why no rear tether on infant carrier seats??

[penguingrooves]

i hate how much the base of most infant carriers move like murphy beds when installed. is there a reason why a rear tether isn't used for infant carrier?? given that britax convertible seats allow RF tethering, i don't understand why rear-facing infant carriers be tethered too. (i suspect lax testing standards, rather than safety ones.) thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[ketchupqueen]

Hi there!

Actually, many people prefer NOT to tether newborns' seats, even when they can, because of the potential for added neck loads to their weak necks. We don't have a lot of data on it, but it's a strong enough potential that many people take it into account when decision-making. (Personally, I have tethered a Radian from birth and would probably do so again, but that's my personal decision.)

A few alternatives are available which can help prevent an infant bucket seat "rebounding" toward the back of the car so much. One is an anti-rebound bar, which may be on the base of the car seat, or the car seat itself. The Britax Chaperone and Combi Shuttle 33 (soon Shuttle 35) both have this feature, the former on the base, the latter on the seat itself. (The True Fit Premiere also has this feature, and is a convertible seat that fits many infants well from birth.)

Another alternative is to leave the handle in the "carry" or fully upright position, or in a few cases, in a forward (by the feet), anti-rebound position, when allowed by the seat. This last position (the forward position designed to be like an anti-rebound bar) is a feature often utilized in Europe and beginning to make its way across the ocean. Only a few brands are left now that do NOT allow the handle to be in an upright position while in the car. Canada recently revised their testing standard to incorporate an anti-rebound standard, and some of the seats that meet the new standard so far do so by instructing that the handle be left up instead of allowing it down in the car, while others are incorporating that forward, anti-rebound position.

 

[Pixels]

We just don't have any evidence, AFAIK, that rebounding is dangerous. Why try to stop something that isn't a problem to start with?

I'm interested in knowing TC's reasoning on requiring the rebound standard.

 

[gigi]

My SR35 clone (Teutonia T-Tario 35) does not move like a murphy bed. It is REALLY stable, no cocooning. A few infant seats have anti rebound...maybe you could get a few suggestions.

I prefer the tether in general but the T35 is crazy stable in my car.

 

[Pixels]

My SR35 clone (Teutonia T-Tario 35) does not move like a murphy bed. It is REALLY stable, no cocooning. A few infant seats have anti rebound...maybe you could get a few suggestions.

I prefer the tether in general but the T35 is crazy stable in my car.

Trust me, under crash forces it will rebound.

 

[tanusscott22]

I've got a True Fit Via (infant carrier) that has the anti-rebound feature in the carring handle. It's awesome and I love it, but it does make the carrier a fair bit heavier than other carriers. I'll take buff biceps in return for peace of mind any day! :yeahthatlove:

 

[TechnoGranola]

I've got a True Fit Via (infant carrier) that has the anti-rebound feature in the carring handle. It's awesome and I love it, but it does make the carrier a fair bit heavier than other carriers. I'll take buff biceps in return for peace of mind any day! :yeahthatlove:

Why is it you think it's the anti-rebound feature that's adding the weight to the seat? It is one of the infant seats with the tallest shell which means more plastic, more cover, etc. so it's likely going to be heavier than other seats anyway.

The anti-rebound is often just a handle position, there's not necessarily anything special about the handle. Although I'd hope they've designed them not to shatter in an accident when they hit the seat.

Oh, and just to clarify for any new folks reading, the seat is sold under the name Lamaze Via and The First Years Via. The True Fit is the convertible by The First Years and not the infant carrier.

 

[gigi]

Trust me, under crash forces it will rebound.

Of course it will...so would a tethered seat as the webbing would stretch. But it doesn't move up and down like a murphy bed every time it is bumped in my car , which seemed to me to be the OPs concern.

 

[tanusscott22]

Yep you're right; it's The First Years Via, just bad slang on the part of my husband and I. Thanks for clarifing that. The source escapes me at the moment, but I thought the handle was made from something other than plastic, which gave the seat added weight. Of course I'm sure the double wall construction, and huge interior dimenssions might play a part as well lol. Mine is only the 22# version by the way.

 

[penguingrooves]

i admit that comparing an infant carrier to a murphy bed is a bit extreme, but after using a britax roundabout, that's what it seems like, and i can't stand it!! (i even know people who rear-tethered the bucket seat on their own with the second kid after experiencing a tethered marathon with the older kid.) i'm with ketchupqueen on this: i like more stable anchored/tethered restraints, kinda like how race car drivers are strapped down. but if i'm sooooo desperate for the convenience, i'd only consider the orbit with its insanely sturdy base which lays well against the backseat, or the britax with the anti-rebound bar. i guess i'm hoping maybe some innovations have come out...

and gigi, if an accident was so severe that the rear tether fell apart, i don't even want to imagine where the bucket seat might be!

it's also probably better to have a car seat with fewer parts that can become undone, i.e. no separation of base and car seat. but oh, the convenience of infant carriers... well, let's hope for no (or no more) accidents for all.

 

[TechnoGranola]

Yep you're right; it's The First Years Via, just bad slang on the part of my husband and I. Thanks for clarifing that. The source escapes me at the moment, but I thought the handle was made from something other than plastic, which gave the seat added weight. Of course I'm sure the double wall construction, and huge interior dimenssions might play a part as well lol. Mine is only the 22# version by the way.

If you find the info on the handle, I'd be interested in reading it. Sure feels like plastic. LOL Someone else here had the 22# version and said it's the same shell, just is now rated to a higher weight. I can't confirm though as I've never seen the 22# version in real.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

 

[An Aurora]

DD2's infant seat had a RF tether

 

[Patriot201]

DD2's infant seat had a RF tether

Britax Handle with Care?





I think the handle of my Via is aluminum or something. It feels different than regular plastic.

 

[An Aurora]

Nope. It was the Combi Tyro II.

 

[StillThankful]

I'd love to have the foot prop option available in the US for infant seats but our crash sleds don't have floors

 

[TechnoGranola]

I think the handle of my Via is aluminum or something. It feels different than regular plastic.

I wonder if the 22# version and 35# version have a different handle? The new one I looked at feels like plastic. Could be something under the plastic though.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

 

[nmb]

I can't even imagine that an actual tether for an infant carrier would work?!

If the tether was attached to the seat, then you loose the convenience factor in being able to remove/replace the seat (not impossible, but how many are going to reattach the tether every time?).

And if the tether were attached to the base, so that the base is held down and the seat was not, wouldn't that just increase the likelihood of the seat detaching from the base? (even if a very small chance to begin with, I think the possibility of it greatly increases once the two are no longer moving together as one).


MAYBE in a baseless install? (again though, you've lost the convenience, so why not just go with a convertible?)


I think that probably has a lot to do with why infant seats that do have a anti-rebound feature use either the handle or a bar on the base instead of a tether.

 

[An Aurora]

The tether was on the base. I don't think it would have increased the likelihood of it detaching, but then again it was one of the Combi infant seat that regularly got stuck on the base.

 

[Patriot201]

I had a Handle with Care with tether. It wasn't too bad. It was like buckling a seatbelt each time I reattached the tether.

There's a picture here, under "2000."

 

[ketchupqueen]

Aussie buckets ("capsules") have tethers, don't they?