Top Rated Infant Car Seats

A good infant car seat is a safety necessity, but not all car seats are made to be the same. The most effective ones have features that increase crash test performance, like load legs, which are shock-absorbing parts in the base or car seat that limit movement in the event of a collision.

A popular choice among CPST instructors is the Chicco KeyFit, which has a weight limit that is high for rear-facing and height limit as well as bubble level indicator and a spring-loaded reclining foot that allows for easy installation.

Graco Mesa Max

The Graco Mesa Max is one of the top infant car seats best car seats in terms of convenience of use. It is made of great materials and a simple design and a handy feature that allows you to attach a child's harness to the headrest, making it easier to tighten. It also has a large hideaway canopy which makes it easy to keep your baby shaded when traveling. It is a bit heavier than the average stroller, which is problematic if you intend to carry it around or use it in conjunction with your award-winning UPPAbaby.

The Mesa Max's impressive results in crash tests demonstrate its dedication to safety. It scored high in both the frontal and side impact tests, which means that your child will be protected from the two sides of a collision.

The anti-rebound panel is another important safety feature. It helps reduce the forces of rebound in a crash and also safeguards the child's head. This feature is not common in infant car seats and makes the Mesa Max stand out among its competitors.

Graco Mesa Max can easily and securely be mounted in your vehicle with LATCH it is used in conjunction with the base. The load leg, recline angle adjustment as well as the indicator for tightness ensure a fast, accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6 lbs which is slightly heavier than the typical car seat for infants, but not enough to cause an issue.

The UPPAbaby Mesa V2 uses the same fabric with the same dual-knit construction as its predecessor. It is free of harmful chemicals that are fire retardant. It also has an infinitely adjustable headrest as well as a robust infant insert that improves the body's fit and positioning for babies approximately 4-11 lbs. The fabric is GREENGUARD gold certified, which means they test for low chemical emissions and low VOCs.

The UPPAbaby Mesa Max is slightly more expensive than some other options, but it has top features and modern safety technologies for an optimal traveling experience. The base included and a selection of stylish colorways enhance the value proposition. Its thoughtful features and sturdy design provide parents with peace of mind on every journey.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight

The Britax Blvd ClickTight is a great option for parents looking for a car seat they can expand with. Its rear-facing capacity is 40 pounds, which is greater than most infant car seats. Additionally, it can be used as a forward-facing seat until your child is 65 pounds.

Its biggest selling factor is the ClickTight Installation System, which is the most secure and user-friendly to use available. It lets you tighten the belt by pressing an orange release button and pulling on the harness strap without the need to untie it and then re-thread it. This decreases the chance of a mistake when tightening a seat belt, which is the leading cause of car seat failure.

The EZ-Buckle Pad is another safety feature that holds the buckle in place when you put your child in the car seat. This feature, along with beltpath cutouts that run along the sides of your child's seat, make it easy to get them into and out of the vehicle.

The three ClickTight convertible seat models (Boulevard CT, Marathon CT, Advocate CT) share the identical features. ClickTight Installation System is one of them. Also included is an impact-absorbing frame that has 7 recline positions.

The seat is fairly heavy, but you may want to consider a lighter option if are planning to use it for travel or frequent swaps of cars. The seat is large, so it might not be suitable for smaller vehicles.

If you're looking for a affordable option that is comparable to, check out the Graco 4Ever DLX. The seat has lower crash test scores than the Boulevard however it's an excellent seat for your child.

The Graco has also connectors with push-on connectors for LATCH which allows you to easily remove the seat. Boulevard's LATCH connectors utilize a different release system that requires you to pull on the webbing, then press a gray button. This can be difficult if your webbing is tight. However this seat comes with a convenient storage cubby to store the belt straps when they are not in use.

Clek Liing

If you're looking for an infant car seat that offers everything -- style, safety as well as convenience and luxury- you'll love the Clek Liing. This rear-facing car seat has a high crash test score, a great variety of features, and is easy to put in in most vehicles.

The Liing is made with features that go beyond US and Canadian safety regulations. It was designed for easy and secure installation in all seating positions. It also features advanced safety features such as an energy-absorbing metal leg and two-piece shell that is lined with EPP for enhanced side impact protection. The base comes with 7 recline positions, as well as a dependable bubble indicator to let you know when the seat is at the right angle for your newborn.

The Liing is loved by parents for its modern and sleek design, and also its innovative safety features such as the rigid lower anchors that are easier to connect than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing has a one-handed quick release, making it simple to remove the base and use with compatible strollers. It's also small enough to fit three-across in many vehicles, and it is a good fit in many convertible car seat as an extra boost for travel.

The Liing infant seat earns an impressive 1st place in terms of ease of installation with its unique rigid-LATCH system. The lower anchors of the Liing click right into the vehicle's lower seat belt slots, and the top tether strap snaps into the headrest of the vehicle, creating a tight, secure fit that eliminates the risk of the child being thrown around in a crash.

The base weighs 9 lbs and the car seat weighs 10.5 lbs. Other rear-facing seats are heavier in weight, but if you're planning on taking this car seat and its base everywhere, the slight difference won't be noticeable (especially when you add a baby into the equation! ).

Parents love the Liing's built-in canopy and 100+spf protection from the sun's rays by mesh peekaboo. Caregivers appreciate the merino blanket that keeps the baby warm and the capacity of the handle to pivot past the canopy. This makes it easier for parents to grab the seat when needed.

Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX

The Graco Trio GROW SnugLock is a 3-in-1 seat that can be converted from a rear-facing rotating infant car seat into a forward-facing harness, and later to the highback booster. It has the SnugLock system which allows for an easy and smooth installation using either lower anchors or car seat belts. It is possible to install it using the top rated baby car seats tether when in booster mode. (We recommend always using the lower anchors for additional security.)

We like that this seat can be used by children of all ages. It comes with an infant insert designed for younger babies that supports their necks and backs. This insert can be removed once the child is older, and the seat can be used as a standard car seat for toddlers. This car seat is among the few that allow you to use the top tether when in booster mode, which we highly recommend.

Its base is fairly compact from front to back, so it shouldn't have a problem fitting into most vehicles. The headrest has to be raised to allow the lower anchor webbing to pass through. Fortunately, there's a headrest adjustment knob that allows you to accomplish this, and also observe the position of the headrest in the display window.

The SnugLock system is one of the most exciting features of this seat. It's an anchor that is located in the belt path. This makes fitting this car seat with the lower anchors a breeze and nearly as simple as using the car seat belt.

The manual has a great illustration on how to route the lower anchor connectors correctly through the new belt path which may initially be confusing. It's crucial to keep them away from the crotch buckle loop, and away from the chest clip, so that they don't hinder the buckling system.

The Graco Trio Grow belongs to the Protect Plus Engineered Family, which means it has been subjected some of the most rigorous testing in the market. This includes tests for side, rear, and rollover crashes and frontal impact.