Graco ComfortSport Comparable to Britax Marathon and Evenflo Triumph for Short Kids on Short Trips
Written: May 24 '05 (Updated May 18 '06)
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Pros: EPS foam Inexpensive
Cons: Top slots too low for even average sized children Minimal comfort padding
The Bottom Line: A good car seat for small children.
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| mmcphee's Full Review: Graco ComfortSportâ„¢ 8633 Convertible Car Seat |
When “the little guy” joined our family my husband realized he was going to have to help out more, especially with running errands. Our problems was that since we only had one car seat for each of the 3 kids there was no way for both of us to leave the house in separate directions and split up the kids. Yes, we could move car seats around, but not only is that inconvenient it isn’t the safest idea either. So that meant buying a couple of cars seats to put in my husband’s car. The first one I purchased was the Graco ComfortSport Convertible Carseat in Devonshire Print for our nearly 2 year old daughter.
The Basics
The Graco ComfortSport model 8633 is a convertible car seat meaning it can be used rear facing for infants from 5 - 30 lbs and then forward facing for children 20 - 40 lbs. The maximum height is 40” provided that the top of the child’s ears are below the top of the car seat and the child’s shoulders are below the top harness position.
The ComfortSport features a 5-point harness. The length of the harness can be adjusted from the front. There are 3 different height slots for the harness, two positions for the crotch buckle and two recline positions.
The seat also has EPS, energy absorbing foam, for added protection. The seat can be installed using LATCH. The seat cover is removable and can be machine washed and hung to dry. There is a cup holder that can be attached to the side of the car seat.
Making the Selection
When looking for car seats for our second car safety and price were my main concerns, extra features were not really something I was looking at since this seat was likely to be used about 20-30 minutes a week. I was hoping for something comparable to our Evenflo Triumph and not too much like our Britax Marathon. Since all car seats sold in the US meet the same government safety standards my decision really came down to price. This car seat is sold exclusively at Babies R Us and Toys R Us and with a recent sale I was able to purchase it for $50.
In order for a car seat to be safe it needs to be properly installed. Part of that is making sure that the car seat is a good fit your car. Not every car seat fits into every car. So I purchased the Graco ComfortSport with the hopes that is would fit into our Taurus station wagon.
My Experience
My first impression with this car seat was not great. The cover is a garish black, red and white plaid. However, it wasn’t going in my vehicle so I wouldn’t have to look at it everyday! Also there was not a lot of extra padding. While there is some along the back of the car seat there wasn’t any on the bottom. However since this car was going to be used only for short trips this wasn’t really going to be an issue. Otherwise it seemed like a good seat so I bought, brought it home and started playing with my new “toy”
The Manual
The instruction manual is well laid out. The written steps are clear and there are many line drawings throughout the manual to help clarify the instructions. The manual comes with both English and Spanish instructions. My complaint with the manual is that the installation instruction are first in the book and then the instructions for making adjustments to the harness and recline. Since these adjustments need to be made before the seat is installed those instructions should come before the installation instructions.
Seat Adjustments
The seat has two recline positions, the upright position is for forward facing while the more reclined position is for rear facing only. The recline adjustment was easy to change. There is a cup holder that clips on to the seat but I opted not to attach it.
I then changed the crotch strap position to the one furthest from the seat back. This was very easy to do. The clip that holds the crotch strap in place needs to be removed so the that buckle can be pulled out from the top and threaded back through the seat cover. The clip then slides back on easily.
Next I needed to change the harness height. In the rear facing position the harness needs to be in one of the two lower positions. Forward facing it needs to be in one of the two upper slots. For children 20-30 lbs either of the twp upper slots can be used. Once a child reaches 30 lbs only the top slot can be used to for the harness. Since my 2 year old is just shy of 30 lbs I needed the harness to run through the top slot in the seat. This seat requires rethreading of the harness though the seat covers for changing the height, a task a despise even though it was not too difficult.
Installation
Just to see how the car seat would work for an infant I started by installing it rear facing with LATCH in my van. It was very easy to install and get a tight fit. I was not able to achieve the necessary 45 degree angle with just the recline and would have required to sue either a pool noodle or a towel. The harness straps were not in the right position for my 8 lb 1 month old son but I put him in anyway. The car seat seemed to swallow him up and his head flopped around, partly do to it not being reclined enough. While it may be rated for use for infants I would not recommend it for small babies as there just seems to be too much room between the baby and the shell of the car seat. You would definitely need to follow the manual’s suggestion of rolling up towels to take up the space, but I think this would be cumbersome to do on a regular basis.
So then I moved the seat into its permanent home, forward facing with seat belt and tether installation. I would say it was an average installation process using the seat belt. The slot for threading the belt through was a little narrow for my hand. I did get a tight fit to our car seat once the tether was anchored in place.
Securing My Child
Now I was ready for my daughter to try it out. I put her down in the seat and adjusted the harness length. This was simple to do. To lengthen the harness you lift up on the metal lever at the front of the seat and pull up on the harness. To shorten it you pull down on the harness tail that extends out from the lever.
The buckles are easy to work. They are inserted individually into the crotch strap and give a nice click when secured. The chest slip is plastic and the male part slips easily into the female half of the clip.
My daughter seemed comfortable enough. The car seat is reasonably deep so there are small wings on the side of the car seat should she fall asleep in the seat. However, there are not large enough to obscure her view. But, this car seat does have a fairly low base so my daughter was not up very high in the car, making it difficult for her to see out of the windows. This would not have been an issue in our van, which has much larger and lower windows.
Returning the Car Seat
So after all of that, we used the car seat for a week and ended up having to return it. This car seat simply did not fit my daughter. At not quite 2 she had just about outgrown the car seat. The top of her shoulders were nearly even with the top harness slot. She isn’t an exceptionally large child, at just a little over 34“ tall she is at about the 50th percentile for height vs. age. According to the specifications give by Graco she should have been able to gain another 10 lbs and grow about 6” before she outgrew this car seat. Her regular car seat is an Evenflo Triumph and she has a little over 2" before her shoulders reach the top slots. The ComfortSport has unusually low top slots for a car seat and this simply would not have fit her probably more than 6 more months. For this reason we returned the car seat after just a couple of uses. The last time we used the car seat was a cool day and my daughter had a jacket on and I couldn’t not see the harness slot over her shoulders.
My Recommendation
I thought this was a good seat, especially for the price. The only problem I had was that the seat would not fit my daughter. It seems that most parents want their convertible car seat to last until their child is mature enough to sit in a booster seat, usually somewhere close to age 4. Unless your child is in the lower 20th percentile for height you probably will not make it to age 3 using the ComfortSport. The short harness height is a problem not only with this specific model of ComfortSport, but to a certain degree can be seen with other models. When we returned the seat to the store I had my daughter with me and I had her sit in several other ComfrotSport models and at most there was ½” between her shoulders and the top harness position.
There is not a lot of comforting padding with this model so it is probably not good as a primary car seat or for long trips. Other more expensive models of the ComfortSport do have more padding. As a second car seat for a small child I think Graco has done a good job of providing features versus price. As far as Safety and convenience features are concerned I feel this car seat is right up there with our Evenflo Triumph (at half the price) and our Britax Marathon (at just a quarter of the price).
Comparison
Deciding between car seats can be a difficult process. After all, there must be some reason that a $200 car seat is better than a $50 car seat. Well, the answer is yes and no. Manufacturers want you to believe that their car seat is “safer” than all of the other car seats on the market. In reality when the US government gives its stamp of approval for safety it is either pass or fail. There is no information readily available to the general public to assess that one car seat is “safer” than another. What the US government provides are ratings for is ease of use features. What sets a $200 car seat apart from a $50 car seat are the features, that you may or may not be willing to pay for. So, here is a summary of the differences of the major features that mattered to me between this Graco Comfort Sport and the other two seats we own, the Evenflo Triumph and the Britax Marathon
All three seats are designed to be used rear facing for babies 5-30 lbs and have EPS energy absorbing foam.
Graco ComfortSport
Front Facing Weight Limit: 40 lbs
Removable Cover: Requires rethreading harness
Harness Length Adjustment: In front
Harness Height Adjustment: Requires rethreading harness
Harness Top Slot Height From Seat: 14” (approximately)
Seat Belt Installation: Average, my hand just fits through slot
Comfort Padding: Minimal padding under cover
Customer Service: Has been good on other products, but I have no car seat experience
Best for: Small children as an extra car seat
Evenflo Triumph
Front Facing Weight Limit: 40 lbs
Removable Cover: Requires screwdriver
Harness Length Adjustment: On both sides
Harness Height Adjustment: No rethreading, can be changed with seat installed
Harness Top Slot Height From Seat: 15.5” (approximately)
Seat Belt Installation: Easy, belt can be threaded by lifting flap in seat cover
Comfort Padding: Well padded cover
Customer Service: Abysmal
Best for: Good for an average (or slightly larger) child, good value if you never need customer service
Britax Marathon
Front Facing Weight Limit: 65 lbs
Removable Cover: Requires rethreading harness
Harness Length Adjustment: In front
Harness Height Adjustment: Requires rethreading harness
Harness Top Slot Height From Seat: 18” (approximately)
Seat Belt Installation: Difficult, slot too narrow for my hand
Comfort Padding: Very well padded under cover
Customer Service: Barely better than abysmal
Best fit: Good for tall/big children or for parents who want to keep their child in a 5-point harness beyond the standard 40 lbs
Final Thoughts
The ComfortSport isn’t a bad car seat. It just wasn’t designed to fit all kids, or even most kids. If your goal is to keep your child in a 5-point harness as long as possible the Graco ComfortSport is probably not the way to go.
My Other Car Seat Reviews
Safety 1st Apex 65
Graco Turbo Booster Safe Seat
Britax Regent
Britax Marathon
Evenflo Triumph
Evenflo Comet Booster
Cosco Opus 35
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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mmcphee
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Member: Mary Ellen
Location: Nutmeg State
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