car seat question

just went to a family event, and DH carried his niece out to the car in her infant carseat (I believe an evenflo).

DH and I have not done a thorough investigation of carseats, but he DID pick up a maxi-cosi mico a couple weeks ago.

he commented that SIL's evenflo was MUCH lighter than the mico.... so I looked up the stats on these and other carseats on amazon. It seems the evenflo is about half the weight of most other brands (roughly 9 vs 18 lbs) I don't know if these are product wieghts or shipping weights, but it does concern me that one seat is SO much lighter than the others... (I should also mention that I question that most car seats weigh 16-20 lbs while empty, as amazon suggests... am I wrong?)

did you ever notice that? what do you think about this?

DH and I obviously want a safe seat, but also don't want to lug around a 15 lb little loaf in a 20 lb carrier

Message edited 5/20/2008 11:03:56 PM.

Re: car seat question

I read Baby Bargains and also looked at the Consumer Report rankings.

The Evenflo Embrace gets a rating of 69 and the Evenflo Discovery got a rating of 55. The Graco Snugride got a rating of 74. The highest ranked infant seat was the Chicco Key Fit and it got an 88.

The Maxi Cosi is not on the list. I was told at the store I looked at them all in that the Maxi Cosi was very heavy. My friend has it (and uses it with her Quinny stroller) and says its just so/so - she has complained about the weight several times.

I got the Graco Snugride.

Re: car seat question

so she's not thrilled with the mico and complains about the weight... that's good to know...

I WAS registered for a graco initially, but recently changed it to the chicco becuase of those ratings and glowing reviews online...

but I'm curious if they're as heavy as the mico... becuase according to amazon, they ARE. and I'm frankly also wondering how the evenflo could be so much lighter and still function....

how do you find the graco? heavy? manageable?

Message edited 5/20/2008 11:19:30 PM.

Re: car seat question

I have a Graco Snugride and it is a bit heavy. When the baby is small it is not too bad but when they get to be about 6 months it is a pain to lug around...Hayley was also a big baby so maybe that is why I minded so much lugging the seat around.

Re: car seat question

i had originally registered for a evenflo aura elite, and i found the carseat to be just as heavy as the others but as far as i can tell, chicco has the best safety ratings (as pointed out above). this may be because of the way the seat base latches into the car itself, as the salesperson at BRU showed us - the "key fit" means that there are latches that go right into the seat belt buckles and are very secure.

honestly, IMO, while it would be nice to have a lightweight carrier, safety will outweigh convenience for me every time.

Re: car seat question

We registered for the graco snugride, its 7.2lbs for the carrier.

Re: car seat question

We have the snug ride and its great. DS is a big baby so it is heavy but honestly the only time I carry it is to and from the car. Otherwise he is in his snap and go, or I carry him or put his seat in the shopping cart. So it doesnt bother me too much. I will say that I cannot carry it from the handle - its too awkward.

Re: car seat question

thanks everyone... I think DH and I will go to BRU with a 10 lb weight and play with the carseats.

I'm inclined to go the chicco route becuase of the safety ratings... but am willing to be realistic that I may have difficulties (and Oma certainly will) if a seat is too heavy.... I'm fine with any one of the better rated seats, as long as they're not too heavy.

Re: car seat question

I was at BRU last weekend and registered for the Mico. It is only 7.5 lbs and NOT heavy compared to some of the other ones. Of course when you add a 10-20 pound baby, it's gonna feel heavy