Cosco Alpha Omega Elite??

[StillThankful]

Owners of this car seat: Please let me know how well you like it.

Thanks! I took DD to BRU to test this out as well as the boulevard. LMK what your take is on this car seat. CR rated it to be pretty good and it has the side impact protection as well.

 

[crunchierthanthou]

I don't own it, but I'm fairly familiar with it. It's a popular seat in my area.

It's a decent seat for erf. It has a 35 lb rf weight limit and is slightly taller than average for a convertible with a 40 lb weight limit.

However, it's inaccurately marketed as the only seat you'll ever need. The harness is almost always outgrown before the child is ready for a booster. The harness height and weight limit are inadequate and the booster mode is mediocre at best .

There are several seats that will last longer and are a better use of you money. Have you considered the Evenflo Triumph Advance? It costs less and has the same 35 lb rf weight limit, but has a taller top harness position and higher ff weight limit.

 

[azgirl71]

I have the seat, but keep it in my sitter's car. It has been my experience that I see most kid outgrow it by height before they reach 40 lbs. Usually around age 3. You cannot use the highest harness position. It is only for booster mode. So you lose that extra couple of inches. The highest harness position it not reinforced.

This is what is says in the manual:
Uppermost headrest position may not be used with the harness; it is for booster use only.

 

[ThreeBeans]

THis seat in absolutely no way compares with the Boulevard. It has only a 40 pound weight limit and then converts to an absolutely AWFUL booster that in no way would hold a 100 lb child no matter what it says.

 

[thepeach80]

I hate mine, but it did work decently as a rfing seat. I took the harness out b/c I had to use it as a booster once and I never bothered to put it back together b/c I hated using it w/ the kids. There are WAY better seats on the market for the same price or less. The headrest is not side impact protection, just a place to lay your head. AJ outgrew this seat ffing by 3.

 

[snowbird25ca]

I'm really not a fan of this seat either. It's over-priced for what it does... it's outgrown before kids are ready for boosters and essentially is worthless as a booster both due to not allowing the belt to fit correctly, and because the back isn't tall enough for most kids to get big enough to pass the 5step test in the vehicle - the tips of the ears have to be supported by the seat at all times, the headrest just doesn't extend tall enough to support a kid until they're big enough/tall enough to pass the 5step test.

It can be a pain to install rf'ing, especially when you're not familiar with the seat. The harness is really hard to tighten depending on the vehicle you're installing it in, although some of the newer seats are seeming to adjust a bit easier based on the seat checks I've done recently.

If you're planning more kids, are buying it with the knowledge that it won't be the only seat you'll ever need and that it doesn't provide anymore sip than a regular 5pt harness, then it's an ok seat. I have had a number of parents get upset at seat checks though when I have to tell them that their child has outgrown the harness, but isn't old enough/heavy enough to even use the booster. And by the time they weigh enough to use it as a booster, they'll be too tall for the booster mode in all likelihood. Parents are usually very upset that they've bought "the only seat they'll ever need" just to find out they have to go out and buy another seat almost as expensive as the 3in1 just to get their kid old enough/big enough to be safe in a booster.

So yeah, in general I don't recommend it, but if you're planning more kids and know it's limitations & are prepared for a possible nightmare installing it, it's an ok seat.

If budget isn't an issue, I'd choose the BLVD every single day of the week. And I'd absolutely buy a triumph advance before a 3in1.

 

[StillThankful]

Thanks so much for your comments. You guys are experts at this!! FYI: This car seat will be in a 94 acura integra. Any suggestions then for a car seat that will properly install RF in the center of this small car? Otherwise, it has to be installed outboard with SIP (b/c there are no side airbags in this vehicle). Brainstorming: I would get the Triumph Advance or MA for the center (CR doesn't mention the Advance though--wondering if the crash results would be the same as the regular Triumph). Otherwise, I would love to get the BV for the outboard. Overwhelmed with all of this . . . . HELP!

 

[snowbird25ca]

Thanks so much for your comments. You guys are experts at this!! FYI: This car seat will be in a 94 acura integra. Any suggestions then for a car seat that will properly install RF in the center of this small car? Otherwise, it has to be installed outboard with SIP (b/c there are no side airbags in this vehicle). Brainstorming: I would get the Triumph Advance or MA for the center (CR doesn't mention the Advance though--wondering if the crash results would be the same as the regular Triumph). Otherwise, I would love to get the BV for the outboard. Overwhelmed with all of this . . . . HELP!

First things first, throw out and forget everything CR ever told you about carseats. :thumbsup: There's a number of reasons I say that, if you do a search you'll find CR isn't highly regarded for a number of reasons. But the first one I'll give you at this instant is that a number of seats available now weren't even on the market when they last did a review of convertible carseats.

The triumph advance wasn't around when CR did their review, hence why it's not in the ratings... honestly though, their ratings really don't say anything about how your kiddo will fit in the seat, how the seat will fit in your vehicle, and if you'll be able to use the seat correctly each and every time. Not to mention their methods are questionable at best and known to be flawed in the past...

As for the car, what kind of seatbelt is in the middle? How old is the child that will be going into it and how heavy?

 

[joolsplus3]

The AOE has SIP? No.
Any 5 pt harness will have SIP, but it cannot even compare to the BV or Diplomat or Recaros when it comes to design for SIP, side structure for SIP, or even belt lockoffs that prevent side to side movement of the seat relative to the seatbelt.

The AOE is just a very, very overpriced convertible seat... I'd recommend the Safety First Uptown if you like the fit of the AOE to your car and your kid: it's the same seat, but cheaper, loaded with EPP foam, and doesn't have any extras on it that make it harder to use (removable base, sliding headrest, pretenses at being a booster with lame belt guides...).

 

[Victorious4]

First things first, throw out and forget everything CR ever told you about carseats.

Consumer Reports retracted their failed infant seat testing fiasco -- this was only the 1st official time they were caught red handed after the CPST community has been grumbling about their faulty "results" for years :twocents:

The AOE is just a very, very overpriced convertible seat... I'd recommend the Safety First Uptown if you like the fit of the AOE to your car and your kid: it's the same seat, but cheaper, loaded with EPP foam, and doesn't have any extras on it that make it harder to use (removable base, sliding headrest, pretenses at being a booster with lame belt guides...)

:yeahthat:

P.S.

Please limit the combined height of all your [signature] photos, tickers and images to 240 pixels tall as an absolute maximum. The combined width should be no more than 640 pixels wide. The combined file size should be no more than 100kb.

It would be easier on everyone skimming through the forum to have both your signature pictures next to eachother rather than one on top of the other.

 

[henrietta]

You can't even compare the Blvd to the AOE.

We are using my sil's AOE in dh's car right now, rearfacing. I offered to trade her for our Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe, not b/c I want the AOE, but b/c my nephew had outgrown his AOE, and he has to stay harnessed--he's only 26 mos old (and huge)! We also have a Britax Decathlon and an older Evenflo Triumph Deluxe (not the new higher weight one).

I HATE the AOE! (Did I mention that I hate the AOE?) It adjusts easily (harness can be moved into a new position from the front), the harness tightens and loosens super easily, and it's fairly deep, so it's good for ds to stretch his legs while rearfacing. But aside from that it's a huge PITA! It is nearly impossible to install properly rearfacing. You can't get your hand thru the belt path at all, and the cover does not open up to give you access to it. You have to unhook the cover (difficult as well, esp when installed or trying to be installed) to reach the belt path, and then, once you've actually got it installed, you'll want to hook the cover back...but you can't without breaking your wrist and screwing up your installation! It also sits so low on the seat, that most seatbelt's female end get hung up on it somewhere, making it likely that you'll think it's tightly installed only to find out later that the carseat has slipped totally or the belt comes unbuckled.

Yes, I hate it!

Get the Blvd if you are comparing. It will fit in the center just as likely as the AOE, and it won't interfere with the seatbelts. It will install easily, as all Britax convertibles do. If you prefer to spend less, get the MA.

If you need to spend less and still want a great seat, get the Evenflo Triumph Advance. It's wide, but you may still be able to get a great center install, and even if you can't, I'd rather my kid be in it outboard than that stupid AOE anywhere! It has EPS foam in it as well, and the AO's do not (well, maybe one or two "top of the line" models do, but only in the headrest! HA!)

The ETA, MA, and BLVD will all last your kiddo rearfacing a year or more longer than the AOE, and they will definitely last longer overall. They have taller top harness slots and taller shells than the AOE. Most kids who use the AOE outgrow the harness when they could still be harnessed in one of those other seats, and it makes an iffy booster. If a child is that small/young and going into a booster, it's the last booster I'd want them in.

Another option that's narrow and may install well in the center is the Sunshine Kids Radian 65. You can do another search on that on the boards.

hths

henrietta