For more than 65 years, Graco has built high quality products that parents can trust, including car seats, strollers, travel systems, swings, highchairs, playards and nursery care essentials. Graco is part of Newell Brands Inc., a leading global consumer products company, with its products available globally through a variety of retail partners. One of the key differences between the Extend2Fit 3-in-1 and the Extend2Fit Convertible is that the 3-in-1’s maximum shoulder-harness graco turbobooster height is over an inch shorter than the Convertible’s. If a child is tall, they could reach that harness limit, and you’d have to switch them over to booster mode—possibly before you would have ordinarily put them in a booster. A five-point harness provides more protection than a booster; also, some kids who are physically large enough for a booster aren’t mature enough developmentally to ride in one, since they must be able to sit without slouching or leaning forward.
Head over to our YouTube Channel to see the review and installation how-to of the Graco Extend2Fit. This Graco earns an above-average score for ease of use but isn’t the easiest Graco we’ve tested. The HIC and chest clip sensors in the Extend2Fit were some of the lowest in the group in a testing situation where lower is better. If you are unable to register your child’s seat with the manufacturer, contact NHTSA at We are currently testing the Poplar and Poplar S and will update this guide soon with our findings. Whenever possible, we sought feedback about the seats from kid testers.
Like our top-pick seat from Graco, the Chicco KeyFit 30 is tricky to install tightly without its base, since it uses an American belt-path configuration. We wish that weren’t the case, and if no-base installs are a priority for your family, the KeyFit 30 probably isn’t your ideal seat. To secure the base using LATCH (see this video for a demonstration), you click the push-button LATCH hooks into the car’s anchors. And then to tighten, you pull up on a single strap located at the center of the base (labeled with the words “Pull Strap Storage”).
The Poplar S also includes a rebound stability bar for use when rear-facing, which helps limit movement in a crash. The Poplar costs $300 and the Poplar S costs $350, the same price as our current runner-up pick, the Britax Boulevard ClickTight. Britax is phasing out the Boulevard ClickTight and Marathon ClickTight, though they are available to buy while supplies last. Clek is a Canadian car seat manufacturer best known for its high-end convertible car seats, which have a reputation for weighing a ton and being built like tanks. The company came out with its first infant car seat, the Clek Liing, in 2019, and it has yet to appear on some people’s radar. But during our recent round of testing, we were—at the risk of gushing—blown away by the Liing’s functionality, engineering, safety features, and overall design.
Graco’s goal is to give every family the chance to thrive through the One Family Project, which has supported families in need across the nation by donating over $1M in baby gear since 2010. Your child’s safety could be in jeopardy if your car seat is not installed correctly. Before you install your car seat, make sure you’re familiar with vehicle and car seat parts used in the installation process and these important installation safety tips. The Boulevard weighs about 29 pounds—more than many similar seats, but significantly less than our 38-pound also-great pick, the Clek Foonf.
The sun canopy on the KeyFit 35 extends out a bit farther than the KeyFit 30’s, but it’s not as large as that of our upgrade pick, the Clek Liing. If you want a more generous sun canopy, the KeyFit 35 Zip ClearTex (which is the exact test model we tried for this guide, and the one pictured) has a canopy that can unzip to shade the seat completely; it costs about $30 more. If you’re comfortable paying more, it’s certainly a nice plus, but graco convertible car seat we think most people would be content with the standard KeyFit 35 model, as well. Many infant car seats require you to use two hands to adjust the handle position. But the SnugRide SnugFit 35 DLX has a button conveniently located at the top of the handle—you just press it and then move the handle using one hand. Releasing the bucket from the base is also a one-handed maneuver, as you simply lift up a handle at the back of the seat.
But for the few who do, here’s a quick guide to this pretty simple process. The harness mechanism pulls quite smoothly and does not require significant strength to tighten. Directions for assembling the cupholders are in the manual — they slide into a channel and click into place. Once assembled, the cupholders are required to remain attached to the seat.
And unlike the Graco SnugRide SnugFit 35 DLX and the Chicco KeyFit 30, the Clek Liing is also easy to install snugly if you’re using it without the base. This is because, like the Chicco KeyFit 35, it has a European belt-path configuration, which provides a more secure fit than the American configuration. The Liing comes with the added safety feature of a load leg, a metal support graco turbobooster rod that sits between the car seat and the vehicle floor; in an accident, the load leg absorbs some of the initial impact of the crash and limits the amount that the seat can move. The seat has the same height and weight allowances (32 inches and 35 pounds) as the SnugRide SnugFit 35 DLX and the KeyFit 35, and it comes in a range of stylish, high-end fabric options.