Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat, Harbortown
by Evenflo
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List Price: Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat, Harbortown
Customer Review: Good affordable seat
Summary: 4 Stars
I have a Britax Marathon for my car, but we needed a second seat for my husband's car. I didn't really feel like spending more than $200 for another seat we wouldn't use that much...
Installation: Using a lap belt installation is pretty easy (we only tried rear-facing as our daughter is 9 months so I can't speak for front-facing). LATCH system isn't horrible but is definitely not as easy as the Marathon. I was *this close* to taking the seat back because when I first tried to install with the LATCH system, the straps were barely long enough to clip on to the latches. Turns out the seat comes with the straps in the front-facing position and you have to remove the cover to thread the anchor straps through the rear-facing holes. Voila, they reach fine now. It wasn't hard to do, just good to know (when all else fails, read the manual, right?)It's harder to get the seat in as tight as the Marathon but only because pulling the strap tight is tougher. It just takes more muscle to pull it. Maybe that's just ours, but our strap seems almost a little sticky. We did it though, just not something I want to do all the time. If it's something you're going to take in and out a lot, a Britax might be worth the money, as it is easier to get good and tight.
Comfort: My daughter seems to like this seat better than the Marathon. It is a little roomier and she just seems happier in it. I don't like that the straps cut into her neck and left red marks after even just a couple of minutes, but I fixed that with some cheapie strap covers. Still though, Evenflo should include them, as I read other reviews complaining of this.
We mainly got this seat because of the easy-as-pie tightening of the straps. Being our second seat, this will be taken out a lot (I'm making my husband re-tighten those LATCH straps for me) to put in our parents' cars, as they will watch our LO once a week. My mom tends to get frustrated with car seats, so the knobs on the sides to tighten and loosen are genius for her. Pretty easy to get the baby in good and tight, and the harness says on it, "place at armpit level" so there doesn't leave much room for error. She has gotten frustrated with the Marathon before (I use the Marathon every day and even I get annoyed with that stupid HUG system (those rubber things over the straps). It seems I have to spend more time than I'd like adjusting them so they aren't poking into her neck, every time I put her in the seat). I'm not sure she'll like the installation of this seat though...I'm a little anal about car seat safety so I definitely have to make sure she can get the seat installed right or this will be going back, I don't care how cool those knob tighteners are :)
Overall though, I think this is a good seat for the money. Britax is great, but if you don't want to spend that much, this is another good option.
Customer Review: Not all babies built for Britax
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very torn in choosing a toddler carseat for my son to graduate into. I used Consumer Reports to narrow my search, and this carseat won best buy as well as highest safety ratings for 2007. I read tons and tons of reviews on both this model, other Evenflo models, and all the Britax models. I had actually decided on the Britax Marathon, but I took my son to the store to "try them on." I'd read some reviews from unhappy parents about the Britax being a tight fit. I am so glad I took him with me! I changed my mind immediately!
First, there didn't appear to be an inch of growing room in the Britax. My son is 90th percentile in length and weight, and has been since 9 months. He was crammed in there with no wiggle room. He fits nicely in the Evenflo, and I feel he is safe when the straps are tightened. Second, the Britax crotch strap is NOT adjustable, and the Evenflo's is, allowing for even more growing room.
I'd read that the Evenflo is bulky and hard to move from car to car. This is somewhat true. However, I have done it, and it isn't too painful. The seat isn't heavy, but it is bulky. I have found the easiest thing is to take the cover off if using the seatbelt. If using the latch system, it's just a couple of clicks. I'd also read that the seat is too large to fit comfortably in some cars. I have a Honda Accord 2003, and my husband has a 2000 model. It fits pretty easily in both cars.
I've used this carseat both rear-facing and forward facing. It is easy to install rear-facing, easy to level. Supposedly, convertible carseats are often tricky to use rear-facing. The belt release is a bit more difficult in the rear-facing position. I found you have to keep your hand completely OFF the tightening knob to get it to loosen easily. But in forward facing, I don't seem to get in my own way as much.
I LOVE the no-thread system; it is my favorite feature. It is very easy to loosen the straps all the way so that he can be fastened in properly, even if wearing bulky clothing. Tightening is easy, just turn the knob. The Britax carseats have velcro on the straps so that you can easily keep them out of the way when trying to load the toddler. I think that's a pretty nice feature, but my son loves this carseat.
the only reason I did not give 5 stars is because it is bulky and thus a little more cumbersome to transfer between vehicles. And also, because of the rear-facing inconvenience of having the belt adjustment system a little out of reach.
I have been using this carseat now for about 3 months and am very satisfied. I have no regrets about not buying Britax. I feel my son is well protected, is comfortable and snug, and is easily transfered in and out. I strongly recommend it if your child is in the upper ranges for length and/or weight.
Customer Review: We love this carseat! Safe AND affordable.
Summary: 5 Stars
While we all know that the Britax seats are some of the best, most of us are not able to fork out that kind of cash for a carseat - especially since most of us need more than one. I did weeks of searching, comparing, checking out at the store, shopping around, looking at reviews, etc. trying to find just the right carseat. I wanted something that would keep kiddo safe, be easy to use, look nice, fit in my small car while still rear-facing, and that I wouldn't regret spending my well earned money on.
We absolutely love this seat! It's comfortable for one thing. When I first took it out of the box I had to laugh cuz it looked more comfortable than my recliner in my living room! My daughter was starting to get kinda cramped in the infant seat we had bought for her.
We like the straps in this for two reasons: 1) They don't have to be unthreaded, adjusted and rethreaded through slots that are hard to see, let alone fit a strap through - you simply move them up and down. It's nice since in the summer you can slide them down and in the winter when the child's wearing sweaters & coats and such you just slide them up a little. 2) The straps adjust DOWN. I always felt like I was going to slice into the soft skin on my daughters neck while adjusting the straps up over the shoulders. With this one, you just pull down until all the slack is at the sides on the bottom and then twist the knob until it's tight. Wha-la.
We also like the adjusting knob. It's easy to use and very nice. No more dangling strap between baby's legs. Just twist the knob to tighten. Push the little lever and twist the knob in the opposite direction to loosen. Very easy.
It's also really easy to get the cover off for washing. My daughter recently managed to get a lid off of her cup and poured it all over herself and the seat. I took the cover off, washed it in the washing machine on gentle cycle, dried it in the drier for 15 minutes on low heat and then let it sit out overnight to finish drying. It was dry and ready to be re-installed in the morning.
It's also easy to move this carseat around in the car. The base is very "seat friendly" meaning it fits nicely in the middle of the car. In my car, the middle seat is down a little lower than the two side seats (not as much padding in the middle) and it fits nicely into the little groove without overlapping onto the side seats.
Anyways, if you were on the fence about what convertible seat to buy, I hope I have been able to help you make your decision. We liked this seat so much, we bought a 2nd one for Daddy's car and will be soon purchasing another for Grandma's car.
Customer Review: FORWARD FACING REVIEW: Okay but don't compare it to a Britax
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this car seat as a second seat for our toddler (we also have a Britax Boulevard). I bought it based on safety, reviews and people saying it was a great alternative to a Britax.
The Good:
*Overall, I'm happy it has the side impact testing which was big for me.
The Okay:
*The strap tightening knob is really no biggie. Don't understand why anyone would think it's sooo much easier than any other seat's.
*The automatic adjusting of the shoulder straps is nice in theory but a little awkward when putting your child in the seat since it needs to be lifted up from underneath the child to get it on. All the toddler seats' straps I've seen are quite easy to adjust (unlike the infant seats that need to be re-routed); once again no biggie for a toddler seat.
The bad:
*Shoulder staps get "magically" twisted despite the seat's limited use.
*This seat always seems to slide a little though less than an inch. I definitely did not have this secured properly initially. After using a Britax I totally over-estimated how easy it would be to properly install this car seat. I should add that I always use LATCH. Perhaps this is normal but to me it is not.
* You will definitely need to change the recline based on each car or else it will slide over 3 inches no matter how tight you try to pull it.
*My daughter says the seat is not comfortable after being in it for about 15 minutes.
The Problem:
*The rounded back allows for less contact than I would like with the automobile's seat; therefore, I've discovered that incline is key and it will NOT be tight if you do not have the base all the way to the back of the seat. With other seats, I have not had this problem.
*You can only tighten the LATCH strap on one side.
My recommendation:
*Try it out both rear-facing AND forward before buying. It may lose a couple stars...
*Get a Britax if you can. But if you don't experience a Britax, you probably won't know what you're missing.
*Overall, we hear all the statistics about car seats being installed improperly. With this car seat, there is a high chance of incorrect installation because it must be just perfect to be secure. Definitely not a seat you want family members or babysitters installing on their own.
*Call me a Britax Snob.
Customer Review: Great car seat without spending Britax bucks
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great car seat. I purchased this one about 6 weeks ago when my son (child #3) outgrew his infant car seat at only 9 months old. I had previously purchased an earlier model of this car seat for my first child, and sadly our car was stolen with the car seat inside. I liked the first one I had, and I like this one even more. Here are the key points:
*It seems to be extremely comfortable for the child. It's big and cushy. My son likes it. My daughter did, too.
*It really seems to offer a lot of protection with its big seat that kind of curves around the child. On the down side, if you plan on moving the seat around a lot (as another reviewer mentioned), it is quite heavy. But the truth is, it's not designed to be portable--most convertible car seats are not. And if you have a small car, you might have trouble making it fit (I don't know this for sure because with three preschool children, I have a minivan).
*It is easy to install. I have installed a fair share of car seats, and this one is one of the better ones.
*It is very easy to adjust the straps. You can adjust the height of the shoulder straps from the front. How wonderful is that--it is such a hassle to rethread straps like you need to in many car seats that sometimes you can be tempted to leave them on a setting your child has outgrown for a while. You can also adjust the tension of the straps from the front very easily. You can actually make sure they are tight enough every time regardless of whether your little guy is wearing a sweatshirt and coat or a t-shirt. And if he likes to squirm while you put him in, you can loosen the straps, fasten him up and then tighten it to a safe tension. No problem at all.
*It is not too expensive. I paid $117 for mine, which is no small amount of money, but it is not as expensive as a Britax. I'm sure the Britax is fine, but I think a lot of people buy them because they are trendy or because they think they have to spend a lot to make sure their kids are safe. The evenflo is a great car seat. And it is much better than some of the cheap brands like the Cosco I have to use when visiting my parents (no padding, difficult to adjust straps, difficult to fasten clips, yuck).
All in all, I think it is a great choice for a car seat if you need or want a convertible.