OK, this one is perhaps the biggest news of the ABC Kids Expo from a carseat perspective. It’s all-new, and it’s from a company new to child safety seats. It’s the Prodigy from Summer Infant. It’s not available yet, so please don’t contact them for information until next year! It should appear at a Babies R Us store near you around January, 2011!
What’s the big deal? First, it goes from 4-32 pounds and they say it should fit preemies well with their infant insert. Next, it has an innovative mechanical ratchet system to tighten the LATCH strap or seatbelt. It is reminiscent of a certain aftermarket product we know, but it’s built-in to the infant seat base and we had a chance to try it first hand. It works very well! Plus, it’s integrated into a digital display with smiley faces that tell you if the recline angle is acceptable and when the seatbelt or LATCH system is tight enough using the ratchet system for a good installation. And last, but not least, it features IMMI/SafeGuard harness system components, including their new “Belt Tightening System” that automatically adjusts to the proper shoulder height and tightness. The IMMI LATCH attachments have indicators to verify proper attachment to the vehicle as well. The crotch strap has two positions, while the handle has three positions that may all be used in the vehicle.
It was impressive enough even in prototype form that I have to say it is “Best Exhibit in Show”. Well, the fact that they had free food and beer may have swayed the judges a bit! The Prodigy will retail at $179 for the infant seat with base, $299 in a travel system with the matching stroller (rated to 50 pounds) and $89 for an extra base with the patent pending digital display and tightening system. No photos or videos were allowed, but we hope to have some stock images for you soon.
Like many established manufacturers, Summer Infant has also built a nice team with a lot of expertise in child passenger safety, including a CPST-Instructor advocate. Granted, it was a prototype, but it looked very impressive already and we love to see innovations that advance ease-of-use to keep kids safe. We also hope to have a review in the not-to-distant future! Until then, we ask that you please don’t pester them for more details until the official launch early next year when the Prodigy will be available.
Just bought one. We had settled on Chico and when we went in, we saw this and decided on it instead 🙂 Baby is not here yet so how it works remains to be seen.
Interesting! Even if the technology turns out to be, well, not very practical I do love the idea behind it, and hopefully it could help the industry think a bit more creatively about finding workable solutions.
You can find the press release here- http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=144722
Yes, you will need batteries – 3 AA (IIRC) but they expect that you shouldn’t need to replace the batteries during the time period you use the seat for one child. The display screen powers-down pretty quickly – it’s not on continuously. The only time it’s on is when you install the base initially and when you “test” it periodically to make sure it’s still installed properly.
The innovation we witnessed from Summer Infant really impressed us all. The jumbo shrimp cocktail and ice-cold beer after a long day of walking and talking didn’t hurt either. 😉
Interesting. Re: 32 lbs: How are the harness heights? Is this a situation where only the shortest, stoutest infants will make it to the top weight?
And am I going to need batteries for the bases, and for the seat, to power the digital displays?
Free food, mmmm. Wings?
Neato!
Sounds neat! I’m interested to learn more about this new belt tightening system.
The infant insert was nice, as I recall, but nothing beyond standard infant insert-ish, KWIM? Keep in mind that this was a *brief* show and tell on how the infant seat operates and there were dozens of people there. It really had impressive, quality components.
If it comes w/ an infant insert, it’s probably already “snuzzler-like”.
Oh and they make the snuzzler, so will they allow it to be used in their seats??
I love infant seats! That sounds really cool!!
Holy cow, that sounds awesome. I don’t even LIKE infant seats but I… might need one of those. If only for when my mother takes the baby!