Parents who have to transfer the car seat from one car to another or travel by plane often with the kids understand the importance of having the best lightweight convertible car seat.
It’s such a hassle lifting a car seat that weighs more than 25pounds but even worse buying one car seat for the car and one for the plane.
The best convertible car seat for travel can be the difference between life and death to your children.
Apparently, most babies who die in car accidents are killed by unintentional injuries in the head or being thrown out of their seats.
A lightweight car seat is convenient because it’s easy to fit in and out of the car, move with it to the airport and transfer from one car to another.
It can be used in cars as well as in airplanes to hold the baby in place and protect them from feeling impact, bumps and turbulence.
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Table of Contents
4 Best Travel Car Seats For Toddlers.
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1. Chicco Nextfit Convertible Car Seat.
Finding a car seat that is easy to install accurately and securely is actually really hard.
This NextFit lightweight convertible car seat for air travel from Chicco will surprise you at how easy it is to fix it accurately in your car or plane.
It’s made with safety and convenience in mind so your child will be sit or lie securely in any car without struggle.
This NextFit convertible car seat can be used for forward-facing and handle 22-65lbs as well rear-facing 5-40lbs. Its design and durability means you can use this car seat from the time the baby is an infant to when they are out of pre-school.
The NextFit is the best travel car seat because it has ReclineSure 9-position Levering, the most recline options found in any convertible seat to make it fit accurately in any make of car out there.
It also has SuperCinch Latch Tightener, a technology that enhances the tightest and most secure fit without any effort.
The headrest on this car seat can be adjusted to six height positions to support growing children.
As this headrest height increases, the 5-point harness also increases automatically to accommodate the shoulders of this growing child.
Drawback:
This car seat comes with extra padding and shoulder pads for little babies which are great but they cannot be removed to wash.
2. Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35 Infant Car Seat.
This infant car seat is the lightest convertible car seat in the market at only 7lbs which makes it very easy to transport from one car to another and from the car to the stroller.
It’s a rear-facing car seat that handles up to 4-35pounds and 32 inches height so it’s one of the best convertible car seats for babies.
The rear facing car seat has a removable newborn head support to provide cushioning and support for the baby’s head.
It also comes with a rotating canopy to protect the baby against sun and leg cover to keep the baby warm and comfortable during the ride.
To ensure optimum safety, this Graco infant car seat has been rigorously crash tested to exceed US safety standards.
It’s one Click Connect technology lets you know when the car seat is securely attached and the stay-in-car base is made to make installing the car seat easy and fast.
Graco SnugRide Convertible car seat has a five-point harness adjustable from the front to make getting the baby in and out as easy as possible.
It comes in a variety of colors suitable for both boys and girls.
Drawback:
The latch connector on this car seat locks completely if you get the seat tight.
This tightness makes it very hard to release when you want to take the seat out of the car so you need to use all your strength.
3. Evenflo Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat.
Evenflo Tribute LX is the best convertible car seat for small cars because it’s compact, lightweight and easy to move around.
It is able to handle infants from 5 to 40lbs in rear-facing position and 22-40lbs in forward facing position.
Evenflo has gone above and beyond to ensure safety for infants and growing kids by installing the 5-point harness system with 4 shoulder straps.
The Tribute LX has also gone through all the federal safety tests and Evenflo’s side impact test and passed exceedingly.
This travel car seat for toddler has energy absorbing foam liner, head pillow and it’s well-padded for extra cushioning and comfort.
All the pads as well as the head pillow are removable and machine washable to maintain a clean and hygienic car seat.
The compact and lightweight design of the Evenflo’s best lightweight convertible car seat makes it very ideal for many types of cars, moving from one vehicle to another and carrying it through airports and stairways.
Other features that make it one of the best lightweight convertible car seat include the LATCH system, removable car holder, 2-crotch buckle positions and long warranty.
Drawback:
The cup holder is not really useful because they say you only use paper cups and not plastics. However, since kids use bottles or breastfeeding bottles that have tight lids, a cup holder is not really necessary.
4. Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat.
Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 makes it to the top best travel car seats for toddlers because of the pria 70, an advanced safety and comfort technology utilizing flextech to protect the baby from multi-directional crash energy and air.
This new generation of pria 70 not only has side impact protection but also has premium self-wicking material that draws liquids away from the baby’s skin to provide a dry and comfortable place throughout the journey.
The weight range of this Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat is 9-40pounds on rear-facing position and 22-70 pounds on forward-facing both of which are side protected against air and wind.
It has 3-recline positions, cup holder and you can adjust the harness and headrest with one hand. You can adjust the headrest and harness with one hand.
Keeping the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat is pretty easy because the machine-washable pads unsnap and come off easily so there is no need to remove the whole seat from the car.
This is one of the lightest weight infant car seat and it fits very well in one sit therefore allowing ample space for the rest of the passengers to stretch their legs and place belongings.
Drawback:
Some people find the space between the head wings to be slim and feel like the baby is not comfortable.
However, this is not the case because this head wings are made to keep the child’s head from moving from side to side during movement. They are safe and children don’t mind them.
5. Graco 4ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat.
If you are looking for the best lightweight car seat to fit your big child, the Graco 4ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat is the right choice.
This 4-in-1 car seat will give you a good ten year service from the time your babies are 4 pounds to when they are 120pounds if that is possible.
The 4-in -1 system includes a rear-facing position handling 4-40pounds weight, forward-facing position for 20-65 pounds weight, booster seat in high back belt-position that can take 30-100 pounds and finally backless belt position that can go all the way to 120pounds.
Installing this car seat is extremely easy and fast thanks to the InRight LATCH system that has an audio click to notify you that the seat is properly secured.
To fit children of all ages, this lightweight toddler car seat is equipped with the Simply Safe Adjust Harness System that enables the user to adjust the harness and headrest together up to 10 positions.
It is side impact tested to ensure safety and has 6-position recline to keep the child as comfortable as possible.
Graco 4ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat comes with plush inserts on the infant car seat and 2 cup holders to make travelling comfortable and convenient.
The seat covers come off easily and are machine washable to enhance cleanliness.
Drawback:
The only complaint heard about the Graco 4ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat is that the fabric is not breathable so it’s not ideal for hot places unless you have great air conditioning.
Buying Guide For The Best Lightweight Convertible Car Seat.
Any good lightweight convertible car seat is good because it works both in rear-facing and front-facing positions and can be carried around easily.
However, there are a few factors one has to consider before picking just any convertible and lightweight infant car seat;
- Safety Standards:
The best lightweight convertible car seat must meet Federal Safety Standards, be NCAP crash tested and have high booster seat ratings.
The product usually states if they have met these standards but you can check SaferCar.gov to read some reviews.
- Extra Features:
Some features seem insignificant but they actually matter.
Things like extra shoulder straps, cup holders, removable pads and seat covers as well as head protection all make a car seat that much more comfortable and safer.
- Extended Rear And Front Facing:
There are two factors to consider here;
One, a child should remain in the rear-facing position as long as they can because it’s the safest position.
This means the lightweight infant car seat should handle more weight in the rear position and not just the expected 20pounds because of parents who want to keep their kids in that position.
Secondly, kids grow fast and can become taller and heavier before their time to transition to a booster seat.
A good lightweight convertible car seat should be able to handle heavier and bigger kids who have not yet attained the age of booster seats.
- Never Buy Second Hand Car Seats:
As good as it might look and as cheap as it may be compared to buying a new one, remember this is the life of your baby.
The older the car seat is the worse its quality might be and some parts are prone to wear and tear.
Unless you are really sure of the history of that seat you should buy a brand new one for safety purposes.
Conclusion:
The best lightweight convertible car seat is tricky to find what with so many makes out there.
This review will be helpful in that journey to ensure you choose the lightest convertible car seat for your baby.
