Britax B-Safe Manual

I'm helping a friend whose first baby came 3 weeks early install his Britax B-Safe (he had just taken it out of the box!), but I wanted to take a look at the manual first and I can't seem to find it online. Does anyone know where I can find it?

www.britaxusa.com under Support, User guides.

It's on the Britax site. http://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/products/user-guides/89.pdf

Wendy

Thanks!

(Wendy, I'm giving them your name in case they want a CPST to look at the seat)

Thanks! I haven't done a B-Safe yet.

Wendy

Well, I'll be sure to report back my findings I think he's coming over tomorrow. Poor guy is a little shell-shocked. He thought his wife was having a planned c-section... in three weeks! I don't think either of them counted on her actually going into labor. Apparently on the way to the hospital, he threw the carseat in the trunk and said to his wife, "We'll call SeattleRain and she'll show us what to do with it later."

So I read the manual and there is one thing that I can't find in there, so maybe someone who has read it more closely can answer this for me. The seat comes with a head pad, and I assume at some point the pad will need to be removed but it doesn't say anything about it in the manual. The Chicco just said the head pad needed to come out when you needed the highest setting (i.e. the setting the pad went into so that was logical), but I couldn't find anything in the B-Safe manual. Should I just assume it's the same rule?

One more question. When I watched the review, it said that the lowest spots were perfect for preemies. Their baby is already 7.5lbs, and 18 inches. I can measure the baby's torso tomorrow when I go to visit, but do you think he'll probably be on the second slot?

SeattleRain said:

Well, I'll be sure to report back my findings I think he's coming over tomorrow. Poor guy is a little shell-shocked. He thought his wife was having a planned c-section... in three weeks! I don't think either of them counted on her actually going into labor. Apparently on the way to the hospital, he threw the carseat in the trunk and said to his wife, "We'll call SeattleRain and she'll show us what to do with it later."

So I read the manual and there is one thing that I can't find in there, so maybe someone who has read it more closely can answer this for me. The seat comes with a head pad, and I assume at some point the pad will need to be removed but it doesn't say anything about it in the manual. The Chicco just said the head pad needed to come out when you needed the highest setting (i.e. the setting the pad went into so that was logical), but I couldn't find anything in the B-Safe manual. Should I just assume it's the same rule?

One more question. When I watched the review, it said that the lowest spots were perfect for preemies. Their baby is already 7.5lbs, and 18 inches. I can measure the baby's torso tomorrow when I go to visit, but do you think he'll probably be on the second slot?

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Britax has said that you do not remove the infant padding ever. I don't really understand it, but that is what they have said.

If you are helping them install it, know that the lock-off is really really really hard to close.

You're right. It doesn't mention the head pad. Unless there's a label on the actual pad, they can probably use it as long as they feel it is necessary.

18" is relatively short for a newborn, and 7.5 lbs isn't exactly huge. I mean, that's a great size for being 3 weeks early, but I'd stick with the bottom slots. I know the bottom ones are low, and they'll probably have to move them up soon, but I wouldn't expect to need the second slots from the start.

cryswilkins said:

Britax has said that you do not remove the infant padding ever. I don't really understand it, but that is what they have said.

If you are helping them install it, know that the lock-off is really really really hard to close.

Click to expand...

Really? Because I was going to make the observation that it doesn't say it's required, either. Is this going to be like the companion?

crunchierthanthou said:

Really? Because I was going to make the observation that it doesn't say it's required, either. Is this going to be like the companion?

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Really. Another tech and I scoured the manual and the seat and she decided to call Britax to get clarification and that is what they said. The infant padding stays in at all times. I am not sure how I feel about it, but I don't have a larger infant to put in the seat to test it out.

Interesting, maybe I'll call Britax and ask them. I mean, the baby is 12 hours old so I don't think they need that information immediately but I wanted to tell them just to be aware of it.

I'm going to show him the seat at the lowest slots and tell him the parameters of when to move it up. These are our best friends so I'm going to be in contact with this seat a lot. Hopefully I'll be able to catch it if it looks like the baby could be in the higher slots.

I had heard that the lock-offs were challenging. Hmmmmm. I need to show them the seatbelt install because one of their cars doesn't have LATCH (the primary car the baby will ride in after a month or two) and the carseat fits best in the other car in the center. Hopefully it won't be too hard!

cryswilkins said:

Really. Another tech and I scoured the manual and the seat and she decided to call Britax to get clarification and that is what they said. The infant padding stays in at all times. I am not sure how I feel about it, but I don't have a larger infant to put in the seat to test it out.

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I suppose it wouldn't be much more obtrusive than the integrated headrest in the Chaperone on which it's based. I hope it stays in place and doesn't flop around when you take the baby out.

cryswilkins said:

Really. Another tech and I scoured the manual and the seat and she decided to call Britax to get clarification and that is what they said. The infant padding stays in at all times. I am not sure how I feel about it, but I don't have a larger infant to put in the seat to test it out.

Click to expand...

I actually have a 14 month old who still fits in the KF so I have to think he'll still fit in this. I'll see how obtrusive the padding is and if it stays put. But what happens when the baby gets to the highest slots? Doesn't the padding get too high (It looks like the padding is secured through the harness and not tied into the seat like the KF)? Can you just not use the highest slots because you're required to keep the padding in?

Yup. I spoke to Britax about it. The CS rep was VERY helpful and even went on the hunt to talk to someone else to be sure she was giving me correct information. The Polka Dot insert (which is not referenced AT ALL in the manual, WTF?) stays in for the entire time the seat is being used.


And yes, the lock-offs are challenging. SUPER DUPER challenging. Although the customer I helped (who was the reason I called about the insert) said that her husband took the seat out and put it back in a couple of times and found that it got easier each time.

I just looked at the features on the website and on the interactive menu #5 of 11 it says removable comfort pillow :scratcheshead:. They really shouldn't say that if your not supposed to take it out.

I recently taught install for a friend who is expecting soon. I knew the B-Safe lockoff would be tough, but it wasn't as tough as I had expected. I actually really like this seat.

njkj said:

I just looked at the features on the website and on the interactive menu #5 of 11 it says removable comfort pillow :scratcheshead:. They really shouldn't say that if your not supposed to take it out.

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Well I suppose it's not built in, so if you need to wash the cover, you can take the pad off and just wash the cover. Maybe that's what they mean by removable.

I agree though. If they're going to have a rule that is somewhat contradictory to most commonly used infant seats, they should specify that in the manual. I don't know any other infant seat except for the Chaperone that makes you keep the extra padding in the seat forever. I wonder if there are a lot of parents who think its optional.

So I just got done with helping him with the seat. Here are some thoughts:

1. Accessing the beltpath for baseless installs is really ridiculous. You have to unhook this teeny tiny little elastic from this teeny tiny little hook to expose a beltpath that isn't even totally exposed unless you scrunch up the cover. I really didn't like it and I found it way more challenging than the Graco and Chicco that I have. If I needed a baseless install in my car fulltime, I would never ever get this seat.

2. I'm not a CPST and I don't see lock-offs day in and day out so maybe I don't have enough perspective, but I didn't find this lock off to be TOO challenging. Yes you have to push down really hard. But the way the lock off is shaped is pretty ergonomic and if you use the heel of your hand it's not so bad. I found the lock offs on the TFP to be much more difficult to engage because their shape wasn't so ergonomic. With that said, I probably wouldn't recommend this seat to someone who had arthritis or muscle issues that would make installing this seat really challenging since you have engage the lock off with LATCH or with seatbelts.

2. The head pillow was really annoying. It isn't attached by any other method than being threaded through the harness and flops around whenever you move the harness around which leads me to believe that everytime you take the baby in and out of the seat it would flop around and be irritating. I also did not see anything about this seat that would make me think that the head pillow is essential to how the seat functions, so I don't know why they make it mandatory.

3. In general, the seat is really easy to install, other than the lock offs requiring a little more force. I helped install it in an Infiniti sedan which had pretty flat leather seats and it required no adjustment to the base and no noodles or towels. I don't quite think this seat is going to be giving Chicco a run for its money though. It's just not as intuitive as that seat.