Thoughts on the Baby Trend Flex Loc?

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Namegirl

Namegirl

Senior Community Member
I like them and it's always my recommendation for people who need a less expensive seat.

Des she have LATCH? If so, the Baby Trend Rigid Latch seat would be awesome.
 
A

arly1983

New member
I played with one in a jungle print in DH's LT's car for about a five min ride and there were no bad things that stood out. I asked if they liked it and he said that he really liked it so far.
 
cpsaddict

cpsaddict

New member
Actually, I just installed one of these last night. In a 1995 BMW. UGH. I had to use a locking clip. The only issue I had was storing the LATCH clips. They are huge and heavy and there is no place on the base to store them. I kind of just tucked them around it. :confused: It was a fairly easy install. I have also installed the Rigid LATCH, the LATCH LOC, and I have never personally been able to get a good recline. The Flex Loc base has a different leveler thing, like the Snugride. The car seat itself of nice, but the handle must be down and the one I did was a bit sticky. The rubberized handle sticks to the canopy. The no rethread harness is fabulous and the upfront adjuster is as easy as I have ever used. Overall, it is a very solid seat and I found it easy to install. The price is also nice, especially for all the features it has. :thumbsup:
 
Jeanum

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Other than differences in their LATCH connectors, I believe the Flex Loc is pretty much the same seat as the Baby Trend Latch Loc 22 I used for DD2. The Latch Loc has rigid LATCH instead of the flexible LATCH straps used on the Flex Loc. It was easier to install the Latch Loc base (a heavy, metal base) with LATCH than the seatbelt in our cars, and my hunch is the same would be true of the Flex Loc. The Latch Loc also has a plastic puzzle buckle that takes a little getting used to and might aggravate a caregiver. :twocents: The handle can't be left up in the car and the triangular shape on the "ergonomic" handle tends to be either a love or hate feature. I didn't mind the handle design, but then again it seemed like an improvement over the Z-shaped handle on Evenflo infants seats we used for DD1. ;) Another perk of the Latch Loc: it's a bit narrower than seats like the Evenflo models we had, and probably a tick narrower than a SnugRide, lending itself to puzzling side by side or 3 across.
 
Starlight

Starlight

Senior Community Member
Is it bad that I was hoping she picked a totally crappy seat, because I was really wanting to go for a Safeseat? I really think that once baby outgrows this seat, they'll FF him/her. Ugh.
 
Jeanum

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
Aww, I see your angle. :) If her car doesn't have LATCH, then the SS1's ease of seatbelt installation would definitely trump the Flex Loc/Latch Loc IMHO. And shhhh, I did personally like the SS1 we moved DD2 into (after she outgrew the Latch Loc by height) quite a bit more than the Latch Loc. Having the longer lasting infant seat to get us through the winter was another perk. If Graco had the SS1 on the market sooner, we would have tried using it from birth for DD2. Maybe you could drop some more hints about rear facing, winter weather, etc.?
 
Stresch

Stresch

New member
We used the latch loc when kiddo was born. It's actually what got me interested in CPS . I couldn't figure out how to get it tight in the center of my car. Turns out it wasn't me, it was the seat. It was just barely acceptable outboard. The tech said she'd had trouble with it with seatbelt installs. The Rigid LATCH was a breeze to use in my mom's car.

I also had trouble tightening it--very sticky, plus the handle was hard to move, and it was easy to get it mostly but not all the way snapped into the base. Hmm, yeah, didn't like it much. Plus the puzzle buckle!

I think the cons outweigh the pros especially for the flex loc model, but it wasn't horrible.
 
M

maidencomfort

New member
I had the rigid latch one with the last babe, and it was almost impossible to install tightly with a seat belt except for lap only. The rigid latch was awesome though (too bad we didn't have latch in our van then). And another thing that drove me nuts, not sure if it was just my seat, or all of them - the cover wouldn't stay on the bottom of the seat. It didn't pull up or anything, but the elastic didn't keep it on. I did like the ease of adjusting the headrest too.

But if it helps any - I got rid of it as soon as we were done with it - even though I was trying to get pregnant ;)
 

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