I was a little surprised to see that this seat had not been reviewed, as the features to money ratio seemed strong enough to get me to buy one (and I’ve read a fair number of reviews and tried some various seats, so had some good opinions about what I wanted from a car seat this time around). I bought two for our second car to accommodate a one year-old and three year-old for shorter trips around town (shopping or daycare drop-off).
This fairly basic seat acts as a forward facing seat with five-point harness for children approximately 20-40 pounds, and then it can be used without the five-point harness as a belt-positioning booster for kids 30-80 pounds (using the car’s shoulder belt as the main child restraint). I can only speak to the function of the former use, but would imagine that the seatbelt guides function well given their simple design.
It’s available in a few different fabric choices, one of which may suit you (but hey it’s a child seat not an haute-couture aftermarket upgrade from the dealer.) Mine are grey, and fit in quite nicely on the black leather, thank you.
Adjustment
The five point harness is arranged by using a strap over each shoulder (the arm goes through the strap) each of which tie into a crotch strap with a double buckle. The buckles can slide up and down on the vertical shoulder straps while the length of the crotch strap is fixed.
The shoulder straps can be configured in one of three heights (to be done while the seat is out of the car) for different child heights, the idea being to get the strap to come out of the seat close to, but always above, the child’s shoulder. You should make your adjustments based on some test seatings before you first install the seats to avoid potential wasted effort.
The crotch strap has two possible locations, one toward the back of the seat for smaller children, and one slightly forward. The same principle as with shoulder belts applies here.
Read the manual.
The adjustment process for making the belts snug (given they’re in the correct positions) is a bit counter-intuitive, but actually works pretty well. The strap on the child’s left side is fixed at the shoulder, and passes down through a chest buckle and lap buckle and through the seat. That strap then crosses under the seat and comes back up at the child’s right hip, to pass through the lap buckle and go into the adjustment buckle. The adjustment buckle is attached, at a fixed length, by a strap that goes up over the child’s right shoulder.
Look closely at the picture on their website if that’s confusing: http://www.evenflo.com/ep/on_go/expressct.phtml?nf
To loosen the belts you press a firm release button on the bottom of the adjustment buckle and reverse the strap through the buckle and allow the slack you create to be pulled through (and under the seat) to the other (child’s left) side.
To tighten the belts you pull the adjustment strap up on the child’s right, removing the slack on the opposite side, and then pull the adjustment strap down through the buckle, bringing the slack on the adjustment side through the adjustment buckle and out to the free end of the strap. This operation quickly becomes second nature, and can be accomplished one-handed.
The chest buckle, a large interlocking clip with mating pieces on left and right, can then be fastened. This clip is somewhat clumsy, and will require two hands to unclip (that’s good by the way). The chest buckle is limited in its ability to travel down the strap on the child’s right by the adjustment buckle, but actually was fine at it’s lowest setting for my one year-old and sits a little higher for my three year-old. If you were clumsy with this clip it has “skin pinching” potential, but I’ve yet to accidentally pinch anyone.
The strap arrangements provide for a very secure and comfortable arrangement, and I believe 5-point harness with no interfering overhead bar is the safest basic configuration available.
Our first car has a pair of the more expensive Evenflo Medallion V Infant/Toddler Car Seats, and while the padding and comfort are better on them, the ease of adjustment certainly is not, requiring the use of considerable force to pull the center strap at the bottom in a direction that would tend to loosen the automobile belt tension. Additionally, while our first daughter never did it, our second can undo the chest clip on the Medallion V given time and patient effort. Try these things out at the store and make your own judgment about the ease of belt tensioning and the design of the chest clip.
The tether strap is affixed to the upper back of the seat and should run to a tether anchor in your car. If you don’t have a tether anchor, go get one (either from your dealer or from a third party store). Install it and use it at all times. Check if you have one now, and be prepared for when you need the seat. Have it installed properly if you’re unsure about it. (end of first rant)
This tether strap has a fairly long shortest position. That is to say that once adjusted to it’s shortest position, I thought it wasn’t going to be short enough, and the slack in the tether was only removed when I placed my weight on the seat to cinch it down with the shoulder/lap belt. My car is a ’91 Volvo 740 sedan, and this may not affect you, but if your tether anchors are close to the top of the back seats and the backs are not very tall, you may want to ask the store to check an installation prior to purchase (or check the return policy and try this in the parking lot – the seat is ready to go out of the box).
If your car has non-locking shoulder belts, you may need to use a locking clip. Read the manual, use the clips, get help if you need it, etc. etc. (end of second rant)
At least this tether strap is equipped with the more modern easy-adjusting seatbelt style buckle instead of the old-fashioned double buckle.
Read the manual.
DO NOT use a seat unless it is installed and adjusted properly. I cannot say that emphatically enough. If you’re not sure, visit one of the free clinics they hold in mall parking lots or drop in on your local Police, or call your insurance broker so they can recommend a local Head Injury advocate or… well you get the picture. Don’t buy a car seat and then leave your child at risk for the sake of laziness or ignorance. If you need to move it from car to car often, and don’t feel confident about installing it, buy a second seat, and have it done right. I don’t want to make this sound like a difficult operation, but again, I cannot overstate the importance of proper installation and adjustment. (end of last rant)
Ease of Installation
Beyond my initial consternation and eventual relief regarding the tether strap length, the seat is easily installed. It is lighter than models featuring a recline option. The belt track is functional (if more crude in appearance than the elegant flap on more expensive models) and you can fairly quickly thread a shoulder belt through to the buckle and then kneel on the seat to pull it tight. As mentioned earlier, with the exception of a couple of merchandising tags on a plastic string that you’ll want to remove, and possible adjustment of the shoulder belt height and crotch strap position, the seat can be installed right out of the box. The tether is pre-attached (as I believe they all are now). Install the optional cupholder (it basically just hooks over the side bolster) at will: I couldn’t see any real point to it given its low hard to reach position.
I’ve had these in and out of the car several times and have no dread regarding a repeat performance.
Comfort
This is not a luxury seat in terms of padding and features, but that being said, I’m not sure my kids care about my opinion on this. They’ve each fallen asleep in these seats on short trips late in the day, and I have to assume that the comfortable position, combined with some basic padding under their light bodies, is quite sufficient, but somehow I feel like maybe they wouldn’t be comfy-cozy enough for a long highway trip. If I end up using them for one I’ll update the results here. Don’t assume you can put pillows in to augment the seat – that’s not in the manual, but is not advised. Comfort is more about posture and positioning than cushy pillows, and this seat does fine in these areas.
The fabric is soft enough to lay a baby’s cheek against (and is indeed softer than my youngest’s favourite blankie.)
The belt positions allow snug tight adjustment without any risk of discomfort (which really should be a basic prerequisite for all seats anyway if they’re to be used properly) and while the chest buckle looks bulky it’s well out of the way, has yet to pinch one of my kids, and prevents meddlesome fiddling (again unlike our more expensive Medallion V seats, for which my one year-old has learned the “trick” of the chest clip)
Durability/Ease of cleaning
I can’t speak very well to this concern (as I’ve only been using these seats a short time) beyond saying that the removable fabric looks durable, comes off easily, and is reportedly easily cleaned. This apparently holds true of other Evenflo models reviewed here.
The structure has never given me reason to believe that multiple re-installations would harm it.
As with any seat with the long belts required for this sort of five-point harness, care must be taken to avoid twists getting into the belts. It can be frustrating to try and correct this through the small buckles, and it’s a mystery how those twists appear, but a little attention to this goes a long way, and the annoyance is more than made up for by having the safest configuration available. If you think this might be a problem for you, look into some of the models featuring twist resistant straps, such as the Britax.
The Bottom Line
The safety is there. The function is there. The ease of use and installation are there. Some bells and whistles are absent. For a reasonable price you have a seat and booster that will work for years to come, and can rest easy that your children are as safe as you can make them while having enough left over to take them somewhere nice. Have fun, but please, Read the Manual :-)
Additional resources
From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Child Safety Seats: Selecting, Installing, and Using - http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/
Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Locator - http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/CPSFitting/Index.cfm
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