In booster mode, the entire base must be in contact with the vehicle seat. Despite the Liing’s compact front-to-back dimensions, it can hold an infant up to 35 pounds or 32 inches; it also works for infants as small as 4 pounds, so it’s an option for some preemie babies. The Liing comes with removable support padding that you should use for babies who weigh less than 11 pounds.
The safest car seat is the one you can install correctly and use properly on every ride! Let us know in the comment section what questions you have about this review of the Graco Extend2Fit convertible car seat. They crash test the finished product in every single installation configuration using every applicable-sized crash test dummy, not to mention a whole lot of testing at each stage of the development process, too. So, one or two crash tests completed by another organization just can’t give the same level of information! If we don’t recommend a car seat, it’s not because it’s unsafe for your little one. All car seats are safe if they’re installed and used properly, are not expired or damaged, and when they’re made and sold by a reputable manufacturer and/or retailer.
Unlike our top pick from Graco, this Clek seat does not offer a no-rethread harness, a removable seat pad to make cleanup easier, or one-handed handle adjustment, and those omissions are disappointing (especially considering how much this seat costs). But the Liing’s sun canopy is the biggest we’ve seen, and this seat has the longest life span and best warranty of our picks. The Graco Extend2Fit Convertible has a lot going for it, including pretty easy installation, thoughtful features, and great value for the price. But most importantly, this seat excels at keeping your kid comfortable while they ride rear-facing—the safest position for a young child—for longer. Many large toddlers and preschoolers struggle to stay rear-facing in their car seats because at a certain point they start to feel squashed.
Lower anchors have weight limits set by the vehicle and car seat manufacturers. You can determine the lower anchor weight limit by checking the warning label or installation diagrams located on the side of the car seat. If your car seat does not have a label, you can determine the maximum allowable child weight for lower anchor use by subtracting the weight of the car seat (usually available in the car seat’s instruction manual) from 65 pounds. The booster car seat keeps your child protected and safe while traveling and grows with them from front-facing to high-back and backless boosters. Its simple and secure harness system allows you to adjust the headrest and harness in one quick motion.
If you buy this after your child has outgrown an infant seat, you might be able to get away without buying any other car seats. The high back mode can accommodate a child with a torso height of up to 20.5″ if you remove the belt trainer and up to 19″ if you leave it in. The backless booster mode is very bulky and not our favorite of the modes. The three-in-one safety-tested car seat allows you to use it from the rear-facing to the forward-facing harness and high-back booster with your child’s growing age and weight. Independent crash testing has been conducted on this seat to ensure your child’s protection from frontal, side, rear, and rollover crashes.
The Safe Kids Worldwide website also provides schedules of free car seat check events and locations of inspection stations. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to get a free car seat install or check by your local fire or police department (often by appointment only). Or you could consider hiring an expert to come to your home to do an installation and training on one or more seats; just be sure that the person you choose is a trained CPST. When you install this seat as a booster, you can choose to keep it anchored to your car with LATCH, or you can stow away the LATCH hooks and go without. Next, you route the seat belt through the seat’s rear-facing belt path and buckle it in.
However, we found the Radian 3QXT more difficult to install than other seats we tested; it requires a lot of physical effort to get a snug install. And unlike any other seat we tested, the 3QXT is so top-heavy that it can’t sit upright on its own. So if you need to uninstall it to change the SafeStop or to remove the seat cover, you have to prop it up against something. Additionally, the Radian 3QXT’s anti-rebound bar—an added safety feature that helps to prevent the seat from rebounding in an accident—was not fully flush to the seat. According to The Car Seat Lady’s Baer, that could pose a safety issue if a child rides with their feet tucked under the bar and then is in a crash. One of our favorite infant car seats is made by Chicco, so we were eager to try the company’s convertible seat, the Chicco NextFit Zip.
Car seat manufacturers frequently release new models and update their existing ones. Though we didn’t rule out any seats on the basis of their being brand new, whenever possible we chose to test models that had been available for at least a year, in order to give us a more solid track record of user reviews. For crumby messes, we use a handheld vacuum with a crevice tool; graco turbobooster baby wipes work well for cleaning spills and debris that accumulates in the cup holders. Detach both sides of the harness from the splitter plate behind the seat. Now, turn your attention to the front of the seat, where you’ll unsnap the cover on the front. Ultimately, we didn’t think it was fair to eliminate the Liing or ignore its merits purely because of its price.