Base of Graco Headwise vs clones--why does it bump out?

rae1026

Member
I have combed the internet (and of course, this site) for an answer to this question: why does the base of the Graco Headwise "bump out" farther than the bases of every other Graco clone? I have even been on the phone with Graco twice, but their phone reps pull up the same website I'm looking at and read it to me. :) They claim that the only difference between the seats is Safety Surround, which consists of extra padding in the headrest only.

I have had a chance to see both the Headwise and the clones in person and even play with them a bit. We'd like to buy one this week, but I cannot figure out why the bases are different, and I was hoping to have an answer before I decided between the Headwise and the MySize 65. Since we're planning to use this seat as our travel seat (starting this weekend with a flight), I wanted it to be as narrow as possible. With the Headwise base being a little wider, I was leaning toward the MySize 65, unless there's something I'm missing. The links below have close-up pictures of the seats (the difference was also visible in a picture in the carseatblog review). Thanks in advance for any help!

MySize 65
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=28879786&cp=&parentPage=search

Headwise
http://www.target.com/p/graco-headw.../A-15270189#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=headwise
 
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Gidgetc13

New member
I went with a S4M over a Headwise because of the base. I needed the seat to potentially puzzle and was afraid the extra 2" of width on the base of the Headwise might cause issues. I've never been able to figure out why the base is so much wider on the Headwise.
 

Pixels

New member
My only guess is that it somehow changes crash performance for side impact crashes, though I don't see how it would make much of a difference. The big thing about the Safety Surround seats is that they pass a side impact standard (Europe's, I think).
 

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