Thoughts on Chaperone

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I found out today that a local baby boutique has the Chaperone in stock so I decided I needed to make myself wise and go take a look at it this afternoon. ;)

I'm really impressed with it overall. The bottom harness height with the infant insert in is very low and I think it will fit pretty much any 4lb preemie very well. I didn't like how the bottom fabric piece of the headrest support sat when at the bottom harness height, but I imagine it would sit in place better with a real baby vs. a doll. :)

Lifting it off the base was easy all except for one time. I was at a bad angle the first time I tried though so I suspect it was just me. The attachment is very clear and I noticed the hardware on the base where the attachment happens seems to be very secure.

I installed it outboard in my truck baseless, base w/seatbelt, and base w/UAS. All 3 methods of installation were rock solid, and I'll say that I was very impressed with how easy and solid the baseless install was of the seat.

The base is very deep, and despite me having full size backseats, I had to push the base quite hard towards the back of the vehicle while tightening the belt in order to get 80% on the vehicle seat. I foresee this seat not working with the base in any vehicle that has somewhat shallow seats (in terms of depth,) unless the back of the seat is really compressible enough to allow it to get in closer to the seatback that way. I think it will be a necessity in most vehicles to really press the base towards the back of the vehicle when tightening the belt to get an optimal installation.

I really like the anti-rebound bar, though I did find that only the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of it actually was snug against the vehicle seat back due to the shape of my vehicle seat, but it was enough that the seat didn't readily rebound if I tried.

The lock-off on the base is really easy enough to use, my only concern with it is that people who have thick vehicle belts may have troubles sliding the shoulder portion of the belt underneath the guides. I was able to do it in my vehicle, but I haven't had problems with other lock-offs in my truck either aside from having to remove a plastic button from the seatbelt. ;)

Anyways, I really liked what I saw. It seems really sturdy, the handle moves easily and locks in to place cleanly. It's not too heavy to carry and while not the lightest carrier I've held recently, it's not heavy either.

I didn't have a kiddo to try in it, so I'm afraid I don't have any pictures, but thought I'd share my thoughts anyways. I haven't seen a ton of feedback on the seat just yet so thought it was worth putting out there.

And can I just say again what a wonderful baseless install it was? So nice, that if it was like that in every vehicle I would have no qualms about not buying a 2nd base for a 2nd vehicle and would just use it baseless in an occasional vehicle. Something I don't think I've ever thought about an infant seat before. :p


(Oh, test vehicle is a 2007 Outlook with 2nd row bench, installed driver side. Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and I think the Traverse all have the same vehicle seat when the 2nd row is a bench option.)
 
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PHaley

New member
Thanks for the quick review, I love that it comes in cow and has the ARB, havent had a chance to install one myself but good to know about the baseless ease :)
 

canadiangie

New member
Yes. It's very very nice. I played with one yesterday, and from the few minutes I had with it, it seemed very well made. :thumbsup: I look forward to installing one in my vehicle next time I'm at the store. :thumbsup:
 

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