Sure Ride has arrived at BRU Canada

smackeen

New member
I just installed this seat in a 2013 Ford Fiesta and a 2004 Pontiac Montana van (rear facing for both).

In the Fiesta, the front seat had to be pretty much eating the dash, but I could sit ok in it (I am 5"4).

With the flat seats in this car, I found that the level to ground line did not achieve a 45 degree at all. It was definitely closer to 35-40 degrees at most.


Seat also had to be up quite a bit in the van.

With the van, sloped seats, the recline foot did not fully touch the seat when at correct angle and there was approx a 4 finger width gap between seat back and the foot.

Couple pics here: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=2617741#post2617741
 
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Pixelated

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Canada - bottom 3 slots for rear facing only.

US - bottom 4 slots and the 4th slow can be used for rf or ff.

The manual had rules for Canada only, US only and for both. Pretty easy to follow though.

I would like to know how the fit is on the highest RF slot, with a child close to that 40" mark. I think maybe a trip to BRU to check one out with my semi cooperative 3 year old, 35lb, 39" model is in order.
 

smackeen

New member
I would like to know how the fit is on the highest RF slot, with a child close to that 40" mark. I think maybe a trip to BRU to check one out with my semi cooperative 3 year old, 35lb, 39" model is in order.

Would be interesting. I was without child as I was doing a seat check this morning.
 

kelkel2090

CPST Instructor
My kiddo used that one. He hit 40 inches but was still WAY too short for the top (US) one. I'll post a pic once I'm home.
 

Dani_mummy

New member
Is it actually for sale to the public now in Canada? I have been stalking BRU online as I want this for our second car. BRU site is still showing out of stock so might take a drive if it is in store.

For those who asked if will be available anywhere else, a previous FB post said BRU in Sept then Walmart in Dec/Jan
 

Pixelated

Moderator - CPST Instructor
What is the allowed recline angle RF?

Line level to ground - however, it took up only a hair more room front-to-back than my Radian installed with old (compressed) angle adjuster. I was amazed! In my van, which admittedly has tons of room between the front and 2nd row, I could put my seat all the way back.

I would like to know how the fit is on the highest RF slot, with a child close to that 40" mark. I think maybe a trip to BRU to check one out with my semi cooperative 3 year old, 35lb, 39" model is in order.

This I am a bit disappointed in for kids at the top end of the rear facing specs. My just turned 3 year old, who is 39", and long in the torso, still had 1" of shell above her head. The harness was WAY below her shoulder though. She still had about 3/4"-1" before needing the next (prohibited) 4th slot, so would have pretty much outgrown it RF before that slot, but the straps were so far down I wonder if they'd tend to slip off the shoulders, much like the True Fit can be prone to. The stitching of the newborn loops sat right on her shoulder and that might be irritating against bare skin. Harness covers would be a nice add on.

Other notes -- and just notes, the extremely grumpy and most unhelpful woman at BRU did not make life easy, and I decided that busting out the camera might mean I didn't get to fully try things. :mad: Grumpy sales lady got even grumpier when I asked for the manual so I could actually install it. You'd think I asked for her first born child.:rolleyes:

There was lots of leg room while RF. Flipping the recline block and doing the velcro bit was easy to do but would be very easy to miss if you didn't read the manual. I could see parents getting creative with that strap, or not knowing what it was for and cutting it off because it dangled in the way.

While FF I am concerned about the apparent lack of modification after reading about the US issue with the loop coming off the splitter plate (which is grey and powder coated - off to check what the US ones looked like. ETA: looks exactly the same as this: http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=2520279&postcount=56). The loops are really long, but there are newborn loops too. I didn't read the manual to know when those could be used though.

My 5.5 year old, 46lb, 49" tall daughter who last week took her last ride FF in the Radian as she's now too tall by harness height could probably have used the 2nd to the highest slot. But, with nasty sales person glaring at me I had already set it up on the tallest. There was not enough harness length to buckle her and she's slim. I couldn't even get the chest clip done up. There's absolutely no way a bigger kid -- in height or bulk -- would get into that seat. No chance.

Overall the seat is a super option for RF, and I hope the FF issues are rectified before long. It's lightweight (much like a Scenera), pretty narrow, fits well front-to-back, and a great price point for how long-lasting it appears to be. It might need one noodle now and then but could probably be wedged into the seat much like the Scenera to maintain the angle most of the time.
 

Pixelated

Moderator - CPST Instructor
My (US) rear facing SureRide pics are here- I can't imagine trying to use the 3rd from bottom slots, there's no way they would have stayed on
http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=2489091&postcount=17

That was my very quick impression also. I'm thinking that because of that the seat won't be AS useful for the long-torsoed kids, despite it appearing to fit otherwise. You'd for sure get a leggy 40" kid in there though.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Trudy, my BRU-specific experience is that the recline foot has held up to repeated reclining and uprighting (though it never gets any easier to do, even when you know WHAT to do! It's just so...odd). And we sell it for $119 in store, often on sale for $99 or $84.

Bummer you guys can't RF in the fourth slot... wish we had the velcro piece on the US one (really, how much can it cost to add it on to meet a safety standard they already had to meet in another country?).
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
Does the Canadian Sureride have the short straps?

Someone on one of the FB groups (can't remember who) said they tried out a Canadian Sureride at TRU and the straps were short. Has anyone else found this? I know the US ones had short straps at first and Evenflo fixed it. I want to recommend the Sureride now that it's in Canada. But I won't yet if we have the ones that barely fit a 3yo.
 

Pixelated

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Re: Does the Canadian Sureride have the short straps?

That was me. Here's what I said for anyone else interested. They had no new stock so I wasn't able to take one out of the box to see if the for sale ones were like this as well.

First impressions of the Evenflo SureRide, just onto the Canadian market and available at Babies R Us.

First impressions were overall quite good but there are a few things that would hold me back depending on my situation.

First the good stuff:
- Took up far less room front-to-back than I expected, and only a hair more than my very upright Radian installed with an angle adjuster. In my van (which does have a lot of space) the driver's seat could be all the way back. There is only one angle for rear-facing but my guess is that due to the interior shape of the shell it makes a newborn more reclined, and a larger child more upright.
- My big just-turned 3 year old still had about 1" of torso growth left before outgrowing it by shell height, which matches the standing height limit of 40"
- Price point of $140 is very appealing
- Would fit newborns very well - nice low bottom slots
- Lots of leg room while rear-facing
- Lightweight
- Relatively narrow
- Fairly easy to install (but I am quite good at this type of thing...)

The not-so-good stuff:
- Only the bottom three harness slots can be used while rear-facing; with my long-torsoed child that meant that the harness was coming from WAY below her shoulders. She technically still had 1" to grow in that mode, but with the straps that low I suspect they'd be prone to slipping off. Shorter torsoed children at the top end of the specs would not have this problem at all.
- Despite it's VERY tall top harness slots of ~19", which is amazing and better than some of the child/booster seats out there, there was not enough harness LENGTH to actually buckle my 5.5 year old. She has just outgrown the Radian by height forward-facing and still appeared to have about 1.5-2" of torso growth remaining, and she's slim (46lbs, 49" tall). I couldn't even get the chest clip done up, there was just not enough harness to work with. A taller or bulkier child would not fit at all - no chance.
- Reports out of the US on this seat in SOME cars while loosening the harness by pulling only on one side has caused the harness to become detached from the splitter plate. It is VERY vehicle dependent and only when loosening in that way, and can not be reproduced while it's uninstalled. It's got something to do with the geometry of the vehicle seat back while installed and how the user loosens the harness. This is concerning though and I'm hopeful that complaints to Evenflo in the US will cause them to fix the issue.
- There is a quirk with the recline bar while rear-facing that will be easily missed if a parent doesn't carefully read the manual. As it's a Canadian-specific step, and not on US seats, it's likely to do with how the seat passes the anti-rebound standard. It's not hard - just different, and not intuitive.

Overall? GREAT option rear-facing. Excellent. If you're transitioning your child from the infant seat to an infant/child seat do consider this one. Realistically for an average-sized child you have at least two years for Evenflo to sort out the forward-facing issue. I would hesitate very much to buy this for an older child going straight to forward-facing.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Re: Does the Canadian Sureride have the short straps?

Correcting myself - I had only had time to read the warning in the manual at work that night - the warning states the top 2 cannot be used rf'ing, but other areas of the manual indicate in Canada you can only use the bottom 3 slots rf'ing. The shell marking itself doesn't state anything about the 4th slot (I guess because it's same mold as the US seat)
 
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featherhead

Well-known member
Someone on one of the FB groups (can't remember who) said they tried out a Canadian Sureride at TRU and the straps were short. Has anyone else found this? I know the US ones had short straps at first and Evenflo fixed it. I want to recommend the Sureride now that it's in Canada. But I won't yet if we have the ones that barely fit a 3yo.

I thought I had read somewhere that it was only floor models that have short straps. But since I haven't seen one myself, I cannot verify that.
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
Re: Does the Canadian Sureride have the short straps?

Trudy, you're sure the manual said bottom 4 slots? That's great! The earlier manuals specifically said bottom 3 slots in Canada.
 

Pixelated

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Re: Does the Canadian Sureride have the short straps?

I'm going to try to look again at the one I saw. I'm now second guessing my memory, on everything! Wouldn't it be nice if the bottom 4 could be used RF. I'll check the DOM too.
 

AEmgee

New member
Is it actually for sale to the public now in Canada? I have been stalking BRU online as I want this for our second car. BRU site is still showing out of stock so might take a drive if it is in store.

For those who asked if will be available anywhere else, a previous FB post said BRU in Sept then Walmart in Dec/Jan
I called the Vancouver and Richmond, BC locations of BRU and they do not have stock. They expect some "in a few weeks". Hope that helps!
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Re: Does the Canadian Sureride have the short straps?

Trudy, you're sure the manual said bottom 4 slots? That's great! The earlier manuals specifically said bottom 3 slots in Canada.

Correcting myself in posts in this thread - as Jen explained down thread, I had only seen the warning in my few minutes at work and then looked at the shell of the seat last night. Other areas of the manual that I've seen pictures of make it quite clear.

For the record, I read top to bottom when with a parent - but I was trying to get a fast answer for the forum in the midst of babyfest and being short staffed, and as a result stopped at the warning. :eek: Lesson learned.
 
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snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Editing my post and I'm going to edit my original post too. I had not seen the whole manual and had only seen a top warning of don't use the top 2 slots rf'ing in the limited time i had at work - which apparently doesn't 100% include Canada. The shell doesn't differentiate slot 4 either way and is reflecting that the bottom 3 slots can't be used ff'ing and the top 2 can't be used rf'ing. It appears that if nothing else, a Canada specific sticker is needed at the back back there.

I'm going to seek clarification from a contact but in the meantime it seems prudent to treat it as 3 and 3. It won't hurt anything and most kids will be too tall to fit rf'ing by the time their shoulders reach those 4th slots anyways. But it's a shame they couldn't be clearer on everything combined.

I appreciate dual certification but feel warnings should be Canadian focused. When with a parent who has a manual we can read every word but parents often don't have manuals. Something important like this should be clear on the shell and seat stickers too.
 
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smackeen

New member
I wonder if it was because it was a display model I was playing with that it would be like that.

I will be in the store later this morning, so can snap a pic of the back and the manual where it states the slot use.
 

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