I played with a True Fit in a car yesterday

Some friends of ours recently got a True Fit for their baby and I've been itching to see it. I finally got a chance yesterday. It's installed rear facing in a Prius and I put my short, 24lb 2yo in it. His head is almost to the red line at the top of the shell without the headrest on. I would definitely need to put that on for him. I really liked the depth of the seat around him--it seemed very protective and comfortable (though my ds said it was "too big". He's in a Roundabout right now, so I can see why it would seem that way to him). I did have trouble with the adjuster, which was the big bummer to me. It was a little difficult to lift the lever to loosen it (because it's up against the seat back), but not awful. I couldn't get it to tighten quite enough, though. It reminded me of how our Blvd stops after a certain point of tightening and won't get tighter, except that I couldn't do the pull the strap and push down the lever trick I do to get our Blvd tight. I never did find a way to get it tightened to my liking. Pulling the straps from behind helped a bit. The straps were twisty, too. I had to untwist them before I could buckle him in.

So, I don't know. It wasn't quite what I was hoping as far as the adjuster goes. I would have been getting it in place of our Blvd which I find a bear to tighten rear-facing, but this isn't any better.

Not sure if I can answer any questions, as that's about all I looked at, and I didn't get to install it or look at the manual, but I'll check the thread again in case anyone had any questions I might have an opinion on.

Kirsten

At 24 pounds, the removable top is not optional, it's required, anything over 22 pounds is, regardless of height. Thanks for the info about the adjuster. That is always of interest for me to know how easily it is to adjust, since I knwo some parents won't put much effort into it if it is not super-easy.....

That's right--I hadn't been thinking about the 22lb limit. I remember knowing ahead of time he would need the headrest, but I forgot that was the reason why (he only sat in it in their parked car for me to try, he didn't go anywhere in it). The harness was a bigger problem to me than just not being super-easy (which is what I would classify the Blvd as--it's not easy and takes work). I literally couldn't figure out any way to get it tight enough, despite working at it for awhile. It just wouldn't get any tighter. I'm not sure what the problem is. It's kind of like the problem Decathlons, except it wasn't as loose as the DC I tried that didn't work was--it got tighter than that before getting stuck. The biggest problem with that is that I think the majority of parents are going to think that's as tight as it needs to be when it stops there.

Oh, another thing that might be relevant for people is where he was on the harness height. The bottom slots were still the right slot for him--the second ones were a good deal above his shoulders, so I don't expect for my particular child that the slot heights will be a problem for extended rf.

Kirsten

Pics?

kphil said:

That's right--I hadn't been thinking about the 22lb limit. I remember knowing ahead of time he would need the headrest, but I forgot that was the reason why (he only sat in it in their parked car for me to try, he didn't go anywhere in it). The harness was a bigger problem to me than just not being super-easy (which is what I would classify the Blvd as--it's not easy and takes work). I literally couldn't figure out any way to get it tight enough, despite working at it for awhile. It just wouldn't get any tighter. I'm not sure what the problem is. It's kind of like the problem Decathlons, except it wasn't as loose as the DC I tried that didn't work was--it got tighter than that before getting stuck. The biggest problem with that is that I think the majority of parents are going to think that's as tight as it needs to be when it stops there.

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I am seriously contemplating getting this carseat for my son (our 1st Convertable-yahoo!), and know that I will take time to adjust. However, I am not the one driving all the time, and others may not be as convinced as I am that the carseat should be tight (wherever they can be adjusted), this concerns me a little. Question: Can you take carseat out, adjust it to as tight as it will go and then put it in? Remember, I have never installed a Convertable before.

You wouldn't want to take it out to adjust it (or need to)...what you would do is put your kiddo in the seat, adjust (tighten) till it fits him properly, and then leave it that way for others, instruct them not to fiddle with the adjuster, and to put him in with the same thickness of clothing...then they won't accidentally loosen it too much and not tighten it back enough :thumbsup:

megabloxs said:

Pics?

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Sorry, I didn't get any. It was in a friend's car in the church parking lot, and I would have been really pushing the loony meter with them if I'd started taking pictures .

Just to reiterate on the harness, my problem is that I'm saying it wasn't a matter of taking the time to adjust it correctly--I *couldn't* adjust it correctly whatever I tried. I worked at it for a long time and never could get it to tighten enough. So if all the seats have an adjuster like this (and this wasn't just an anomaly) then no matter how careful you are to adjust it properly, you may not be able to. I would like to try another one, to see if it was just that one--maybe the harness was twisted under the seat shell or the splitter plate was stuck on something something, it's hard for me to know.

Kirsten

joolsplus3 said:

You wouldn't want to take it out to adjust it (or need to)...what you would do is put your kiddo in the seat, adjust (tighten) till it fits him properly, and then leave it that way for others, instruct them not to fiddle with the adjuster, and to put him in with the same thickness of clothing...then they won't accidentally loosen it too much and not tighten it back enough :thumbsup:

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Got it! That helps since I am getting a new MA today for my mom's car and will have to adjust it before going on trip. I hope, though that it was only thatcar seat that wasn't able to be tightened correctly.