No EPP or EPS Foam on Pria?

AllieK

New member
I saw on the carseatblog.com review that the Pria doesn't have EPP or EPS foam. Is this concerning? Is a seat that has a foam lined headrest a better option?

I really want to get a Pria 85 but I'm not sure if it's worth the money when a Graco Contender or MySize will do just as well.
 
ADS

aeormsby

New member
It looks like it has some type of foam on the sides of the headrests.

It is also looks like it's blow-molded plastic, a lot of seats that are blow molded are moving away from the EPP lining, the different type of plastic has more energy absorbing capacities than the stiffer type of plastic. This blog post has some info about that: http://carseatblog.com/34386/graco-transzitions-3-in-1-harness-booster-preview/

Specifically:
A note about the energy-absorbing properties of a blow molded shell:
Blow molding is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are formed. The blow molded headrest on Tranzitions has an interior and exterior wall with a void (air) between them. This design absorbs energy in a controlled manner very similar to having an EPS/EPP foam liner. Graco uses a drop test procedure that measures G forces to validate the effectiveness of this design.

We tested both with an EPS head rest and also the blow molded head rest, both at the back most surface and the side wings. The results on repeated testing shows that this wall of the blow molded seat represents very similar G values as we see on the existing head rests with an EPS liner.


So no, not having the foam on that type of seat wouldn't concern me at all.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
It doesn't need foam in the headwings because it has AirProtect instead. They're basically like pre-inflated airbags. From what I've seen of the AirProtect technology, I'm a big fan of it. It has great energy-absorbing properties.
 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
It looks like it has some type of foam on the sides of the headrests.

It is also looks like it's blow-molded plastic, a lot of seats that are blow molded are moving away from the EPP lining, the different type of plastic has more energy absorbing capacities than the stiffer type of plastic.


The stuff in the headrests is the air protect cushions, which are for side impact protection but I don't know enough about them to know how they compare to energy absorbing foam.

While I agree that the seat looks very similar to the Graco Tranzitions, the blog article doesn't mention that the Pria has a blow-molded shell, and that seems like a feature that would have been mentioned if it did. I would call Dorel customer service and ask, but I wouldn't assume that it is blow-molded without confirming first.




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AllieK

New member
Hmm lots to think about... I know all seats pass the same safety standards I guess there are more than 1 means to an end!
Posted via Mobile Device
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
We had some of the head pads to play with at work when the Air Protect first came out a few years back. While they looked like very bouncy breast implants/self-inflating whoopee cushions (and were good for some off color jokes in the BRU breakroom, hehehe), you can tell they definitely would do a good job protecting a kiddo's noggin in a crash :)
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
I went to a presentation about them at Lifesavers four or five years ago and was incredibly impressed. From the footage and data they showed, the air protect cushions did a better job absorbing energy than foam did. Granted that was Dorel presenting it, but it made sense to me.
 

1mommy

New member
Not related to your question directly, but FYI my 3 year old HATES the Pria with a passion, to the point of crying hysterically whenever we try to put him in it. I can fit my 1.5 year old in it rear facing but find it a pain to load him over the tall sides and I am always bonking his head on the ceiling of the car putting him in. I loved the way the Pria looked and drooled over it for around a year before buying one, but I regret it now. I do not like the way the headrest adjusts up or down and have troubles adjusting it, I'm sure its very safe, it just doesn't work for our needs. I replaced it with a Graco Milestone which I LOVE, the low sides are so great for easy loading and unloading and so easy to adjust. It may work out better for you and your kid may like it better then mine, but I would suggest you buy from a place with a good return policy just in case.
 

AllieK

New member
Not related to your question directly, but FYI my 3 year old HATES the Pria with a passion, to the point of crying hysterically whenever we try to put him in it. I can fit my 1.5 year old in it rear facing but find it a pain to load him over the tall sides and I am always bonking his head on the ceiling of the car putting him in. I loved the way the Pria looked and drooled over it for around a year before buying one, but I regret it now. I do not like the way the headrest adjusts up or down and have troubles adjusting it, I'm sure its very safe, it just doesn't work for our needs. I replaced it with a Graco Milestone which I LOVE, the low sides are so great for easy loading and unloading and so easy to adjust. It may work out better for you and your kid may like it better then mine, but I would suggest you buy from a place with a good return policy just in case.

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, I've been drooling over it for awhile now too, but my gut is telling me to go with what we know, which is one of the Clones. I thought the Pria had relatively low sides though...? The $299 price tag is killing me (and will likely kill DH if/when he finds out about it!! :eek:)
 

1mommy

New member
Ehh I guess its not necessarily the sides that are high, but the seat itself sits high on a base. I have a clone (the BRU one) and the Milestone and the Milestone is only a little more and I think its so much nicer. The fact that it becomes a HBB is just gravy but helped me "justify" the cost to DH. I didn't like it in my Avalon because I kept bonking my poor kids head on the ceiling and felt like I had to cram myself in the car to buckle him, and I didn't like it in DH's 4Runner because I'm short and his truck doesn't have running boards (same reason I dislike the Clone in his truck, but I'm ok with it in my car. But it is a cushy seat, and I know people do like it, so if you really want it you might not be satisfied until you at least try it out, I just wanted to add my :twocents: as to why it's not a favorite seat of mine.
 

brooksfamily

New member
We have a Pria and love it. The sides are definitely not high. I guess the seat itself sits up high...it does compared to our Diono, but doesn't seem any higher than out Britax seats. My daugther can climb into the rf Pria herself in a Jeep Liberty, but can't get into the Britax seat on her own in the Honda Pilot. My daughter definitely prefers the Pria to the Britax seats because of legroom and the cup holder. We don't have a Milestone to compare too, but I think every kid is different. I love the fabric on the Pria and the fact that we could get it in such a light color. It's hot here a lot of the year so we really needed a light fabric because there is no shaded parking where I work and her daycare is a 2 minute drive. The Onyx colored Britax we had would be burning hot when I picked her up.
 

a09

New member
We have a pria and it sits no higher than a britax. My special needs kid could climb in rear facing on her own and it's her favorite seat.
 

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