Graco Snugride Infant Car Seat Lively Dots

Like Canadian elections - Choosing from the mediocre

I am a first time father. Having spent many hours looking in stores and reading reviews on infant car seats my wife and I chose this one. Here is why:



Pros
- it's light the base attachment is similar to most others

- it fits into shopping carts; the Graco swing and the Graco strollers

- it has a Winnie the Pooh cover it also cost only $80 (or $140 in Canada)

- it has the same safety rating as all the rest etc.

- the seat can used in another car without the base and attaches nicely



Cons


- The seat belt safety clip is stored under the babies right thigh. (yes we couldn't believe it either so we bought some high impact foam to fix it so it was more even and soft)

- The straps tightens from the rear of the seat

- The chest harness is hard to open for a mans fingers because they are to small and for a woman's fingers because it is stiff

- The plastic shell is bulky and a little cheap feeling

- The handle is not well designed like that of the Baby Trend or Evenflo



My wife and I wondered why some many of the seats looked and felt so similar and seems to have many of the same problems. Interestingly we noticed that even though there appear to be many different brands to choose from there are in fact only two or three different manufacturing parent companies and the brands are kept to create the impression that a healthly competitive market exist. If you take the cover off most seats and infant seats you will find most of the same plastic shells. For example Eddie Bauer Maxi-Cosi Quinny Cosco and Safety 1st are all produced by the Dorel Juvenile Group.



- The comfiest seat we found was the Chicco (and they have one that goes up to 30lbs like the Graco SafeSeat only have the weight) but it doesn't fit into a shopping cart or the Graco swing we liked. Chicco's strollers feel very solid too. Much more than Graco Eveflo etc.

- The easiest one to carry was the Baby Trend triangular handle but it did not fit into things too well either and it was a little heavier.

- The more expensive brands like Peg Perego etc. have nice features but are similar to the Chicco and Baby Trend quality so the price is not justifiable.

- Evenflo has a great handle designed but their seats and strollers seem rather flimsy



I hope this helps. God bless. Paul and Flavia Beriault Toronto Canada

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