4 Black Friday Car Seat Deals—Are They Worth It? Here’s What Consumer Reports Says
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 5 min read
Car seats
can be expensive—plus there are so many options. It can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to make the best choice for your kids
so they are safe in the event of a car accident
. The good news is there are some Black Friday car seat deals you can take advantage of this year. But how can you be sure that you are getting the best car seat for your child and the best deal? To find out, we decided to take a look at some of the Black Friday car seat deals, and whether or not the savings are worth it based on how the car seats were rated by Consumer Reports (CR).
Some of these deals are going on right now, so there’s no need to wait for Black Friday in some cases.
Black Friday car seat deals for infants
The
Baby Trend Ally 35 Infant Car Seat
is normally $100 and is currently $90—but only the optic red and pink colors are available at the sale price.Meant for infants between 4 and 35 pounds, this car seat has a deluxe seat pad with a reversible infant insert. It has side wings with EPS foam to protect your baby from a side impact. There’s also a five-point safety harness, a four-position height adjustment base, and an adjustable two-panel canopy.
Consumer Reports
only rated the car seat a 55 out of 100 and concluded that while you can get this car seat for a reasonable price, it only offers the bare necessities. Some positives for the car seat include its LATCH installation and the fact that it’s a lightweight carrier.But Consumer Reports points out more negatives, including multiple harness loops that may be cause for error, poor instruction and labels, and a complicated buckle adjustment. And while the car seat is listed for up to 35 pounds, a rolled towel must be used to achieve incline for 22-35 pounds, according to Consumer Reports.
If you are looking for a Black Friday car seat deal for an infant, a better choice might be the
Clek Liing Infant Car Seat
, which will be on sale for 15% off for Black Friday.The car seat boasts a two-piece shell with EPP foam for side-impact protection and Clek’s signature rigid-LATCH base with seven recline positions. It’s made to be easily removable from the base or one of the compatible strollers.
Consumer Reports
said this infant car seat is one of the best for balancing crash protection with ease of use and vehicle fit, and rated it a 90. Plus, with the car seat’s rigid LATCH and load leg feature, it was one of the top performers on CR’s crash tests. While CR did note a few negatives, they don’t seem to have anything to do with the car seat’s safety, so the tradeoffs might be worth it to
some parents
. The seat/base of the car seat is heavy and the harness rethreading requires careful routing. In addition, significant disassembly is needed for cleaning, and the handle position is restricted in the vehicle. Black Friday car seat deals for older children
The
Maxi-Cosi Magellan All-in-One Convertible Car Seat
is reportedly usually $400 but is currently available for $349. It has five modes and is meant to fit your child all the way from birth to 10 years old, and includes a seven-position recline, three adjustable torso height positions, and 14 headrest heights.Consumer Reports
gave the car seat a rating of 65 and said that the biggest benefits include its rear and forward-facing installation using the LATCH system. However, CR pointed out that since there is a low rear-facing LATCH limit, you’ll need to transition to belt installations sooner—and they aren’t quite so easy. It can be difficult to thread the shoulder belt into the guide when the seat is in booster mode.There’s a 1-year-old age minimum for booster use, which conflicts with the 40-pound minimum. The LATCH use is limited to 35 pounds rear-facing, and the seat is “heavy and bulky,” according to Consumer Reports.
A better choice might be the
Graco Extend2Fit Car Seat
, which is currently priced at around $191. It’s also meant to grow with your child from a rear-facing harness to forward-facing, and the Extend2Fit four-position adjustable extension panel provides up to 5-inches of additional legroom.Consumer Reports
rated this car seat a 73 and indicated that it’s a good performing car seat in all modes of use. It also noted that the legroom extender allows it to stay rear-facing for children up to 50 pounds, which is the safest car seat position for children.The few negatives of the car seat are that the transition from rear-facing to forward-facing using the LATCH may be difficult, and recline positions are limited by child weight. In addition, you may find removing and replacing the cover to be difficult.
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