Convertible car seats help improve the comfort and safety of a baby while inside the car. Some people will start with infant car seat then transition to a convertible car seat much later when the baby is bigger. Others prefer to save cost by installing a convertible seat from the word go.
Unlike an infant seat which clicks in a base, the convertible car seat has to be installed properly. Additionally, it changes from rear to forward-facing contrary to infant seats which are rear-facing only. Convertible seats also accommodate heavier weights (40 to 80 pounds) and larger babies (40 to 58 inches tall). There is also an all-in-one or 3-in-1 type that converts from rear to front-facing and also changes into a booster seat. Before looking at the top 10 best convertible car seats in 2018, let’s check out what you should know when looking for the convertible car seat?
Buying Guide
- Ease of Use: A good seat is easy to install and also secure the baby properly. The 5-star rating system by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) helps to ascertain suitability and user-friendliness;
- 5-point Harness: The high-grade seats come with 5- point harness mechanism; one for every hip, one for every shoulder and a strap that goes in-between the legs;
- Comfort: The seat should be ergonomic and well-designed for maximum comfort. It will feature padding or form on the seating areas as well as the straps for firm support;
- Side-impact Protection: The seat will absorb impact and shock courtesy of special energy-absorbing padding/foam. This protects the baby’s chest and head from side-impact; and
- Easy Adjustments: The harnesses should be flexible and easy to adjust especially from the front. The longer the straps, the more effective they are on a growing baby.
Best Convertible Car Seats in 2018
Contents
- 10. Maxi-Cosi, Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat
- 9. Britax USA, Boulevard ClickTight Convertible Car Seat
- 8. Graco, Contender 65 Convertible Car Seat
- 7. Graco, My Ride 65 LX Convertible Car Seat
- 6. Evenflo, Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat
- 5. Graco, 4ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat
- 4. Disney, APT Convertible Car Seat
- 3. Safety 1st, Grow and Go 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat
- 2. Graco, Nautilus 65 3-in-1 Harness Booster Car Seat
- 1. Evenflo, Symphony Elite All-In-One Convertible Car Seat
10. Maxi-Cosi, Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat
Made from special edition fabrics, the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 convertible car seat is one of the best car seats in the market.
The car seat features an advanced air cushion system to protect your child’s head and the Air Protect side impact protection with the safety of FlexTech for multi-directional crash energy management.
It comes with TinyFit system for placing babies weighing between 4 and 22 pounds and the rear-facing position supports from 9 to 40 pounds and 22-70 pounds for forward-facing.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 70 pounds
9. Britax USA, Boulevard ClickTight Convertible Car Seat
Boasting of superior ClickTight Installation system, the Britax USA Boulevard convertible seat ensures your infant or toddler is safely harnessed inside the car. The seat features the ClickTight system that gives fast and easy installation (just buckle the seat belt across and click the seat shut).
The seat is made from lead free material for ensuring your child’s safety. The unique protection system from Britax car seat is the SafeCell Impact Protection which is an integrated system of safety components including a steel frame, energy-absorbing base, and impact-absorbing tether with staged-release stitches that slow and reduce forward movement during a crash. As the kid is growing up, the seat also comes with an easy-adjust 14-position harness for fitting your child in the seat.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 65 pounds
8. Graco, Contender 65 Convertible Car Seat
The Contender 65 coverable car seat by Graco is fit for both infants and toddlers. The seat is engineered and crash tested which meet the US standard FMVSS 213 that will definitely ensure your child’s safety.
When forward-facing, it accommodates toddlers weighing between 20 to 65 pounds whereas it supports infants weighing from 5 to 40 pounds for rear-facing. It comes with simple and safe adjust harness, 8-point adjustable headrest, and 5-point harness mechanism.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 65 pounds
7. Graco, My Ride 65 LX Convertible Car Seat
The Graco My Ride 65LX can accommodate infants of varied weights and sizes. The stylish chair is made from strong metal and heavy-duty plastic and is covered with EPS, energy-absorbing foam that give your child for the comfortable ride. The seat is best for children from 5 to 40 pounds in the rear-facing position, and from 20 to 65 pounds in the forward-facing position.
The seat features front-adjustable 5-point harness for securing your child while traveling. It also features 2 cup holders and a built in easy-to-read level indicator for easy installation.
For hygiene purpose, the cover and seat cushion are machine washable while the buckle and harness strap are clean up quickly with a damp cloth.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 65 pounds
6. Evenflo, Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat
This convertible car seat by Evenflo will support infants and toddlers. When facing the rear, it is suitable for infants weighing 5 to 30 pounds and for toddlers weighing between 22- 40 lbs when front-facing.
It comes with 4 shoulder harnesses positions for adjusting when your child grow up and the 5-point harness adjustment from the front of the car seat help for getting your child in and out easily.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 40 pounds
5. Graco, 4ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat
Securing your infant or toddler in the car is simpler with the Graco 4ever All-in-One convertible seat. This versatile seat is designed for children weighing from 4 up to 120 pounds. It supports 4-40 lbs when facing the rear, 20-65 lbs when facing the front; 30 to 100 pounds for high back belt-positioning mode and the backless belt-positioning mode from 40 to 120 pounds.
The seat comes with 6 recline positions and 10-position headrest which ensure to comfort your child when sitting inside. Furthermore, the InRight latch attachment provides an easy with an audio click cue to help ensure secure installation.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 120 pounds
4. Disney, APT Convertible Car Seat
The Minnie Mouse convertible car seat by Disney is suitable for users weighing from 5 up to 40 pounds.
The seat can be used forward facing position and supports 22 to 40 pounds while in rear-facing position can accommodate 5-40 pounds. The deluxe seat is well-engineered for durability and features 5-point harness and three buckle locations for easily adjustment. The seat will guarantee your child safety using the built-in Side Impact Protection and the LATCH system for quickly and correctly install the seat.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 40 pounds
3. Safety 1st, Grow and Go 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat
As the name suggests, the safety 1 st Grow convertible car seat gives safety first priority. The convertible car seat is well-constructed for stability and longevity.
It features quality padding that absorbs shock and impact thus protecting your baby. The 3-stage seat supports 5-40 lbs rear-facing, 22-65 lbs forward-facing and 40-100 lbs in the belt-positioning booster.
The harness holder keeps open either in rear-facing and forward-facing mode for easily get your child in and out of the seat. The QuickFit Harness offers additional convenience in any position mode so that you can adjust the height of both the headrest and harness in one easy step.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 100 pounds
2. Graco, Nautilus 65 3-in-1 Harness Booster Car Seat
This Nautilus 65 convertible car seat from Graco will offer you long service. It comes in a 3-in-1 design that supports small infants, toddlers and mature babies which the design is to help keep your child in a harness booster longer as well as to fit them up to 57″ tall.
It comes with 3-postion recline and the side-impact tested with built-in 5-point harness system for enhance the child safety. When converting from forward facing position to the belt-positioning booster, the car seat can support from 30-100 pounds while the backless booster is suited for 40-100 lbs.
Some consumers say that mounting and unmounting the seat at the beginning isn’t very easy.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 120 pounds
1. Evenflo, Symphony Elite All-In-One Convertible Car Seat
This All-In-One convertible car seat by Evenflo which is the most reliable safety standard car seat on market. The sturdy and flexible seat supports babies as small as 5 pounds up to 110 pounds. Rear-facing position supports 5-40 lbs, forward-facing 22-65 lbs while the high back booster mode supports from 40 up to 110 lbs.
It comes with 5-point infinite slide harness for accurate and easy fit while the SureLATCH technology allows for fast installation within 60 seconds and your baby is ready to go. The convertible car seats also comes with the expandable cup holder to fit for all sizes drinks. Evenflo’s proprietary e3 Side Impact Protection significantly reduces side impact crash forces up to 50% through 3 layers of expanded zone protection.
Maximum Weight Recommended: 110 pounds
Convertible car seats make it easy and more secure to position your infant or toddler while traveling. They are also designed to enhance comfort, resist side impact and are easy to mount and unmount.
The featured seats will not only offer good support, comfort and safety to the infant or toddler but also give you peace-of-mind.
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