Search For Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat at Amazon
311 of 319 people found the following review helpful. I hope this helps you with your car-seat purchase decision. I know I was a little overwhelmed by all of the choices and price differences. This seat was $90 with free shipping (from Amazon via BabyAge, I think–got here in two days!!) when I got it. I did go to a local store first to check these out (it was $160 in the store) I found the cheaper seats (Graco, Evenflo) had thinner padding. The more expensive seats (Brittax, etc.) had lots of colors and similar padding to this seat. I don’t really think the kids care that much about the colors–their butts are on them, you know? I like that this fabric seems to hide everything my two-year-old can dish out on it–and then wash easily if it gets stinky. Oh–the other thing I really like about this seat is how easily the straps adjust–I haven’t seen any that are easier–if you look at the picture you’ll see these little red handles at the top–you simply push/pull these and the straps slide up or down–other car seats you have to rethread the things–who has time for that!?! Also, the arm rests are adjustable–I have them up and out of the way for now–when we transition to the booster, I’m sure I’ll bring them down. Good luck!! 69 of 73 people found the following review helpful. First, let me tell you my little story of installation! I first tried installing the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite car seat rear-facing in my 2004 Mazda 3 using the LATCH system. I followed the instructions to the letter and also used one regular-size towel rolled up underneath it. I thought I had it in there pretty good, but I asked my husband to take a look to see if he could get it a little tighter since it seemed to move a little side to side. We both agreed that it was a little too loose and there was still quite a bit of open space underneath the car seat, which caused additional wiggle room for the car seat to move. We also couldn’t seem to get the darn thing level AND tight at the same time. We took a break from my car and my husband starting working on installing the same car seat in his 2003 GMC pickup, again using the LATCH system. (We bought two identical car seats.) He used one towel underneath, but he absolutely couldn’t get it level with the ground and tight at the same time! As he pulled the seat tighter, the seat kept moving up to a sitting position rather than reclined. In fact, he pulled the straps so tight, we couldn’t get the darn thing OUT either! The locking mechanism gets jammed if you pull it too tight. Thank goodness we were able to get the towel out from underneath and we detached the base from the car seat (while it was still installed in the truck), which gave us enough room to unhook the car seat from the pickup’s LATCH hooks. So, after about an hour or more of messing around with the car seat and cussing up a storm, we decided to take a break and I did a little research online. I found a video on Safety 1st’s website about how to install a rear facing car seat and I also checked out several reviews to see if anyone had advice. After watching the video, reading the instructions several more times and reading several reviews, I decided to tackle it again. First, ***I removed the base from the car seat*** and used a rolled up bath sheet(a big oversized towel similar to the one used in the video) to put underneath the car seat. The secret is to REMOVE THE BASE!!! It doesn’t affect the safety at all and allows for a MUCH better fit when rear-facing!!! It took me all of 5 minutes to get the car seat secured rear-facing in my Mazda 3. And, the bath towel just basically fills the open space right underneath the lower section of the car seat. The car seat really doesn’t sit on the towel at all. I did it just like the video shows and it is a secure fit. Another secret I learned from another review is to put your knee down in the car seat where the child’s sits and also push straight down hard on the top of the car seat as you pull the straps tight. This will help keep it level with the ground as you’re pulling it tight. I strongly urge you to watch the video and be patient. It was a heck of a lot easier than I thought originally and all it took was for me to step away for a little while and come back to it. Five minutes, literally, to install this thing without the base attached. Give it a try! This car seat is worth it and is very secure for my 10-month old! Good luck and best wishes to you! 25 of 26 people found the following review helpful. We bought these car seats for our 1-yr-old (22 lb) twin boys and WE LOVE THEM!! They’re really padded, cushiony and roomy, so they were very comfortable for the road trip we just took. Once I figured out how to use the hooks to attach to the LATCH bolts built-into my car (incl. in most cars built after 2002), it didn’t take long to install. They will be easy to adjust as our boys grow, and we’re thrilled that we won’t need to buy another car seat EVER. As a 3-in-1 car seat, they can be converted and used until the child is up to 100 lbs! We agree that they’ll be too big for small cars. In fact, our boys just barely met the limit to situate the car seat to be front-facing. If they hadn’t, I don’t think it would have fit in our Toyota 4Runner as a rear-facing seat. The car seat itself isn’t big. The problem is that it requires a lot of width (i.e. looks reclined) in order to be set at the safety level in the back seat. Otherwise….we love it and would highly recommend it. |
BEST seat for the $$$