L
Londovir
Guest
My wife and I are expecting our first in October, and so we're all new at this whole business!
We just got back from shopping and noticed a Safety 1st Travel System stroller we really liked, but were a bit concerned about the 5-point harness system it uses. Unlike many metal tongue types (just like your regular car uses), this one uses an overlapped pair of plastic tongue "halves", so to speak.
Basically you have to overlay the right side of the plastic tongue with the left side, hold them together, and put them into the buckle. It seems to be a difficult buckle for us to do (we've practiced in the store a few times), and frankly I'm paranoid about the quality of the hardened plastic tongues - I just feel that metal is safer.
Two questions. First, are there any safety concerns with these plastic tongues? Obviously I know they have passed all safety regs, but I just have this mental image of the plastic not being reliable to stresses and aging. Second, is it ever possible to replace the 5-point harnessing in the car seat with a metal buckle style? I know the rule-of-thumb is that harnesses are specfically crash tested in conjunction with the seat itself, but it's almost heartbreaking for us to pass up an otherwise adorable (and likable) travel system over a single buckle tongue.
Thanks for any advice/pointers,
Jason Karol
We just got back from shopping and noticed a Safety 1st Travel System stroller we really liked, but were a bit concerned about the 5-point harness system it uses. Unlike many metal tongue types (just like your regular car uses), this one uses an overlapped pair of plastic tongue "halves", so to speak.
Basically you have to overlay the right side of the plastic tongue with the left side, hold them together, and put them into the buckle. It seems to be a difficult buckle for us to do (we've practiced in the store a few times), and frankly I'm paranoid about the quality of the hardened plastic tongues - I just feel that metal is safer.
Two questions. First, are there any safety concerns with these plastic tongues? Obviously I know they have passed all safety regs, but I just have this mental image of the plastic not being reliable to stresses and aging. Second, is it ever possible to replace the 5-point harnessing in the car seat with a metal buckle style? I know the rule-of-thumb is that harnesses are specfically crash tested in conjunction with the seat itself, but it's almost heartbreaking for us to pass up an otherwise adorable (and likable) travel system over a single buckle tongue.
Thanks for any advice/pointers,
Jason Karol