Graco Safe Seat Infant Car Seat, Portica
by Graco Baby
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List Price: Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Graco Safe Seat Infant Car Seat, Portica
Customer Review: My daughter loves this car seat
Summary: 5 Stars
My daughter LOVES this car seat.
We had a Graco SnugRide when we had my first son and he loved it. My parents gave me a different SnugRide with a matching double stroller when we had my second son. He hated the car seat. He would cry from the second we put the car seat with him in it in the car to the second we took the car seat out. My M-I-L said it was because he didn't like riding backward. Sure enough when we switched him to the Britax when he was 20 lbs and a year old he was fine.
My daughter used the same SnugRide as my second son for her first 4 months. She did the same thing, she cried from the second I put her in the car to the second I took her out. I mean really crying. It was awful. We drove 5 hours for a summer vacation and we couldn't take it. Not even sitting next to her distracting her helped. My M-I-L said she was the same as my second son but this time I wasn't so sure.
I read all the reviews on Amazon for cheap car seats all the way to the super expensive ones. The SafeSeat had the best reviews so we went ahead and ordered it and had it shipped to our hotel 2nd day for only a few dollars extra.
Well she LOVES it. She is content to ride in it and sometimes even falls asleep in it. What a huge difference. Riding in the car is pleasant for everyone now :).
Maybe the second SnugRide was just uncomfortable. It didn't feel bad there was nothing poking her, but there must have been something, maybe the way she rested in it. Not sure. My poor second son.
Anyway, we love this car seat. The only thing we don't really like is the plastic window in the canopy that allows you to see the baby. I get why it is there but right now it is summer and the poor sun beats down on her little head, so we just cover it with a blanket. Problem solved.
So we love this car seat. It seems more roomy and we like the color. It doesn't get super hot when we leave it in the car since the padding and the straps are a silver color and not black like the last two Graco's we had. I highly recommend it.
Customer Review: Great Carseat
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great car seat. I recently bought this one, it is cute for a boy or girl.
Travel. I took my child in a plane for travel I used the Graco car seat bag for the valet check, it worked great. I did not take the base with us and it fit safe and secure in the car using the seat belt. It was a little tricky since the belt strap has to go over the car seat, it was easy with two people one on each side it took less then a minute to secure.
I also bought the Graco SnugRider Infant Car Seat Stroller Frame. They work great together. Just a couple problems. 1. If you put coffee in the cup holder and go over a bump it could spill on your child. 2. If you have a diaper bag you want to put on the bottom of the stroller, put it in before you put attach the car seat. Otherwise then that, it is fast to open and to travel with.
Note about the base, it is easy to adjust. However, if you have a car with leather seats it is difficult to secure the base. With the use of a non slip rug mat between the seat and base along with a cut up noodle (yes the ones you use in the pool) it was secure. I learned this trick from a fireman who installed the car seat for my 2 year old.
Working with a double stroller by BOB. I also recently bought a Bob Revolution stroller with car seat attachment. Some of the other carseats that work with the BOB stroller requires the back of the stroller to be adusted down (this would mean that everytime you open the stroller it would have be adjusted). I did not have to do this for this carseat, just pop it in and attach the strap and go.
I am very pleased with my purchase.
Customer Review: Can't get an extra base
Summary: 3 Stars
My husband and I debated long and hard between the Safe Seat and the Graco Snugride. We ended up picking the Safe Seat because of its versatility (it could handle babies 5-30 pounds rather than 5-22, and up to 32 inches long rather than 29), its safety (one comparison website said that the Safe Seat had Side Impact Protection and the Snugride didn't), and its reviews.
However, if we had known what a headache it would be to get an extra base for the seat (to put in our other car, as has been recommended by friends and other reviewers), we would have gone with the Snugride.
Amazon does not carry Safe Seat bases.
We ordered a base through Toys R Us only to have them tell us (three weeks after we ordered) that our order was canceled because they were unable to complete it.
Then we ordered a base through Comfortfirst, and found out shortly after our order that "the product is currently on backorder."
Most recently, we ordered one through CountryLiving Store but the order hasn't shipped yet.
Each time we've ordered a base, the company has said they had them in stock; and each time the base plus shipping has been expensive (over $50).
It makes us wonder if Graco has discontinued making the Safe Seat and/or the bases for it, or if demand has outpaced supply.
Customer Review: What Graco Means by "SafeSeat"
Summary: 4 Stars
The most compelling thing I can mention as a reason to buy this seat is a detail that gets tucked away in the rest of the marketing material: this seat is engineered to double the required crash test ratings.
The car seat industry is only required to meet a fairly low standard to be able to sell their product, and they're not required by law to reveal the results of their crash tests, so no one does.
That's why it's refreshing that Graco has an offering marketed to be safer for your baby! That's what "SafeSeat" means.
Other than that, I only sort of like the car seat. The LATCH hooks are less user friendly than the buckles of our old Chicco car seat base, and though this seat is designed to support babies up to "30 pounds", our tall 9-month old is pushing the limits of the slack in the safety belt.
I also don't like the levelling system of the base, or the cheap "level" (really a free floating plastic dial) to indicate the seat is at the proper angle once installed.
The design of the seat would only earn three stars, but the safety factor of the car seat earns it one extra.
I'd certainly recommend the seat overall, and would definately purchase again.
Customer Review: Wonderful Infant Seat for many reasons
Summary: 5 Stars
After much research on-line, I went to the store to see for myself before settling on new seat for baby number four. The Graco Safe Seat was by far the nicest seat there. It has wonderful padding which by far exceeded any other seat, you can tighten or loosen the seat belt by pulling a strap or pushing a button on the front of the seat, the carry handle moves very easily without any chance of it moving by mistake, the seat snaps into and out of the base beautifully, and don't be fooled - all infant seats weigh about the same and yes they all feel heavy when you add a baby's weight to them. You do have to change the position of the shoulder straps from the back, but I can tell you from experience that you will need to take it apart to clean it more often then you will have to worry about moving the shoulder straps so it is no big deal. And, knowing that there is pretty much zero chance my baby will outgrow this seat before I am ready to move her to a forward facing seat means I won't have to buy a convertible seat. Also, the seat belt latch is of much better quality then some of the other seats I looked at and it works very easily.