Graco has good news for anyone in the market for an infant seat: by the end of this year, all their infant seat buckles will be the IMMI buckles! What that means for the Average Josephine is that the release button will be easier push and the buckle tongs will be easier to insert into the buckle. Yay! Trust me, they’re happy about it too. Speaking of infant seats, Babies R Us has renewed their exclusivity contract for the SnugRide 40, so if you or a friend are looking for that particular Graco infant seat, you can only get it at BRU.
Graco is introducing a new Argos 80 Elite model based on the Argos 70 Elite, but with structural changes to beef it up to handle the extra 10 lbs. of kid. So the new weight range will be 20-80 lbs. Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby will carry the Argos 80 Elite starting sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2014. MSRP $219.
There are some changes to the Size4Me/Head Wise/My Size convertible carseats. Because of 2014 regulatory changes, Graco is reducing the upper weight limit to 65 lbs. You’ll be seeing this happen with a lot of manufacturers’ convertible carseats with current weight limits over 65 lbs. The labels will be changed to reflect the change in weight limit, otherwise the seats should remain largely the same.
Now, I bet you thought nothing was really going on at Graco because I waited until now to tell you about something NEW! I just like to build anticipation 😉 . Graco is adding a new convertible seat based on the Size4Me shell but at a lower pricepoint. In the” Tranzitions 65,” (now known as the Contender; info on the Tranzitions combination seat can be found here) you get the same great height of the Size4Me/Head Wise/My Size seats, but with fewer features. The harness is still a no re-thread adjustment for changing harness height, but they’ve removed the sliding recline feature and added a flip foot for a simple 2-position recline. There’s one LATCH strap instead of 2 and it’s on a bar on the side of the carseat; it has the standard Graco hooks for lower anchor connectors. The labels are also different: there are lots of drawings instead of text, which makes them very easy to understand. Graco’s done a great job of keeping features parents need while keeping price low at $159. The Tranzitions 65 Contender is due out in the 1st quarter of 2014. Initial fashions are Pierce (pictured here), Nyssa & Go Green (pictured at end of blog).
Affix highback booster will now be available with “Safety Surround” technology. BuyBuyBaby exclusive. “Stargazer” fashion. $99
A few new fashions:
@Sandria, it’s all based on the NHTSA ruling.
Why do they have resind the weight just use a seat belt install. Make no sense to make a stronger 80lb combination seat which would need to use a seat belt yet take away the 70lbs on the convertible. Sounds to me want to make sure you buy that combination seat.
@Carrie – we’re not aware of any changes being made to deal with that issue although we do agree that it’s an issue. Sorry!
Sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear. I was wondering if Graco made the harness any easier to tighten. I tried to tighten it, and it was too loose for my comfort.
@Carrie, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Graco has replaced the sticky buckle with the nicer IMMI buckle, which is easier to buckle and release. Is that what you’re talking about?
Will the Tranzitions 65 have the same horrible harness and buckle as the MySize?
@Toni, I think they’re padded about the same as the current seats.
Are these seats more padded than the current seats?
Tongs? Does IMMI call them that, too?
The problem with buckles has been SO bad that I’ve even started telling parents brand names, and “AMSAFE has had an awful batch of these lately”, but now, oh, beloved IMMI’s on delightfully awesome Snugrides makes me ever so joyful 🙂
Wow, that’s all awesome news! Hooray on the buckle changes. I hope Evenflo is following suit; my SureRide buckle is becoming a pain. But I digress. That convertible looks like a great option for a lot of parents, and I know many are cheering about the Affix with Safety Surround! Now, if their boosters just went a little taller…
@Christine, where did anyone say that a child who outgrows a Size4Me/Head Wise/My Size is obese? The point was that most kids outgrow these seats by height well before weight comes around or that kids age out of these seats before either of the weight or height limits are reached.
I take offense to the assumption that the only kids to outgrow the headwise by weight are obese. I have a 70 pound 10 year old with just under an 18 inch torso. He is not even a little bit fat- just short torsoed.
I take offense to the assumption that the only kids to outgrow the headwise by weight are obese. I have a 70 pound 10 year old with just under an 18 inch torso. He is not even a little bit fat- just short torsoed.
@Wendy, I’m waiting for clarification on the non-standard LATCH spacing, but I don’t see it being a problem since all their other seats allow it.
@Bookmama, I agree with Elizabeth. I think kids are outgrowing these convertibles either by height or by age (YK, the 7yr old who wouldn’t be caught in the drop-off line at school in a “baby” seat). There are always going to be those outlier kids, but this line of convertibles truly fits a broad range of kid sizes and ages, as you know.
@Katie, they aren’t going to rescind the 70 lbs. weight limit, but you do have to go by whatever weight limit your vehicle manufacturer places on its lower LATCH anchors. Completely ridiculous, isn’t it?
@Careynj, Canada! Ah jeez. I can’t remember and I don’t have it in my notes, but we did ask *every* manufacturer this question. Let’s see if someone else in our group remembers.
Am I the only one who strongly dislikes the new click connect Snugride series? I feel that the plastic feels flimsy and I don’t like how there is no longer a splitter plate, the shoulder straps are now sewn to the waist straps. Just my $.02, I do love the new IMMI buckles, are they putting them on all seats, including Snugrides?
My only issue with this is the kre8ive name. Graco needs to stop spelling stuff tren’deeleigh or my head will explode. A Z DOES NOT MAKE IT COOLER, PEOPLE, IT’S JUST SAD. Ok, I’m done.
Any word on the possibility of a Canadian release if the Safety Surround Affix or the Tranzitions?
If the new Size4Me & clone seats are going to have a weight limit of 65lbs, will existing seats sold with the 70lb limit still be good until 70lbs, or will it be recommended to discontinue at 65?
I am curious about Bookmama’s question about most kids outgrowing in height before weight anyways.
The weight limits probably only really apply to children who are obese… which is a significant portion of the population. Unfortunately, children in low-income families are more at risk for obesity problems, which means it would be really nice to get a few of these 70/80 lb seats down in the under-$100 range.
A healthy child of typical size will likely outgrow any of these seats by height before they reach 65 lbs anyway, and by then most of them should be ready for the transition to a booster. It’s the outlying 66 lb 3.5 year olds that I worry about.
Low-income families are more likely to have children that are obese how? My 8yr old won’t fit in any 5pt harnessed seat or a high back booster either b/c she’s 55″ tall & just to throw it out there she’s also 71lbs so she’s a tall thin girl. Now as for my 14 month old she’s not even 20lbs yet & she’s about 30″ long. Oh & by the way we haven’t had an income for a while granted my husband had back surgery 14.5wks ago & has yet to be released by doc to return to work & I’m a full time stay at home mom. So again please enlighten me why you think poor people have fat kids?
Slow down, Kylie. It’s pretty well known that low-income families often live in food deserts where fast food and other high calorie, low nutrition foods are in greater supply than healthy foods. Many low-income parents work many hours and spend a lot of time in transit vs being able to spend time on cooking, which means their children tend toward the heavier side. Given that 2/3 of American adults are obese (1/3 of children are obese: http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx), it *is* a significant problem that child passenger safety technicians and manufacturers have to consider.
(Just to clarify – I meant are kid outgrowing seats like the Size4Me/Head Wise/My Size by weight *before their parents move them to a different seat for some other reason*. My 8YO would probably fit in one of these seats, just like she does in our Radian and Nautilus, but she doesn’t USE them. [She might use the Nautilus if it didn’t belong to her younger sister, though.])
It’s too bad that some seats will see their FF upper weight limits lowered.
But I’m genuinely curious – are kids outgrowing seats like the Size4Me/Head Wise/My Size by weight anyway?
Will the Tranzitions’ LATCH be usable then over 11″ spacing since it’s not their new one?
That’s a very exciting new seat. Wow.