Great carseat.
Written: Jan 16 '03
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Pros: Cup/snackholder, wipeable fabric, spacious.
Cons: Puzzle-like buckle, straps twist.
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a seat that will grow with your child, this is a great choice.
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| lynngj's Full Review: Eddie Bauer Booster Seat |
We recently bought this Eddie Bauer High Back Booster Seat for our 18-month-old daughter to use in my husband's car (a Volvo station wagon). We previously were using an older Cosco convertible seat that had a high base and sides, making it difficult to get her in and out without bumping her head on the ceiling. We went to Target because of the selection and price, and wound up paying $61 for this on clearance. The regular price was $89.
As we shopped for our replacement seat, we were looking for several qualities:
1) Room: Our daughter is very tall, and other seats were already too short for her legs and neck. The Eddie Bauer High Back carseat gives her room to grow before she moves into a regular seatbelt. Although the seat has a slightly larger footprint (about 24 inches, vs. 18 inches for our previous seat), our daughter appreciates the extra width, as she wants her "friends" to sit next to her. The width will also allow us to use the seat longer--one of our biggest goals given the expense.
2) Padding: Other comparable carseats just seem flimsy on the cushions. Given that she's in my husband's car about half of the time, we wanted her to be comfortable. The Eddie Bauer High Back seat has comfortably padded arms and seat, and has a large head pillow that should both protect her in a crash and give her comfort on a daily basis--especially if we're lucky enough to get her to take a nap in the car.
3) Non-pinching latches: We love the easy configuration of the chest latch on this carseat. Unlike the claw-like clasps on other seats, this one slides easily and seems less likely to pinch sensitive flesh. The crotch latch is tricky to use: you must fit two pieces together to make a bigger piece that fits into the locking mechanism. This is the same system that's on our other Eddie Bauer seat, so we're used to working it, but it does get tricky when our daughter is especially wiggly. Note: as with our other Eddie Bauer seat, the fabric straps tend to fold in half and get twisted. This is my only real complaint about this brand.
4) Cup holder and other pockets: Anyone with a toddler knows you can't go anywhere without the favorite "friend", a few crayons and a cup of "juice" (as we call any beverage in a sippy cup.) The Eddie Bauer High Back Carseat comes with a removable cupholder that fits most of my daughter's sippy cups. As a bonus the back part of the tan plastic holder contains another small compartment, perfect for snacks. Best of all, it's removable for washing. The net pocket is big enough to hold an "emergency binky", some crayons and a small pad of paper. It's not huge by any means, but big enough to keep necessities at hand.
5) Easy-wipe fabric: The navy-blue fabric on this carseat is terrific. It's a smooth polyester/nylon, which means it's easy to wipe off. Spills don't soak in, and crumbs don't get embedded because there's no fancy texture in the cloth. I think it's easier to keep clean than leather; I just use a damp cloth. And in the summer, it won't get hot like leather does, which is a good safety feature. Best for us (since we have 2 ever-shedding golden retrievers), it doesn't collect dog hair like other fabric seats, so my daughter's clothes stay fur-free. The seams look very durable; the cover for the seat we've replaced spent time under my sewing machine about once a month.
6) Low profile: As I mentioned, the seat we replaced sat high on the seat and had tall sides, which meant you had to crawl into the car and awkwardly lift the baby out of the seat. Because of the angle it sat at, it was hard for her to get in and out by herself. The Eddie Bauer High Back Carseat has low arms (but Bonus armrests, which lower-end seats don't have)so it's very easy for us to get her in and out. And as she gets older, it will be easier for her to do it herself.
We bought this seat to last for about four years. Therefore it needed to be durable, big and easy to maintain. We believe we made a great choice by buying this seat.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 61
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
lynngj
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Location: Aurora, Colorado
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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