Evenflo SafeMax review

Web: Evenflo.com Infant Car Seat Review: Evenflo SafeMax

Price:

Type: Infant car seat, five-point harness.

Limits: 4 to 35 lbs.

NHTSA ease of use rating: Four out of five stars.

Pros: Anti-rebound bar, premium LATCH, top-end fabrics, infant insert, up-front harness adjustement

Cons: Poor stroller compatibility—works only with Evenflo strollers.

Comments: The Evenflo SafeMax infant car seat is part of the brand’s SafeMax line that also (confusingly) includes a convertible seat by the same name. The SafeMax is Evenflo’s top-of-the-line infant car seat, clocking in at $165.

The big headline here is the anti-rebound bar on the seat’s base, a first for the Evenflo brand. Most seats that have anti-rebound bars are $200+.

As you’d expect for a top model, Evenflo throws in all the goodies here: up-front harness adjustable, infant insert, “Sure Latch” premium LATCH attachments, Outlast temperature-control fabrics and more.

Evenflo says this infant car seat has been roll-over tested . . . which is nice, but there is no way to verify that claim because there are no US safety standards on roll-over crashes and infant car seats. We’d argue side-impact protection is more relevant for infant car seat safety, since roll-over crashes account for just 2% of all accidents.

Even though this seat has been out for about a year, feedback on it is strangely thin out there. Yes, there are 20 reviews on Amazon, but Fakespot’s algorithm says 100% of them are fake. Yeah, you read that right—all bogus. Meanwhile, the Evenflo SafeMax was left out of Consumer Reports latest infant car seat crash tests for reasons unknown.

Finally, let’s mention the achilles heel for all Evenflo infant car seats (even the LiteMax): lack of stroller compatibility. Yes, this seat works with Evenflo strollers . . . but that is about it, as few other stroller makers have Evenflo adapters. That’s because Evenflo is considered a low-end, mass market car seat brand sold in discount strollers—so better stroller brands don’t consider it economical to develop and sell an Evenflo stroller adapter. Oddly, Evenflo’s sister stroller brands (part of the GoodBaby family) like Cybex and GB don’t have Evenflo car seat adapters.

Rating: B Infant Car Seat Review: Evenflo SafeMax