Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

We got this as a gift, and its a good carseat, but there are some things I would change on it. Like how heavy it is...I'm have a hard time carrying it in and out of the car. And another thing it barely fits in the back seat, the front seat had to be pushed almost all the way up, where nobody can ride up front. It does take me a while to strap in my son, but it does feel safe. I do trust this car seat. I also like the canopy, its a huge canopy and blocks out the sun really well.

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

We used this car seat with our now 2.5-year.old, and always just thought she was one of those kids who hates being in a car seat, as she always screamed her lungs out from the moment we put her in until the moment we took her out. She was and is an unusually active kid, so we just figured she didn't like being strapped in. Now we are using it again with our 2-month-old, who's generally very easy-going, but she also screams her lungs out as long as she's in this car seat. We borrowed a Graco Snugride 35 from a friend just to see if she did better in a different seat, and the difference was immediately obvious. I can't figure out what is so bad about the Chaperone, but both our kids have hated it. We loaned it to a friend who had a 4 lb preemie until her daughter fit into their infant car seat, and her daughter also cried in it constantly.

I was also disappointed when my older daughter outgrew it at only 27" tall and 18 lbs. She's long in the torso, and at 7 months the straps were 2" below her shoulders on the top setting. It did fit in our Camry, but only if we pulled the front seats forward to make room. Same story in our Odyssey, which is a pretty roomy vehicle. There's no way this would be workable in a compact car. I do find it to be very easy to install, both with LATCH and with the belts, as long as there is room. The handle is less comfortable to carry than the Graco we borrowed.

I love the idea of the giant canopy, though we've never really benefitted from it as we never need it to shade a sleeping infant (it's only ever held wide awake and extremely upset infants for us). I also love how easy it is to adjust the straps. The clips that allow it to be used with the Britax travel systems are kind of huge, and it's annoying that they don't come with the car seat, though they did come with our B-Nimble stroller.

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

I was a bit obsessed with researching the best baby items when I was pregnant. This was the seat that won our vote by far!!

Some things we love:
1) Rated the safest on the market (as of dec 2011)- yes you can find other infant seats that are less expensive, but you get what you pay for, and who wants to put a price on our little one's safety??
2) Example of safety unlike any other: the "anti re-bound bar" (only brand on the market that has this) - the base has a bar that sits against the back of your seat in the car. So if you are ever in an accident the baby's seat won't flip forward and cause the baby's face to hit the vehicles seat. This was one of the main reasons we ended up purchasing the seat. (Look here for a video of what I'm talking about: http://www.britaxusa.com/learning-center/360-degree-protection/anti-rebound-bar)
3) Non-themy print- I HATED all the themes that came on most other brands of seats! This one is simple and clean, and could be used with baby # 2 (kinda justifies the price if you think of it that way!)
4) Easily transfers the the Britax Be-Ready stroller- no extra parts or adapters needed for the stroller either- (And on a side note, I saw another reviewer post that she was disappointed about how this seat doesn't sit on the carts at the market- ALL infant seats have the same warning on the side and say NOT to put the seat on the top part of the cart. They ARE NOT designed to do that, and its SUPER un-safe! Just like any other infant seat, this seat does fit perfectly inside the cart-which is the recommendation per the manufactures and the AAP- heres the link from the AAP explaining why. (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/2/e545.full) 5) The cover is easily washable and made of sturdy material (stays nice even after SEVERAL washes.

A few things that could be a problem for some:
1) Because of the "anti-rebound bar" the seat takes up quite a bit of room. We had a Acura TSX and had to move the seat forward to get this seat in and balanced properly. Before our boy came we ended up trading in and getting a mid-sized SUV and it fits much better now- but defiantly not a seat for small vehicles.
2) The seat is HEAVY! All the solid construction has to have some weight to it, I guess :) It was a little inconvenient in the beginning, but a small thing for the peace-of-mind knowing it is the safest!!

Overall, the best if you have the room for it! And, each year Britax usually has a sale where if you buy the stroller you get a seat for FREE!! (This is what we did, and it saved TONS of $$!) Hope this helps!!

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

This is a well built car seat, with tons of safety features. It is a bit on the heavy side, so I cannot imagine how much of a struggle it will be carting our daughter around when she nears the weight limit for the seat.

The full canopy is great but with it being so large sometimes it gets caught between the seat and the base because it hangs down so much. Britax neglects to tell you that it does not come with the adaptors to use with the Click N Go system, unless you buy the B-Ready stroller. We have the B-Agile and had to contact Britax who sends them to you for free (just a little added hassle).

The biggest complaint I have about this seat is it is not meant to be put in a shopping cart. We took our daughter to the grocery store for the first time and i went to put it on and realized it didn't have the grooves like other seats have. Come to find out it says right on the side of it not to be used in shopping carts. The reason we got an infant seat as opposed to a convertible seat was for the portability factor, which this kind of lacks. So now anytime we go to the store we need to bring her stroller.

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

We are still using this car seat for out 8 month old who is a big boy! Wearing size18 mo. clothes!!!! We love this car seat! It very heavy and I couldn't carry it when he reached 20 lbs recently. But it has def. served it's purpose!!! THe side impact protection and the rebound bar gave me peace of mind that other car seats don't offer! It was voted the safest infant car seat in 2011, so I trusted that it would protect my baby! Very nice fabric as well! I am so sad we have to part with this carseat in the next few months! My only complaint would be that I had to have my husband help me tighten the latch belt when installing! It takes 2 people to install! I

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

Love this seat. Especially the hefty, sturdy anti-rebound bar that is attached to the base, not the seat itself like other brands. Also, in my opinion, the side impact protection is of a sturdier quality than most brands.

Comments about Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat - Black:

I have used several types of Britax seats over the years (Marathon, Rounabout, Decathalon and Frontier) and have found them all to be easy to use. Iwas looking forward to a thoughtfully constructed seat in the Chaperone. Sadly for me, I find this seat difficult to use compared to the other Britaxes and other bucket seats I've used.

Pros: infinite adjust harness

Cons: harness straps difficult to tighten (they always seem loose to me), chest clip is difficult to move and must be unclipped to slide (I cannot get it to slide when clipped), LATCH belt path goes under these odd clips that make it difficult to tighten, there is no Velcro to hold straps out of the way like on other Britax seats (sounds silly, but I find fishing for straps under my baby's butt a total inconvenience and waste of time), lever to release seat from base requires quite a but of force to get it to disengage (which seems like a good thing, but I often have to try a few times to get the seat out)

Overall it just isn't a great seat.