Chicco vs Graco

KikiCohen · April 2012

Based on what I've read in Baby Bargains and online reviews, I was totally sold on a Graco car seat, stroller, and PNP. Yesterday I checked them out at BRU and they feel kinda cheap and flimsy. The Chicco versions were much nicer, the fabric and padding was thicker, and they just seemed better quality. Could it be that the floor models just weren't assembled well?

es1003 · April 2012

We have the Chicco Cortina travel system and Chicco Lullaby pnp. We haven't actually used either but I love them. There are so sturdy and the pnp has great features and doesn't wobble like the Graco ones in BRU

LittleApple · April 2012

Be sure you are comapring the Chicco and the Graco Snugride35, not the regular Graco Snugride. It is a lot cheaper.

I love my Graco snugride 35.

srs5624 · April 2012

We had a Chicco PNP and a Graco Snugride 35 infant seat.

The Chicco PNPs seem sturdier and the mattresses are much better. I much prefer how the Chicco changer is attached on all three sides and not just the one end. I tried changing DS on the Graco PNP changer at my ILs house and it sagged. He was only about 9 lbs at the time. We had the Cubes pattern.

The Graco Snugride 35 and the Chicco infant seat seemed about identical. The only notable difference I could see was the Chicco had harness covers and the Graco didn't. I didn't want the harness covers since it gets nasty hot and humid in my area in the summer and that's just extra material to make him overheated. I couldn't justify the extra price for not really any difference, so we bought the Graco. I loved it. And now a friend of mine loves it as well. We had the Ben pattern (neutral, not covered in animals, ugly paisley, etc).

BrooklynMommy83 · April 2012

Chicco has a much better safety rating

srs5624 · April 2012

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

All car seats pass the same safety tests. There are seats with better, easier to use features.... but there are no "safer" car seats.

The safest car seat is the one that you can properly use and that fits your child and your car properly.

LittleApple · April 2012

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

NO. It does NOT. ::bangs head on desk::

They all have to pass the same safety standards. It has a higher ease of use rating because the base is a tad easier to install. The Graco base is a breeze to install too.

BrooklynMommy83 · April 2012

srs5624:

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

All car seats pass the same safety tests. There are seats with better, easier to use features.... but there are no "safer" car seats.

The safest car seat is the one that you can properly use and that fits your child and your car properly.

I used CR to check their raitings for the major items. They rated several car seats. Chicco has a higher score and a better crash protection rating then the Graco snugride.

srs5624 · April 2012

BrooklynMommy83:
srs5624:

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

All car seats pass the same safety tests. There are seats with better, easier to use features.... but there are no "safer" car seats.

The safest car seat is the one that you can properly use and that fits your child and your car properly.

I used CR to check their raitings for the major items. They rated several car seats. Chicco has a higher score and a better crash protection rating then the Graco snugride.

/headdesk

Consumer Reports is not a reliable source. They're very biased and have questionable business practices (i.e. highest bidder = safest product). Don't trust Consumer Reports with the life of your child.

These are reliable sources:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/Ease-of-Use

https://carseatblog.com/

BrooklynMommy83 · April 2012

srs5624:
BrooklynMommy83:
srs5624:

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

All car seats pass the same safety tests. There are seats with better, easier to use features.... but there are no "safer" car seats.

The safest car seat is the one that you can properly use and that fits your child and your car properly.

I used CR to check their raitings for the major items. They rated several car seats. Chicco has a higher score and a better crash protection rating then the Graco snugride.

/headdesk

Consumer Reports is not a reliable source. They're very biased and have questionable business practices (i.e. highest bidder = safest product). Don't trust Consumer Reports with the life of your child.

These are reliable sources:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/Ease-of-Use

https://carseatblog.com/

Thanks, It's very frustrating as a FTM who wants to purchase the safest products for her child to find reliable information. Annoyed that a purchased a CR subscribtion now.

srs5624 · April 2012

BrooklynMommy83:
srs5624:
BrooklynMommy83:
srs5624:

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

All car seats pass the same safety tests. There are seats with better, easier to use features.... but there are no "safer" car seats.

The safest car seat is the one that you can properly use and that fits your child and your car properly.

I used CR to check their raitings for the major items. They rated several car seats. Chicco has a higher score and a better crash protection rating then the Graco snugride.

/headdesk

Consumer Reports is not a reliable source. They're very biased and have questionable business practices (i.e. highest bidder = safest product). Don't trust Consumer Reports with the life of your child.

These are reliable sources:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/Ease-of-Use

https://carseatblog.com/

Thanks, It's very frustrating as a FTM who wants to purchase the safest products for her child to find reliable information. Annoyed that a purchased a CR subscribtion now.

Hahaha! My FIL swears by CR. It's one of the most biased publications that I've ever seen. Their preferences are very obvious.

Luckily, no matter what seat you buy (as long as it's new) it's safe. It's the added bells and whistles that you pay extra for.

Good luck!

KikiCohen · April 2012

srs5624:
BrooklynMommy83:
srs5624:
BrooklynMommy83:
srs5624:

BrooklynMommy83:
Chicco has a much better safety rating

All car seats pass the same safety tests. There are seats with better, easier to use features.... but there are no "safer" car seats.

The safest car seat is the one that you can properly use and that fits your child and your car properly.

I used CR to check their raitings for the major items. They rated several car seats. Chicco has a higher score and a better crash protection rating then the Graco snugride.

/headdesk

Consumer Reports is not a reliable source. They're very biased and have questionable business practices (i.e. highest bidder = safest product). Don't trust Consumer Reports with the life of your child.

These are reliable sources:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/Ease-of-Use

https://carseatblog.com/

Thanks, It's very frustrating as a FTM who wants to purchase the safest products for her child to find reliable information. Annoyed that a purchased a CR subscribtion now.

Hahaha! My FIL swears by CR. It's one of the most biased publications that I've ever seen. Their preferences are very obvious.

Luckily, no matter what seat you buy (as long as it's new) it's safe. It's the added bells and whistles that you pay extra for.

Good luck!

Mine does too. He even bought DH a subscription. We're going to be trading in my car and getting another one in the late summer and I just know he'll insist on something from CR. I don't think so!!

bobbs420 · April 2012

Yeah, don't go by CR ratings. They are unreliable and the ratings tend to be pretty dated. I had a subscription for 5 years so I have experience with this. As far as carseats go, I will echo the other pp's that said that the safest carseat is the one that fits your child, and your car, and is installed properly. That said, I do think that some seats may be rated higher because of their ease of use, but definitely not because they are any less safe.

The Graco Snugride 35, and the Chicco Keyfit 30 are both very easy carseats to install. We have the Snugride 32 (the older version of the 35), and it was super easy to install, and is very well made and sturdy. I don't have any experience with the Chicco, but people seem to love the seat and everything about it. I have heard it's also a breeze to install. You can't go wrong with either. When I was registering, and deciding between the 2, it honestly came down to the fact that I liked a particular Graco seat fabric better.

As far as the pack n play's are concerned, I have both a Chicco, and a Graco. I like both for different reasons. The Chicco is super sturdy, and I like how the changing station sits on the metal bars instead of being raised. It's a bit bigger than my Graco, and has more parts, so I didn't find it as easy to pack up and travel with. My Graco is a bare bones pack and play though, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles. It takes literally 30 seconds to put up and take down, and is perfect for traveling with. It has held up well, and my 2.5 year old still naps in it at my grandmothers house.

maddiemoon43 · April 2012

I love our Chicco keyfit seat, and I have found the base exceptionally user-friendly and easy to install in both of our cars, as well as 3 different rental cars when traveling. I can't comment on the Snugride model in particular, I just know I never felt comfortable with the fit of the base of my nephews' infant seats (various brands ) when I installed them in our cars over the past few years. I don't hesitate to install and move our Chicco base though on my own. When we had it inspected prior to DS, the car seat "experts" all remarked on how easy it seemed to be to install and they were pleased with how snug we'd managed to get it ourselves at home too.

peke1101 · April 2012

I have the Chicco Keyfit 30 and the Chicco Lullably LX Romantic and absolutely love both. The carseat is super easy to install and the PnP is super sturdy. I have read on here that the Graco PnP's are easier to travel with but I went with sturdiness over ease of travel (we don't go out much ha!)

ablou · April 2012

I love Chicco products and really can't stand Graco products, honestly. The two Graco products I purchased (high chair & baby monitor) were complete crap & would NEVER buy again. Ever.

We had the Keyfit30 carseat, which Bean grew out of at 6 months (he was 25 lbs & 30" long, which was fine. At just 25 lbs, that darn thing was getting too heavy to carry with the baby in it!). The seat is very easy to put in and take out of the car. I don't remember how easy it is to install the base, honestly. But I don't recall it being too difficult.

My mother has the Graco PnP at her house & we have the Chicco Lullaby that we use for travel. Bean sleeps like complete crap on the Graco mattress. We had to get a new mattress for it, and he still doesn't STTN on the thing. The Lullaby has a much nicer mattress, sturdier construction, sturdier changer (but both were purchased in late 2009, so I don't know what, if anything has changed on either), and a better music box. The bassinet was excellent on the Chicco, which is where Bean spent 90% of his rest time for the first 4 or so months.

The Chicco takes a bit of practice to set up and break down, especially if you're using the bassinet & changer, but at this point (just the playyard & mattress), I can get it done in about a minute. I love the carrying case, because it has a separate compartment in it that we use for extra sheets, receiving blankets (that we use as a mattress pad, in case an accident happens, we don't have to launder the mattress), extra batteries for the music box, stuffed animals, bedtime books, and his blankie.

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