Primo Viaggo vs Chaparone

A friend of mine is pregnant right now, and has Peg Primo Viaggio. She says it expires in 2011, and is trying to decide whether ot not to get a new seat. She is not sure if this is her last baby or not. It's a possibility, but depending on how this pregnancy goes, they mey do it again. Anyhoo... It sounds like she's leaning towards a new seat.

So here's the thing. She will be giving birth at about 32 weeks due to her extreme conditions. Even at full term she has pretty small 6lb babies, so she needs a seat that fits a tiny baby, after an expected few week hospital stay.

So far we have been talking about either using her Peg she already has, or buying a new one, or buying the Chaparone. She is really good at using her seats correctly, so that isn't a concern. But which would you prefer? I am kind of leaning towards the Chaparone because of the rebound bar, but I can't find a ton for reviews here, and I've only seen it once in a TRU, so I don't know about the fit and functionality.

As far as cost goes, that isn't a concern.

The Chaperone is really long front to back with the base. She may have difficulty getting 80% on the seat.

I usually see the KeyFit and OnBoard35 recommended for preemies/ittybitties. Or the Snugride 30, that's designed for preemies.

Crud, just noticed you're in Canada. Not sure which of those seats may be available up there.

Thanks! We do get the Keyfit and the snugride. I'm not sure about the Onboard. I'll have to check on that.

We do have the OnBoard here! :thumbsup: And holy smokes, those bottom slots are low, and the harness cinches down very small. I was actually amazed when I played with it.

What does she drive? That Chaperone is enormous, really. She needs to get 80% of the base on her vehicle seat, and then of course the actual seat is larger front to back (there's something about the way the top end sort of juts out) and we need to keep front occupants reasonably far away from the front airbag.

If we're dealing with a 4ish pound baby I would go OnBoard, KeyFit, Chaperone, and if we have the SR30 by then I would consider it as well.

I want to emphasize that it's the SR 30 that's good for itty bitties, not the SS1/SR32/SR35/SR22/SR20. And Graco needs new names.

I most definitely wouldn't get another peg. It won't fit a tiny baby well, especially not a possible preemie.

I really like the chaperone and as long as she has an "average" vehicle for seat depth, I've had good success with getting 80% of the base on the seat - you just have to stand at the back of the base and push it towards the back of the seat with your knee as you tighten it up. I thought it wouldn't work in my truck at first, but using this method I got it just fine - and my car actually has deeper seats than my truck so I imagine it would work fine in there. I didn't notice the carrier being really that long compared to other seats I've had rf'ing in there but my 2nd row does have decent depth for front to back space.

2nd choice would probably be sure-fit - it comes on the EB endeavor travel systems, and is the same seat as the onboard air infant seat - though it's less compatible with different strollers so she's better off with a travel system if she goes with it. It does fit small babies exceptionally well and has a tall shell. It's also an easy to install seat and has a lock-off and nice push-on UAS connectors.

3rd choice would be keyfit - only because of stroller compatibility and price.

Chaperone gets first because of the ARB, the preemie insert which changes the interior angle of the seat in a way which I'm pretty sure will help babies who are borderline for passing the carseat challenge, and because it's easily compatible with most strollers. Assuming of course that it fits in her car. :thumbsup:

Pixels said:

I want to emphasize that it's the SR 30 that's good for itty bitties, not the SS1/SR32/SR35/SR22/SR20. And Graco needs new names.

Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth!?!

We don't have the SR 30 in Canada yet. To be honest, I'm not sure that we'll get it this year with the implementation of new standards that takes place a year from now, but who knows - maybe it's already compliant anyways.

I wasn't able to get 80% of the chaperone onto my rear seat (F150 SuperCrew, with the 4 doors and full back seat)

I ended up getting the keyfit and in hidsight I'm glad I did. They both only go up to 22lbs so why I wanted to haul around the chaperone I'll never know (I suspect it had something to do with cowmooflage lol)

Definitely go Chicco Keyfit for a preemie! Costco has the red one for 179.00 I believe (regular price)

The Chaperone base was changed slightly to make it a touch shorter from the first generation bases released in Canada. As for getting it to install following the 80/20 rule, you have to really lean into it to push the rebound bar into the seat back. I was able to get it just fine in our Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab. I just used the front seat to support me and pushed. Oh, got a decent install in my father in law's Chev crew ('bout a '06 m.y).

It is a bigger seat, but its still not as beastly as the Peg. Its also nice because it has that tiny infant baby sized chest clip and a pile of no rethread harness heights. And the premie insert would work well for a tiny little person. Thats just my :twocents: