Best Car Seats for Convertibles and Recliners
Best Convertible and Universal Car Seats
Car Seats in the Car . Your child may end up using the same convertible car seat for five years or more, making it the most important car seat investment. We’ve evaluated more than 90 convertible seats since 2017. After talking with safety experts, reading reviews, and putting car seat towers in place, we’ve come to the conclusion that the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible is the best choice overall.
Best Car Seats for Convertibles and Convertibles
The car seat you get for your child is essential to keeping your child safe and comfortable while on the road. It is also an essential piece of gear in your car to make sure you have the best possible chance of getting to and from your destination. This blog post will help you make the best decision when it comes to car seats.
- Types of car seats
Car seats are like shoes. You don’t have a lot of money. The best convertible or all-in-one car seat is the one that fits your needs and budget. If you want to find the best convertible car seat, you’ll need to consider a few things. First, you need to make sure the car seat is compatible with your vehicle.
You should also make sure that the car seat has an adjustable headrest and is compatible with the LATCH anchors in your vehicle. You should also make sure that the seat is easy to install. If you want to find the best all-in-one car seat, there are a few things you will need to consider. First, you need to make sure that the car seat is compatible with your vehicle. You should also make sure that the car seat has an adjustable headrest and is compatible with the LATCH anchors in your vehicle. You should also make sure that the seat is easy to install.
- Safety seats
When choosing a car seat, it is important to consider the vehicle you will be using it in. If you plan to use a car seat in a convertible, you will need to make sure that the car seat is compatible with the vehicle. Many convertible seats are designed to work with both types of seats.
However, you will need to make sure that the car seat is compatible with your car brand. For example, some car seats are designed to work with specific car brands. It is important to make sure that the car seat will fit your car before purchasing it. You should also consider the height of the car seat. If the car seat is too high, it will cause an uncomfortable ride for the child.
- Infant seats
The best convertible and integrated car seats are the Chicco KeyFit 30 and the Maxi-Cosi Mico AP. The Chicco KeyFit 30 is a convertible car seat that can be used from 5 to 30 pounds and accommodates children up to 44 inches. The seat is easy to install and remove, and has a 5-point harness that is easy to adjust.
The Maxi-Cosi Mico AP is an infant car seat that is compatible with the Maxi-Cosi Mico AP infant car seat base and can accommodate children from 15 to 45 lbs. It features an ultra-lightweight design, making it ideal for travel, and is easy to install and remove.
- Booster seats
The best convertible car seats are the Diono Radian RTX, Britax B-Safe 35, Maxi-Cosi Mico, Graco My Ride 65, and Chicco KeyFit 30. These seats are designed to provide the best possible safety for your child. They are also designed with comfort in mind, making it easy to get in and out of the car seat. The Diono Radian RTX is the best convertible car seat for ease of use. It is easy to install, easy to use, and easy to adjust.
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The car seat excels at promoting extended rear-facing use, which is the safest position for a young infant. For people who prioritize ease of installation, we also suggest the Britax Boulevard ClickTight. For families willing to spend a little more on a great but very bulky (and durable) seat, we added the Clek Foonf as another excellent option.
The Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is our recommendation for people who are set on an "all-in-one" seat that converts from an infant seat to the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 .
How we chose
Easy to install
We looked for car seats that were easy to install because a safe car seat is one that is installed correctly.
security
We took into account the individual safety features of the seats as well as independent crash test results, plus ease of use ratings (where applicable).
Extended ability to face the rear
Since kids are safest when rear-facing, we looked for seats with height and weight restrictions as well as design elements that would promote this for longer.
Field test
Safety experts advised us to focus on how the seats perform in real-world use rather than conducting our own crash tests.
A convertible car seat, as the name suggests, is made to grow with your child. Once your child outgrows the height and weight restrictions of an infant seat (often around 30 inches or 30 pounds), which is likely to happen anytime between 6 months and 2 years of age, he or she is ready for this larger, five-belt seat.
When you switch to a convertible seat, you’ll start with an infant or toddler in the rear-facing position and eventually place a much older child in the forward-facing position. Operating a convertible seat can be tricky because of the many mounting positions and routes for seat belts and tethers. So, we set out to identify the easiest types to install and operate, as well as the safest. No matter which seat you choose, we’ve also provided plenty of helpful tips on how to negotiate the road ahead.
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Graco Extend2Fit Convertible
Convertible Top Car Seat
When it comes to keeping your child rear-facing for longer periods of time, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible excels — and it's easy to set up and operate.
car seats
The Graco Extend2Fit Convertible has many positive qualities, such as a simple installation process, smart features, and excellent value for the money. But most importantly, this seat is excellent at keeping your child comfortable for extended periods of time while rear-facing, which is the safest position for an infant. Because they eventually start to feel cramped in their car seats, many toddlers and preschoolers have a hard time staying rear-facing.
By including a seat extension panel that can be retracted to add 5 inches of extra legroom when the convertible is in rear-facing mode, the Extend2Fit Convertible solves this problem.
The Extend2Fit Convertible has the largest weight capacity of the seats we tested, allowing kids to remain rear-facing up to 50 pounds. (The Clek Foonf, another great convertible, has a 50-pound weight restriction when rear-facing.) We found that installing the seat was simple and quick, especially when using LATCH (which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, a system that lets you attach a pair of metal hooks on the seat to a set of built-in anchors in the car).
The Extend2Fit Convertible has the highest LATCH weight limit of all the seats we reviewed, allowing children up to 45 pounds to use the LATCH attachment mechanism. Plus, the seat is lightweight and has a no-reattach harness, so you won’t need to take it apart to change straps as your child grows. The cover is machine washable, though the fabric isn’t as stain-resistant as we’d like (consider choosing a darker color).
Seat weight: 19 lbs
18.5 inches wide by 23.7 inches high is the seat size (with the headrest in its lowest position)
Weight and height restrictions for rear-facing passengers range from 4 to 50 pounds and at least one inch below the headrest grip.
Weight and height restrictions for forward-facing passengers range from 22 to 65 pounds and up to 49 inches in height (child's ears must also be below the top of the headrest).
Britax Boulevard Clicktite
The (by far) easiest convertible seat to install isn't the best for extended rear-facing use.
The Boulevard ClickTight is the easiest seat we tried to install, as are many other Britax ClickTight models. Plus, compared to our top pick, it seems to fit better.
car seats
$400 from Amazon
$370 from Walmart
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight is a stylish and functional seat that’s relatively easy to install. It features Britax’s industry-leading ClickTight installation technology, which lets you buckle up without snoring, sweating, or cursing. Simply close the seat cushion after attaching the seat belt through a track underneath the Boulevard’s seat cushion. (The Boulevard can also be installed using LATCH, but Britax suggests using the seat belt, and we agree.) The Boulevard includes a no-return harness, just like our top pick, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible, making routine harness adjustments simple.
But like most convertible seats available, this one can only be used for children up to 40 pounds in the rear-facing position (10 pounds less than our top pick). Additionally, the Boulevard doesn’t offer much legroom when a child is rear-facing, which may tempt parents to convert their child to forward-facing earlier than is generally recommended. Our other recommendations may be more appropriate for you if keeping your child rear-facing as long as possible is your top priority. However, the Boulevard is your best option if quick and easy installation is what you’re looking for.
Seat weight: 29.4 lbs
18.5 inches wide by 23.5 inches high is the seat size (with the headrest in its lowest position)
Weight and height restrictions for rear-facing passengers range from 5 to 40 pounds and at least one inch below the headrest, respectively.
Weight and height restrictions for forward-facing passengers range from 20 to 65 pounds and up to 49 inches tall (child's ears must also be below the top of the headrest).
Click Phone
Tank-like structure, but difficult to attach to rear-facing.
A great convertible seat that works well for extended rear-facing use is the Clek Foonf. Plus, it has an anti-rebound bar for added safety and is tight and simple to keep clean.
$440 from Amazon
$550 from Albee Baby
The Clek Foonf offers a desirable combination of engineering prowess, attractive design, and safety features. People will likely either love it (because it looks like a tank) or hate it (because it’s a beast to move) because it’s quite heavy at 38 pounds. Like our top pick, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible, the Foonf can accommodate a child rear-facing up to 50 pounds. Unlike the Extend2Fit Convertible, this seat doesn’t feature a pull-out extension to provide more legroom.
However, even for taller kids, the Foonf’s design and the way it reclines gives the impression of being large and spacious when rear-facing. An additional safety feature included with the Foonf is the anti-rebound bar, a steel support bar that can help reduce the seat’s bouncing motion in the event of a crash.
The Foonf couldn’t be easier to install with LATCH in forward-facing mode. The Foonf requires more energy and effort to install in the rear-facing position than the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible or Britax Boulevard. The Foonf is a solid seat once installed, but it may be a better fit for families who don’t need to move the seat around much, especially when it’s in rear-facing mode. The Foonf has one of the smallest footprints of any convertible (17 inches wide at its widest point), making it a smart choice for families who need to fit three seats wide in a row.
The materials are very simple to keep clean and are available in a variety of stylish and sophisticated seat color and fabric options.
Seat Weight: 33 lbs forward, 38 lbs reverse (with added base and anti-bounce bar)
Seat dimensions: 28" high, 17" wide at widest point, 13" wide at base (forward facing, with headrest in lowest position)
Weight and height restrictions for rear-facing passengers range from 14 to 50 pounds (or 5 pounds if you purchase the Clek Infant-Thingy), and 25 to 43 inches (19 inches with the Infant-Thingy).
Weight and height restrictions for forward-facing passengers range from 22 to 65 pounds and up to 49 inches (child's ears must also be below the top of the headrest).
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Graco Extend2Fit 3 in 1
The Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is our favorite all-in-one car seat (though we’re not fans of all-in-one car seats), and it also converts to a booster seat. It shares many of the same features as our convertible pick, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible. But there are some limitations.
$290 from Amazon
$290 from Walmart
A multi-purpose car seat is just what it sounds like: It can be used as a booster seat, a forward-facing toddler seat and a big-kid seat, a rear-facing toddler seat, and a rear-facing toddler and big-kid seat. It’s easier to buy one car seat (rather than three or even four), and in theory, it’s a great concept. However, we’ve found that each specific type of seat typically does its specific job better than a multi-purpose seat. So, we think that choosing an infant seat, followed by a convertible seat, and finally a booster seat will make the majority of families happier.
However, the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is a good option if you decide to go all-in-one. It's the complete variation of our top convertible seat, the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible, and has all the same features, like an extension panel for more legroom to allow kids to stay rear-facing longer and not have to harness the retraction.
Whether you use the harness or the LATCH, installation is just as simple. However, you can only use the LATCH method—which we recommend—until your child weighs 40 pounds. (The LATCH limit for the Extend2Fit Convertible is 45 pounds.) Additionally, the highest shoulder strap setting on the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is an inch shorter than that on the Extend2Fit Convertible, so you may find yourself having to move your child from convertible to high-back support sooner than you’d like.
Seat weight: 21.9 pounds
19 inches wide by 24.5 inches high is the seat size (with the headrest in its lowest position)
Weight and height restrictions for rear-facing passengers range from 4 to 50 pounds and at least one inch below the headrest grip.
Weight and height restrictions for forward-facing passengers range from 22 to 65 pounds and up to 49 inches (child's ears must also be below the top of the headrest).
The recommended ranges for boosters are 40 to 100 pounds, 43 to 57 inches in height, and at least 4 years old (but most experts recommend waiting until at least age 5).