Have you ever thought of owning travel car seats? If yes, there is a variety of products from different brands, with different types for you to consider. However, its diversity confuses consumers a lot. Besides, defining a quality product that meets safety standards is also important.
Do not worry. Here’s the buying tip for you to make some gains about finding the best travel car seats for your children.
Types Of Travel Car Seats
Infant (Rear-facing Only) Car Seats
They are usually used for children under 2 years old and can be detached as a baby carrier. With the thick cushions surrounding, the baby can get to sleep and enjoy it without any fear of being disturbed. However, the rear-facing position will no longer fit the baby when he or she grows up.
Convertible Car Seats
These seats can be used rear-facing for infants and then converted to forward-facing when your child outgrows. It means that they can accompany the baby longer than the rear-facing one, but they are not of a function as a baby carrier.
High Back Booster Seats
When your child outgrows the two types above, it’s time for you to change the seats into the booster seat. These seats deliver more space and two-side protection to ensure the child’s safety and comfort.
Backless Booster Seats
And lastly, this type of booster is also used for growing-up children. It’s more popular than the high back booster because of its cheapness and lightweight design. Also, it brings convenience to the consumer to transfer it to different cars.
All-in-one Car Seats
These are much like a combination of a convertible seat and a booster. Especially, they are economical that can be used from birth through booster seat age. However, they can be heavy and bulky, making them difficult to fit in a small vehicle.
Important Features To Consider
1. Material, Design of the Frame, and the Cushions
The frames should be made of hard rigid steel materials to securely form the design.
Otherwise, the ingredients of the cushions are generally soft foam or fabric to provide the comfort of sitting in. One more suggestion for you is to find the easy-to-be-removed cushions for better cleaning.
2. Compatibility With Your Vehicle
Because there are different types of installation systems for a vehicle, it’s important to know which your car includes. Is it a LATCH connection with a complex of successive rings? Or is it just a connection through the car’s original belt?
3. Your Baby’s Size
As we have mentioned the types of travel car seats above, let’s keep track of your child’s height and weight to find suitable seats. If you have a narrow budget, you’d better try finding options with higher size limits so that you can utilize them for longer.
4. Others
Adjustable Design
It will allow you to adjust a travel car seat easily so that it can be flexibly modified for the child’s gesture.
Automated Locking
This feature comes in handy to lock the seat belt tight around the children and to hold them in place if there’s any heavy shock.
Transferable Model
It helps you quickly install and uninstall the car seat as well as provides convenience whenever you want to attach the child’s seat to every seat of your vehicle.
Additional Supports
More little support on the product can gain the attraction of a travel car seat, like wings to hold the head, armrests, even cup holders, activity trays, leg rests, and so on…
Things to Keep in Mind
- Infants are advised to be carried along with a rear-facing car seat until around 2 years old.
- Use a forward-facing seat for your children throughout 8 – 12 years old, 57-inch height, mostly when the vehicle belt fits them enough.
- Remove any seat that’s damaged after any serious impact.
- Children should be involved in the backseat until they’re 13 years old.
- Check the expiration date of the product (frequently within 7-10 years since producing date) both in the manual and on the label.
- Never buy any product without its clear origin, especially the second-hand one.
List of the Best Travel Car Seats
If you are confused about what travel car seat brand that meets all the requirements above, here are 5 items we recommend according to the information we have analyzed:
- Graco 4Ever DLX 4 in 1 Car Seat
- hifold fit-and-fold high back booster Seat
- Cosco Apt 50 Convertible Car Seat
- Evenflo Chase Harnessed Booster, Jameson
- Diono 2020 Radian 3R, 3 in 1 Convertible Car Seat
Conclusion
With this buying guide, we hope you will find out what features of the best travel car seats to look for following your child’s age.
Last but not least, with a product that directly affects human life and health, safety standards always go first, then come after the other functions and adorable covers. Thanks for reading!
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