Got our Baby Trend Fastback today - TONS of pics.

So we won the Fastback contest on Baby Trend's Facebook page. Thanks to a ton of you who voted for us!

I unexpectedly got out of work early today and it was sitting on my doorstep, so what better time to take a bunch of pictures and try it out. My overall initial impression? Not a fan. More on that later though, first measurements for the spreadsheet and some notes from the manual:

Measurements:
Lowest Harness Height: 12.5”
Highest Harness Height: 17.5”
Shortest Crotch Buckle Position: 4.5”
Longest Crotch Buckle Position: 6”
Crotch Buckle Length: 7”
Internal Seating Depth: 13”
Internal Seating Height: 27”
Internal Bottom Width: 12”
Internal Shoulder Width: 12”
External Seat Width: 19”
Lowest Booster Belt Guide Height: 19”
Highest Booster belt Guide Height: 12”
Seat Weight: 28.4 lb (yeah, it's HEAVY)

Other Information:
Lock-offs Provided: no
LATCH in Booster Mode: yes
Expiration Limit: 6 years in harness and high back booster mode, 9 years in backless mode.
Seat Modes: Harness/ High Back/ No Back Booster

Harness: 22-70 pounds, 28.5 – 52”
HBB 30 – 100 pounds, 38 – 57” 3-10 years old
LBB 40 – 120 pounds, 42- 57” 4-10 years old

Some notes from the manual:

-Use body insert for smaller child, but never in booster mode.
-"We highlight recommend using the built in safety harness for as long as possible when the child is 70 lbs or less and the shoulders are below the harness slots in the highest position."
-LATCH weight limit (unless the vehicle otherwise specifies): 50 pounds
- 3 recline positions, all can be used in harness mode
- "The car seat MUST NOT hang over the edge of the vehicle seat."
-" Vehicle seat headrest MUST NOT create a gap between the vehicle seat and the booster seat."
- Long belt path is required if there is a lap belt only with no tether and the child Is under 30 pounds. (a lot more on this later)
- On one page it says "harness strap covers must always be used with the harness. " but then later it says "if they interfere with the correct placement of the chest clip at armpit level, remove them from the harness straps and do not use until the child grows and they no longer interfere." So I have no idea what the rule is.
- LATCH and top tether can be used in booster mode.
- LATCH installation is strongly preferred and recommended if available (yeah, I found out why.)


PICS:


Oh hey, I have a lot of combination seats. Frontier 85, Fastback, Nautilus, Maestro, all are in their top headrest position.


Back to back with the Frontier


Front to front with the Frontier


Back to back with the Nautilus


Front to front with the Nautilus


Back to back with the Maestro


Front to front with the Maestro


EPS under headrest. There's some in the sides too.


This was interesting, the crotch strap is adjustable. Sorry for the crappy picture, that little metal piece slides out and to shorten the strap you just roll the strap over and slide it back in. There are two slots in the cover but just one hard position underneath.


To get there, you have to remove the cup holder (that's what those weird buttons are for) and the "game holder" and pull the cover up. It was a pain in the butt.


Rigid LATCH


Extended


The "adjustable" side impact wings. They're weird and fit really strangely on the lower positions. TINY chest clip. It's 4", compared to 5 - 5.5" of all the other combo seats. I would venture a guess that it's the same one that's on the infant seats.

More pictures continued in the next post:

So, after I did all that it was time to pick up my son from the babysitter. PERFECT, I thought, I'll just install it in the car real quick and we'll give it a quick trial run. So I move his Radian (he's RF most of the time, FF in dad's car) and go to put it in my 1998 Honda CRV, outboard with a lap/shoulder belt. Now, the diagrams in the manual show that you're to use the short path with every installation EXCEPT when there is a lap only belt with no top tether with a child under 30 pounds. Ok, fine.



I try to install it. It will NOT tighten whatsoever. The belt path is SO shallow that I absolutely cannot get a tight install. I twisted buckle stalks, I climbed in the seat, I did absolutely everything I know to do and it would NOT install even kinda tight in my vehicle. I also can't even see how it would be possible to use a locking clip because of how the belt path lies. I was so frustrated I don't have any pictures of that, but I'm planning to try it in a few other vehicles tomorrow and I'll take some more pictures.

I put his Radian back in, picked him up from the babysitter, and then figured I'd try the lap belt long path.


Problem 1: My lap belt wasn't even close to long enough.


Problem 2: Even if it was, how in the heck are you supposed to get a thick locking latchplate through that narrow guide? I'm not sure. I couldn't do it.

Short belt path with the lap belt gave me the same problems as the lap/shoulder belt. It was a no-go. Note: I've installed pretty much every mainstream seat on the market in my car. I've never had an incompatibility, save for the Radian RF in the center seat (which actually works now with the angle adjuster)

I went ahead and tried Sam in the seat, he's 3 1/2 years old, 33 pounds, 39" tall with a 14.5" torso:


The small chest clip is really frustrating. He was already telling me it hurt his neck because it pulls the harness pads so close together.


He's obviously much too young to be in a booster, but we tried the belt fit since technically he meets the minimum. It was pretty awful. He was mad so I didn't move the headrest where it should be, but the belt guides are way too far back and too high, the lap belt was much too high in his abdomen:



Buckling the booster was a real pain too, the lap belt guides are really narrow like I mentioned with the lap belt issue, so you have to hold the shoulder and lap portion together, slide it through the lower guide, THEN buckle. I can't see most kids being able to do that themselves at all.

The harness adjuster was tough for me to tighten and loosen, and the headrest/harness adjustment was really annoying. There are three headrest positions - independent from the 8 harness height positions. But you push the same button to adjust both of them, so it's really aggravating to move the one you want to move and not move both of them.

My plan was originally to give this seat to a family that needs it though the foster program I work with, but honestly with the installation issues and poor belt fit.... I almost don't want to. I haven't decided what to do yet. I doubt BRU would let me exchange it for a Nautilus to give away instead, ugh. I'm just really afraid of having it misused even after I go through installation and everything. Hmm. I'm going to try it in some more vehicles tomorrow and decide what I want to do, but there's my review for now.

Oh yuck :thumbsdown:
Great review, it was nice to see it next to the other seats. What the heck was Baby Trend thinking with the chest clip What an oops of a seat :doh:

When I was playing with it, I'm pretty sure that I figured out that you move the thing up to adjust the headwings only and down to move the harness, or vice versa. Not very clear, I know. Play with it, see if that makes any sense?

Pixels said:

When I was playing with it, I'm pretty sure that I figured out that you move the thing up to adjust the headwings only and down to move the harness, or vice versa. Not very clear, I know. Play with it, see if that makes any sense?

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Hmm I just messed with it again and I'm not sure what you mean. You push the red button, and you can either slide the torso portion of the back to adjust the harness height, or the headwings to adjust their position?

firemomof3 said:

Oh yuck :thumbsdown:
Great review, it was nice to see it next to the other seats. What the heck was Baby Trend thinking with the chest clip What an oops of a seat :doh:

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I think the part that really gets me is that it's TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. Seriously. You can get almost two Nautilus' for that price and have a better seat lol.

Wow. The harness is really close together and yeah that belt fit is pretty bad. I like the rigid latch though. I hope you can either find a family that you know will use it correctly or figure something out.

EmmaCPST said:

Hmm I just messed with it again and I'm not sure what you mean. You push the red button, and you can either slide the torso portion of the back to adjust the harness height, or the headwings to adjust their position?

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I think you push the button in and then slide the button up or down to get it to move. If you push the button up, only the headwings move. If you push it down, only the harness moves. Or vice versa, I don't remember details. I only played with it for a few minutes.

Thanks for the review. I was interested in this as a possibility but I think that kind of settles it for me that it's off the list. And that booster setup... ew.

Pixels said:

I think you push the button in and then slide the button up or down to get it to move. If you push the button up, only the headwings move. If you push it down, only the harness moves. Or vice versa, I don't remember details. I only played with it for a few minutes.

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Ok I think I kinda see what you mean. It's pretty easy to move the harness adjustment independently, but it's tough to move the headwings down from their topmost position without also adjusting the harness adjustment down too. Not the best design ever, for sure.

LOL and because this is just really cute, Sam is currently copying me and having a ball with the measuring tape:

The chest clip is identical to the one on their infant seat. The length-adjustable crotch strap is also the same, along with the same rule about the exact length it must be (bottom of the buckle ear 1/2 to 1 inch above the child's thigh, disregarding clothing or diaper).

The manual specifies that the headwings must be in the lowest position, until the harness is in the top position. Only then are you allowed to move the headwings up separately (for booster mode).

You can have the seat in any recline position you want for harness mode, but it must be fully reclined for booster mode. Vehicle seat back must be fully upright or in the position designated by the vehicle manufacturer for booster mode.

We'll have to to install ours tomorrow and play w/ it more. So far we've just played w/ it inside and so far it's not bad in the house. Olivia is on the 5th slot and Ilana needs to be on the 7th out of 8.

Bummer!!!!! I am so glad you won though

Side note: I wish we lived closer together so we could have car seat parties!

yetanotherjen said:

Bummer!!!!! I am so glad you won though

Side note: I wish we lived closer together so we could have car seat parties!

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Any time you're in the Front Range, come on by - let's do it!

The tiny chest clip is all I need to see to know that I don't like it.

EmmaCPST said:

Any time you're in the Front Range, come on by - let's do it!

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We keep trying to move back! We are hoping by the end of the summer but we'll see...

I haven't been so disappointed in a seat, in, ever I think. That is awful.