2boys3girls
New member
Hi, I'm wondering how sub-zero temps affect a child car seat? Is there testing/documentation on how a car seat performs in crashes once the seat has been in an outside-parked car overnight when the temps dip to 10, 20,
30, ect degrees below zero. As far as EPS foam, I know it's different than your standard styrofoam, but still..... We live in Northern Minnesota where it can and does get frigidly cold. Wind Chills as well as the reg. temp have definitely gotten down to -30, -40. Over Christmas, I know it was as low as
-25. The other day, my husband & I and or 5m old were out during the day & it was around 0. Our baby rides RF (obviously) in a MyRide in "the middle of the middle row" in our 03 Montana 8p. Our 8 y.o DD's parkway (not SG) was on driver-side outboard. My husband reached over the parkway to put the baby in his seat, barely bumped the head wing on the PW & a small piece of the styro broke off. His response was, "You've got to be kidding me?! These seats are made with styrofoam?! Styrofoam & plastic BOTH will crack in really cold temps!" He's a business owner in the automotive industry & claims to have seen both styro & hard Plastic break in subzero (or just plain "cold") weather. Yes, I realize that EPS isn't just plain styrofoam (so we're told) AND my wonderful husband knows very little about car seat safety. He thinks babies should FF ASAP. yeah right. Incidentally, I have a Radian 65 w/cracked styrofoam. Not in use. But I'm probably going to have to use it until I can get a RNXT, which will be soon and the $ is not a problem, since both of my 2 dds are very close to 40lbs & are currently using a Scenera & Touriva. The little girls are 5 (as of yesterday) & almost 3 (on 2/2) and about 2 1/2 months ago they were both 37lbs. The 3 y.o gains faster than the 5 y.o. If either girl is 40 or over she will not use the scenera or touriva. I'm def. not crazy about those seats anyway. They ea. had RNs but I traded my sis for her TF Monet, & then decided it took up too much space in my van, so I moved my younger dd into the Scenera which I had purchased brand new as a back up. Then the styrofoam cracked on my RN & I moved the 5 y.o into the Touriva, which I bought brand new a few yrs ago as back up. It rarely got used, has spent most of it's life in our guest room. Well, anyway, now that I've totally gotten off track..... have CS been tested to withstand frigid temps? I'm wondering also how WELL A "FROZEN" hard plastic shell would hold up, harness straps breaking through?
Any FACTS, INFORMATION, OPINIONS, & CONVERSATION on this would be helpful! thank you!
30, ect degrees below zero. As far as EPS foam, I know it's different than your standard styrofoam, but still..... We live in Northern Minnesota where it can and does get frigidly cold. Wind Chills as well as the reg. temp have definitely gotten down to -30, -40. Over Christmas, I know it was as low as
-25. The other day, my husband & I and or 5m old were out during the day & it was around 0. Our baby rides RF (obviously) in a MyRide in "the middle of the middle row" in our 03 Montana 8p. Our 8 y.o DD's parkway (not SG) was on driver-side outboard. My husband reached over the parkway to put the baby in his seat, barely bumped the head wing on the PW & a small piece of the styro broke off. His response was, "You've got to be kidding me?! These seats are made with styrofoam?! Styrofoam & plastic BOTH will crack in really cold temps!" He's a business owner in the automotive industry & claims to have seen both styro & hard Plastic break in subzero (or just plain "cold") weather. Yes, I realize that EPS isn't just plain styrofoam (so we're told) AND my wonderful husband knows very little about car seat safety. He thinks babies should FF ASAP. yeah right. Incidentally, I have a Radian 65 w/cracked styrofoam. Not in use. But I'm probably going to have to use it until I can get a RNXT, which will be soon and the $ is not a problem, since both of my 2 dds are very close to 40lbs & are currently using a Scenera & Touriva. The little girls are 5 (as of yesterday) & almost 3 (on 2/2) and about 2 1/2 months ago they were both 37lbs. The 3 y.o gains faster than the 5 y.o. If either girl is 40 or over she will not use the scenera or touriva. I'm def. not crazy about those seats anyway. They ea. had RNs but I traded my sis for her TF Monet, & then decided it took up too much space in my van, so I moved my younger dd into the Scenera which I had purchased brand new as a back up. Then the styrofoam cracked on my RN & I moved the 5 y.o into the Touriva, which I bought brand new a few yrs ago as back up. It rarely got used, has spent most of it's life in our guest room. Well, anyway, now that I've totally gotten off track..... have CS been tested to withstand frigid temps? I'm wondering also how WELL A "FROZEN" hard plastic shell would hold up, harness straps breaking through?
Any FACTS, INFORMATION, OPINIONS, & CONVERSATION on this would be helpful! thank you!