Top Rated Infant Car Seats

Not all infant car seats are created in the same way. The most effective seats come with features that improve crash test performance. For instance, load legs are shock-absorbing elements that are attached to the base or seat and limit movement during the event of a collision.

A popular choice among CPST instructors is the Chicco KeyFit, which has a large rear-facing weight limit and height limit and an indicator for the level of bubbles, and an reclining foot with a spring that allows for easy installation.

Graco Mesa Max

The Graco Mesa Max is one of the top-rated infant car seats for convenience of use. It is made of great materials, a simple design, and a convenient feature that allows you to attach the child's harness to the headrest to make it easier to tighten. It has a large canopy that can be tucked away to keep your child protected when they travel. It's a bit heavier than the typical stroller, which is problematic if you intend to carry it around, or use it with the UPPAbaby, which is a prestigious award-winning.

Mesa Max's impressive performance in crash tests demonstrate its dedication to safety. It scored highly in both frontal and side impact tests, ensuring that your baby will be protected from both sides of a collision.

Another notable safety feature is the Graco's anti-rebound panel, that helps to reduce the forces of rebound in the event of a crash, and also protects your child's head. This is a rare feature in car seats for infants and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its rivals.

Graco Mesa Max can easily and securely be installed in your vehicle with LATCH combined with the base. The load leg, recline angle adjustment, and tightness indicator all help ensure a quick and accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6 lbs, which is slightly heavier than the average infant car seats newborn seat but not enough to be an issue.

Similar to its predecessor, the UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric which is free of harmful chemicals. It also features an infinitely adjustable headrest as well as an extremely durable infant insert that enhances fit and body positioning for babies weighing between 4 and 11 pounds. The fabrics are GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means they are tested for low VOCs and chemical emissions.

The Mesa Max from UPPAbaby is more expensive than the other options, but it comes with premium features and advanced security technologies to provide the best travel experience. The base included and a range of stylish colorways enhance the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and sturdy design provide parents with peace of mind for every journey.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight

The Britax Blvd ClickTight is a fantastic choice for parents who want a car seat that their child can grow with. Its rear-facing weight limit is 40 pounds, which is more than most infant car seats. It can also be used forward-facing until your child reaches 65 pounds.

The ClickTight Installation System is its biggest selling point. It is the safest, easiest and most secure system on the market. It lets you tighten the seat belt by pushing the red release button and pulling the harness strap and not having to loosen it and then re-thread it. This reduces the chance of not tightening correctly the belt, which is the main cause of car seat failure.

The EZ-Buckle Pad adds another safety feature that holds the buckle away while you place your child in the car seat. This feature, along with beltpath cutouts that run along the sides of the seat, makes it simple to get them into and out of the car.

All three ClickTight convertible seats (Boulevard, Marathon CT, and Advocate CT) have the same features. ClickTight Installation System is one of them. Also included is an impact-absorbing frame that can accommodate 7 recline positions.

It's a heavy seat, and it could be worth considering a lighter alternative when you are planning to use it frequently for car swaps or for travel. Additionally, the seat is big, so it may not fit well in smaller vehicles, especially in the case of rear-facing.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly seat with the same quality the Graco 4Ever DLX is a great choice. This seat has lower crash test scores than the Boulevard but is a great option for your child.

The Graco has also push-on connectors for LATCH, which allows you to easily remove the seat. Boulevard's LATCH connectors use a different release system that requires you to pull on the webbing and then press a gray button. This isn't easy if the webbing is tense. This seat has a convenient storage compartment for the belt straps.

Clek Liing

If you're in search of a child car seat that has all of it -safety, style, convenience and luxury -you'll be delighted with the Clek Liing. This rear facing infant car seat-facing only car seat has an excellent crash test score, a great variety of features, and is simple to install on most vehicles.

The Liing is constructed with features that surpass US and Canadian safety regulations. It is designed to allow for simple installation and security in all seating positions. It also features advanced safety features, such as an energy-absorbing metal leg and a two piece shell that is lined with EPP for enhanced side impact protection. The base features 7 recline positions, as well as a dependable bubble indicator to let you know exactly when the seat is at the proper angle for your baby.

Parents love the Liing's modern and sleek design and its unique safety features like rigid lower anchors that are much easier to attach than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing also has a handy one-handed release that makes it simple to take it off the base and to use with a variety of compatible strollers. With less than 17 inches wide it's small enough to fit 3-across in the majority of vehicles. It also fits nicely into many convertible car seats to act as a travel booster.

The Liing infant seat earns a solid 1st place for ease of installation with its unique rigid-LATCH system. The lower anchors of the Liing snap into the seat belt slots of the vehicle and the top tether strap snaps onto the vehicle headrest. This results in a secure and secure fit that will eliminate the possibility that the child will be thrown around in an accident.

The seat is lightweight, with the base weighting 9 pounds and the carrier itself at just 10.5 lbs. Some other rear-facing only seats are heavier in weight, but if you're planning on schlepping the car seat and its base all over the place, the slight difference won't be too noticeable (especially when you add a baby car seat to the equation! ).

Parents appreciate the Liing's built in canopy and 100+spf sun protection that comes with a mesh peekaboo window. Parents love the merino cover that keeps baby cozy and they also love the seat's handle's ability to pivot over the canopy and make it easier for them to reach for when they need.

Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX

The Graco Trio SnugLock is an all-in-one seat that converts from a rear-facing infant carrier seat into a forward-facing harness, and then to a highback booster. It features the SnugLock installation system which allows for a smooth and simple installation using either a vehicle seat belts or lower anchors. It also has the option to use the top tether in booster mode (although we recommend using the lower anchors at all times to ensure security).

This seat is ideal for children of all ages. For infants it comes with an infant insert that assists to support their backs and necks. As they grow older this insert can be removed and the seat used as a normal toddler car seat. This car seat is among the few that allows you to use the top tether in booster mode, which is what we recommend.

Its base is quite compact from front to back so it shouldn't pose a problem fitting into the majority of vehicles. It is required for the headrest to be raised however, to give you a clear route for the lower anchor webbing. Luckily, there's a headrest adjustment knob to easily accomplish this, and you'll be able to see the headrest position in the display window.

One of the coolest things about this seat is the SnugLock installation system that is a bar that is located within the belt path. This makes installing this car seat using the lower anchors an easy task and is similar to using the seat belt of your vehicle.

The manual also includes an excellent diagram of how to properly connect the lower anchor connectors when routing them through the belt's new path, which can be difficult initially. Keep them clear of the chest clip as well as the crotch loop in order to avoid interfering with the buckle system.

The Graco Trio Grow is part of the Protect Plus Engineered family, which means it's been tested to some of the most rigorous crash tests in the market. This includes rear, side and rollover crashes, as well the frontal impact tests.