New AOE Review, Pic Heavy

firemomof3 · Mar 5, 2009

Well, my signos went to a very nice family who are commited to erf, so what next?
I bought the new AOE rated to 50lbs. and here are my thoughts:
Payed $150 at BRU
Seat is lightweight, fabric is very soft. EPP foam in headrest only. Re-routing the latch straps was pretty straightforward. I removed the base for rf which was very easy. Installing it rf was quick and rock solid.
Seat depth is very nice at 11.5”
Bottom slots measured 10.5” so not so great for a newborn :thumbsdown:
Top slot is 17.5” :thumbsup:
The 3 position crotch strap is very generous
The tabs used to adjust the headrest up/down is horrible. It sticks and I had to manually pull the bar up and over to get the headrest to the top position.
The continuous harness is typical, nothing special.
Overall, I don’t like it and will be returning it. For the money, the EFTA and True fit are so much nicer!
5.5y/o 47" tall 16" torso 48lbs.

When adjusted to the top position the harness became very tight on her neck

3y/o 27lbs.

21mo. 28lbs.

joolsplus3 · Mar 5, 2009

Thanks! I guess it makes sense the harness seems tighter on the biggest kid, since it's the same width apart that is supposed to work for infants. Still, the pads make it pretty nice and may keep kids from feeling rubbed and uncomfortable

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't make the headrest move up and down flawlessly with the red tabs

I DO like the EFTA a lot better...I find myself having a hard time praising the AOE's when the big solid lovely EFTA is right next to it on the shelf at BRU, lol.

scatterbunny · Mar 5, 2009

I would go with the 50# AOE over the EFTA, probably, for a couple reasons-I prefer a standard pull-strap harness adjuster over the knobs, and I prefer a lower profile seat over one with a tall base. I could totally get over it being a bit sticky to raise the harness height (how often would I do that, anyway?) and closely-spaced straps for bigger kids (can't be as bad as the Radian, right?). I do hate the armrests on the AOE, though.

snowbird25ca · Mar 5, 2009

scatterbunny said:
I would go with the 50# AOE over the EFTA, probably, for a couple reasons-I prefer a standard pull-strap harness adjuster over the knobs, and I prefer a lower profile seat over one with a tall base. I could totally get over it being a bit sticky to raise the harness height (how often would I do that, anyway?) and closely-spaced straps for bigger kids (can't be as bad as the Radian, right?). I do hate the armrests on the AOE, though.

The pull-strap adjuster on the AOE is a huge royal stinking PITA.

It works pretty easily without a kid in the seat, but tightening with a kid in the seat gets difficult quickly. It's like the adjuster mechanism gets sticky all on it's own before the seat is very old. Though some seats are worse for this than others. I've seen some at checks which adjust easily and are a number of years old, and others the seat isn't very old at all and the strap is incredibly difficult to tighten and it's difficult to loosen too. :thumbsdown:

The armrests can be rotated up to the side which makes them a bit more manageable. I've found the headrest isn't too hard to adjust as long as the harness is loosened all the way and you're standing at an angle that allows both red tabs to be pushed in all the way - though some seats are a little more difficult in this regard than others, so maybe it's a situation similar to the harness adjuster strap?

Despite my complaints about the adjuster strap I also find that the seat is comfy and a decent seat. It seems to fit kids well and certainly isn't a bad option. I have to think the harness spacing at the top likely is very similar to the Radian - which of course kids complain about too, but lots have used without any difficulty.

I do personally prefer the EFTA or TF over the AOE, but I have to think that part of it is still the feelings I had about it as an overpriced 40lb limit seat and it still being more expensive than the EFTA or TF - at least at work. Walmart recently had them for $122 which was an awesome price and that extra $22 is definitely worth it to get a 35lb rf'ing limit and a 50lb ff'ing limit. :thumbsup:

bobandjess99 · Mar 5, 2009

Interesting....I know this will probably not earn me ;points, lol, but honestly, if you'd just move the chest clip down an inch or so, it allows the straps to be a little wider. I notice your chest clips are really high..not too high, but right at the top of armpit level, and could be lowered a tiny bit without, in my opinion, sacrificing safety.
I did have that issue of the adjuster not wanting to pull all the way up and over, but after helping with my hands a few times, and basically just getting teh harness used to being pulled and adjusted, it did become easier over time,and now mine slips up and down easily. But, even if I had to "help" it up into the last slot every time, that still wouldn't be a huge deal to me at all. While i love the truefit, the slots on the AOE give dd more room, and the AOE is usually cheaper, as well....and we just loathe the EFTA here.....to others,i recommend it, but here it's a complete NO.

I'm sorry it didn't work for you....good luck finding something......

Maggie · Mar 5, 2009

Sorry you didn't like it. I'm planning to go out tonight and pick one up. I know the EFTA is probably an bit better, but DD hates the tabs and won't even go near it anymore. I do see how the harness might be too tight for older kids.

Hopefully it won't be a problem for us. I'm planning to use it for DD2 who is 2 for about 1.5 yrs. Then she'll move to big sisters Nauti and the new baby will move from the bucket to the AOE RF. I don't see us using it for older children. If it doesn't work I don't know what I'll do. We've tried just about every seat.

firemomof3 · Mar 5, 2009

MomToEm said:
Sorry you didn't like it. I'm planning to go out tonight and pick one up. I know the EFTA is probably an bit better, but DD hates the tabs and won't even go near it anymore. I do see how the harness might be too tight for older kids.

Hopefully it won't be a problem for us. I'm planning to use it for DD2 who is 2 for about 1.5 yrs. Then she'll move to big sisters Nauti and the new baby will move from the bucket to the AOE RF. I don't see us using it for older children. If it doesn't work I don't know what I'll do. We've tried just about every seat.

Ya, it sounds like it will work fine for you. Its not that I hate the seat, I just don't like it enough to keep it

I'm going back out tonight with my girlfriend to a super sized BRU so we'll see what I come home with

BabyKaykes · Mar 5, 2009

Also sorry you don't love it. Hope you find something nicer!

I actually don't hate my 2004 AOE. Yes, the harness height needs to be yanked into the last two positions, but how many times are you really gonna move it? And I wish it had the new shoulder pads, I love those.

firemomof3 · Mar 5, 2009

Came home tonight with a Boulevard

I will never stray again

Also, I checked out the cozycline while I was there; the top harness slots are barely 16"

I was so dissapointed!

bobandjess99 · Mar 5, 2009

firemomof3 said:
Also, I checked out the cozycline while I was there; the top harness slots are barely 16" I was so dissapointed!

well...with a 40 lb limit, it really is quite comparable to the other options.....

It is NOT, nor does it pretend to be, an extended harnessing seat.

glockchick · Mar 5, 2009

I played with one in our TRU and surprisingly really liked it except for the chest clip which is easily remedied. The main thing that drug me away from it was the armrests. I need to fit 5 car seats in 6 positions so I really needed as narrow as I could get. I think it would have worked hard the armrests been completely removable. I'd have at least tried it if it didn't have the armrests.

MaggieQ · Mar 6, 2009

I really like the shoulder pads on it.. i think with them extending down so far, it will encourage parents to keep the chest clip on them, and in the right place. :thumbsup: It seems to have a really high shell too, or is your 3 y/o just short torsoed??

firemomof3 · Mar 6, 2009

My 3y/o is a petite little thing, so ya very short

I measured the shell and got 26"

firemomof3 · Mar 6, 2009

bobandjess99 said:
well...with a 40 lb limit, it really is quite comparable to the other options.....
It is NOT, nor does it pretend to be, an extended harnessing seat.

There was a discussion a little while ago about the cozycline and some reported that top harness slots were almost 17" so thats why I was shocked that they were so low. I still think its a great option for low muscle tone though because wow, does it ever recline!

joolsplus3 · Mar 6, 2009

ShannaLeah said:
I played with one in our TRU and surprisingly really liked it except for the chest clip which is easily remedied. .

Tell me what you mean by the chest clip being easily remedied?

BabyKaykes · Mar 6, 2009

firemomof3 said:
There was a discussion a little while ago about the cozycline and some reported that top harness slots were almost 17" so thats why I was shocked that they were so low. I still think its a great option for low muscle tone though because wow, does it ever recline!

I think the CozyCline is another one of those phantom seats. Some measure 16" top slots, some have measured up to 17.5"

bobandjess99 · Mar 6, 2009

BabyKaykes said:
I think the CozyCline is another one of those phantom seats. Some measure 16" top slots, some have measured up to 17.5"

ah, okay, I did not know the top slots were debatable....I'd only ever heard them describd as 16ish.

glockchick · Mar 6, 2009

joolsplus3 said:
Tell me what you mean by the chest clip being easily remedied?

I'd replace it with a Britax clip. I love those.

I do better with ones where you squeeze the sides rather than push a button in to undo.

joolsplus3 · Mar 6, 2009

ShannaLeah said:
I'd replace it with a Britax clip. I love those. I do better with ones where you squeeze the sides rather than push a button in to undo.

Ah, I thought so

. Nope, you wouldn't. Now that you've been here and know that we absolutely never ever mix and match carseat parts without express permission from the manufacturers (like the Radian is allowed to have a Britax-style clip, because it was crash tested that way and has the same harness thickness).

amy919 · Mar 6, 2009

It's prettier in person

. I just bought one at lunch today - had a coupon, plus it was sale, so for $130, I figured I'd give it a try for DH's car. I am worried that it won't work for me either. I need to try it and see if I have an issue with the headrests in his car. If Teagan likes it enough, I could always keep it and use it in my car and put the GN in his, but I have a thing about matching seats in my car. I'm goofy like that.

Why can't they do something about the stupid vehicle headrest rule with these seats? I do like the 50 weight limit, though!

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