We are in the market for a new infant carseat! We are expecting baby #2, 61/2 years after our 1st so we will are really starting all over!! Our first infant seat was a Graco SafeSeat and I did really like it. It was super easy to use, safe, fit a baby up to 30lbs so through the first year and the color wasn't all that bad either. This go round I'm not sure which way to go..... get another Graco, but which one? Chicco Keyfit 30? Britax (which we LOVE with our Marathon that our 6 year old is still using!!) ??? So mama's what seat do you use and what do you love & not so like about them??? Thanks so much any suggestion or thought will help a bunch!
I loved my Chicco Keyfit 30! I used it for two babies, and loaned it to my cousin in between. It held up perfectly, and was SO easy to use that friends with Graco infant seats commented on how they wished they had gotten Chiccos too. We also had a Graco that we got from a relative and we used as a backup seat. Having tried both brands I would not even think twice about buying another Chicco.
We used a Graco Snugride with each kid. Honestly...looking back, they were just okay. Horrible to lug around. Somehow, the one that I bought almost 6 years ago seemed better made than the one I purchased 2 years ago. My feelings about Graco Snugride? Eh. There is probably something else that is better out there, I just haven't used it. Congrats :)
I don't know for sure what one my daughter had gotten, but when she tried to put it in her car, she found out that the release for the carseat (from the base) is by the feet... which of course is somewhat hidden by the car seat when it is hooked up! (I hope you understood what the heck I was trying to say......)
My daughter got so frustrated with trying to undo the latch, and bending her thumbnail way back, that she took that one back and got something different......
With our next one, I want to get the Britax B Safe.
We used the Britax Chaperone and loved it.
Then they've used Radians until age 6 (usually rear-facing until age 4), and a Clek booster until 10 or 11, whenever the adult belt fits.
I have not used the Britax, but a friend did. I personally loved the Keyfit 30 and passed it to my sister, who used it for her son. If you like the Marathon, I think you will also like the Keyfit. Similar one-button pull/push. Anything orange on Chicco is something you can push or pull to move part of the item. I found it VERY easy to install the bases and very easy to move from car to car. Just put your knee in it and pull the LATCH or pull the seatbelt tight. The Keyfit also allows for a baseless install, if that's important to you.
We went with the Graco Snugride because by far it had the best crash test ratings. BY FAR! In fact the year we had our first, it was the only seat that passed their crash tests.
However, the kiddos' ability to stay in a snugride doesn't last long. For $$, in retrospect, we should have just gone straight to a convertible seat like a Britax marathon. That's what we got when the kids were big enough to sit forward.
