What are your favorite/least favorite brands???

Just curious. I figure those of you who are techs have seen/tried just about every car seat and brand out there, and I'm just curious. Which brands do you trust and like most? Which brands do you trust and like least? And why?

There are seats I love and hate from any brand. I hate the 3 in 1s, but recommend the Scenera and Complete Air all the time. The Evenflo infant seats are terrible, but the Momentum and Triumph 65 are fabulous. Graco has a pretty solid lineup now from birth to booster, but they have the blemish of the Comfortsport. Britax seats are nice, easy to install, but are expensive for what they are.

If you look at it from recalls, Britax has more recalls than some companies, though they seem to be more proactive about it. Dorel has fewer, but they need to be pushed into it. Every company has had recalls. Some for better things than others. So can't hate companies based on recalls.

Wendy

Yeah, recalls are a mixed bag. Does a company have a lot of recalls because they're very proactive, or because their products suck? Do they have very few recalls because they ignore problems and fight things, or because they really don't have problems?

I have to say that Graco has the best lineup. Very highly recommended infant seat, convertible, combo, and booster, with a dud or two thrown in.

Dorel is definitely my least favorite, in part because I despise the 3-in-1s, and while the Scenera is a good budget option I find it very flimsy and difficult to use. I also have general philosophical issues with the company.

Yeah, I've seen Dorel getting bad press here. It makes me think twice about getting a CA, although it may be a great seat.


What philosophical issues do you have with Dorel, LISmama?

The CA is great although it can be tricky in some cars since the base is pretty wide and it's tall.

I don't really fancy Britax and I rarely recommend their new convertibles. The Frontier I recommend all the time. I detest Dorel except that the scenera and CA are OK. I love sunshine kids, but the Radian can be a PITA to install and the Monterey doesn't fit every kid.

Every brand has it's ups and downs so it's hard to say which is my favorite brand. I would say Sunshine Kids is up at the top, then Evenflo (converts), then Graco. Britax and Recaro are at the bottom for me.

AnnaC said:

Yeah, I've seen Dorel getting bad press here. It makes me think twice about getting a CA, although it may be a great seat.


What philosophical issues do you have with Dorel, LISmama?

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I feel there have been safety issues they've ignored. Like the spikes on the Scenera that have torn through harnesses. And the Touriva notches of death, although I'm not entirely convinced on that one. And their adjuster that didn't lock, allowing the harness to pull loose. (What seat was that? The Avenue?)

I don't like the way they mislead people into thinking the AOE harnesses to 100 lbs. I don't like that the top slot of the AOEs was unusable in harness mode, but they did not always make the fact very clear.

I don't like that their European division released a statement that basically said, "Yeah, rear-facing is better, but it's a PITA, so don't worry about it. Turn your kid around as soon as rear-facing gets inconvenient."

At the same time, I do recognize that they have made a lot of headway and seem to be turning things around.

LISmama810 said:

And their adjuster that didn't lock, allowing the harness to pull loose. (What seat was that? The Avenue?)

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Wasn't it the Vantage booster? Or summit?

Where is the link to the euro statement?

HayleyCPST said:

Wasn't it the Vantage booster? Or summit?

Where is the link to the euro statement?

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Elmo is in Danger was the Safety 1st Vantage
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-R9nHS156s"]YouTube - Elmo is in danger! Safety First Vantage Booster Car Seat Failure![/ame]

HayleyCPST said:

Where is the link to the euro statement?

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http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=259060

To be fair, that's from the European division. Clearly the North American division seems to have a different stance, but I think it casts a shadow on the whole company. (For the record, Dorel sells at least one 55-lb seat in Sweden but won't market it in Britain, even though it obviously meets EU standards.)

My favorite brand of seats is sunshine kids. There may be some faults with the radians, but the seat is sturdy, thin, and works well.

I'm not too fond of dorel either. I'd use a dorel seat, but I'm not likely to spend a lot of money on one and would try not to have it be the main seat. I've had children in the scenera and cosco high back booster as their main seats, but now, if I can afford a different brand seat, I'd rather go with something else.

That press release was just appalling

"However, most parents around the world eventually make the change because rearward facing child car seats are simply impractical in most situations. They take up a huge amount of room in the car, usually necessitating the front seats to be moved forward, and they don't even fit in some smaller cars. Unless the child is given sufficient legroom, he or she will be cramped against the car's seatback. It can be incredibly difficult for a parent to get a larger child into such a seat and the fitting system is often very complex, increasing the chance of incorrect fitting.. "

They are the manufacture and yet they are criticizing they own design flaws. How much sense does that make?

I don't particularly stick with one brand, I just like versatile seats. The Radian is in my car, it has been used all the way from the bottom slots rear facing for a little bitty guy to top slots forward facing for my 5 year old. I have an Olli, a TB, a Monterey, and a scenera in the current lineup. When SIL is done with my graco infant seat it will be bagged and put in my garage for just in case moments probably. Although the RN kind of covers that area too. I want the FR85, which would cover the other end of the spectrum that the RN doesn't cover and overlap a few years also. I will say I don't care at all for the scenera though. In the past I had an AOE and while it feels like a good seat, it had absolutely no longevity and I wouldn't dream of using it as a booster. So, like PP's have said, no particular brand, just particular seats....

wow.........just wow....

"[RF] reduces the growing child's ability to interact with those in the front and to see where they are going..."

Seriously?? ok now I know where you are coming from! I beg to differ. My volvo has 5 huge windows in the back- which has way more space to look out of-way more than if they were FF and looking at the back of our heads! Geez...
Thanks for the link.

How is the "fitting system" any different than for FF? I don't get it.

myliljunebugs said:

So, like PP's have said, no particular brand, just particular seats....

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:yeahthat: Currently I have several brands in my house. I have a Frontier 85 and a Radian XT in my car right now. I also own a Combi CCO, a Graco My Ride and a Graco snugride. So I have my bases pretty covered and like all of the seats! I don't have any evenflo's right now, but I really like their convertibles (they just take up too much room in my car). I despise their infant seats though. I really can't comment much on the Dorel seats. I've owned one (Avenue) and liked everything about it, except that I had to use noodles. I'm actually embarrassed to own a Britax because of the stereotypes of Britax owners around here. It's what fits DS though.

So, yeah, I don't have any particular brand that really stands out to me. It depends on what works for the parents/child(ren)/cars.

ajtastad said:

So, yeah, I don't have any particular brand that really stands out to me. It depends on what works for the parents/child(ren)/cars.

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Just to be clear, I don't recommend/not recommend seats just because I like/dislike a brand. I have been known to recommend Dorel seats and recommend against Graco.

In general, though, I tend to like Graco seats. I tend to dislike Dorel. But it does absolutely depend on the particular circumstance.

nevaehsmommy said:

That press release was just appalling

"However, most parents around the world eventually make the change because rearward facing child car seats are simply impractical in most situations. They take up a huge amount of room in the car, usually necessitating the front seats to be moved forward, and they don't even fit in some smaller cars. Unless the child is given sufficient legroom, he or she will be cramped against the car's seatback. It can be incredibly difficult for a parent to get a larger child into such a seat and the fitting system is often very complex, increasing the chance of incorrect fitting.. "

They are the manufacture and yet they are criticizing they own design flaws. How much sense does that make?

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Wow. That's amazing. Um, yeah, it's THEIR fault that the seats take up so much room!!! Especially with their ridiculous thing about the seats being at a 45 degree angle at all times when RF. Just wow.

ajtastad said:

:yeahthat: Currently I have several brands in my house. I have a Frontier 85 and a Radian XT in my car right now. I also own a Combi CCO, a Graco My Ride and a Graco snugride. So I have my bases pretty covered and like all of the seats! I don't have any evenflo's right now, but I really like their convertibles (they just take up too much room in my car). I despise their infant seats though. I really can't comment much on the Dorel seats. I've owned one (Avenue) and liked everything about it, except that I had to use noodles. I'm actually embarrassed to own a Britax because of the stereotypes of Britax owners around here. It's what fits DS though.

So, yeah, I don't have any particular brand that really stands out to me. It depends on what works for the parents/child(ren)/cars.

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Yeah, I totally bought into the whole Britax Bubble thing when I bought my DD's seat 2 years ago. Although I still think I made the best choice with what was available at the time. As far as I know, that was before any of the 40 or 45 lb limits came out, or I definitely would have gotten one of those. And I like headwings, which is why I chose the BLVD. Although I read here recently that the Britax headwings are too soft to do much?

I don't understand what Britax was thinking when they came out with their new seats thought. You're going to raise all the weight limits, and then lower the shell height?!?!? :thumbsdown:What the heck. Someone should get fired over that. I guess they're just hoping that parents will recognize the brand name, and also not know enough to realize that the shell height matters. And they're probably right!

Meh- the Dorel statement was overblown IMHO. If I look at what companies do oversees (or even with different products domestically) I'll find many blemishes. Britax (safe & sound?) AU seats for instance- don't they have a 6 month FFing minimum and a 26 lb weight maximum? Or Recaro's german (?) promo material with a baby in a booster. Dorel US has been a pioneer in raising RFing limits, first to go to 35 lbs, second to go to 40 lbs. The height minimums make it hard to legally FF the vast majority of 20 lb 1 year olds- I think the minimum is 34 inches? That's like 50th percentile for a 2 year old. I don't think there is a way to look at the US branch of Dorel and say they are anti rear facing.

As I said, clearly Dorel US has a different take. But it does reflect badly on the company as a whole.

According to Darren, the reduced shell height is to make the seats fit better rear facing in cars. Fit was a major reason to turn a child forward. So Britax is trying to keep kids rear facing over their old seats.

Don't forget, the Frontier has a two year minimum to encourage kids to rear face longer.

Wendy

I would say I personally prefer the Graco seats, for how they install, how they fit my kids, and how easy they are for me on a day-to-day basis. I also loooooove my Radian and my Monterey, but I'm hesitant to recommend them to random parents because of their quirks and their price. (It doesn't mean I won't, but the recommendation usually comes with caveats.)

I have an irrational dislike for Britax; I guess I'm bothered by the fact they're SO dang expensive and based on the market at the moment, I just can't get over why. I also am finding I dislike my CCO, and am very hesitant to recommend it -- it's 3-5x harder for me to install than my Radian. Also not crazy about Dorel, for reasons the PP have mentioned (although I didn't know that about the EU press release, )

That said, I have a sampler in my vehicle and in my spares collection. Do I feel, for example, that the Radian is a better quality seat than the Scenera? Yeah, I guess I do, but I use both on a daily basis and I don't feel like I'm cheating the child in the Scenera by doing so.

I think I've recommended every seat at some point over the last year and a half -- those that I love, those that I loathe, and those that I feel aren't great buys. On this board, we get a lot of unusual circumstances, and those call for seats that aren't always on the 'top five' lists. Parent with one child, needing a bucket for their noob and a combo seat for their 30lb 4yo? Buy whatever you want. Parent who needs to do a three-across in a Prius with a 64lb 4yo? We better figure out a way to make that happen with a FR85 in the mix, which might mean recommending a Titan for their noob, to take advantage of its tiny footprint.

The other thing is that I'm fairly new to this. Those who have been around for more years than me have seen the world where Britax was king, rightfully so -- when I got here 18mos ago everyone (and I mean everyone!) had a Marathon. It was much easier then, I think, to recommend the "best seat on the market," because there weren't 40-45lb RF seats, there was no Maestro, a year or so before that there was no Nautilus, no Frontier -- you wanted to ERF and then harness to 65lbs, you got a Marathon. But as someone who came *just* at the change of the tide (my first weeks were spent going, "What's so great about this MyRide?" before realizing it would be the first 40lb RF seat) it is easier to turn my nose at a company that is no longer the cat's meow, as it once was.

Sigh, now I'm off topic and have written a novel. But, well, it's "why"!