Brigala
CPST Instructor
Ok, so anybody reading my other thread ("Waiting for a call back from Dorel" or something like that) knows that Dorel offered to replace my CA65 SE due to the harness strap cover things causing problems... but this is a different thread because it's a different thing.
The other issue I had with my CA65 which they would NOT replace it over was the ubiquitous recline issue. I measured that car seat every which way from Sunday and no matter what I did, if the line was level to the ground it measured 53°. Same angle on the back and at the child's head and at the child's body.
Anyway, the replacement CA65 SE they sent was the wrong one (it still had the harness strap covers on it) so they are sending me yet ANOTHER one. I expect it to arrive tomorrow and I'll send the first replacement back. But today I decided I just had to take it out of the box and measure the recline angle on it.
I used the exact same iphone app I used for my other CA65. This is supposedly an identical car seat to the one I sent back, although the DOM on the "new" seat is a few months earlier (January '11 vs. May '11).
The "new" car seat measures 47° at the back and 44° at the place where the child's head would go. I didn't measure at the body area because the way the cushion is shaped there, there's really too much room for "interpretation" and I don't think the measurement is meaningful for that reason.
I'm anxious to see what angle the next CA 65 comes to. But I think I've satisfied myself that my original hypothesis was correct -- that different seats actually have different angles.
Since I'm sending this seat back and I want to make sure it's in exactly the same condition it arrived in, I didn't take it out to my car to evaluate actual fit. I measured it on the floor of my garage... but I'd measured the previous car seat in exactly the same way so I'm sure the difference is in the seat itself.
In my defense, the boys are home from school today and were busy playing with the baby so... what else was I supposed to do with my time?
The other issue I had with my CA65 which they would NOT replace it over was the ubiquitous recline issue. I measured that car seat every which way from Sunday and no matter what I did, if the line was level to the ground it measured 53°. Same angle on the back and at the child's head and at the child's body.
Anyway, the replacement CA65 SE they sent was the wrong one (it still had the harness strap covers on it) so they are sending me yet ANOTHER one. I expect it to arrive tomorrow and I'll send the first replacement back. But today I decided I just had to take it out of the box and measure the recline angle on it.
I used the exact same iphone app I used for my other CA65. This is supposedly an identical car seat to the one I sent back, although the DOM on the "new" seat is a few months earlier (January '11 vs. May '11).
The "new" car seat measures 47° at the back and 44° at the place where the child's head would go. I didn't measure at the body area because the way the cushion is shaped there, there's really too much room for "interpretation" and I don't think the measurement is meaningful for that reason.
I'm anxious to see what angle the next CA 65 comes to. But I think I've satisfied myself that my original hypothesis was correct -- that different seats actually have different angles.
Since I'm sending this seat back and I want to make sure it's in exactly the same condition it arrived in, I didn't take it out to my car to evaluate actual fit. I measured it on the floor of my garage... but I'd measured the previous car seat in exactly the same way so I'm sure the difference is in the seat itself.
In my defense, the boys are home from school today and were busy playing with the baby so... what else was I supposed to do with my time?