Top Rated Infant Car Seats

Not all baby car seats are created in the same way. The most effective ones have features that increase crash test performance, like load legs--shock absorbing parts in the base or car seat that reduce movement in a collision.

A popular choice among CPST instructors is the Chicco KeyFit, which has a high rear-facing weight limit and height limit as well as bubble level indicator and a spring-loaded reclining foot that makes it easy to install.

Graco Mesa Max

The Graco Mesa Max is one of the top-rated infant carrier seat car seats for user-friendliness. It is made of great materials, a simple design, and a handy feature for attaching a child's harness to the headrest, making it easier to tighten. It also has a huge canopy that allows you to keep your baby sheltered while traveling. The only drawback is that it is slightly heavier than the average, which might be an issue if you plan to lug it around or if you want to pair it with your UPPAbaby stroller that has won awards.

Mesa Max's remarkable results in crash tests demonstrate its commitment to safety. It scored highly in both the frontal and side impact tests, ensuring that your baby will be safe from the two sides of a collision.

Another important safety feature is the Graco's anti-rebound panel which reduces the force of rebound during a crash and safeguards your child's head. This is a rare feature in infant car seat newborn car seats and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its competitors.

When paired with the base When used in conjunction with the base Graco Mesa Max can be installed quickly and safely in your vehicle with LATCH. The load leg, recline angle adjustment, and tightness indicator ensure a quick and accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6 It is a little higher than the typical car seat for infants but not enough to cause any issues.

Like its predecessor, the UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric which is free of harmful chemicals. It has an infinitely adjustable backrest as well as an extremely sturdy insert for infants who weigh between 4 and 11 lbs. The fabrics are GREENGUARD gold certified, which tests for low VOCs and chemical emissions.

The UPPAbaby UPPAmax Mesa Max is a little more expensive than the other options, but offers premium features and modern technology for an enjoyable and safe journey. The included base and a range of stylish colorways enhance the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and sturdy design give parents peace of mind during every excursion.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight

The Britax Boulevard ClickTight is a fantastic choice for anyone who wants a car seat that will expand with their child. The rear-facing limit is 40 pounds, which is higher than the majority of infant car seats. Furthermore, it can also be used as a forward-facing seat until your child weighs 65 pounds.

The ClickTight Installation System is its major selling feature. It is the most secure, easiest and most secure system on the market. It allows you to tighten the seat belt by pressing a red release button and pulling the harness strap without the need to untie it and re-thread it. This decreases the risk of incorrectly tightening the belt that is the most common reason for car seat failure.

The EZ-Buckle Pad is another security feature that keeps the buckle away when you put your child in the car seat. This feature together with beltpath cutouts on both sides of the seat, makes it simple to get your child in and out of the car.

The three ClickTight convertible seat models (Boulevard CT, Marathon CT, Advocate CT) share the identical features. ClickTight Installation System is one of them. Also included is an impact-absorbing frame with 7 recline positions.

The seat is quite heavy, though, so you may want to consider an alternative that is lighter if you are planning to use it for travel or frequent car swaps. The seat is large and could not fit in smaller vehicles.

If you want a more budget-friendly option with similar quality, check out the 4Ever DLX from Graco. This seat has lower crash test scores than the Boulevard but it's an excellent seat for your baby.

The Graco has also connectors that can be pushed on for LATCH, which makes it easier to remove the seat. Boulevard's LATCH connectors utilize a different release system that requires you to pull on the webbing, then press an orange button. It's not easy to do this if your webbing isn't fitted properly. This seat has a handy storage compartment for belt straps.

Clek Liing

Clek Liing is the ideal infant car seat that swivels car seat to choose if you want it all in terms of style, safety and comfort. This rear-facing car seat has a high crash test score, a great range of features and is easy to put in in most vehicles.

The Liing is designed to protect babies with features that meet or surpass both US and Canadian safety standards. It is designed to be simple and secure installation in any seating position - and is loaded with advanced safety features like an energy-absorbing metal load leg and two-piece shells lined with EPP foam for enhanced side-impact protection. The base has seven recline positions as well as a reliable bubble indicator to let you know exactly when the seat is at the proper angle for your baby.

Parents love the Liing's modern and sleek design and its unique safety features, such as rigid lower anchors that are simpler to attach than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing also has a convenient one-handed quick release that makes it simple to remove it from the base, or to use with many strollers that are compatible with it. It's also slim enough to fit three-across many automobiles, and it fits well into many convertible car seats as a travel boost.

The Liing infant seat earns first place for ease of installation with its unique rigid-LATCH system. Lower anchors of the Liing snap directly into the lower seat belt slots. Additionally, the seat's top tether strap snaps into the vehicle's headrest to create an incredibly secure, tight fit that eliminates the possibility of the child being thrown around in the event of a crash.

The seat is light, with the base weighting 9 pounds and the carrier itself at a manageable 10.5 pounds. Other rear-facing only seats are much heavier in weight however, if you plan on schlepping the car seat and its base everywhere, the slight difference won't be too noticeable (especially once you add a child to the mix! ).

Parents love the Liing's built-in canopy and 100+spf sun-protection with a mesh peekaboo window. Parents love the merino cover that keeps baby Car Seat warm, and they also like the handle's ability to pivot away from the canopy which makes it easier for them to grab whenever they need.

Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX

The Graco Trio GROW SnugLock is a 3-in-1 seat that converts from a rear-facing infant into a forward-facing harness, and later to a highback booster. It features the SnugLock system, which allows for an easy and smooth installation using lower anchors or car seat belts. It is possible to install it using the top tether when in booster mode. (We recommend using the lower anchors for additional security.)

We love that this seat does so much for children of all age groups. It comes with an infant insert for smaller babies that helps support their necks and backs. As they grow older, this insert can be removed and the seat can be used as a regular toddler car seat. This is one of the few car seats that allow the top tether to be used in booster mode. We recommend it.

Its base is compact from front to back so it shouldn't have any issues fitting into the majority of vehicles. The headrest must be raised to allow for the lower anchor webbing to pass through. There's a knob that is handy for adjusting the headrest, and the display window displays the location of the headrest.

One of the coolest things about this seat is the SnugLock installation system that's a bar that's within the belt path. Installing this car seat using lower anchors is easy, and almost as simple as putting it on the car's seat belt.

The manual also provides an excellent diagram of how to properly connect the lower anchor connectors while traversing them along the belt's new path, which can be confusing at first. Keep them away from the chest clip and crotch loop to avoid interfering with the buckle system.

The Graco Trio Grow is part of the Protect Plus Engineered family, which means it's been subjected to some of the most rigorous crash tests in the market. This includes tests for side, rear and rollover accidents as well as frontal impacts.