Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Review


Now that we are ready to upgrade from our Chicco Keyfit 30 infant car seat to something larger for our son, I thought it would be a good time to write a review on it.  I'm sure you can find some long-winded reviews out there so I'll just touch on a few points that may be helpful for you if you decide to purchase this model.

Installation
Being that our Honda CR-V does not have the LATCH restraints (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) we had to use the shoulder belt lockoff.  Installing the base using the vehicle belt was a fairly simple process.  The only problem I ran into was when I had to reinstall the base after removing it to use in a different car.  Getting the shoulder belt in the Honda to lock into place after it is routed through the base was tricky.  Other than that the installation was easy.  Please check with your local hospital to see if they or your local fire department offers free car seat inspections.  I highly recommend you take advantage of this service.

Removal of Car Seat from Base
Removing the car seat from the base is easy as clicking a button.  It's referred to as the "Release Handle".  You'll need to put the Carry Handle into the "carry" position in order to lift the seat out.  One small pet peeve I have is that when changing between the three positions, the Carry Handle clicks into place and the click is bit loud.  I don't think it ever woke up our baby but I was always cautious and sloooowly clicked it into place.

Canopy\Sun Visor
One neat feature of the Keyfit 30 is the canopy\sun visor.  This helps block the sun from shining in the baby's eyes.  As our son got older he liked to reach up and play with it.

Harness
The harness is very easy to secure and we never had any problems with it coming unlatched.  Adjusting the harness height as our son got older was easy to do as well.  The manual found here:  http://www.chiccousa.com/Files/pdf/product-manuals/KF30instructions3_00.pdf explains how to do this in plain English.

Extra Base
You can also get an extra base if you want to be able to easily move the car seat between 2 cars.

Stroller Frame
Chicco also offers a stroller frame that you can install the car seat right onto.

Bottomline
We really had no problems with the car seat.  Luckily we were never in an accident to see how well it protects an infant.  The Keyfit 30 is simple to use and I was very confident that my child was safe at all times while in the seat.

The Keyfit 30 can be purchased online from Amazon and shipped right to your door.

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