Car Seats

Combi Tyro
Price: $130; extra base $50.
Type: Infant seat, five-point harness
Limits: 22 lbs., 29” height.
Pros: Most padded seat on the market.
Cons: Hard to find. Some say it is hard to release from the base and doesn’t work well in smaller cars. Not as easy to install with just an auto safety belt.
Comments: FYI: This seat was discontinued late in 2006. Combi’s first infant car seat is a winner—it is probably the most padded car seat on the market. We liked the rubber handle grip, two-position adjustable base, one-pull harness adjustment and level-indicator. The Tyro also has an adjustable canopy, infant body pillow and padded shoulder straps. Despite the incredible amount of padding, the Tyro weighs just eight pounds. The seat will work with a Combi Ultra Savvy, Savona or Tetra stroller as a travel system. Most parents we interviewed like this seat, but there were a few dissenters. Gripes include difficulty removing the seat from the base . . some say it gets stuck; others say it just takes practice—Combi addressed this concern by debuting a revised version of the Tyro. It is easier to remove from its base. Other folks complained about canopies that broke and the large base doesn’t work well in smaller cars. Final gripe: the very long handle makes it difficult to cradle under your arm if you are on the shorter side (try it out in a store before you buy it). Parents who liked the seat cited the extra padding, adding the seat is perfect for larger babies (that 29” height limit is three inches more than most seats). Finally, we note the Tyro scored highest for LATCH seats in Consumer Reports most recent crash tests (August 2004). Oddly, Consumer Reports tested the same seat again in May 2005 and only gave it an “good” rating for LATCH. Huh? Again, the seat is the same, so we guess Consumer Reports made its crash test more difficult. How? We don’t know, as CR doesn’t explain this. Anyway, we do recommend the Tyro and think it is worthy of consideration.
Rating: A-

Evenflo PortAbout
Price: $60 to $90; extra base, $40.
Type: Infant car seat, three and five-point harness versions
Limits: 22 lbs., 26”.
Pros: Level indicator, adjustable base, two crotch strap positions, lightweight carrier (6.5 lbs.). Z-shaped handle is easy to carry.
Cons: Some parents find handle hard to use. Skimpy, flimsy canopy.
Comments: This seat was previously known as the Cozy Carry, which itself replaced the On My Way. First, let us warn you the PortAbout comes in four different versions: a three-point harness ($60) version and three models that have a five-point harness ($70 to $90). The latter range from a simple model (PortAbout 5) to a plush version (PortAbout 5 Premier Comfort Touch, $90) that has a padded handle and boot/blanket to keep baby warm. All of the PortAbout’s have Evenflo’s “Press ‘n’ Go” handle that enables one-hand release of the handle. Cool, no? Well, it frustrates some parents we spoke with, who found it difficult to use. That said, this seat does have some other attractive features—lightweight (6.5 pounds), adjustable base and level indicator. Detractors say the canopy is the seat’s weakest link . . . it’s just for show, said one mom. We did recommend this seat in a previous edition of our book, but we changed our mind after seeing Consumer Reports latest crash tests—the Portabout partly released from its base when crashed and as result earned only average marks. Hence, we’ve dropped our rating on this seat. This seat is being discontinued and replaced with the Embrace, discussed in our book..
Rating: B-

Jane Indy Plus booster seat
Booster type: high back, belt-positioning booster
Weight Range: 30 to 80 lbs.
Price: $200
Pros: One of the few high back boosters that works with LATCH.
Cons: Price, not in many stores.
Comments: Spanish baby products maker Jane has been trying to crack the U.S. market with little success, first with expensive strollers and now with a pricey booster seat. The Indy Plus is a $200 high-back booster that has several unique features: it uses rigid LATCH, has a reinforced aluminum frame and many adjustment settings for the backrest and side wings. The seat is entirely lined with EPS foam and there is even a recline feature, unique in the booster seat world. The rigid LATCH feature is perhaps this seat’s Achilles heal—you won’t be able to easily install the Indy Plus if your vehicle’s LATCH connectors are deeply recessed. And remember that some vehicles limit LATCH use to as little as 40 lbs. (Honda, for example). That defeats one of this seat’s key features.
Bottom line: this seat’s high price, limited availability (Jane isn’t in most stores) and LATCH quirkiness limit its appeal.
FYI: Last we looked, this seat had just about disappeared from the market. We only see it in a handful of specialty stores; it is not sold online as of this writing.
Rating: B-

Safety 1st Comfort Ride
(also known as the Forerunner)
Price: $90 to $110
Type: Convertible, five-point harness.
Limits: 5 to 35 lbs. rear-facing, 22 to 40 lbs. forward-facing.
Pros: Higher rear facing limit than most seats.
Cons: Scored near bottom of Consumer Reports crash tests. LATCH hard to install.
Comments: This basic seat has one strong point: it can be used rear-facing to 35 lbs. That’s five more pounds than most other seats. Parents who have an infant who is off the charts, growth-wise, may consider this seat helpful in keeping a child under age one rear facing. That said, we were not impressed with this seat’s crash-test results from Consumer Reports. At the bottom of their 2004 report were three Cosco seats (Safety 1st is a Cosco brand). And this seat was cited for only average performance when used with LATCH attachments (just installing the LATCH belts can be a hassle, thanks to Safety 1st/Cosco’s inferior LATCH hooks). Again, real-world usability hobbles Cosco’s seats, with parents saying this seat is harder to use than the similarly-priced Graco ComfortSport.
Rating: C

Britax Handle with Care (infant seat)
Price: $100
Type: Infant seat, five-point harness. No base. Not LATCH-compatible.
Limits: 20 lbs, 26”.
Comments: As we went to press, Britax was phasing out this seat to make way for the new Knap-SI model (see above). This expensive seat (which started out at $150 retail but since came down in price) lacked a stay-in-the-car base, which was a deal killer for most parents. You had to buckle it in with each use. Readers who have this seat, however, say its features outweigh any inconvenience. Parents say they get the hang of installing the seat after a few tries and the lack of a base means it’s easier to move from car to car. The only gripe: the chest clip sometimes slides down during use. This seat had two harness heights, but only one crotch position. Like all Britax seats, this one also had EPS foam around the head area for additional crash protection. Note: this seat was not LATCH-compatible. While it is discontinued, you may still see it sold online or in stores. The lack of a base lowers our rating on this seat.
Rating: B-

HIGH CHAIRS

Zooper (503) 248-9469; web: zooperstrollers. com. Zooper’s “Peas & Carrots” highchair’s ultra-cool look (fashionable fabrics, brushed aluminum frame) makes it easy on the eyes. It features four height positions, mesh basket, five-point harness and locking wheels. Unfortunately, it is quite pricey ($170 retail, although previous year models are on sale for less). Another bummer: the chair doesn’t fold as flat as the Italian chairs and, when folded, the basket sticks out a good four inches from the chair. The result: the Peas & Carrots doesn’t stand when folded because it isn’t balanced. And we aren’t wild about the tray height (too tall at 9”) nor the seat depth (8.5” from the back of the seat to the tray). Readers picked up on this flaw as well and panned the Zooper overall. The passive restraint is on the tray instead of the seat, which is another negative. The few fans of this high chair liked the big pad, which covers the entire chair and footrest (and hence, food didn’t get stuck in hard to clean areas). But you can’t remove the straps to wash them. FYI: This seat is hard to find in stores; it is sold online on Amazon and other sites.
Bottom line: this high chair has the looks . . . but doesn’t deliver the goods.Rating: B-

MONITORS

Evenflo (800) 233-5921 or (937) 415-3300. Web: evenflo.com. Evenflo’s Whisper Connect monitors are well designed and packed with features: all have rechargeable batteries, out-of-range indicators, low battery warnings and sound/light display. Evenflo makes three versions of these models: a basic monitor with one receiver ($20), a dual receiver model ($30) and a 900mhz “pro” version ($30 at Target). And there’s even a “pet detection” version of this monitor (the Sensa) that “alerts consumers to unusual movement near baby.” Price: $60. New in the past year is a model (the Tria) with dual receivers that can be used as walkie-talkies for $70. How’s the quality? That’s a mixed picture: Consumer Reports gave a previous version of the Evenflo monitor high marks, but our readers are less generous. Their complaints include static and an out-of-range beeper that goes off randomly among other gripes. And we’re disappointed that Evenflo hasn’t joined the rest of the market with new digital monitors—again, the company is behind the curve. So we’ll drop Evenflo’s rating this year and hope the company joins the digital crowd sometime before 2012. Rating: B