Cosco Elite: Is It Really the Alpha and the Omega???
Written: Dec 25 '05 (Updated May 31 '06)
Product Rating:
Durability:
Ease of Use:
Pros: Adjustable harness; Accommodates kids of many sizes
Cons: Not good for the very young; Doesn't double as a carrier
The Bottom Line: This seat does offer some very attractive features, but it isn't practical as a seat for infants in spite of the manufacturers claims.
Being a new dad has brought with it the opportunity to shop for, and evaluate, many different products I never imagined myself needing or buying. I now find myself walking up and down the baby aisles in stores, visiting departments that I once only glanced at from a safe distance.
One product that is essential when you have a baby is a car seat and I am now the owner of several of them. My latest acquisition is the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite, a multi- purpose, multi- weight car seat.
Facts About This Product:
This large car seat is designed to hold children of most any size, from infants to larger, older kids. It can handle weights up to 100 pounds and it has the ability to be installed facing backward or forward. Using the rear- facing method (for infants), this seat is designed to keep babies in the 5 to 35 pound range safe and secure. Turn it around to face forward and it can accommodate larger children from 20 to 40 pounds. It can even be used as a booster seat for older kids, and in this capacity it can handle youngsters up to 100 pounds total weight.
For added comfort, this car seat can be adjusted to recline in three different positions. It also has two arm rests that can be moved up, out of the way, or left down where your child can utilize them. The child’s head is held in place by the cloth headrest and it can be adjusted to four different positions. There is also a smaller headrest to use for infants. A small storage compartment in the back can be used for essentials.
Fastening your little one in this seat couldn’t be much easier. Besides the five- point security, the harness itself never has to be re- threaded, like with many other car seats. With most seats, you have to re- thread the belts to accommodate your child as he/she grows. But with this seat, the harness is attached to a sliding panel that actually moves up and down and there are five separate slots to attach it to. With this, you can quickly change the harness to handle most any size child from zero to forty pounds.
Customer Service:
If customer service assistance is needed, one can either consult the web site or make a call. The web page is coscojuvenile.com and it contains many useful bits of information on Cosco products. If you want to speak to a live rep, the number to call is 800-544-1108. Reps are available to assist between the hours of 7am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday through Thursday; and between 7am and 4:30pm Eastern Time on Friday.
Final Thoughts:
Cosco’s Alpha Omega Elite is a good car seat that the manufacturer claims can be used throughout your baby’s life stages. I obtained this car seat a short time ago and while I already have a car seat designed for infants, this one will still be nice for when the baby grows up since it can be used for children up to a nice, hefty weight of 100 pounds.
This car seat is much larger than most car seats with a back rest that is tall enough that it will likely stick up above the rear seat in some automobiles. From my experience with it, I have found it to be moderately secure with my little one (I will explain later). It features the five- point harness that is recommended by safety experts for maximum protection. With this type of setup, there are straps that go over the shoulders; straps that go over the legs; and one strap that is secured between the legs, to the base of the seat. With this type of strapping, each of the key parts of the body is secured in place, helping to give parents peace of mind.
The harness of this car seat can be adjusted to accommodate children up to a maximum of about 40 pounds. To adjust it up or down, all you have to do is turn the latches in front and then move the harness panel on the back of the seat higher or lower until the metal rod snaps into one of the five positions. It isn’t too difficult, but like other Epinions reviewers have stated, it’s also not as easy as the manufacturer makes it out to be. It does take some effort but once you get used to it, adjustments become easier and easier. Still, it is much simpler than some other models of car seats that do not have such a mechanism in place. With most car seats, you have to undo the belts and re- thread them through different sets of openings as your child grows. With this seat, it’s just a matter of moving the bar up or down to the best setting. No threading is needed.
Reclining this seat is accomplished by pulling the red bar in the front, near the bottom. It takes a good tug, but it does offer three different reclining positions. There is no balance leveler, like with infant and other car seats. This lack of a leveler is common with larger seats but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
My little girl has now reached a weight of 13 pounds and this car seat will accommodate her. However, I don’t feel quite as safe with her in this seat as I do other seats designed specifically for infants. Part of the reason is psychological: With the seat being so large, she almost seems “lost” sitting in it and she doesn’t look as secure. I know this is mostly in my head, but it just doesn’t look right to see this small child in a seat that is so much taller than she. The other reason I don’t feel as safe is more realistic. My little one fits into the seat now, but barely. There is a little more room above her shoulders than I would prefer- even in the lowest setting. I can’t imagine placing her in this seat when she was younger. The reason is because the harness, while it does adjust nicely, doesn’t adjust down low enough to make a very small child snug and safe. Cosco claims this seat can handle any size baby but I wouldn’t use it on a child any smaller than about ten pounds.
The booster on this seat is one feature I have not had a need to use but the way it works is simple, with the belt going over your child’s thighs. No tools are needed to convert from one seat size to the next. Just a few pushes and pulls is all it takes to re- position the harness and headrest to fit your child.
One bad thing to note for those with infants is that there is no detachable base. Thus, you cannot use this seat as a carrier the way you can with other car seats, and this is another reason I tend to avoid using this seat in favor of my smaller infant seat. This is strictly designed as a seat for a car. The seat is heavier than most others (which is expected, considering its size) and there is no easy way to carry it even when empty because there is no handle. You can slip your fingers underneath the upper back part of the seat and try to carry it that way, but there is little depth here because there isn’t anything resembling an actual handle. There is a good chance it will slip from your fingers if you try to transport it this way.
To make sure consumers get it right when it comes to harnessing your child into the seat, Cosco has several labels on the sides that illustrate what to do and what not to do, based on your child’s size and weight. These are intended for safety purposes and they provide friendly reminders about the different positions and making sure you use the one that is right for your child’s size. The customer support phone number is also indicated on one of the stickers, just in case you have a problem and need some quick advice.
This seat is sold in three different cloth patterns. The padding is thick and comfy and it is removable for cleaning. If you decide to remove, make sure you have the users guide nearby because you will need the directions to make sure you reinstall the material the correct way. The plastic parts will likely never get very dirty but if they do, you can wipe them clean with a damp cloth.
This model of car seat retails for about $130 in most stores. I, however, got mine for a much lower price: ZERO! Yes, I got mine as a gift- not a Christmas gift, just an everyday, “we want to help” type of gift. I didn’t have an immediate need for a larger car seat but family members knew I was going to need a larger seat sooner or later so they purchased this seat for me. I have used it a handful of times and will likely use it more in the future but for now, while my girl is still small, I will probably keep using the smaller infant seat because it seems safer and more secure.
Overall, this is a pretty good car seat- one that is best suited for larger children than for smaller ones in spite of what the manufacturer claims, making it a good Omega seat, but not necesarily a good Alpha seat. For infants, a seat designed especially for infants is the way to go. For larger children (20 pounds or more), this seat actually does seem pretty good. It offers the no- hassle adjustment of the harness and it’s large enough and durable enough to handle kids up to the point where they no longer need to use a car seat.
For More Baby Product Reviews, Be Sure to Click on the Links Below:
Equipped for both rear-facing and forward-facing travel, this all-in-one car seat comfortably accommodates a child from birth to age eight and beyond....More at Albee Baby
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.