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Car Seats and Strollers

16K views 22 replies 19 participants last post by  WFlagg 
#1 ·
Does anyone have any recommendations for toddler and up car seats? We don't need car seats that size yet but we want to register for them now.

And our biggest problem is trying to find a double long stroller for our twins that are on the way that will actually fit in the back of the patriot. We have a double wide one Adoric already but you need the double long so you can use the infant car seats in them.
 
#2 ·
I would invest in an All in One car seat if I have another kiddo. Back when my son was smaller, they didn't make them so we had to have infant, convertible, and now booster. It would have been nice to get the all in one to save money. While they are more expensive up front, they will last you years. As far as brands, I have had Graco and Evenflo and liked they both. My only complaint about Graco was that the button you pushed to unbuckle was very hard to push but I've heard they improved that since I had one.
 
#5 ·
I would invest in an All in One car seat if I have another kiddo.
Second this recommendation.

We had the Chicco Keyfit 30 system which was great, BUT I didn't realize that you needed to stop using this once they hit 30lbs or 30 inches. My oldest son hit this around six months at which time we had to buy a bigger seat. :plain:

If I had it to do over, I'd get an all-in-one seat. We spent ~$700 bucks on the keyfit system (Carrier, 3 bases, and stroller). Then spent another ~$400 on toddler seats at six months. For that price, we could have had fantastic all-in-one seats and a fantastic stroller.

Regarding brands, don't go cheap. Made that mistake as well and my back paid the price. If you're anything like us, you'll be getting them in and out often. Nothing worse than struggling with a wiggly toddler and then struggling to get the straps secure.

Regarding brands, this has been our experience:

Chicco: The best IMO. Easy to install and easy to secure the straps.

Graco: Second best. Easy to install and so-so to secure the straps.

Safety First: Stay away. This was on sale at Costco. They usually carry quality-ish products, and this met all of our safety requirements. Thought I found a winner. WRONG. Hard to install and dang near impossible to tighten the straps. Spent $80 on the seat, but much more on chiropractic bills.
 
#6 ·
My kids are almost 3 yrs apart but!!! We had both in stroller for a time. We used the phil & Teds classic with rumble seat their strollers are over built and well thought out. The double wide strollers I hate with a passion. They don’t go through doors, they take up the entire path or sidewalk and can draw lots of negative attention from people at busy places because of this.

For sure go single wide two seater. Our Phil & Teds was bought used. We used it for 5 yrs literally used it like a pack mule with hooks and extra bags added and sold it 100% working for $130 yrs later. That hands down was my top favorite tough as nails, dragged through muddy trails, beaches, etc. Check out the brand.

Seats for little ones I would go snap in base style carrier seats then move to a convertible seat that covers the widest range of size and weight.
 
#8 ·

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#12 ·
Question about putting car seat in the middle....The Ascent only has one lower/bottom attachment in the middle doesn’t it? How could you /did you attach a car seat.?..Don’t you need 2 bottom attachment points like on the seats to both sides?I am looking to put 2 forward facing car seats in the middle bench ,with one in the middle seat......I am not familiar with car seats and this will be my first install so I am looking for info....
 
#9 ·
I think there is great utility and usefulness in getting an infant car seat like the chicco keyfit 30 because it is a travel system that can be taken out of the base and snapped into a stroller. Yeah they will grow out of it at 30 pounds or 30 inches but that time is worth it. Sometimes they are sleeping and you don't want to wake them up by taking them out of the car seat. If you have a 3 in 1 car seat right off the bat, you don't have that luxury. Also if the weather is bad it is nice to spend the time buckling them in while indoors then taking the carrier outside and just snapping it into the base in the car. When the 30 is too small then time to by a convertible car seat that goes up to 65 pounds or even 100 pounds. Personally I would just go to 65 pounds because I look forward to using something that is smaller than a 3 in 1 car seat such as a booster seat when child is over 65 pounds.
 
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#10 ·
A vote for the Clek Fllo (or their larger version, the Foonf). Has some of the highest height/weight limits which I wanted for a long & lean kiddo. They have an infant insert as well.


This year they came out with the Mammoth merino wool version which has no flame retardants, if that is a concern for you.


Safety is a priority for Clek as well, and I am a fan of the Canadian manufacturing.
 
#11 ·
We have all Britax stuff. The B-ready 2017 double stroller fits fine in the back of the Ascent, just make sure to get the rear floor and seat back protectors. This stroller supports all kinds of placement and orientation combinations of infants seats and regular seats.
We use a Britax infant b-safe 35 seat with base, and a couple Boulevard ClickTight seats for after the kid is about 1yr or so. Both of these fit great in the second row (much more room than in our forester) and the Latch points are super easy to access as well.
 
#14 ·
With my daughters infant base I used the passenger seat anchor and middle anchor to connect. I never tried it in my Ascent but In our Jeep I was able to snap in two seats on one anchor point (I could never find anything about if it is or isn’t safe to use two seats on one anchor).
 
#15 ·
It isn't safe to use two seats on one anchor point. The anchors are rated for a certain amount of weight, and that would be exceeded if you have two seats attached to it. From the Ascent Owner's manual, page 70:

"Do not connect two or more lower hooks onto the same anchorage (bar)."
 
#17 · (Edited)
I'm late to this thread but you may want to review this older thread.

Also, I have a Touring w/ bucket seats so I can put a Clek Foonf in the 2nd row passenger side and 3rd row driver side to use LATCH anchors. The 2nd row driver side has a Keyfit 30 base and we will add another Clek Foonf in about an inch.

Also, we have an UppaBaby Vista, UppaBaby GLuxe, and City Select something (for 2 kids) - none of them fits overly well. Admittedly, we don't use the cool 'covered compartment' in the back end and just wiggle the collapsed stroller into the 3rd row passenger side with seat folded down.
 
#23 ·
Also, I have a Touring w/ bucket seats so I can put a Clek Foonf in the 2nd row passenger side and 3rd row driver side to use LATCH anchors. The 2nd row driver side has a Keyfit 30 base and we will add another Clek Foonf in about an inch.

Also, we have an UppaBaby Vista, UppaBaby GLuxe, and City Select something (for 2 kids) - none of them fits overly well. Admittedly, we don't use the cool 'covered compartment' in the back end and just wiggle the collapsed stroller into the 3rd row passenger side with seat folded down.
.....Sorry for being so late to this thread, but I just wanted to ask about driver and passenger legroom with the Clek Foonf behind each seat? (Captains Chairs). I am 6 feet tall, do you find there will be enough space for me? Thanks!
 
#20 ·
We have a diono radian and a diono pacifica for our little one and high back booster for my older one. We chose diono for the narrow fitment, long life, and they go from infant to booster. The boosters we have are evenflo high back, also a narrow fitment in the captains chairs so getting into the 3rd row is manageable with them in place.
 
#21 ·
I have a Britax Convertible for my 18 month old, rear facing behind the driver's seat. It is a larger footprint carseat and I have had no issues putting in any of the 3 locations in the middle row. Booster seats are tricky in the 3rd row, that is the only car seat issue I have run into with my Ascent. We had a hard time finding a convertible seat that worked in our 14 Explorer, so only having the 3rd row booster issue is a very small issue in my book.

On the stroller front, I have a Baby Jogger City Select and Baby Jogger City Mini. The City Select is giant and you have to fold down the larger section of the 3rd row to fit it in the Ascent. This was an issue with my Acadia and our Explorer, so if you go with a larger double stroller just plan on folding down part of the 3rd row. The Baby Jogger fits in the back with the 3rd row not folded down. I normally have the City Mini in the Ascent, since I the 18 month is the only who needs a stroller. My other 2 children a 7 and 10.
 
#22 ·
Also, I have a Touring w/ bucket seats so I can put a Clek Foonf in the 2nd row passenger side and 3rd row driver side to use LATCH anchors. The 2nd row driver side has a Keyfit 30 base and we will add another Clek Foonf in about an inch.

Also, we have an UppaBaby Vista, UppaBaby GLuxe, and City Select something (for 2 kids) - none of them fits overly well. Admittedly, we don't use the cool 'covered compartment' in the back end and just wiggle the collapsed stroller into the 3rd row passenger side with seat folded down.


.....Sorry for being so late to this thread, but I just wanted to ask about driver and passenger legroom with the Clek Foonf behind each seat? (Captains Chairs). I am 6 feet tall, do you find there will be enough space for me? Thanks!
 
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