We broke the news on facebook & twitter this past Monday that Dorel has new labels for their convertible seats which will allow children who weigh more than 22 lbs and who can also sit upright unassissted to be more upright in the rear-facing position. The new labels have two “level to ground” lines and the bigger RF kids can be anywhere in between the two lines which are set at 45 degrees and 30 degrees (measured from vertical). The new labels will start to showing up on Dorel convertible seats by next month so keep your eyes peeled for them!
We asked Dorel for clarification regarding which convertibles would and would not get the new sticker labels. This is the response we received:
By April of 2012, our goal is to have the new double level line on all of our convertible seats. Most of the seats will be changed over before the end of the year, including the Alpha Elite 65 and Complete Air 65. The only convertible that will not get the double line is the Maxi Cosi Pria 70. Since that particular seat uses the Tiny Fit System and already provides an upright position of the main seat, it will not get the new double line treatment.
We already knew that the new Cosco Apt (Scenera with intergrated cup holders – see Dorel ABC blog for pics) was going to have the dual level lines. And apparently the Scenera will too – at least eventually. Oh, happy day! 🙂
Thanks, it does help!
So I’m wondering if this will hold true for the Complete Air 65 that I bought a couple of weeks ago? Manufacture date of 8/2011. I called the company and they said that they can’t recommend me not following the ground to level line that is on my car seat, but are the new seats going to be made differently? Or is it just a new recommendation? Currently, the seat won’t fit in my 2011 Subaru Outback at the recommended angle. (My son is small – 15 months and only 19.5 lbs, so still in the Chicco infant seat, but I want to be prepared when he’s ready to switch.) Thanks for any info!
@ Mamalaurelle – unfortunately the dual level lines are only on the newer versions of the seat so *technicially* it’s not considered correct (according to Dorel) to install the seat you own already in a more upright position. However, we have confirmed with Dorel that there were no structural changes made to the newer versions of this seat with the dual level lines so feel free to use that information to make an informed “parental decision”. 😉 HTH!
And there was much rejoicing.
Wonderful news! I second what BookMama said. 🙂
I’m thrilled that the Scenera will have the dual line sticker! This is the only convertible we distribute (and we distribute a lot of them) and there are times when it’s really hard to get a 45 degree recline. We always have to use noodles, and I worry that it will be hard for parents to replicate the install later. I think this will help a lot.