Top Rated Infant Car Seats

A good infant car seat is a necessity, but not all infant car seats are in the same way. The most effective seats come with features that improve crash test performance. For instance load legs are shock-absorbing elements that are attached to the seat or base and reduce the movement of the seat during a collision.

A favorite among CPST instructors is the Chicco KeyFit, which has a high rear-facing weight limit and height limit, an indicator for the level of bubbles, and a spring-loaded reclining foot that makes it easy to set up.

Graco Mesa Max

The Graco Mesa Max ranks as one of the most simple infant car seats to use. It has great fabrics with a simple design and a handy feature to connect a child's harness to the headrest, making it easier to tighten. It also has a huge canopy which makes it easy to keep your baby shaded during travel. The only downside is that it is a bit heavier than normal and could be an issue if you are planning to transport it or want it to pair with your UPPAbaby stroller that has won awards.

Mesa Max's impressive performance in crash tests demonstrate its dedication to safety. It scored a high mark in the frontal test and an excellent score in the side impact test, which means your baby is safe from both sides in a collision.

Another noteworthy safety feature is the Graco's anti-rebound panel, which helps reduce the force of rebound during a crash and safeguards your child's head. This feature is rare in infant car seat in front seat car seats and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its rivals.

Graco Mesa Max can easily and securely be fitted into your vehicle with LATCH when it is used in conjunction with the base. The load leg as well as recline angle adjustment and tightness indicator ensure a quick and accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6, which is slightly more than the average car seat for infants however not enough to cause any issues.

Like its predecessor, the UPPAbaby Mesa V2, the Mesa Max uses dual-knit fabric that's free of fire-retardant chemicals. It also comes with an infinitely adjustable headrest and an extremely durable infant insert that helps improve the body's fit and positioning for infants weighing between 4-11 pounds. The fabrics are GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which tests for low VOCs and chemical emissions.

The UPPAbaby Mesa Max is slightly more expensive than other models, but it offers premium features and advanced safety technologies for an optimal travel experience. The base is included and is available in a variety of attractive colors. This adds to the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and robust design give parents peace of mind on every journey.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight

The Britax Blvd ClickTight is a great option for parents who are looking for a car seat that their child can grow with. The rear-facing weight limit is 40 pounds, which is higher than other infant car seats. It can be used forward facing infant car seat-facing up to the point that your child is 65 pounds.

Its main selling feature is the ClickTight Installation System, which is the most secure and simple available. It lets you tighten the seat belt by pressing an orange release button and pulling on the harness strap without the need to untie it and re-thread it. This decreases the risk of incorrectly tightening the belt, which is the most common cause of failures in car seats.

Another security feature is the EZ-Buckle Pad, which holds the buckle in place when you're putting your child in the car seat. This feature, along with beltpath cutouts on the sides of the seat, makes it simple to get your child in and out of the car.

All three ClickTight convertible seats (Boulevard, Marathon CT, and Advocate CT) have the same features. ClickTight Installation System is one of them. Also included are an impact-absorbing frame that can accommodate seven recline positions.

The seat is quite heavy, but you may want to think about an alternative that is lighter if you intend to make use of it for frequent car swaps. The seat is large and could not be suitable for smaller vehicles.

If you're looking for a low-cost seat with similar quality the Graco 4Ever is a fantastic choice. It has lower scores in crash test analysis than the Boulevard, but it's still a great seat for your child.

The Graco has also connectors with push-on connectors for LATCH which makes it easier to take off the seat. Boulevard's LATCH connectors utilize a different release mechanism that requires you to pull the webbing, then press an orange button. It's not easy to accomplish this if the webbing has a tight fit. This seat comes with an easy compartment to store the belt straps.

Clek Liing

Clek Liing is the perfect infant car seat to choose If you're looking for everything with style, safety, and comfort. This rear-facing car seat comes with a great crash test score, a wide range of features and is simple to install within most vehicles.

The Liing is designed to safeguard infants with features that meet and exceed both US and Canadian safety standards. It is designed for easy installation and security in any seating position. It also has advanced safety features such as an energy-absorbing metal leg as well as two-piece shell that is lined with EPP to provide increased side impact protection. The base features seven recline positions and a bubble indicator that lets you know when the seat is at just the perfect angle for your child.

The Liing is modern, sleek stroller that parents are raving about. It has innovative safety features, like strong lower anchors that are much easier to attach than hook-and loop connectors. The Liing also comes with a convenient quick release with a single-handed button that makes it easy to remove from the base and to use with a variety of strollers compatible with it. And at less than 17 inches wide it's just narrow enough for 3-across in the majority of vehicles. It also can easily fit into convertible car seats as a travel booster.

This infant seat is rated 1st for its unique rigid-LATCH installation method. The Liing's lower anchors snap into the seat belt slots in the vehicle and the top tether strap snaps on to the vehicle headrest. This ensures a tight snug, secure fit that eliminates the chance that the child could be thrown around in a crash.

The seat is light with the base weighting 9 lbs, and the best car seat newborn itself at a manageable 10.5 pounds. Other rear-facing seats weigh more, but the difference isn't noticeable if you plan to carry the car seat and base around. ).

Parents love the Liing's built-in canopy and 100+spf of protection from the sun's rays by the mesh peekaboo. Parents appreciate the merino blanket that keeps the baby warm and the capacity of the handle to pivot away from the canopy. This allows parents to grab the seat whenever they need it.

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 then to a highback booster. It comes with the SnugLock installation system that allows for a smooth and simple install with either vehicle seat belt or lower anchors. It can be installed using the top tether in booster mode. (We recommend always using the lower anchors for extra security.)

We love that this seat is suitable for children of different ages. For younger babies it comes with an infant insert which helps to support their backs and necks. This insert can be removed once the child is older and the seat can be used as a regular car seat for toddlers. This is one of the few car seats that allows the top rated baby car seats tether to be used as a booster. We recommend it.

Its base is quite compact from front to back which means it shouldn't be difficult to find a spot for it in the majority of vehicles. It does require the headrest to be raised in order to provide an easy route to the lower anchor webbing. Thankfully, there's a handy headrest adjustment knob to easily accomplish this, and you'll be able to view the position of your headrest in the display window.

The SnugLock system is among the most exciting features of this seat. It's an anchor that is located inside the belt path. Installing this car seat using lower anchors is easy, and as simple as using the vehicle's seat belt.

The manual provides a fantastic illustration of how to guide the lower anchor connectors correctly through the belt path, which can initially be confusing. It is important to keep them away from the crotch buckle loop and away from the chest clip so that they don't hinder 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 testing in the industry. This includes side, rear and rollover crashes, as well the frontal impact tests.