The smart seat & my kiddos

love-pink

Well-known member
I bought one last night!! :love::love: I honestly cant find one thing I dont like about it. Its actually lighter and smaller than I had expected. :thumbsup: The color of the print was different than I thought it was going to be too. I thought the flower portion had a very light off white color but its actually a dark oatmeal color. In my pictures it looks lighter than it is also.

Here are the kids trying it in the house after dinner (hence the sink full of dishes :rolleyes:)

dd1 6 in April, 44 lbs.
SAM_0313.jpg


SAM_0312.jpg


ds2 5 in March, 43 lbs. dd1 and ds2 are the same height but ds2 has a taller torso.
SAM_0316.jpg


ds1 turned 9 in January, 64lbs.
SAM_0315.jpg


dd2 16 months, 23lbs.
SAM_0314.jpg



Installed in 3rd row of my 06 Envoy XL with seat belts.

Harness mode with base and full recline on gn.
SAM_0317.jpg


Booster mode with no base, no recline on gn.
SAM_0320.jpg


Installed in 2nd row also with seat belt. Seriously took under 10 seconds. :love:

SAM_0323.jpg



Rear facing mode, #2 recline, thats what I will be using with dd2.
SAM_0333.jpg


You can see a slight line on the drivers head rest from the rn I had installed there. The drivers seat is in the exact spot as when the rn was there installed as fully upright as I could get it. I have pretty slanted seats so I get really nice upright installs with the rn and most other seats.
SAM_0334.jpg
 
ADS

ericarizo

New member
I think it is to bad that the base cannot be reversible for RF or FF. When I was playing with it I thought wow the recline isn't so bad until the lady told me that I had it in the base for FF. Lol.
 

DaniChildcare

New member
Ok, i already love this seat, but i have to comment on the look on your DD1's face in the first picture! She does not look terribly pleased about modeling the seat for you :ROTFLMAO:
 

luckyclov

New member
The position of the headrest in FF mode doesn't bother you? See, that's why I didn't like the SS. In FF mode, if the harness is adjusted properly, the headrest isn't positioned optimally (comfort wise...) and it looks awkward. If you have the headrest in "optimal" position, then the harness straps fall below the shoulders, which, as we all know, is a no-no for FF (except for RNs).

ETA:
where did u get that harmony? i love the print!
They have them at WalMart - $13.50.
 

lovemybabies924

New member
is there enough harness length for bigger kiddos(thats a complaint i saw in reviews)? and does the nautilus fit just as long in the harness? whats the difference in harness torso room?..sorry for all the questions! just trying to figure out what to buy :)
 

love-pink

Well-known member
Sorry Ive had a rough day :( I actually do not own a tape measure lol so I cant measure anything. In the booster mode pictures they are both at the highest heights.

The headrest in ff mode does not bother me and in all of the pictures the headrest is at the highest height and the kids took turns sitting in it to see how long they would have left. I never adjusted the height to suit each of them :thumbsup: just showing how much grow room they would have.

Dd2 was mad because dd1 was sitting in her seat and in the first pic she just pulled dd1's hair to try to get her out of the seat :p So yeah she wasnt too happy at that moment.

I dont find the ff recline at all bad, nothing worse than the mr or ma. Definitely not as upright as an rn. My kids have all had bad head slump with rns so I like a seat with a little recline. In the pictures the 2nd row seats are reclined a notch also so that added to the ss recline a tad.
 

Baylor

New member
If it gave me anything better that I have in the GN I would buy it in a minute.. 5 more pounds harnessed and I could sell it to DH. ;)
 

afdani1984

New member
Wow, wish I had seen this seat sooner. I'm guessing it's pretty new, as I can't find it on amazon. It's pretty expensive too, but I guess by the time we are ready for a booster something better will have come along. It's really nice looking!
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
I think it is to bad that the base cannot be reversible for RF or FF. When I was playing with it I thought wow the recline isn't so bad until the lady told me that I had it in the base for FF. Lol.

My Sienna has pretty flat seats. And the GSS can actually go pretty upright RF because of the 5 recline options. Unfortunately, that puts the level bubble in the wrong area :(
 

love-pink

Well-known member
Would you make the parental decision to go by the bubble indicator or your own degree calculations? Can you have it more upright and out of the "ok" zone for older children??
I have mine on 2 and its almost perfectly centered in the "ok" zone, she likes a nice recline and I cant stand head slump. But I think Ive read on here that its ok to install infant and convertible seats more upright when they have good head control (please correct me if Im wrong), so would that rule be the same with the ss?? :confused: Does Graco have a within limit like sk and britax, or does it always go by there level indicators on the seat?
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
Would you make the parental decision to go by the bubble indicator or your own degree calculations? Can you have it more upright and out of the "ok" zone for older children??
I have mine on 2 and its almost perfectly centered in the "ok" zone, she likes a nice recline and I cant stand head slump. But I think Ive read on here that its ok to install infant and convertible seats more upright when they have good head control (please correct me if Im wrong), so would that rule be the same with the ss?? :confused: Does Graco have a within limit like sk and britax, or does it always go by there level indicators on the seat?

According to the manual, the bubble MUST be within the lines. I would :love: to use it more upright because it also gives more legroom, but won't :( I need to find someone with an iphone to check the angle for me (does ipod touch have that app too?), just out of curiosity. The infant seats allow more upright for older children, but it still needs to be within the zone, just like on the GSS.

What do you think of the harness covers? They are very thick and required for RF.
 

WhatAboutPuppy

New member
Would you make the parental decision to go by the bubble indicator or your own degree calculations? Can you have it more upright and out of the "ok" zone for older children??
I have mine on 2 and its almost perfectly centered in the "ok" zone, she likes a nice recline and I cant stand head slump. But I think Ive read on here that its ok to install infant and convertible seats more upright when they have good head control (please correct me if Im wrong), so would that rule be the same with the ss?? :confused: Does Graco have a within limit like sk and britax, or does it always go by there level indicators on the seat?

I did a thread on this with pictures of the degrees in both positions in my car that kept the bubble in between the two lines (one is touching top and the second is touching the bottom line). This would be the same degrees in any car. I will find a link to it but basically when the bubble is touching the top line the seat is at a recline of about 32* which is just 2* off of the general rule of 30*. And when the bubble is touching the bottom line it's about 45* which is perfect for a nb. If I wanted somewhere in between I could probably spend more than 10 seconds installing! hahaha Gotta love the ease of install!

ETA: Here it is!
11 More Technical Smart Seat Pics/Measurements
 

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