I was going to write a full review, one of my typical epic blogs that you can’t possibly read without falling asleep. Unfortunately, I fell asleep every time I thought about writing it. So, I’m going to just add enough followup comments to make you drowsy and then turn it over to another reviewer for more input. You can find my first look in an earlier blog.
Some thoughts-
My wife likes it. We used it extensively over the last few weeks, including a family driving vacation. She is not a carseat advocate, so this is a good endorsement. You can find the Safety 1st Complete Air and the newer Complete Air LX at Amazon and many other stores. Granted, she only used it front-facing. In this direction it installs well with LATCH or seatbelt in the vehicles I tried (2000 Subaru Outback, 2006 Honda Odyssey and 2010 Toyota Prius). It tends to fit well on older kids, as the top slot and shell height are reasonably high. I didn’t try 3-across carseats, but it worked fine in the back seat of a 2010 Prius along with a backless booster for my three kids (right).
Rear-facing, it’s nice for older kids. It fits them well, has generous dimensions and a high 40 pound rear-facing weight limit. This is a huge benefit of this seat, at least in theory. You can see a video in my first look blog of my son, who fits rear-facing at 4 years and 40 pounds.
The harness height adjustment is nice and can be used without un-installing the seat or removing any straps. It can be tricky to adjust sometimes, especially into the top setting. Make sure you hear it solidly click into place!
The harness straps can and do twist at the buckle. Fortunately, they won’t twist at the chest clip so you won’t end up with a rope in a week or two. It does require some twiddling to untwist them every once in a while.
The multiple crotch strap settings are nice, but even the farthest setting is still tight on older boys. Only the first and second crotch strap slots may be used rear-facing. Any of the three may be used front-facing. On the plus side, the inner setting is reasonable for babies.
The bottom of the seat is probably less friendly than average to vehicle seats, given the edges and protrusions. You may wish to protect your vehicle seats, but be sure to read Heathers advice first!
The manuals and labels are significantly improved from Cosco/Safety 1st seats of yesteryear. Kudos to Dorel for making these improvements!
For newborns and small babies, it’s not as nice as some other convertibles. It can be tough to get the required 45 degree recline in some vehicles due to the shape of the shell and the design of the base. Rear-facing installs with LATCH are also tricky due to the angle you have to pull the strap tight. This is made worse because an adjuster is present on only one side. Seatbelt installations may be a little better in some cases and I would think most experienced technicians could resolve any issues for parents who have difficulty.
As you may be able to see in the photo below, the harness doesn’t adjust low enough for small infants, but should fit fine on older babies. The manual specifically warns not to use this child restraint if the harness slot is above the child’s shoulders rear-facing, when the headrest is in the lowest position. It can be a little difficult to tighten the harness when rear-facing, too. Finally, as you can see from my infant size doll, smaller babies won’t get the benefit of the Air Protect wings, even in the lowest setting that is about 10″ to the strap slot. Granted, if their shoulders are under the level of the slots in the lowest setting as is the case in the photo below, they should not be using this restraint.
Overall, I think the Safety 1st Complete Air it is a very nice child safety seat. I would only caution that it is not ideal as a primary restraint for a newborn or smaller baby because of the reasons I mention above. For older babies, especially those who have outgrown an infant seat, it should be a fine choice, though it might take a little more effort to install it rear-facing in some vehicles. The big safety benefit is for those older babies and toddlers, because it’s potentially a great seat for extended rear-facing and also very nice for bigger kids to use when front-facing. Beyond that, my only qualm is the high price tag, $249.99 at TRU/BRU.
Hi there so I have a few questions. My son is getting so big so quickly he is currently 3mos and 16lbs and 31 in long. His head is about two inches away from the Inch mark on the top of his current Britax-b agigle stroller system. I read once their head gets one inch from the top you need to get a larger car seat. So I have been looking into this
Safety First Air 70, we drive an 98 suburban so Im not really concerned with it “fitting” but the Latch systems don’t work with our trucks because their old enough that they don’t have those hooks. Is there another way like the seatbelt or anything to install this rearfacing?? and the overall height do you think it will be taller than my seat where it could obstruct my vision out the back window?
Thanks!
We just bought this seat and so far I really like it. We have a tall baby boy who has outgrown his infant seat so we had to upgrade to a larger seat sooner than we had planned. This seat wasn’t all that difficult to install, if you read the instructions. However, I will say, after reading this review and a few others I had already decided that I wasn’t going to worry too much about the incline since he is older. At first I tried to install it with the level line level to the ground. Then I realized that the seat would have pretty much been laying flat and would have been at more of an incline than my sons infant seat was. So that idea quickly went out the window. The seat is installed and so far my son loves it and so do we.
Just purchased (65 SE). Even if you put this on the ground the rear facing “level” line on the seat still tilts forwards.
So to get the line level your back seat needs to be the only one on the planet and slope forwards … or stuff the crap out of it with a very very very thick towel.
The later option seems to be the recommendation … they do this themselves …
http://airprotect.safety1st.com/RFBelt.php
… the rest seems nicely designed … I think someone there should look at this in future models.
Perhaps it should have “towel sold separately” on the box.