Top Rated Infant Car Seats

A quality infant car seat is a necessity, and not all car seats are made to be the same. The best infant carrier car seat seats have features that increase crash test performance. For instance, load legs are shock-absorbing elements which are attached to the base or seat and reduce movement during a collision.

A favorite among CPST instructors is the Chicco KeyFit, which has a weight limit that is high for rear-facing and height limit and a bubble level indicator, and a spring-loaded reclining foot that makes it easy to set up.

Graco Mesa Max

The Graco Mesa Max ranks as one of the easiest infant car seats to use. It is a simple design and great fabrics. It also comes with an excellent feature that lets you attach the harness of your child directly to the headrest. It comes with a large canopy that can be tucked away to keep your child sheltered while traveling. The only drawback is that it is a little heavier than average, which might be a problem if you plan to lug it around or if you want to pair it with your UPPAbaby stroller, which is a winner.

The Mesa Max's impressive crash test results demonstrate its dedication to top-tier safety. It scored well in both the frontal and side impact tests, ensuring that your child will be protected from both sides of a collision.

Another important safety feature is the Graco's antirebound panel, which helps reduce the force of rebound during the event of a crash, and also safeguards your child's head. This feature is unique among infant car seats and makes the Mesa Max standout among its peers.

When used with the included base, the Graco Mesa Max can be installed quickly and safely in your vehicle using LATCH. The load leg as well as recline angle adjustment and tightness indicator all help ensure a quick, accurate installation. The base weighs 12.6 pounds it is slightly heavier than the typical car seat for infants but not enough to be an issue.

The UPPAbaby Mesa V2 uses the same dual-knit fabric as its predecessor. It is free of harmful chemicals that are fire-resistant. It has an infinitely adjustable backrest, as well as an extremely sturdy insert for infants who weigh between 4 and 11 pounds. The fabric is GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means they are tested for low emissions of chemicals and VOCs.

The UPPAbaby UPPAmax Mesa Max may be slightly more expensive than the other options, but offers premium features and advanced technology for a safe travel infant car seat experience. The base is included and comes in a variety of stylish colors. This adds to the value proposition. Its thoughtful design and robust features provide peace of for parents on every trip.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight

The Britax Boulevard ClickTight is a fantastic option for those looking for a car seat that will grow with their child. Its rear-facing limit is 40 pounds, which is greater than the majority of infant car seats. Additionally, it can be used as a forward-facing child seat until your child weighs 65 pounds.

The ClickTight Installation System is its most popular selling feature. It is the safest, easiest and most secure system available. The seat belt can be tightened by pressing a red release and pulling the strap. This means that there is no need to remove and rethread your seatbelt. This minimizes the chance of a mistake when tightening a seat belt which is the main cause of car seat newborn insert seat failure.

Another safety feature is the EZBuckle Pad, which keeps the buckle away from the way when you're putting your child in the seat. This feature, as well as beltpath cutouts along the sides of your child's seat, make it easy to get them in and out of the car.

All three ClickTight convertible seats (Boulevard, Marathon CT, and Advocate CT) have the same features. They include the ClickTight Installation System with an impact-absorbing base, with seven recline positions, a rip-stitch energy-absorbing harness pad, a HUGS tether, a steel-reinforced frame, and EPP energy-absorbing foam.

The seat is quite heavy, however, so you might want to consider an alternative that is lighter if you intend to make use of it for travel or frequent car swaps. The seat is also large, and therefore may not be suitable for smaller vehicles, especially when it's in the rear of the vehicle.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly seat with similar quality the Graco 4Ever DLX is a great choice. The seat has lower scores in crash test analysis than the Boulevard however it's a great seat for your baby.

The Graco also comes with LATCH connectors with push-on connections which make it much easier to uninstall the seat. Boulevard's LATCH connectors use an alternative release system that requires you to pull the webbing and press a gray button. This can be difficult if the webbing is tense. This seat comes with a handy compartment to store the belt straps.

Clek Liing

If you're looking for an infant car seat that has all of it -style, safety convenience, and luxury- you'll love the Clek Liing. This rear-facing car seat is simple to install, has a high crash test rating and a range of features.

The Liing is designed to protect infants with features that meet and exceed both US and Canadian safety standards. It is designed for easy, secure installation in all seating positions. It also has advanced safety features such as an energy-absorbing metal leg and two pieces of shell lined with EPP for increased side impact protection. The base comes with 7 recline positions and a bubble indicator that lets you know when the seat is at just the perfect angle for your child.

The Liing is loved by parents for its sleek and modern design, as well as its innovative safety features such as the rigid lower anchors that are easier to attach than hook-and-loop connectors. The Liing features a one-handed release, making it simple to remove the base and use with strollers that are compatible with it. And at less than 17 inches wide it's just narrow enough for 3-across in the majority of vehicles. It also can easily fit into convertible car seats as a travel booster.

This infant seat is rated as 1st for its unique rigid-LATCH system of installation. The lower anchors of the Liing click right into the vehicle's lower seat belt slots, and the top tether strap snaps into the headrest of the vehicle, creating an incredibly secure, tight fit that eliminates the risk of the child being thrown around in the event of a crash.

The seat is light with the base weighing 9 pounds and the carrier itself coming in at an easy 10.5 pounds. Other rear-facing seats have a much heavier weight however if you're planning on taking this car seat and its base everywhere, the slight difference won't be too obvious (especially when you add a baby into the equation! ).

Parents love the Liing's integrated canopy and 100+spf of protection from the sun's rays with mesh peekaboo. Caregivers love the merino cover that keeps baby cozy, and they also like the seat's handle's ability to pivot over the canopy and make it easier for them to grab whenever they need.

Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX

The Graco Trio Grow SnugLock LX is a 3-in-1 car seat that converts from rear-facing infant to forward-facing harness, and then to highback booster. It has the SnugLock system which allows for an easy and smooth installation with either lower anchors or car seats by age seat belts. It also allows you to use the top tether in booster mode (although we recommend using the lower anchors at all times for added security).

This seat is perfect for children of all ages. For younger babies it comes with an infant insert which helps to support their backs and necks. As they grow older, the insert can be removed and the seat can be used as a normal toddler car seat. This car seat is one of the few that allow you to use the top tether in booster mode, which is what we recommend.

Its base is quite compact from front to back, so it shouldn't pose a problem fitting into the majority of vehicles. The headrest must be raised to allow the lower anchor webbing to pass through. Thankfully, there's a handy headrest adjustment knob to easily accomplish this, and you'll be able to see the headrest position in the display window.

The SnugLock system is among the most exciting features of this seat. It's an anchor that is located inside the belt path. Installing this car seat using lower anchors is easy, and almost as simple as installing the car's seat belt.

The manual also includes a great illustration of how to correctly route the lower anchor connectors when traversing them along the belt's new path, which may be confusing at first. It's important to keep them out of the crotch buckle loop and away from the chest clip, to ensure they don't interfere with the buckling system.

The Graco Trio Grow is part of the Protect Plus Engineered family, which means it has been subjected to some of the most rigorous crash tests in the market. This includes side, rear and rollover crashes as well as frontal impact tests.