Testers noted whether level readers were available and clear, as well. Just Buy it Already I purchased three car seats before I ended up with this one. I was duped into thinking I needed to spend 3-4 times the cost of this one to get a decent car seat, but I was wrong. With the way the seatbelts are set up in my car it was nearly impossible to remove my little one when the carseat was installed with a seatbelt, so the the latch system was key. The high weight limit on the rear-facing latch system and the extended leg room option allows my two year old to sit comfortably. I can imagine that I will be able to keep it rear facing until at least 3-4 years old.
Our tester was immediately impressed by how durable the seat felt. We found that, overall, the installation process was intuitive and took only about five minutes to complete. The buckles and straps were firm and a little hard to use at first, and we also found that the straps snagged when being adjusted.
The buckle for securing the harness straps is straightforward to use. The original writer of this guide was Rebecca Gale, a Washington, DC–based reporter whose articles on policy and parenting have appeared in outlets including The New York Times, Slate, and The Washington Post. As part of the research and testing process, Rebecca became certified as a CPST herself; she’s also the author of Wirecutter’s guide to the best booster car seats and a mom of three. The Britax Boulevard ClickTight, our runner-up pick, is being phased out, as is the Marathon ClickTight, a less expensive convertible car seat that we list as an Other Good in this guide. We are now testing the Poplar and Poplar S and will update this guide with our findings. At 5 years, 40 pounds, and 44 inches, this model is just barely old enough to use a booster properly all of the time.
For very tall, lightweight kids, it may be possible to outgrow this seat forward facing first (though not much longer after rear facing). Our doll likely has less than a year to grow in terms of shoulder height. By overall height she would have had probably three to six months before she hit 49 inches. For children who weigh between pounds the seat must be in recline position four. Children who weigh over 40 pounds must use recline position five or six in forward facing mode. We love that the Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 car seat complies with all Federal Aviation Administration guidelines and can be used on an airplane in the rear or forward-facing positions with the five-point harness.
Because the 4Ever Extend2Fit has a sort of gigantically large footprint, Graco was kind enough to put a label on the base. This label indicates how much of the base needs to be on the vehicle seat in rear facing mode. We found that when the panel was even partially extended and the seat was on the more reclined settings, it was really challenging to make the 4Ever Extend2Fit fit on the vehicle seat, even in a van. Many vehicles cannot accommodate a car seat this size in a 3-across configuration.
If your chosen option is challenging, you may not use it as the manufacturer advised, or you could become chronically frustrated. This group has budget-friendly options with winners and lower-priced seats to meet your needs and safety goals. Seeing so many reasonably priced options perform so well with standout crash test analysis results was refreshing.
We’ve seen how long-lasting the Extend2Fit can be for children who ride rear facing, but how does it fit forward facing? The Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 offers six recline positions, which can 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.
As long as your child is rear-facing, this can be done without fully uninstalling the seat, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do. As mentioned, the Boulevard is part of Britax’s family of ClickTight seats, along with two other, similar models—the base model Marathon ClickTight and the now retired Advocate ClickTight (still available at some retailers). Their install methods are identical, graco convertible car seat and many of their features are the same. The main difference is in the layers of padding throughout the seats. The Marathon has the least padding of the three, and it typically costs about $50 less than the Boulevard. The Boulevard and the Advocate both offer the Click & Safe Snug Harness, which gives an audible click when the harness is properly tensioned, whereas the Marathon has a standard harness.