Update: Please read our Graco Extend2Fit REVIEW
One of the most eagerly anticipated seats at the ABC Kids Expo this year is Graco’s Extend2Fit convertible. What sets this seat apart is an innovative leg rest/seat extender that gives rear-facing children more legroom. Although we know that bent legs don’t pose a safety hazard, and we know that kids tend to be little contortionists, lots of parents worry that their kids look uncomfortable rear-facing and use squished legs as a reason to turn kids forward-facing, often before they should. Graco hopes to combat that worry with the Extend2Fit.
The seat we saw was a prototype so the soft goods and some other aspects might change a bit, but we liked what we saw.
The details:
- 4-50 lbs. rear-facing
- 22-65 lbs. and 49″ or less forward-facing
- Infant insert
- 10-position harness height, maxing out at 18 inches
- 6-position recline (3 positions for forward-facing; 3 for rear-facing)
- 17″ seat depth with panel extended
- Steel reinforced shell
- 10-year expiration
We were concerned that the Extend2Fit’s expandable seating area might cause the seat to take up an excessive amount of room in the car, but I don’t think that will be a problem. When we put the seat in the most upright rear-facing position and extended the panel, the seat took up only about 28″. Graco said they’ve done extensive fit-to-vehicle testing and found that in most cases, an average-sized man should be able to sit comfortably in the front seat.
With a tall shell and a 50-lb rear-facing weight limit, this looks like it will be a great fit for larger rear-facing kids, yet it should still fit newborns well, too. Here’s Romeo modeling:
The seat will be available in three colors, plus there will be retailer-specific fashions. The Extend2Fit should be shipping in November and should hit stores in January. Retail price is expected to be $199.
Thank you very much for your response
Say the tray breaks on impact in an accident now wouldn’t you have a loose car seat wiggling around till the vehicle comes to a complete stop after the accident? Was this feature actually crash tested?
Suzie, yes, it was crash tested so no worries. Statistically, frontal impacts are far more common than rear impacts and in that case, the carseat will be moving in a forward direction, away from the back seat. When the tray is fully extended, the LATCH belt is at a fairly extended, fixed length. A seat belt would theoretically continue to retract if the retractor didn’t break, so that may be your preferred method of installation.
How safe is using the extender as that plastic piece will be flush to the seat and not the actual car seat? My concern since the car seat will not be flush to the seat will it still be safe if rear ended being that there’s more wiggle room? If that makes sense. Love the features and looking online for the answer to this question before I purchase.
Can the whole thing be washed?
Yes! But like other carseats, the harness requires handwashing with a cloth only.
I too am wondering if there is an update on this seat. My daughter is very close to the 40 lb limit on her Britax seat and I want to keep her rear facing but don’t have it in the budget to get one of the other 50lb rear facing seats.
Hi, any updates on this car seat? I still can’t find it!
Just saw it at target today, no padding on the foot extender. But otherwise seemed great!
Did we get a measurement for the top harness height for forward facing?
Approximately 18″
Will this seat offer a HBB mode once FF?
No, this is a standard convertible without a booster mode.
How wide is it at the base? Can three fit across the seat of a, say, Honda Oddessey?
What is the rear facing height limit?
Sarah, I believe it is 49″. That is essentially the maximum allowed by the standard for the largest dummy typically used for rear facing crash testing.
All these awesome new seats and still no lock-off…
There is one new one with a lockoff, video coming soon.
What is the seat with the lock offs?
Thanks for the preview!
Maybe this is a stupid question, but I’m having a hard time visualizing how the extension will create *more* legroom when installed RF. Won’t the base sit in the same position on the seat no matter if the extension is used or not? Or are you saying that the tilt will create more legroom?
Hi Nedra – That’s a great question. I had the same problem visualizing it, so I asked about it. You *do* install the base a bit further back when the tray is extended. If you look at the pictures above, visualize the right end of the pillar as the back of the vehicle seat, then see that we’ve moved the base back a bit when the tray is extended and the seat is more upright. It really does seem to take up about the same amount of room.
Also, does the extension have several positions? Or is it just all 5″ or none?
Hi Nedra, it was a prototype model on display, but there were 4 settings up to 5 inches. Please note that may translate to less than 5 inches of added legroom depending on the vehicle and seating position.
Thanks Darren!
Did they say whether the final version will have a padded extension?