxis and Ubers (and remember, you do need car seats in taxis and Ubers).

What else can I say? It’s a great seat. Oh, tether all the time when you’re forward-facing as recommended by Clek. Unfortunately, you still can’t tether while rear-facing, but maybe that will change someday. The seat fabrics feel softer than they do in the Foonf, and my daughter confirmed that on a few drives. We’ve only had the chance to take it on one flight so far, but it was a rather anti-climactic experience, since it basically behaved the same way as the Foonf except that it weighed less.

The Fllo is FAA Approved (Fit for Air Travel)

The airplane installation is pretty straightforward. Keep in mind that it’s not likely to fit in the X-ray systems at most terminals, so you’ll want to leave a bit of extra time for being screened manually. Similarly, in most smaller and mid-sized jets, you aren’t going to get it to fit in the aisles, so you’ll need to be prepared to hoist it above them. However, the Fllo will fit the actual airplane seat well. Don’t even bother trying to fit it in the storage compartments above; that’s just an exercise in frustration unless you’re in first class.

Buy the Clek Fllo on Sale at Amazon with Free Shipping.

Why Buy the Clek Fllo?

This is, as far as I’m concerned, the most relevant part of a car seat review for me. The Fllo is just the 4th of a handful of seats in the United States that allows you to rear-face a child for up to 50 pounds. Every pound is precious, as the longer you rear-face, the safer your child is. In the US, parents tend to turn their children around into the line of fire at 1. In Sweden, this typically isn’t done until 4. Children in Sweden are far less likely to die in car crashes than children in the US. It makes that much of a difference. This alone is reason enough to buy the Fllo.

Besides that fact, the Fllo also features crumple zones through its Energy-Absorbing Crumple Technology, or EACT safety system, designed to reduce the forces in frontal collisions. There are also metal (e.g., steel) substructures and foam on the sides to reduce forces from side impacts. As I mentioned before, the anti-rebound bar is designed to keep the seat more stable in a collision by keeping the seat from rotating as much, reducing tensional forces. All of these are good things.

Enjoy the Shell Height (and the Extra Time it Gives)

Something else I love about the Fllo, as I mentioned above, is the 26.5″ rear-facing shell height measurement. Many children outgrow their seats by height before weight, which means that in some seats, you don’t get as much RF time as you otherwise would expect; this is a problem with a number of Britax seats, although it is no longer going to be an issue with the newest Britax ClickTight convertible seats. Clek designed the Fllo smartly and as a result, kids actually have a better chance of reaching past 40 pounds with it than they would with several other seats.

Finally, as noted above, the Fllo is also simply an easier seat to install than most, due to its super narrow width of 16.9 inches. That means it’s actually possible to install 3 across in a number of smaller vehicles. Wider seats restrict your vehicle options, and of course, it’s much more expensive to buy a new vehicle than a new car seat.

Final Thoughts – Go With the Fllo?

In conclusion, just as I wouldn’t call the Foonf the best car seat ever, I’m not going to say the Fllo is the best car seat in the history of car seats, as there isn’t one seat that does everything perfectly. Once again, I wish you could RF younger infants with the Fllo out of the box; be cause of its lower weight limit, you do need to wait for several months until your little one reaches the lower weight limits and can also sit up unassisted (unless you use the infant insert). However, for what it does–provide nearly-unparalleled RF abilities by weight–it has very few equals (namely, 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). And it’s lighter than the Foonf while being easier to 3 across than any other car seat listed above. In that sense, it has no equals.

The Clek Fllo is an amazingly safe seat that can be fit in just about any vehicle while reassuring you as a parent that you have literally done everything possible to transport your child safely. Along with the Rainier and Pacifica, this is one of only four seats I would unequivocally trust my children in while rear-facing. Which is why when my daughter asked if this was going to be her new car seat (at least when riding with dad), I had to say yes.

I recommend the Clek Fllo wholeheartedly. You can buy the Clek Fllo in a range of colors here at Amazon. Canadians can buy the Fllo here.

I fall for a comfortable and safe car seat every time, especially if it’s one with decent potential as a rear-facing seat and with a good range as a forward-facing seat. Maxi-Cosi demonstrated its potential in both arenas with the Pria 70, and when I heard the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 was on the way, I knew I had to give it a try.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 – What’s the big deal?

The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is a convertible car seat with a pretty common rear-facing range but a rather impressive rear-facing range. Being a convertible seat means that it can be used in two configurations, including as a rear-facing infant seat, and as a forward-facing seat. A TinyFit system is not yet available, although I’m sure it isn’t far behind. At any rate, it has one of the highest forward-facing weight limits available in any convertible currently on the market. The goal as stated by Maxi-Cosi is to enable parents to forward-face their children for longer than they would have been able to with the Pria 70. Is it worth it? Let’s see!

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 14-40 pounds. Your child’s head should not reach past 1″ below the top of the main shell and should be less than 40″ in height.

Forward-facing: 22-85 pounds, and between 34 and 43″ in height. The tips of your child’s ears need to be below the top end of the shell. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible. Thanks to the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85, that’s a lot more possible.

Dimensions of the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85

The seat is 20″ wide and weighs around 20 pounds. It’s not the lightest seat on the market by a long shot, but it’s not bad for a convertible.

Using the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85

A look inside the box will reveal an attractive and elegant car seat packed securely and well mated to the space around it. As with the previous Pria 70, there are 9 harness height options available that span 9.5″ at the lowest setting and 17.5″ at the highest setting with small steps in between. Something I liked about the Pria 70 that Maxi-Cosi kept with the Pria 85 is the ability to raise and lower the harness height from the front of the seat, whether or not the seat is currently installed. You simply squeeze the handle back and pull it up or down as desired. It is called the Perfect Fit harness height adjustment and is designed to be used with one hand. Micro-adjustments are also possible so the fit is easier.

There is a red handle behind the seat restraint (see the image to the left) that is the recline adjuster. You can choose between several different positions; the positions that you choose will determine the angle at which the seat is tilted. The rear-facing adjustment is described as a “deep rear-facing adjustment”, and it is designed to make a correct rear-facing install easier and faster, which is always a good thing when you think about how the vast majority of car seats are installed incorrectly.

Other things I like about the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 include the fact that it includes a no-rethread harness adjust in addition to the no-rethread headrest. Other small but significant features include the addition of harness holders, which are designed to hold your harness straps away from you while loading a child. These are increasingly common on higher-end car seats, and while they don’t make a safety difference, they do make a significant convenience boost, so I’m a fan of them.

The installation of the seat itself is straightforward, and there is a one click LATCH system included that works intuitively. Keep in mind, however, that as is the case with just about every convertible seat, you can achieve a safe install whether you use a LATCH system or a seat belt. Personally, I almost always prefer the seat belt install since it makes installing multiple or three seats across a much easier affair. Similarly, I often find that the seat belt is the only way to achieve a safe center seat install, and the center seat is the safest seat. You can and are strongly encouraged to tether while forward-facing, although it’s not required. Here’s an article on why tethering while forward-facing is a great idea.

Oh – I also like the fact that there’s an integrated cup holder. Sometimes it’s the little things. Similarly, there are machine washable and dryer safe seating pads and harness covers included, while the CosiCushion fabrics and padding are really comfortable. Then again, Maxi-Cosi seems to have figured out a while ago how to make their car seats comfortable.

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Why Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85?

This is the meat and potatoes of this car seat. The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is one of several seats in the United States that allow you to rear-face a child for up to 40 pounds. This isn’t as good as it gets anymore, but it’s still decent. Every pound is precious, as the longer you rear-face, the safer your child is. In the US, parents tend to turn their children around into the line of fire at 1. In Sweden, this typically isn’t done until 4. Children in Sweden are far less likely to die in car crashes than children in the US. It makes that much of a difference. This alone is reason enough to buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85.

However, the primary reason why I’m a fan of the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is because the seat will work well with larger and older children due to its 85 pound weight limit. This is almost as good as it gets for a convertible car seat; the only convertible seats that currently offer higher forward-facing limits are the Diono Rainier and Pacifica at 90 pounds. The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is a smaller seat than either of these, which makes it easier to fit in smaller vehicles. Be sure to check out the 3 across guide to see which kinds of car seats are likely to fit in your vehicle.

The biggest strike against the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is the fact that there are seats that allow you to RF significantly longer by weight. I’m also not a fan of the fact that you can’t use it with infants from day 1, the way you can with a number of other convertibles, due to the 14 pound minimum weight. I’m sure Maxi-Cosi will soon release a Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 with a TinyFit insert the way they did with the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 with TinyFit, and that will take care of this concern nicely. For now, though, you’ll need an infant seat to start things off if you have an infant who weighs less than 14 pounds.

However, if the ability to practice ERF, practice EH, or extended harnessing, and enjoy ease of installation are important to you, the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 will give you what you’re looking for. Finally, I do like that the seat is FAA approved for aircraft use. I also like that it is made in the United States.

I recommend the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 wholeheartedly. You can buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 here in three colors. Canadians can buy it here.

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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.

When it comes to car safety, you can focus on driving safely and you can focus on choosing a safe car. However, if you have children, you also need to focus on choosing a safe car seat. This is one of a series of reviews I’ll write on what I consider to be the best car seats currently available in the United States.

Evenflo Maestro – What’s the big deal?

The Evenflo Maestro is one of Evenflo’s latest attempts to make the safe transportation of children more affordable for parents, regardless of income. It’s a combination car seat, which means it can be used in two configurations: as a forward-facing seat and as a booster. It’s not a super-stylish seat and it won’t let you forward-face forever, but it’ll keep kindergarteners strapped in safely, which makes is a combination car seat that should be on every parent’s budget shopping list.

Evenflo Maestro Limits for Weight and Height

Forward-facing: 22-50 pounds, and between 28 and 50″ in height.  The tops of your child’s ears must also be below the top of the headrest. The seated shoulder height of the child can extend to 18.” Your child should be at least 1-year-old. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible.

Booster mode: 40-110 pounds, and between 43″ and 57″ in height. Again, the tops of your child’s ears must also remain below the top of the headrest. The maximum seated shoulder height of the child is 19.”  Remember that children should remain in booster seats until their seat belts fit them over the shoulder, across the chest, and flat on the upper thighs.

Buy the Evenflo Maestro on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Dimensions of the Evenflo Maestro

The seat is 19″ wide at its widest point. The seat weighs 11 pounds and is 27″ tall.

Using the Evenflo Maestro

The installation is rather simple when using it as a forward-facing harnessed seat, and I love, love, love that it only weighs 11 pounds. This makes it a great seat to take along as a backup or to use when on the go. The fact that it’s also well under $100 also helps lighten the load.

There are some slight annoyances about the Maestro. For example, while the Maestro can also be used as a booster, which is great, the shoulder belt guide cannot be adjusted and is stuck at 19.” This means that once your child outgrows the Maestro in harnessed mode, which has a maximum shoulder height of 18″, it won’t be long before s/he outgrows the Maestro in booster mode.

I do like that LATCH anchors can be used to secure the Maestro when it’s being used as a booster. This keeps it from turning into a projectile in a collision when it’s not being used. Of course, you can also just buckle the booster every time it’s in the car, which is my preferred method for dealing with this issue.

Buy the Evenflo Maestro on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Why Buy the Evenflo Maestro?

This is the meat and potatoes of this car seat. I’d consider the Evenflo Maestro simply because it’s a budget minded seat that will allow parents with tighter financial situations to keep their children harnessed longer. It’s easy to skip out on child safety when dealing with other challenges in the home, but this is not an issue to pass over lightly. A 3, 4, or even 5-year-old has no business being in a booster seat, and a seat like the Maestro can help keep such a child in a forward-facing harnessed seat, which has a significant safety advantage. This is why I’d buy the Maestro.

It’s not a seat that will allow you to keep a child forward-facing until 8, which is the age I’d recommend for a transition to a booster. The booster mode in the seat is not one that will last most children until they no longer need a booster, due to the inability to adjust the shoulder belt guide. To get these kinds of features, you’ll either need a combination seat like the Britax Frontier 90 or Pinnacle 90 or be willing to pick up a separate booster later on such as the Clek Oobr or Britax Parkway SGL.

However, if you’re looking for a cheap seat to keep a kindergartener harnessed, especially as a backup or travel seat, the Evenflo Maestro is hard to beat.

Finally, the Evenflo Maestro is also simply an easier seat to install than most, due to its narrow width of 19 inches. That means it’s actually possible to install 3 across in a number of midsized vehicles. I do wish that it had more than a 6-year usable life (remember, car seats do expire eventually).

The Evenflo Maestro is a nice budget car seat and, in my opinion, one of the best budget combination car seats currently available in the United States for children above the age of 4.  However, it’s highly unlikely that it will be the last seat your child needs before s/he is ready for a regular adult seat belt. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll want to consider a seat like the Britax Frontier 90 or Pinnacle 90. You can buy the Evenflo Maestro in a range of colors here. Canadians can buy it here.

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When it comes to car safety, you can focus on driving safely and you can focus on choosing a safe car. However, if you have children, you also need to focus on choosing a safe car seat. This is one of a series of reviews I’ll write on what I consider to be the best car seats currently available in the United States.

Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro – What’s the big deal?

The Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro is one of the latest car seats by German car seat manufacturer Kiddy. It comes with a range of interesting features that makes it one of the more impressive booster seats on the market. It’s a single mode booster car seat, which means it can be used exclusively as a high back booster, but not as a backless booster. Let’s take a look at why the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro is among the best boosters on the market for parents of booster-age children.

Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro Limits for Weight and Height

High back booster: 33-100 pounds, and between 38 and 60″ in height, or until the top of the child’s ears reach past the top of the headrest.  The seated shoulder height of the child in terms of the belt guide can range between 15  and 20.5″ in 10 adjustable steps.

Remember that research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible before switching into a booster. Remember that children should remain in booster seats until their seat belts fit them over the shoulder, across the chest, and flat on the upper thighs.

Buy the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Dimensions of the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro

The seat is 23″ wide at its widest point, which is at the shoulders, and 12″ wide at the bottom of the shell. The seat weighs 16 pounds.The internal width of the seat at the shoulders ranges from 19″ to 23.” The depth of the seat adjusts from 15 to 18.”

Why Buy the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro?

I’ve had the privilege of reviewing some pretty awesome car seats over the last few years, both as a parent and as a grizzly guy writing a car safety blog. I advocate rear-facing to the limits, forward-facing to the limits, and only then switching to boosters. I prefer convertible seats to infant seats and combination seats to boosters, simply for efficiency. Dedicated boosters, in the end, are designed to do the same thing as combination seats in booster mode: to properly position seat belts on children who are old enough to sit in them. So if there are combination seats that do as good of a job as dedicated boosters, why would I review and even suggest a dedicated booster?

First of all, it’s an incredibly comfortable seat. There’s a great deal of cushioning everywhere, and it’s a roomy seat! I’m too big for it, but kids will enjoy it. And comfort is where the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro starts to shine. It has an expanding shoulder section that moves outward as the headrest is raised. As a result, when kids are growing upward, they also have room to grow outward. At the lowest belt guide, the shoulder width is 19″, while at the highest belt guide, the shoulder width is 4″ wider at 23.” This alone is reason for me to recommend the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro.

Secondly, I love that the seat depth can be adjusted at the thighs. What this means is that kids who have longer legs won’t have to choose between slouching and dangling legs. There are 4 positions that span 15 to 18″ in seat depth.

Buy the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Third, I’m a fan of the Thermotex material used in parts of the seat. The goal of the fabric is to keep air moving through the seat so the child doesn’t overheat. Because the fabric is breathable, kids are more comfortable in the seat over long trips and in warm weather, which can make a significant difference with children with medical conditions. I love this.

Other great things about the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro include the use of k-fix anchors, or lower LATCH anchors, that can be used to anchor the seat without the use of a seat belt when the seat isn’t being used. It’s a nice little convenience feature that should be included on more seats as the years go by.

The manual is written clearly and includes good graphics that make sense and are actually helpful when installing the seat. A storage pouch is included that allows the manual to be kept as a reference directly on the booster’s back. I like that, since I have a habit of throwing manuals away after reading them once, only to find myself looking for them months later.

Overall, I’m quite a fan of the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro. It fits kids well and was even declared a best fit booster by the IIHS, which suggests it’s easy to install in a wide range of vehicles. The seat has several unique features that make it perhaps the most child-friendly booster I’ve reviewed so far. While part of me wishes it had a backless configuration, I generally believe that high back boosters should be used over backless boosters whenever the choice is available, and I like that this booster makes the choice for you.

Finally, I like that the seat has an 8 year lifespan, as there are an awful lot of boosters that expire after 6 years, and every extra year increases the likelihood of the seat being useful for younger siblings.

The Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro is a solid car seat and, in my opinion, one of the best booster car seats currently available in the United States for children above the age of 4.  It’s likely to be the last seat your child needs before s/he is ready for a regular adult seat belt. You can buy the Kiddy Cruiserfix Pro in a range of colors here. Canadians can buy it here.