Best Car Seat for the Money

We looked for the perfect carseat for a long time while I was pregnant. We settled on another brand and brought it home. Shortly thereafter, I began to read reports that the seat we bought ran big and did not fit into average sized vehicles. I asked hubby to check. Sure enough, it did not fit our pseudo-SUV. We had to return it. Which bought us to shopping mode again for another carseat.

Ultimately we were looking for safety. Next, we wanted comfort for the baby and of course easy installation. We also wanted the carseat to come in and out of the base easily. After several hours we came home with the Baby Trends Flex Loc car seat.

The padding drew us to the car seat first. It had more padding for the baby than some of the other popular brands. Where they placed the various straps and adjustments were not directly under the baby's bum...seemingly making it more comfortable. The car seat has some good cushioning, but does not have a newborn neck support. You may want to purchase this for the infant's first couple of weeks if you are concerned. From there, we looked at the other major important features.

The Flex Loc has a well thought out Latch System. Most makes of vehicles after 2003 came with secure latch areas where the car seat can latch to. These clips tighten and loosen easily. My do-it-yourself husband was very pleased with how these were not only manufactured (heavy duty and easy, but that they made good engineering sense and worked well. We have the latches, but if your car does not, you can also use seat belts with or without your base with this carseat. We determined that the latche belts were made so comfortably, that we refrained from buying a second base, because we can move the base easily from one car to the next safely.

Secondly, how the shoulder straps adjust is important. On most models you have to re-thread the straps as the child grows. Humbug! Not on the Flex Loc!! It has a knob/wheel in the back that adjusts the straps. Just a turn of the wheel and you're done! That simple! Along with strap adjustment, you can also easily adjust the base to level out in your vehicle simply by adjusting the notches in the front of the base. Very easy.

The Flex Loc comes on and off the base easily. It is important to note that the release lever for this Car Seat is at the FRONT of the seat and not the back. Meaning, most right handed people can lift the heavy seat with their stronger arm and simply release it with their left hand. We found this to be really nice as baby got bigger!

Third, we wanted safety of course (probably should be #1...but I wrote this in the wrong order!)! So, armed with our web enabled cell phones at the store, we looked up safety ratings. The Flex Loc is one of the highest rated infant seats! It gets great reviews by expert reviewers and consumer reports. It is a best buy for 2007.

Fourth, we were VERY pleased to see this car seat is the only seat currently on the market that can be packaged with a JOGGING STROLLER! We have looked all over for this. We did not want a regular stroller, but a jogging one. The Baby Trend Flex Loc carseat can be purchased (if wanted) in a combo with the Baby Trend Expedition jogging stroller. It was a match made in heaven!

The overall quality of the carseat should also be mentioned. For one, it runs a little heavier than the Evenlos or the Gracos, but no heavier than the more expensive Peg Perego. The seat is very sturdy feeling when installed. The local fire department likes the Flex Loc for its quality and its ease of installation. You can even tell the plastic on the car seat is of better quality than some competitors.

The handle on the Flex Loc is unique in that it forms a triangle on top. You can hold it from many directions. Very versatile in that regard. The sun shade is adequate and the handles move back and forth easily after the first few times. It takes a little "warming up" and use.

The colors available to us at the store were Black/Silver/Red and a Chocolate/Brown/Green. We went with the Chocolate combo, but both designs were trendy and very nice looking. I felt they were neutral for either sex.

For the money $89.99 for the Seat, $189.00 if you bought the combo--the Flex Loc car seat was definetly the right way to go. Its sturdiness and good design, along with the baby's comfort and handler's ease was a no brainer when compared to the others. I would highly recommend this car seat. Our son loves it.

Lastly, I do not know if this is true, but as I understand it, this carseat can only be purchased at BabiesRUs. If so, I would say that is a CON simply due to availability. However, if I am wrong...I hope more stores stock this wonderful carseat!!

UPDATED to ADD: This seat says it is good to 22lbs, which is average for infant seats. Our son is 8 months old and still fits in wonderfully, both in height and weight...although he is getting heavier and wants to sit up. So, I imagine we'll move to the next thing soon. I would figure on getting 6-10 months of use out of this seat depending of course on the size of your baby. As for the stroller...push away for 4 years if you want!!


SOME PARENT FEEDBACK: When buying the combo kit of stroller and carseat...be sure to buy them seperately and not boxed together. I have found from other parents that the latch system on the boxed set is the "old" version and is not the GREAT new updated one. Trust me..you want the New latch system!!