Infant carseats: Chicco Keyfit vs. Graco Snugride

lyndamf · January 2012

Are there any recommendations or reviews out there for either of these? We are needing to buy a new carseat for our 2nd and these are the two that I've narrowed it down to. I like the Chicco, but the Graco is compatible with a stroller that I would like to buy. That's not really the deciding factor, but would love any opinions either way!

Kristen0709 · January 2012

We had the Graco Snugride and it was a great seat. I have zero complaints. I actually gave ours to a friend to use as a secondary seat and they like it too.

abh1977 · January 2012

We got the Chicco based on reviews and what Baby Bargains had to say about it. That said, we obviously haven't used it yet. Wink

Mainer-in-Texas · January 2012

We have the Chicco and have nothing bad to say about it. It was super easy to install with or without the base, which has made traveling easy. DD was in it until she outgrew it at 15 months.

jml5q · January 2012

we have a chicco but it seems like all my friends had graco. my camparison of the two is this: the chicco seems easier to remove from the base in the car, i like the design of the inside of the seat/head rests etc. of the chicco, i like the sun shade on the graco better - its' bigger and seems easier to adjust.

you really can't go wrong with either one. i'd probably get the one that's compatible with your stroller though.

BSE · January 2012

i have a graco and it's been fine. i liked the style and that it was the most light weight. my only complaint is the headrest- i think chicco does a better job, but i don't think my dd cared nor would it have made any differences. i was deciding between those 2 also and the graco fit the stroller i had so i got it. i think either is a good pick, like people said.

MrsMillerTime · January 2012

I had the Keyfit and loved it. I felt like it was easier to "use" than the Graco...I was always really confused when I tried to buckle in/take out my friends' kids that used a Graco. I don't know...maybe I was just used to mine.

The Graco is compatible with more stroller systems so that is a huge plus if you're a big time stroller person. We rarely used a stroller (the Chicco does work with a snap-and-go...it just doesn't "click" in like the Graco does) so compatibility wasn't a huge factor for me. {And FWIW, I noticed this a lot with the Chicco. It doesn't have the locking mechanism on the bottom that the Graco does so while it isn't technically compatible with many of the stroller conversions, it would reasonably work so long as you're not off roading, etc.}

You're welcome to borrow my Chicco if you'd like to test it out with different strollers. Just let me know.

luluAXA · January 2012

I had a Chicco and only had one complaint. It doesn't fit and snap onto the top of grocery carts like Graco does. We just put the whole carseat in th basket because of this. I'm not sure what model we had and if other models fit but that was my only problem. We loved it otherwise.

sweetdreams2000 · January 2012

abh1977:
We got the Chicco based on reviews and what Baby Bargains had to say about it. That said, we obviously haven't used it yet.

Us too. Its sitting in the baby room just waiting . . . . That said, I have used it before on my nephew, and as a non-mom, I found it really easy to get the base setup, and get the seat in/out of my car and latched. I did go to buy buy baby and try them out (they can set up the bases for you on a little car bench and you can try putting each of the seats in, which I found helpful.

BLONDIE6FT · January 2012

We have the snug ride and it goes with the bob and is good for large babies(which both girls were). The bad part--it is heavier and bigger than everyone else's carseat! I'm jealous when I see the small compact ones. But I did run with it and it fit well in the bob

SarahPLiz · January 2012

If, God forbid, you were to have a preemie, the Chicco is the recommended seat because of the inserts, or so the NICU told us. We had already chosen and been given the Chicco so we were lucky. The NICU people always recommend the Chicco for preemie parents who haven't gotten car seats yet.

cia · January 2012

Babies R Us will let you "check" out both models and try them in your car. I recommend this, especially if you have an older car. We have a classic Volvo 240 Station Wagon, so I was worried about what would fit since we couldn't secure it with the latch system (our car was made before they started installing latch systems). We tried the chicco and the graco based on what we read in Baby Bargains, and found that we could get the Graco to be much more snug (true to its name!) than the chicco. Without latch, the Chicco is really loose and can be moved around a lot. The Graco has a feature that lets you snug it up after it's been buckled in with a seat belt which makes it much more secure.

MrsNole · January 2012

I have the Graco Sugride 35 and like it but my only complaint is that it's huge. Next time we'll get a smaller seat.

Ricola · January 2012

luluAXA:
I had a Chicco and only had one complaint. It doesn't fit and snap onto the top of grocery carts like Graco does. We just put the whole carseat in th basket because of this. I'm not sure what model we had and if other models fit but that was my only problem. We loved it otherwise.

It is unsafe to "snap" the carseat on the grocery cart anyway, it should always go into the basket! Babies have died because the cart tipped over with the carseat snapped in (it makes it off balance). So I actually see it as a positive side to the Chicco that you can't snap it in. :-)