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What’s new, improved and coming soon from Baby Trend, Britax, Chicco, Clek, Diono, Evenflo, GB, Cybex, Graco, Nuna, Peg Perego & Safety 1st

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) made the decision last year to split from the ABC Kids Expo and have its own show in the spring. This week, the CarseatBlog team has spent its time going from manufacturer to manufacturer to get the scoop for you—finding new information and fashions—and finding new goodies along the way!

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The Good News – a lot of great things are in the works from a bunch of different manufacturers. The future is exciting and full of cool new carseats and innovation!

The Bad News – we can’t talk about most of it (yet). Lol. We hate to tease but we are bound by NDAs in most cases, or the info is just embargoed until a specific date in the future. We hope that by the ABC Show in October we will be able to share some details on a few projects but for now just know that all the big players (and even some of the smaller manufacturers) are working on new stuff, improving existing platforms, and in general just upping their game. Some of these products will be available later this year but others won’t be on store shelves for another 12+ months.

However, not everything we saw or discussed was confidential or embargoed. There was some new, and new-ish, stuff to report on, so here you go, in alphabetical order . . .

Baby Trend

Protect Convertible Series

• The base is hollowed out in the middle to help it fit better in the center of the back seat, which is sometimes contoured.
• Elite Version: available at BRU; has dual cup holders, lockoffs, and adjustable base; has a robust internal head restraint for rear-facers
• Premier Version: available at Target; has 1 cup holder, adjustable base, and a double insert for comfort and fit
• Sport Version: available at Wal-Mart; has 1 cup holder and a flip foot for rear-facing
• BT is bringing back the Inertia, which changed names to müv, and will now be called E-motion.

Britax

ClickTight Models

All 3 ClickTight models—Marathon, Boulevard, Advocate—now are packaged with anti-rebound bars (ARBs) in limited fashions.

Chicco

Fit2 LE Infant Seat

• Will continue to be made in Italy
• Alto fashion has leatherette trim

NextFit iX

• The iX means Innovation Multiplied. Pretty cool, huh?
• Has new LockSure™ lockoffs that seat belt slides into, just like the KeyFit lockoffs
• Harness adjuster has a force multiplier to make tightening easier for caregiver
• Harness adjuster strap has also been reduced in width from 2″ to 1.5″ to reduce friction, which makes it easier for caregivers to pull tight
• Chest clip has been changed to an IMMI chest clip

GoFit

• Is available in Shark, Raindrop, and Grape fashions
• Will continue to be a Target exclusive until 7/1/17

There will be new Air fashions in January 2018.

Clek

Check out the lovely limited edition purple (Peep) seats! Aura is the white shell version while Prince is the black shell version. Available in July while supplies last.

Also new is Cadet (white shell) and Woodlands (black shell).

Diono

Britax has had two lines of convertibles—the G4.1s and the ClickTights— for 3 years now and there are still many questions about the similarities and differences between the two. Let’s compare them and see what makes each convertible line its own and which one may be best for you and your child.

Similarities Between G4.1 Convertibles and ClickTight Convertibles
Both G4.1 and ClickTight convertible lines are outgrown rear-facing when the child’s head reaches 1” from the red adjuster handle on the headrest when it’s fully extended.
Both G4.1 and ClickTight convertible lines have the rubber HUGS on the harness (exception is the Roundabout)
Both convertible lines have RF weight limits of 5-40 lbs.
Both convertible lines have FF weight and height limits* of 20-65 lbs. and 49” or less (*exception is the Roundabout G4.1 which has a FF weight limit of 20-55 lbs. and height limit of 46” or less)
Both sets of convertibles have built-in lockoffs: the G4.1s have color-coded clip-style lockoffs, while the ClickTight panel serves as a lockoff
Both convertible lines have smooth bases with grippy rubber edges
Both convertible lines are steel-reinforced. The bars are more visible on the G4.1 line.
© www.CarseatBlog.com

Differences Between G4.1 Convertibles and ClickTight Convertibles
The G4.1 line has a black shell and visible steel bars on the sides	The ClickTight line has a white shell with the ClickTight panel that opens to reveal the belt paths
LATCH installation with the G4.1s is super easy for 2 reasons: 1. G4.1 has deluxe push-on LATCH connectors, and 2. Each LATCH strap is connected separately to the steel bars on the side, so pulling the straps tight is very easy.	ClickTights are designed to be installed with the seat belt and the lower LATCH connectors are the hook-on style and hidden in a compartment on the back of the base to discourage owners from using LATCH
G4.1 top harness slots are about 1.5” lower than the ClickTight seats and overall seat height is about 1.5” shorter while seats are about 1” wider
G4.1 convertibles have 1 recline for rear-facing, but the recline can be tweaked per the manual	ClickTight convertibles have a greater recline range for both rear-facing and forward-facing
G4.1s CAN be installed with Ford Motor Company inflatable seat belts after lower LATCH connector weight limit is reached	ClickTights CANNOT be installed with Ford Motor Company inflatable seat belts after lower LATCH connector weight limit is reached
G4.1: the date of manufacture (DOM) and model information sticker is on the plastic shell by the child’s left shoulder	ClickTight: the date of manufacture (DOM) and model information sticker is under the child’s left knee on the ClickTight panel, under the cover
© www.CarseatBlog.com

We also have more information about how the G4.1 and ClickTight models fit in your vehicle rear-facing in our Ultimate Rear-Facing Convertible Carseat Space Comparison article. You can also compare individual seats against each other by using our comparison tool.

Graco Contender 65 Convertible Review

Updated May 2017

The Graco Contender has been on the market now for a while and has proved to be a solid, easy-to-use convertible worthy of a look by parents considering that next-step carseat. It has great rear-facing capabilities, turns into a forward-facing carseat that will take most kids to booster age, easily installs, and has that ubiquitous cup holder. The Contender’s lower price point than its cousins, the Size4Me/My Size/Head Wise (aka “Clones”) puts it in that desirable position of being nice enough to be a main carseat yet inexpensive enough to be a backup seat.

Weight and Height Limits:

• Rear-facing: 5-40 lbs. AND child’s head is 1” below red adjustment handle
• Forward-facing: 22-65 lbs., 49″ or less, at least 1 year old*

*We recommend following the American Academy of Pediatrics minimum guidelines of rear-facing to at least age 2 before turning your child forward-facing. It’s safest to rear-face past the minimum of age 2.

Contender Overview:

• 8-position headrest with no re-thread harness
• 2 crotch strap/buckle positions
• Color-coded recline flip-foot takes guesswork out of reclining carseat
• FAA approved for use on aircraft
• 7 yr lifespan before seat expires

Baby Trend:

Newborn/preemie positioning insert now available. New BabyTrend infant seats will ship with this extra insert made from EPP foam in a separate bag (with instructions). Seats that come with the insert will be rated down to 4 lbs. since the insert will provide better harness fit on smaller babies.

Britax:

Beginning in July, all ClickTight convertible carseats will be shipping with the harness hip straps on the longer setting. The updated manuals will instruct parents using the convertibles for infants less than 11 lbs. to change the harness length to the shorter loops on the ends.

Frontier and Pinnacle Harness-2-Booster seats will also see an update this summer as a new LATCH storage panel is included to keep the lower connectors out of the way of the ClickTight panel.

Red stitching on the rip-stitch tether on the right side of the top back of the carseats will now be visible. As long as it isn’t frayed, pulled apart, or visibly broken, this is normal.

Chicco:

More Fit2 fashions coming in July when it goes to other retailers (currently Fit2 is a BRU exclusive).

“Luxe” fashions on KeyFit Zip, NextFit IX Zip & KidFit Zip has leatherette punched trim.

NextFit IX shipping now; 9-position headrest (same bottom and top harness heights but each position is a smaller increment); new slide-style lockoffs

Diono:

Monterey booster has been updated. Now shares the same base as Cambria booster. It has a 6 year expiration; manual has a misprint showing 8 years in one place. MSRP $99.99

Dorel:

Finale combination seat arriving late summer/fall 2017

Evenflo/Cybex/GB:

Cybex Sirona M Convertible: ETA is currently Fall 2017. See our preview HERE.

ALL Evenflo seats are now Rollover Tested!

Lyf+Guard SIP now available on 3 seats:

• ProSeries LiteMax Infant Seat
• ProSeries Stratos Convertible 
• Spectrum Booster

SensorSafe Technology now available on 3 seats:

• Embrace Infant Seat
• SureRide/Titan 65 Convertible
• Evolve Combination

Graco: