Is there anyone that is leary of built in lockoffs?

[BW1426]

I've always been curious about this. Some of the built in lockoffs seem like they would put a lot of stress on the seatbelt webbing with long-term use. Has anyone else pondered this?

[joolsplus3]

Nope. There's a lot of air in seatbelt webbing, some of it gets dented out under the pressure of lockoffs, but it doesn't shred the fibers or cause them to run like cheap stockings, so I don't worry about them :)

[KristiD761]

Ditto above post....what I hear from time to time from parents is that they are "not strong like locking clips".
I dispel that myth by re-explaining that the purpose of the locking clip is to deform...even break away...not to be the lock down for the seat; the retractor will do that in a crash.
The only damage i ever saw on a seat belt was from a parent that used the mighty-tite:eek:

[Starlight]

I don't worry about that, but whenever possible, I teach people how to use the ALR instead of the lock-off, because those stupid lock-off's break constantly, and I don't want people to depend on them unless they *need* to, you know?

[TXAggieTech]

Even though I know I shouldn't be, I am. I usually lock the seat belt instead. I don't have a good reason either.

[tiggercat]

For me, it depends on the lockoff.

I won't use the FF lockoffs on my newer Marathon, it digs into my seatbelt and I don't like it. Because it's only a little square bit holding the belt in the middle, I think it could damage the belt eventually.

I always use the FF lockoff on my older MA, it doesn't seem to cause any trouble and it works very well.

I've always bypassed the RF lockoffs on my MAs because I drive Toyotas and the geometry of the belt doesn't match the lockoffs. I do use them for installs at clinics, if I can get them to stay closed reliably. I do always make sure the parents repeats the install on those seats and show them how to install using ALR if for some reason the lockoff stopped working.

I've removed a Safeseat from a vehicle where it had been installed for months, and while there was a line on the belt, there did not appear to be any damage. I'd happily use that lock off.

I haven't really played with any others.

[snowbird25ca]

This is the seatbelt in the position that the SS1 was installed for the longest in my truck. The compression is still there more than 6mos since the seat was removed, but the fibers of the seatbelt are completely unharmed.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2351605678_05a6a01690.jpg?v=0

I have no problem trusting built in lock-offs. I'm not fond of the new ff Britax lock-offs so have switched to using ALR in vehicles that have them, but would still trust them - I just don't like how they close on the seatbelt in such a small spot so I don't use them unless needed.

My way of looking at it is the same as someone above posted - they're just like a locking clip keeping the belt properly tight until a crash when the ELR function would kick in. Parents should be checking their seats regularly for tightness regardless of how they're installed, so in the event that a seat was loosening, it should be caught before there was any risk as a result. I give my kids' seats a tug when buckling them in regularly and it's a 1 second check, so easy enough to do. :thumbsup:

[Defrost]

My way of looking at it is the same as someone above posted - they're just like a locking clip keeping the belt properly tight until a crash when the ELR function would kick in. Parents should be checking their seats regularly for tightness regardless of how they're installed, so in the event that a seat was loosening, it should be caught before there was any risk as a result. I give my kids' seats a tug when buckling them in regularly and it's a 1 second check, so easy enough to do. :thumbsup:

:yeahthat: Locking clips leave "dents" in seat belts, too.

I'd offer to show you guys the seat belts that had DD's MA in them, both RF and FF, for several years, to show how it wasn't the least bit damaged even after years of moving it back and forth from one vehicle to the other, but both those seat belts have now been replaced (one broke, the dog chewed up the other!)

[BW1426]

So, I guess my follow up question is, how do you know if damage has been done.

Locking clips bend my belts, while the lockoff (the SS1 is what made me become a little nervous) actually leaves dents in it. How do we not know that damage has been done. I guess my question is have these been tested with long term use?

[joolsplus3]

It's visible and obvious damage...if you have it, you'll know it (I had a mouse chew up most of my seatbelt... it was frayed in big chunks......I guess I should have taken pictures, huh? It was so heartbreaking I didn't want to memorialize it, lol). I think you could leave a lockoff closed on a belt for years (say, for daycare situations where you always leave a seat in for a decade...) and it wouldn't be a problem.

[snowbird25ca]

So, I guess my follow up question is, how do you know if damage has been done.

Locking clips bend my belts, while the lockoff (the SS1 is what made me become a little nervous) actually leaves dents in it. How do we not know that damage has been done. I guess my question is have these been tested with long term use?

My way of looking at it is based on the testing that was done on seatbelt stalks regarding # of twists. The way I see it, the stress put on a stalk when a seat is installed for a huge period of time without being removed must be more than a clamp straight down on the belt - yet the studies on the seatbelt stalk showed that once it was untwisted it regained it's strength.

So I really don't think just compression is any kind of risk. If you had holes or rips or huge amounts of fraying you'd notice it the same way as you would on a frayed or dangerous harness strap or adjuster strap. :thumbsup: