I am a member of the buybuy BABY babyhood influencer network, however all opinions expressed in this post are my own. #buybuyBABY #babyhood #sponsored
With Brooke about to turn one, reality started to set in that she is growing up and isn’t a super little baby anymore. She is very mobile, likes to use her sippy cup and feed herself. Her personality is growing and she constantly has us on our toes. We also began to notice that our little preemie baby, wasn’t so little in her carseat anymore. She started to completely fill up her infant car seat and her feet stuck way out. We knew it was time to make a switch to a convertible seat, we just weren’t quite sure which one we wanted.
After hours of researching online at buybuy BABY and comparing different brands, I finally settled on “the one”. Choosing a convertible car seat is no easy task. There are hundreds of different ones and it can be extremely overwhelming. Brooke’s infant car seat was a Nuna Pipa and I would 100% be using that brand if they had a convertible seat on the market, but they don’t as of now. So, I started by narrowing my search down to three top brands: Maxi-Cosi, Graco and Britax.
From there, I compared the highest rated models from each brand: Maxi-Cosi® Pria™ 85, Graco® 4Ever™ All-in-1, and BRITAX Advocate® ClickTight™ XE Series. Honestly, from there, I looked at overall design and the Britax was my least favorite, so I eliminated it from my research. I loved the design of the Maxi Cosi and the Graco, so then I poured over all of the details and reviews on buybuy BABY.
Details: The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Car Seat sports a stylish, modern design that offers comfort, convenience and safety for your growing child. It can safely seat children 14-40lbs in the rear-facing position or 22-85lbs in the forward-facing position. Its compact design allows occupants of the front seat more room to stretch out and the integrated cup holder makes it very functional for toddlers. Another amazing functionality is that the seat pad and harness covers unsnap and remove easy for machine washing. This was a huge selling point for me because we were constantly cleaning Brooke’s infant car seat by hand. The ability to machine wash the covers is amazing.
Safety: The Maxi Cosi boosts a Perfect Fit® one-hand harness height adjustment with micro-adjustments for a customized fit and enhanced safety. Its 5 point harness and harness holders to keep straps out of the way when you are buckling and unbuckling your child. It also has an AirProtect® side impact protection system that protects your baby’s head where it’s needed most and a FlexTech® system for multi-directional crash energy management.
Design: As far as cosmetics go, it comes in a variety of fun colors and fabrics which makes it extremely popular for moms looking for something a little more modern. It also has premium padding for seat comfort and a rear facing seat recline. It also has a one-click LATCH system, which makes proper installation quick and easy. The seat measures 24″ D x 20″ W x 25″ H and weighs 18.6 lbs.
Details: The biggest selling point of the Graco 4Ever All-in-1 car seat is in its name. It is designed to adapt with your child into their pre-teen years. While this may be a strong selling point for some, it really didn’t play that much into my decision. I feel like booster seats aren’t super expensive so buying one of those if it becomes necessary won’t be a big deal. However, the seat does safely fit infants 4-40 lb. rear-facing, toddlers 20-65 lb. forward-facing, youth 30-100 lb. in a high back belt-positioning booster or youth 40-120 lb. in a backless belt-positioning booster.
Safety: The Graco 4Ever All-in-1 has a 5-point Simply Safe Adjust™ Harness which features a one-hand, no re-thread harness system that automatically adjusts the height of the harness and headrest together. It also has a steel-reinforced frame provides strength and durability while also supporting EPS energy absorbing foam for effective impact energy management. It is side impact tested for occupant retention solely with the integrated 5-point harness and it is SafeSeat engineered and tested to meet or exceed US crash standard FMVSS 213.
Design: It also has a seat cover that can be removed and machined washed so that is key. It also has a 10-position headrest that ensures a proper fit, as well as, 2 integrated cup holders. Along with this, it also has an InRight™ LATCH system for a quick, one-second LATCH attachment. It measures 20″ D x 21.5″ W x 24″ H and weighs 23 lbs.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, I don’t think we could have gone wrong with any of these options. However, we decided on the Maxi-Cosi® Pria™ 85 Ribble in Manhattan Black due to multi-directional crash management system, lighter weight, and sleek design. In comparison, both of these seats are extremely similar in functionality, safety, design and price. Thus, making the Maxi-Cosi® Pria™ 85 and the Graco® 4Ever™ All-in-1 BOTH the TOP CONVERTIBLE CAR SEAT OPTIONS on the market! If you are still going back and forth, stop in buybuy BABY and talk to one of their Registry Consultants or Product Experts. They are extremely helpful and knowledgable.