Graco snugride infant seat-front or rear adjust harness

My daughter is pregnant and I bought her the Baby Bargains book. I know it said it's best to have an infant seat with a "front adjust harness" She put one on her registry that has the front adjust harness. Her sisterinlaw just informed her that she has a never used Winnie The Pooh Graco Snugride Carseat. The only thing is this one is a rear adjust harness. Is there a difference? Is it really difficult to adjust it if it's in the back? don't you usually put the baby in the infant carrier, adjust the harness, then place the whole thing in the base that's in the car? Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!! My daughter called Graco because even though the seat has never been used, it's 3 yrs. old. They said it's good till 2013. They are good for 6 yrs.

Message edited 8/27/2010 4:35:00 PM.

Re: Graco snugride infant seat-front or rear adjust harness

The rear adjust harness is more difficult to use and more prone to being left loose than the front adjust are.

Here is a pic of the rear adjusters. As you can see each strap is independently loosened/tightened in the back of the carrier. The harness is independent so each side needs to be adjusted separately.

They're quite awkward to adjust.

On a front adjust Snugride, you can see the strap hanging at the edge where the Graco logo is on the base. Under the little flap where the strap goes in there is a lever. You release the lever and you simply pull the harness to loosen it. To tighten the harness you simply pull the strap. The harness is a continuous loop so both sides tighten at the same time.

Message edited 9/3/2012 9:52:46 AM.

Re: Graco snugride infant seat-front or rear adjust harness

Since you know the history and the seat is still non expired, grab it and play with it. Use a doll or teddy bear and see if you can get the harnesses sufficiently tightened/loosened without having to tip the seat. The harness should be snug on the shoulders and you shouldn't be able to pinch the harness together at the shoulders.