I give props to Baby Trend. They were perhaps the biggest surprise of the show right out of the gate. Darren, Heather and I were at the New Products Showcase Reception the evening before the expo started when something caught our eye. At first we thought it was the trendZ EuroSport combo seat that is currently available at Target. But upon closer inspection we noticed the rigid LATCH attachments and we were like… WTH?! What is this???
This was the trendZ FastBack 3-in-1. It’s not a true 3-in-1 in the sense that it can’t be used rear-facing. But it’s similar to the Graco Nautilus in that it’s a forward-facing only harnessed seat that converts to a highback booster and eventually to a backless booster as well. We had a chance to play with it a bit at the BT booth a few days later. This is what we learned:
Will be BRU exclusive initially, $199, rigid latch, epp foam, insert can be used up to 30 lbs, harness 22-70 lbs, hbb 30-100 lbs, lbb 40-120 lbs, rigid latch can be used in booster mode, 20″ to shoulder belt guide in tallest booster setting, 17″ top harness slots, 17.5″ wide outside, 11.5″ inside, 12″ depth. The rep said they purposely left the word “Baby” out of the model names on their combo seats because they understand big kids don’t want to sit in a seat that has the word “baby” written anywhere on it. They definitely get brownie points for that!
We also had the opportunity to look over the less expensive trendZ EuroSport combination seat that is currently available at Target. This seat doesn’t have the features or the weight/height range of the more expensive trendz FastBack (we measured only 17.5″ to the bottom of the shoulderbelt guide in booster mode) but it does have some innovative components. And regardless of the seat’s shortcomings, we think innovation is always worth mentioning. Due to the design of the harness adjustment mechanism which limits the ability to move the chest clip down, the wide harness strap covers and the “smart safety buckle” with belt-minder technology, this seat could be an excellent option for little Houdinis and children with special needs who frequently unbuckle themselves when the vehicle is moving.
We also noted in our conversation with the BT rep that the EuroSport apparently does better in testing when the long belt path routing is used to install the seat.
Infant seats:
Latch-Loc with rigid LATCH attachments is coming back to the US market! BRU 2012.
New Flex-Loc 2 coming in mid 2012, rated to 32 lbs.
EZ Flex-Loc for Canadians and new Fisher-Price branded seats. Meets new Canadian rebound standards. Unique latch storage under recline foot, 5-30 in US, 5-22 in Canada, soft moisture-wicking fabric, available as travel system or stand alone. Some of the FP fashions seem to have a funky 80’s retro thing going on. Not sure what’s up with that.
Also worth mentioning – we noted in our conversations with the BT rep that *infant seat handles can be left up*, but BT prefers handle down.
2012 model snap-n-go (single and double) will be designed to accommodate ANY infant seat made, $69 single, $99 double.
I finally got around to contacting Baby Trend myself. I was told that they never test the seat with the handle up. The handle is always down during testing.
I’m not sure where the disconnect happened between what you were told and what I was told, but I was unable to confirm your information.
Does the FP seat have the triangle handle? How about a time frame for release on those FP seats? Thanks for the review. I’ve got a cousin due in March.
I like the handle on the fisher price models
The Eurosport is a fail, in my book, but I’d love to see how this one does installation wise.
Yay for rigid LATCH infant seats!
I would want that handle up thing in writing before I’d tell it to a client I was teching.
Did you happen to find out about whether the 3in1 seats would be coming to the Canadian market? Also, what are the black pieces on the side of the handles of the fisher price seats? (We have the new Baby Trend EZ Flex Loc in at work and I agree that the fabrics feel really nice. And the purple one is really pretty!)
Fisher Price hasn’t been able to make up it’s mind about having a line of carseats and strollers at ALL in the past 10 yrs…This is what, their 4th time out w/a new line? All the others were pretty darn good, but they didn’t stick with them. It’s been typical of FP for years now. But yet, I still love them.
@ EYESLKETHESKY – Actually the FP branded seats and strollers are for both Canada & USA.
So the fisher price models are just for Canada right?
ITA Wendy! There’s a big difference between prohibiting the handle between up and preferring that it be down. Wish I had known that like, ummm… 8 years ago!
I’m kind of frustrated with the trend toward rigid latch when cars are set up with overlapping latch points, lack of latch in all seats, not enough room for three across with rigid latch (even if only one seat has rigid latch) and no room to even put one seat in the middle and one to the side with rigid latch. I really wish there were more flexible latch options for boosters for those of us without the money to buy a big expensive vehicle. I have a vehicle with latch, but one seat is in with the seat belt, one in with flexible latch and the other is an unanchored booster. I wish that booster could be secured, but nothing else will fit and its not like I have a compact car.
The handles can be up on all BT infant seats? Retroactive? They just like them better down? Well now, that opens it up a bit. Too bad it’s still a pain to install with many seatbelts. But for the price it’s not bad, and it’s narrow.
Thanks for doing these, Kecia! I loved seeing the rigid LATCH!
I’m still not crazy about the Trendz eurosport, but I’m LOVING the Fastback
once you fold that seat, all you’d need is a bag with two straps and you could carry it like a backpack in the airport