Infant seats recs please? Is Chicco really "better" than Graco?

Lulu80301 · February 2014

I had a Graco with DD but now everyone is saying Chicco is far superior. Are they worth it for the price increase? And then where do the Bitax infant seats fall in comparison? Short of just reading a million reviews I'm not sure how to research. Thanks!

frasey · February 2014

whatever can be installed the safest way possible into your car is the safest/best seat for your kid. All seats must meet the same minimum safety standards. Many seats just have different features, work w different strollers, etc.

AKB090609 · February 2014

I agree with the PP with one note, make sure the seat you get has a front adjust. It will make it much easier to get the baby properly tightened every time.

I used a b safe because it fit well in our cars, was easy to install without the base and I liked the way it clicked into our stroller.

FmrAFBrat · February 2014

frasey said:
whatever can be installed the safest way possible into your car is the safest/best seat for your kid. All seats must meet the same minimum safety standards. Many seats just have different features, work w different strollers, etc.

This. I like this website for comparisons and reviews:

https://carseatblog.com/carseatblogcoms-recommended-car-seats/

It's nice that it narrows it down to 4 brands. I think the most important feature is fit to your car & that the seat meets your babies needs. There are several seats that wouldn't work well if you had a preemie or small baby too. Do you have a BRU nearby to test out the seats in your car?

LittleApple · February 2014

NO. Chicco is no better than Graco or Britax. Chicco doesn't get better safety ratings than any other car seat. There is no such thing as safety ratings.

I have had the Graco Snugride 35 with all three of my kids. Easy install and has a good height/weight limit. The Britax B-Safe is a little smaller and better for small vehicles.

bumpuser794640 · February 2014

We have the Britax B-Safe and so far we love it! It is super easy to install in our vehicles, and fits in my DH's Toyota Yaris (we have the 4-door model), so it's perfect for us.

hollygb22 · February 2014

we have the chicco keyfit 30.

I almost wish I had the Graco that fit up to 32"

Personally, I kept DD in the infant seat for as long as possible. With me doing daycare drop off and DH doing pick up it was so easy to leave the carrier at daycare. We were forced to move her from it at 12 months when she hit 30". She wasn't a terribly big kid (weight wise) and it was still manageable to carry her in it..so I wish I had the addtional height limit with a different seat.

laurel22 · February 2014

I agree with @hollygb22 - if you think there's a good chance your child could be tall, go with a Graco Snugride 35 or one with a similar height limit. Even with the 32" height on the Graco, our son outgrew it around 10 months, but wasn't even close to the weight limit.

BBColt78 · February 2014

The only thing I've heard about Chicco and probably why people think it's safer: I heard that it meets international safety standards as well. People choosing to travel to other countries have the comfort of knowing that Chicco meets those standards as well.

I cannot remember if this was my traveling friend who told me or the local PD when they put ours in.

That said, I'm going Britax this time for the same reason as PP, I like how it will snap into my stroller

LittleFish1 · February 2014

We went with Graco Snugride 35 as well, my little one is still in it at almost 14months (but she is a lightweight). There is a group on Facebook called Carseats for the Littles. Have found them useful (for example found out that Graco's Snugride 22 isn't good for small/preemie babies the other day due to the position of the lowest strap setting bring too high).

Which ever infant seat you decide upon, would make sure the model comes with strap covers & the infant insert. Recall seeing some that don't & only the pieces that come with the seat are safe to use (because they were crash tested with the seat).

slwprincess · February 2014

Safety wise... No- I think they are equal. But personally, having owned one of each, Chicco Keyfit 30 is better IMO. DH handles the install so I won't even comment other than to say that he feels strongly that the Chicco was easier to get a good install on compared to our Graco Snugride 22. Not sure about the other Graco versions. Quality wise, I feel like the Chicco held up better- the fabric still looked new even after a year of use and washings. The Chicco buckle was much easier to click/unclick as well. I also had buyers remorse for not getting the bigger Graco. I thought I wanted the lightest seat and turns out my long babies outgrow those seats way too fast- long before they hit 22 lbs. I never really carried a lot anyway- just used a snap n go to wheel them around so now I always tell people to go for the larger seat!

LittleApple · February 2014

slwprincess said:

Safety wise... No- I think they are equal. But personally, having owned one of each, Chicco Keyfit 30 is better IMO. DH handles the install so I won't even comment other than to say that he feels strongly that the Chicco was easier to get a good install on compared to our Graco Snugride 22. Not sure about the other Graco versions. Quality wise, I feel like the Chicco held up better- the fabric still looked new even after a year of use and washings. The Chicco buckle was much easier to click/unclick as well. I also had buyers remorse for not getting the bigger Graco. I thought I wanted the lightest seat and turns out my long babies outgrow those seats way too fast- long before they hit 22 lbs. I never really carried a lot anyway- just used a snap n go to wheel them around so now I always tell people to go for the larger seat!

The SR 22 base is not that great. The SR 35 base is better, with a seat belt lockoff.

Angela814 · February 2014

They have our seat on that list, the Safety 1st OnBoard Air. I really love it. DD3 was 30 1/4" at 9 months, and it still fits her well with room to grow.

dmurrie · February 2014

We have the original Chicco key fit but need to get another car seat (twins are on the way). We're not overly excited about dishing out the $$$ for another Chicco, do I'll be watching what everyone says about this very intently! Anyone have a Graco Classic Connect?

LittleApple · February 2014

dmurrie said:

We have the original Chicco key fit but need to get another car seat (twins are on the way). We're not overly excited about dishing out the $$$ for another Chicco, do I'll be watching what everyone says about this very intently! Anyone have a Graco Classic Connect?

I have the classic connect snugride 35. I really like that the base has a seat belt lockoff. It makes the install a lot easier. I also like the canopy rotates 90 degrees.

LittleFish1 · February 2014

agree that the Graco Snug Ride has a fantastic canopy. Biggest of what I have seen on the other carseats within my mom's group.

PB102012 · February 2014

We have the b safe. I really like it, LO seems to be very comfy, and it fits well in my smaller backseat.

KikiCohen · February 2014

We chose Chicco over Graco primarily b/c the quality of the fabric and padding seemed to be higher. Also, when we compared the two brands top PNPs in the store, the Chicco one seemed much more sturdy. It was worth the money, IMO, but I have many friends who have used Graco without any issues. And each of P's grandparents have Graco PNPs.

bcnoelle · February 2014

I had a Chicco Keyfit with DS and loved it, but now I am conflicted that I should have gotten Graco because of all the baby trend single and double stroller options. I feel like Graco and Chicco are very similar from what I've heard. No advice on the Britax carseats, although I do notice that some strollers have Britax car seat adaptors that cost $20 rather than $59 for the universal, which is nice.

chicagobride_07 · February 2014

I love our Chicco keyfit, but LO is very long and outgrowing it at 8 months. We just bought the Nextfit and probably will install that next month. Overall I've had a good experience with the Chicco brand.

dmurrie · February 2014

The Chicco seats snap into the Joovy strollee frames :-)

SunAndRain · February 2014

I loved our Chico car seat and sng!!

We actually only used it for 6' ish months before switching to convertible car seats because dd just got too heavy to carry and with sharing daycare drop And pick up duties it just became easier to carry DD.

I loved the fabric and padding in the chicco

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