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 Companion Car SeatJan 01, 2007
After trying out a Graco car seat with our first child, this car seat is a major improvment. The system for supporting the baby's head is great for keeping the baby's head in place while they are sleeping and I have no doubt it would be very beneficial in a crash as well. Additionally the seat is relatively light and compact (if that can be said of any car seat).
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Safe but not easy to useJul 12, 2006
Great for safey but the drawbacks are many:
-This car seat made my baby VERY HOT!
-Its too heavy, the handle slices into your arm like a knife when you carry it
-it takes me two hands and all my strength to press the lever which releases the seat from the base (and Im quite fit). Removing the seat is such a nightmare.... I leave it in the car all the time and just carry my baby.
-the base is wobbly and I have started using just the carrier
-it's a pain to snap into the base, I have to violently rock it back and forth to get it to snap in place
-the handle when placed back is extremely difficult to release back into the carry position
-the straps have a mind of their own and tighten on my baby all the time
-the head cushioning is almost too tight for my baby and she's only 3 months and not a big baby
-it does not rest on the top of grocery carts like most other car seats do. You have to put it in the cart leaving little room for much else.
-I have the Britax preview and it fits great in that stroller, however, just as in the car with the base it is really difficult to get the release to work so you can lift the carrier back out.
-also, when you snap the handle back into carry position it always wakes my baby startling her and upsetting her...
Perhaps it is the safest... I don't know... safety always comes first....and I love how safe this seat is BUT there are so many drawbacks. My baby cries every time she is in it making going out a pain!
I guess these issues are minor when you consider the safety features of the Companion. Anyway, I hope this helps!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
safety safety safety!Jun 22, 2006
Yes, it is one heavy seat... but it seems to be the safest thing available. The anti-rebound bar on the base/dock for the car seat is big & feels reassuring compared to the other car seat bases without it. When the seat is locked in, it feels like it's really locked in.
And the head protection on the seat itself is also quite substantial. When we took the car & car seat to the C.H.P. station to have the highway patrolmen show us how to set everything up, the patrolman who helped us was very impressed with the padding & air bag/balloon system for the head protection. (The Britax Companion was fairly new at the time, and he had never seen the car seat before we brought ours in) Yes, the anti-rebound bar is nice, but the head restraint/protection is also excellent.
The big downside is the weight and the bulk of the seat. Since we only have a 2-door car, it can be a struggle to maneuver the seat through the side door with a heavy baby inside... even for Dad (me). My wife won't even try to mess with the seat because of the weight.
Bottom line: I like the seat. My wife likes the seat if I carry it & the baby around in it. Our daughter doesn't cry when she's strapped in the seat, and she usually falls asleep. I would definitely recommend this car seat to just about anyone (except petite moms who don't have dad to carry the hefty thing around)
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Great buy!May 18, 2006
My daughter is 6 months old, and has been using this seat since we brought her home rom the hospital. It has the best ratings from Consumer Reports, which is very important to me, but my baby also enjoys being in the seat, which makes life easy. I have to disagree with the people who gave this seat poor reviews; this seat is NOT too hot. I live in CA and we have plenty of hot days (maybe you should turn off the heater and turn on the AC, or not dress your baby too warmly), it's not too smooshed (like I said, my baby is still using it at 6 months), my baby has enough room to turn her head, the plastic piece that holds the straps together is NOT flimsy, and the straps never twist. I do agree that this seat is on the big side, but it fits in my Honda Accord just fine, and bigger means more safe. Someone complained that it won't fit behind the driver or passenger seats, but you're suppoed to have it in the middle anyway, for the safety of the baby. I also agree that it's a little heavy to carry, but it's a small price to pay for my baby's safety (I'm small at 5'2", but I can carry it). The handle bar IS a little hard to put down when in the car, but that's too trivial to make me dislike the seat. This seat works perfectly with the stroller combo, too. All in all, this seat is SAFE, comfortable, and easy to use and I would buy it all over again.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Better than GracoMay 08, 2006
We inititally had the Graco snugride with our daughter and she would scream every time I put her in the seat{I thought she just hated being in the car}. At first I got the Companion because we have two long trips planned this summer and I wanted the baby in the safest car seat for her age{#1 in consumer reports}. Now that we have it my baby has stopped screaming everytime we have to get in the car. I only gave it 4 stars becuase the handle is a little tougher to adjust than my Graco as is the canopy {but it does provide good protection from the sun}. Both of these quirks may just be beacuse the seat is new. I agree with those who say it is tough to remove from the base. For me it was also tough but is getting easier with practice. I like that it attaches to the base so securely. Another advantage of this seat is that the base does not move at all in the car once it is attached {We use the latch system}. I was able to push the back of the Graco base up towards the back of the car, when it was installed with Latch.
I would recommend this seat if you want the safest seat for your baby.
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based on 20 reviews