I’m still here in Orlando enjoying a few extra days with the family. It’s been a hectic week with the KIM Conference, family obligations & lots of networking (and Mojitos)! Tonight I’m giving my liver a break and trying to catch up on work-related stuff.
Overall, it was a great conference attended by many of the most dedicated CPS professionals in the industry. I had attended the 1st and 2nd KIM Conferences here in Orlando but missed all the subsequent ones so it was nice to be back and see how its grown over the years. Darren and I presented a workshop on Day 1: Using Social Media to Expand & Enhance CPS Education in the Era 
of Technology. I thought it went really well and we received positive feedback and comments so hopefully our attendees were pleased with the information they received. Ryan from Dorel offered to hold my “baby” during the presentation and he was so cute with “him” that I had to snap a pic. Thanks, Ryan – you’re the bestest baby holder in the whole world!
I also attended sessions on Scale to Fit: Providing Superior Occupant Fit in Child Restraints, Child Restraint Regulations in the US and Abroad, Side Impact Testing with Real Life Consequences, CPS Techs at the Manufacturer: Making a difference, not just a product, and Special Needs CPS Loan Program: Keeping Children Safe Statewide. There were also two separate Manufacturer’s Panels, Plenary Sessions and a “Hot Topic” roundtable discussion. Additionally, I was honored to be invited to an after-hours Evenflo social event where myself and a select group of advocates had the opportunity to ask questions about and provide feedback on some new and prototype Evenflo CR models.
I missed most of our own car-seat.org party for that event but did manage to make it in time for the awesome 10th Anniversary Car-Seat.org cookie cake that one of our forum moderators, skipspin, had baked for us. Thanks again! You are so talented and it was delicious!
I think most of the new “News” is out of the bag already so I’m only going to summarize and maybe expand on a few topics.
Sunshine Kids is going through a name change and will soon be “Diono”. The press release will be out in a few weeks and a new website will be rolled out. All the CRs and accessories will be rebranded with the Diono name and logo. The Radian convertible has been transformed into a 3-in-1 product 
going forward. It will be available in a really bright green color which I can’t wait to see at ABC. The Diono rep explained that it would be very similar to the color of the polish she was sporting on her toes. Of course I had to take a picture! 🙂 They pleaded with us not to pester the CS reps for more info or details in the mean time. They promise that they will share everything when it’s ready to be shared/launched.
I have a bit more info on the Foonf convertible from my conversations with Clek. First, they were never planning to release a combo seat but had originally thought Foonf would be a FF only harnessed seat. Convertible is obviously better than FF only so I’m thankful for that. Second, rigid LATCH attachments will be for FF only. I have to assume that means it will have flexible LA attachments for RF usage. I should have asked if they plan to allow RF install with non-standard LATCH spacing. I’ll make sure we get an answer on that at ABC next month. Lastly, I commented that I was so excited that I didn’t even care what the price point was. His reply was “good, because it’s going to be expensive”. I don’t know what that means exactly but we’ll find out at ABC. I realize that many parents and caregivers may not be able to afford Foonf (or won’t be able to justify the cost), but I’m always thrilled by super-cool innovation and I understand that usually comes with a hefty pricetag, at least initially.
Evenflo is almost ready to launch their new expanded weight range Evenflo Embrace 35 with front adjuster and 4 lb minimum. It’s going to be a nice infant seat at a GREAT price point that’s going to fit preemies and low birth weight babies really well. Bottom harness slots are super low and the fit on the preemie doll was excellent. There will be no more rear-adjusting Embrace models (hurray!) but the Discovery will continue to be rear-adjust only. The handle still can’t be used in carry position in the vehicle and the infant seats still need to have 1.5″ of clearance (they actually told us why they require this and I’ll share that info when we do a full review of the new Embrace 35) but they gave us an awesome anti-rebound handle position which makes up for that as far as I’m concerned! The new Embrace 35 will actually hit the Canadian market before it hits shelves in the US. Look for it North of the Border sometime in the next few weeks.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now and it’s getting late here so I’m going to wrap and catch some Zzzzzzzs. Going to visit Shamu tomorrow!
PS: Can anyone tell me what kind of birds these are that we have wandering around the hotel grounds? They’re not afraid of people and like to be fed goldfish crackers but that’s all I know about them!
@SPAM – the Embrace 35 does not have a no rethread harness. It has standard harness slots. But the retail price will be $80-$90 depending on fabric and accessories. That is definitelty something to celebrate! There will be another higher-end (4 lbs minimum) Evenflo infant CR that will be replacing the Serenade. That one will have the no rethread harness and probably SureLATCH connectors too but it won’t be under $100.
Can’t wait to see the foonf! The Evenflo seat looks promising, I really like the rebound option of the handle. For under $100 for no rethread harness and front adjust, that’s great. I hate the handle down rule w/ 1.5″ clearance. It’s probably one of the most common misuses, I see it daily just passing cars on the road and all have the z handle in the up position. They need to put a sticker on the seat itself saying the handle must be down in the car, it’s really overlooked by most parents who either just skim the manual or don’t read it all.
Thanks for the bird info, everyone!
As for the size of the Embrace 35 – it didn’t appear to be too big. If I had to guess, I’d say SR35 is bigger. Embrace 35 has a stated ht limit of 30″. I’ll confirm the retail price with Evenflo but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be under $100. They gave us the institutional sales price but I forgot to ask about the retail price.
Jennie – Mojitos wound up being the drink of choice so they became 5-Step Mojitos. Mint, lime, sugar, rum & club soda. Yum!
The zig-zag in the handle of current Evenflo seats adds an additional 1.5″ or something like that to the seat compared to having the round handle. I didn’t take measurements of the Embrace 35, but it didn’t seem quite as big as the SR35. It really did seem like a nice seat for the price point, especially with being able to use it for 4# babies all the way past 22#.
definitely cranes!
the evenflo infant seats look great… an anti-rebound position is definitely better than just being able to be left up… but I worry still that parents will leave it up… so I hope they really label it.
I dont’ mind the 1.5″ clearance since the handle bar won’t be adding to how much space it takes up.
I was told the cranes can be mean too. I was out taking pics of the not air balloons and the cranes when I golfer stopped to tell me.
So how big is the evenflo seat? If its about the same size as the SR35 there would be no way I’d still have a 1.5″ clearance in my car but it would definatley be better in alot of other cars, also did they give you a price point
Yes, Sandhill Cranes. I prefer Ibises, myself.
And forget the new seats. Inquiring minds want to know what carseat-related drinks you guys wound up having.
P.S.- a quick search tells me that those are Brown Sandhill Cranes. 🙂
I’m kind of disappointed to hear Foonf’s rigid LATCH will only be for FF use! With many manufacturers having a 40 lb. limit on lower anchors, and the projected rear-facing weight limit being 40 or more (I can’t recall, I know it was mentioned in the thread), that makes it kind of useless for those of us who RF to the max. 🙁 If they were going to choose one direction, I wish they’d chosen RF!