Should lie across the upper thighs and be snug across the shoulder and chest to restrain your child safely in a crash. On a day-to-day basis, the Extend2Fit Convertible is convenient and pleasant to use. The sides of the Extend2Fit Convertible are fairly low (the sides of our runner-up pick, the Britax Boulevard ClickTight, are noticeably higher). So it is slightly easier to maneuver your child in and out of this seat.
For example, we discovered that we had clear preferences when it came to choosing which seat we’d pick to move between cars on short notice. Whenever possible, we sought feedback about the seats from the kid testers. The Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 offers six recline positions, which can graco car seat keep your child comfortable as they get taller. Fortunately, each side of the seat has a level indicator that shows is it’s in a safe position, whether it’s front- or rear-facing. The height of its 10-position headrest is also easy to adjust; we could do it with just one hand.
If you need a very lightweight convertible car seat for travel, we recommend the no-frills, 6.8-pound Cosco Scenera Next, the top convertible-seat pick in our guide to the best travel car seats. We recognize that this is easier said than done, and we understand that many caregivers are eager to switch their child to the forward-facing position. This can be because it’s easier to see them or hand them things from the front seat when they’re facing forward, because caregivers are hoping to reduce car sickness, or because their child simply prefers it. Still, we think the trade-offs and inconveniences of keeping your child rear-facing for as long as possible—ideally until your child reaches their seat’s rear-facing height or weight limit—are worth it for the added safety and security. The current author of this guide is Christina Szalinski, a science writer with a PhD in cell biology whose reporting on health has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Undark, and more. In addition to writing Wirecutter’s updated guides to the best infant car seats and travel car seats, she is responsible for Wirecutter’s guides to the best baby formula and kids face masks.
The Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is similar in appearance to the Convertible; it’s not going to win any design awards, but it’s not offensive. The cover is a polyester blend that’s available in dark colors (black and dark gray) with lighter accents. As with that of the Extend2Fit Convertible, the fabric on this seat doesn’t wipe clean as easily as the fabric on our other picks.
The rear-facing infant car seat also allows you to adjust the harness system and headrest in one quick motion. Both the NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that a child ride rear-facing until they reach the height and weight limits of the seat—and we wanted those limits to be generous. Keeping a child rear-facing until they’re 4 years old is an ambitious and oft-cited graco turbobooster benchmark; that would mean an average of about 35 inches tall and 40 pounds. Despite the fact that deaths in car crashes have plummeted since the 1970s, motor-vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of injury death for US children. The NHTSA estimates (PDF) that the lives of 11,274 children younger than 5 were saved by the use of car seats or safety belts between 1975 and 2016.
The Graco Extend2Fit Convertible does a superior job of keeping your child rear-facing longer—and it’s straightforward to install and use. We actually brought the Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 on a flight, which prevented us from worrying about any damage it might incur as checked baggage. It fit easily into the airplane seat and our son, who was 2 years old at the time, enjoyed a flight strapped into his familiar spot. An important thing to note is that the LATCH system setup can differ from vehicle to vehicle, so you should check your car’s manual to see exactly where you can find the anchors. With those steps complete, the new indicator is installed and ready to keep on indicating your Graco 4Ever’s recline angle. The harness should be positioned at or above the shoulders and the buckle should be in the position nearest to but not under the child.
The lumbar support can be used anytime rear-facing but must be used forward-facing until the child is over 25 pounds, at which point it must be removed. Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat. The Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is a half-inch narrower and an inch taller than the Convertible, and it weighs a little less than 2 pounds more, but it’s still lighter than our other convertible seat picks. And like the Convertible, the 3-in-1 can accommodate a forward-facing child in a five-point harness up to 65 pounds or 49 inches. (Although, given the shorter harness height, they may outgrow the 3-in-1 a little sooner than the Convertible.) In high-back booster mode, this seat can accommodate a child up to 57 inches or 100 pounds, which is typical of a booster seat.