Top 5 Best Forward Facing Car Seat | 2017 Reviews
Time flies so fast that our little ones had already outgrown their infant car seats. But don’t rush it too much! In order to protect our little ones if something happens on the road while we are driving, we keep them in rear facing car seats for as long as possible. But as you can see, time is like racing with us and soon enough our kids will no longer fit their rear facing car seats because their legs are now longer that you need to consider using the forward facing car seats for their safety.
Investing on our kid’s car seat can be a little hard because there are so many brands to choose from especially if you have a little girl. It is really hard to find girly colors for your baby girl’s car seat. Luckily, some car seats for kids have unisex design. Cute right?
If you are wondering why we need to use car seats, instead of just letting them stay in the back seat of the car, the answer is because they do not have the capacity yet to support themselves during bumpy rides. Hence, it is much safer to buckle them up to their car seats that is ideal for their size. This is so we can drive peacefully knowing that our kids are safely buckled and we can keep our focus on the road. You can also have an opportunity to give them some snacks or books to keep them busy while you play their favorite soundtrack or nursery rhyme on the radio.
We know that some parents are having a really tough time in choosing what the best front facing car seat is perfect for their child, so here are our top 5 front facing car seat recommendation to help you.
Quick Comparison Table
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Recaro Performance Sport Car Seat |
Britax Roundabout G4.1 Car Seat |
Graco Nautilus 65 3-in-1 Harness Booster Car Seat |
Evenflo Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat |
Safety 1st Guide 65 Convertible Car Seat |
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 |
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$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
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25 pounds |
17.6 pounds |
20.52 pounds |
9.11 pounds |
14 pounds |
 |
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Recaro Performance Sport Combination Harness to Booster Car Seat
First on our list is the Recaro Performance Sport combination harness to booster car seat. This car seat is awesome because it is a racing-inspired car seat so it is really one of the most top rated car seats there are. It can carry a child weighing from 20-65 pounds in harness mode and 30-120 pounds in booster mode. This car seat weighs 25 lbs. so it is really a high rated car seat that can be used and certified for air travel when used in harness mode with the use of the plane’s seat belt. This can come in handy for parents who really love traveling and need to endure long hours of flight.
This car seat meets the all new FMV SS 213 standards and has a full body impact protection with metal reinforced side wings that is built to protect the 5 most vulnerable and important areas for our kid such as the head, face, neck, pelvis, and torso. And has an easy to adjust no rethread 5 point harness.
For our kids to be comfortable, this has an energy absorbing EPS foam for our kids to be relaxed and comfortable, a luxurious temperature balancing fabric, perfect for long travels and weather complicated areas or country and it has four zones of cool mesh for the air ventilation. It also has a twist resistant buckle and HERO harness technology to ensure our kids the highest possible level of comfort and protection.
This car seat also has an easy to adjust no rethread harness, a built in LATCH and universal top tether for easy installation. The designs are unisex so that is one less decision making problem to consider. Its covers are machine washable safe and very easy to remove and to return and of course a cute little cup holder to support the beverage of our kid.
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Details of the Recaro Performance Sport Combination Harness to Booster Car Seat |
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|---|---|
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Item Weight |
25 pounds |
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Minimum weight recommendation |
20 lbs (harness), 30 lbs (booster) |
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Maximum weight recommendation |
65 lbs (harness), 120 lbs (booster) |
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Harness Type |
5 point |
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Additional features |
Can be used in plane when in harness mode, twist resistant buckle |
Britax Roundabout G4.1 Convertible Car Seat
Second on our list is Britax Roundabout g4.1 convertible car seat. The Britax is not well known, but it really has great safety measure and features that all of us are fond of. This car seat for toddler can hold a kid that weighs 5-40 pounds when rear facing and 20-55 pounds when front facing.
And for its safety measure, it has a complete side impact protection and has a deep energy absorbing base that surrounds our child in safety components that works together to protect our kids. This is very useful and convenient especially if an accident happens. Britax roundabout g4.1 passed the federal safety standards and also is proudly engineered, tested and made in the USA. It also has an easy on and off lower LATCH connectors that quickly locks into most of the vehicle anchors and can be easily disconnected or removed with just a push of a button. So it is easy to install it or to remove it from our vehicles.
For comfy and more safety measures, this one comes with 2 position buckles that is quick and easy to adjust, 5 point harness to add safety to our kids, has a very soft and comfortable plush foam padding and fabric, removable pillow that adjusts to the needs of our kids and has a 3 position recline so it can keep our kids comfortable on whatever position they choose.
The car seat itself is weighing 17.6 lbs. so it is much lighter than the first one. This one has a V shaped tether to minimize seat rotation and has a steel frame for added safety measures. It is also good to note that this is a little cheaper than the first one and has very decent safety and comfortable features. We put this car seat as the 2nd best rated car seats because it does not have some of the features that the Recaro has but if you want to go for this one, there shouldn’t be any problem since this car seat offers the convenience and safety your child would need.
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Details of the Britax Roundabout G4.1 Convertible Car Seat |
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|---|---|
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Item Weight |
17.6 pounds |
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Minimum weight recommendation |
5 lbs. if rear faced, 20 lbs. if front faced |
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Maximum weight recommendation |
40 lbs. if rear faced, 55 lbs. if front faced |
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Harness Type |
5 point |
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Additional features |
Removable pillow, steel frame, and V shaped tether |
Graco Nautilus 65 3-in-1 Harness Booster Convertible Car Seat
The Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat is perfect for toddlers who meet the required weight limit and secures our kids in a 5 point harness if a toddler weighs 22-65 pounds. It is convertible to belt positioning, high back booster seat from 30-100 pounds and it can become a backless booster seat from 40-100 pounds, highly convertible as necessary. This is a great car seat for toddlers and can be used as a car seat for 6 year old kids too. Instructions are very simple because it has a LATCH system that easily connects to the top tether. It has easy adjustment of clips and buckles and could be transitioned from harness to booster mode.
We absolutely love the modern design of this 3 in 1 booster seat and it has several features that can make our lives so much easier starting with a cup holder for your kid’s beverage, headrest for your kid’s comfort, storage compartment for your kid’s belongings or snacks, contoured armrest for your kid to have a comfortable and relaxing position while sitting, an easy to open-loop belt guide, adjustable harness to secure our kid’s safety and finally, a 3 position recline to keep our growing kid comfortable during our travel.
This awesome car seat has an easy removable pad which is washable too! This is very convenient if your kid is very clumsy inside the car while eating their snack or sipping their drinks.
Since safety is our top most concern, Graco has extended their safety tests for us, parents to be happy and relieved. It is rigorously crash tested, EPS impact absorbing foam, side impact tested and has extreme car interior temperature. This could offer us a sigh of relief because we don’t have to worry that much if this car seat for our kid is safe and strong.
The only thing that made it our third choice are the straps that could be a little difficult to adjust as it needs to be rethreaded carefully.
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Details of the Graco Nautilus 65 3-in-1 Harness Booster Convertible Car Seat |
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|---|---|
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Item Weight |
20.52 pounds |
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Minimum weight recommendation |
22 pounds if in harness booster, 30 pounds if in high back booster, 40 pounds if in backless booster |
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Maximum weight recommendation |
65 pounds if in harness booster, 100 pounds if in high back booster, 100 pounds if in backless booster |
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Harness Type |
5 point |
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Additional features |
Can be used from toddler to youth, machine washable pad, cup holder, storage compartment |
Evenflo Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat
The Evenflo Tribute LX convertible car seat can be used by infants once they reach the minimum weight recommendation of the car seat which is 5 pounds. But since we are talking about forward facing car seats, once your kid is 22 pounds, you can let him sit forward faced in the car seat until he reaches 40 pounds. This car seat has passed a test made by Evenflo which includes the side impact test which is why it is included in our list, that’s utmost safety realized.
It is designed to be light weight and compact in size, but it does have one bit of disadvantage as it wiggles slightly from side to side when the seat is installed but this is just a slight movement and has no effect on the seat’s federal safety rating so it is actually safe. If you are aiming for an easy access to adjust the harness, this one has it. It can accommodate your needs while your child is growing because of its 4 shoulder strap positions, not to mention the 5 point harness that provides a very secure and safe fit.
Wondering if it’s washable? Well it is! No worries because its pads are machine washable safe. You can wash it separately using cold water and tumble dry it in low heat for about 10-15 minutes and as for the harness and buckles, you can just wipe it with a soft and clean cloth with water. It also offers great comfort knowing that it could be easily cleaned, because kids could be really messy most of the time.
Of course we want our kids to be as comfy as possible, this toddler car seat has a very soft fabric with extra cushions and it has cover for the harness and the buckles, which is very useful especially during long drives. It is also Latch equipped so it is easy to install and remove. It also has many designs to choose from and some of it is perfect as a little girl’s car seat.
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Details of the Evenflo Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat |
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|---|---|
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Item Weight |
9.11 pounds |
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Minimum weight recommendation |
5 pounds (rear faced), 22 pounds (front) |
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Maximum weight recommendation |
30 pounds (rear faced), 40 pounds (front) |
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Harness Type |
5 point |
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Additional features |
Energy absorbing foam, side impact tested, machine washable pad |
Safety 1st Guide 65 Convertible Car Seat
And last but definitely not the least, Safety 1st Guide 65 convertible car seat offers us, parents a perfect fit for smaller cars and a whole lot bigger room for the bigger types. You could easily fit 3 Safety 1st car seats across the back seat of most vehicles. It has 2 modes of usage, rear facing for those within the weight of 5-40 lbs. and front facing for those weighing around 22-65 lbs.
This lightweight and convertible booster seat is side impact tested and has EPP energy absorbing foam for our kid’s comfort and safety measure. The installing guidelines is easier to follow and very straight forward so it’s not that hard to remove it from to your vehicle and install it on another car. You can decide on choosing the seat belt especially because front facing offers more safety measures. When using the lower anchors or the seat belts, always make sure to use the tether whether your kid is front faced or rear faced. This also has a foot that is stored when using it in rear facing position and it needs to be pulled out to add support when using it in front facing position.
Safety 1st Guide 65 has 3 buckle locations to properly fit our little ones and has a 5 point harness with up-front adjustment for added safety features. It has removable body pillows and adjustable head rest that we can adjust according to the needs of our growing toddler and of course a cup holder for our kid’s beverages. It also has an easy to remove and install, machine washable safe car seat pad.
This is by far the cheapest among the group, but it doesn’t look cheap right? It is our 5th choice because it does not have the features that the other car seats listed above has. But if you are saving money and searching for a much cheaper car seat for your kid that is safety tested and comfortable, we definitely recommend you to get this one.
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Details of the Safety 1st Guide 65 Convertible Car Seat |
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|---|---|
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Item Weight |
14 pounds |
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Minimum weight recommendation |
5 pounds (rear faced), 22 pounds (front) |
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Maximum weight recommendation |
40 pounds (rear faced), 65 pounds (front) |
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Harness Type |
5 point |
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Additional features |
Fits in to a small car, lightweight, machine washable pads |
Conclusion
For us, parents, we have to pick the best of the best for our child especially when it comes to their safety whether if it’s expensive or not, our kids deserve to be safe. We hope that our top 5 list of forward facing car seats really helped you a lot in picking the next car seat that you would let your child use. Each of the 4 listed has proven to be safe and of great quality, you just need to choose whether the additional features are something you would like or you want to keep it simple to save money, the choice ultimately is up to you.
Originally posted 2016-10-26 20:57:22.
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