goodparent's Full Review: Eddie Bauer 3-In-1 Convertible Car Seat
First, I like to thank "tad2dnin" for writing the first feedback on this convertible carseat. You motivated me to finally take time and write about my experience too. I regretted about not writing about my feedback sooner.
I purchased the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 Leather carseat from OneStepAhead almost 2 years ago. At that time, I did not took the time to do the research about this item. I did not know about epinions.com. I placed my trust on OneStepAhead.com and the name brand Eddie Bauer. That was a big mistake, of course. Reminiscing back to the time of the purchase, I did not remember that there were any feedback on this product yet.
I bought it because of all the features it offered. It looked safe and sounded safe. Also, it was attractive. In addition, I thought that leather would be easier to clean than cloth. I paid $250.00 plus S&H.
At first, I was happy with it. It looked safe and very attractive. It was easy to install. Also, it was easy to clean. On a long trip home, my daughter (18mos), had a poopy diaper that leaked. We had to pull over to a gas station and cleaned her there. We were glad that we had a leather seat at that moment.
At fourteen months old, she was not able to get her arms out of the seatbelts(upper part of the five-point harness). At 16 months old, she was able to get both of her arms out. No matter how I tried to tightened it, she was still able to do it. She was not able to get out of the buckle, so her hips were secured. I think the belts were a factor. It was always twisted(still are), so I think that may be why I can't seem to tightened it enough. I am tired of telling her to put both of her arms back in. She will do it, then a few minutes later, she would get her arms out again.
Also, I was surprised to learn that Cosco made the Eddie Bauer brand. Had I known, I would never have spent this much money on this product. It seemed that the "twisting of the seatbelts" is a major complaint in the cosco convertible/toddler/booster seat. I just read reviews recently of the "Cosco summit toddler/booster seat." It was recommended by the consumer report, and many consumers liked it. But most had the same comment in that the belts are "flimpsy and always get twisted."
In summary, safety is the issue. My daughter can easily get her arms out of the seatbelts. I can not tightened it enough. The twisting of the belts is a factor, I think. For the price and the name, I expected more from this product.
Also, after several months of buying this seat, I saw that OneStepAhead no longer sell this item. When I called to see if there were any recall, the customer representative did not know why. I was just frustrated and was not in the mood to be assertive. I did not call the company nor read about any recall. After the first child, I learned. I am very informative now. Although consumer reports recommends the Cosco Summit, I have doubts that this is effective for my son, because of the same complaints about the twisting seatbelt, and some of the children can get their arms out. One viewer wrote that the company sent her another set of seatbelts because of the "twisting complaint" so, I will call the company and ask about that.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 250.00
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
Comfort and convenience make this car seat a standout. The obvious plus you can easily use it from the time you bring your baby home from the hospital...More at eBay
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