Customer Reviews

Baby Jogger Car Seat Adaptor - Double (Mini/Elite/Classic/Summit)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

bought this for my citi mini and key fit 30. thought i had bought the wrong adaptor since seat didn't lock in place and was confused whether it was only supposed to support the seat without locking (and only with buckle across seat) after reading other reviews. if you are having this problem you probably just installed it incorrectly! A one inch push of the bar forward (and have 'screws' flush with black mounts) made all the difference. Now the car seat does snap in and can not be removed even without the buckle across the seat. Wish someone had told me that if it doesn't snap in (so that you can lift the whole stroller/seat together) you've installed it wrong!!!

The instructions that came with the Chicco Adapter are terrible!! I was finally able to get my Keyfit 30 to snap into the adapter..after many tries.

1. Standing behind the stroller (as if you're pushing the stroller), the "FOOT" support bar should be closest to you. The "HEAD" support bar should be farthest away from you.

2. When putting together the support bars, you want to make sure you are putting the black bar fasteners on the correct side of the support bars. The bar fasteners should go on the RIGHT SIDE of the adapter brackets. I originally put the bar fasteners in on the left side of the adapter brackets, and when I put the Keyfit in, it sat inside the support bars instead of snapping in. (I realized later that the instructions did show the fasteners on the right side of the brackets..but you have to look very closely. The instructions don't state that important fact at all.)

My husband and I were troubled by that. What happened if somehow the stroller was pushed by accident and someone forgot to buckle the seatbelt? (accidents do happen, and you never know.) Why would a company make an adapter specifically for the Chicco Keyfit, yet not make it so that it SNAPS in?

3. You're probably wondering what part of the Keyfit is snapping into the adapter? There are gray tabs that are on each side of the carseat. Those tabs are supposed to catch the inside of the adapter brackets. You will than have to use the orange latch in the back of the carseat to release the carseat from the adapter.

So when you're positioning the support bars, you will (by trial and error) have to place the carseat in to see where the gray tabs line up with the adapter brackets. After finding the perfect position, you will than tighten the bar fasteners so that the support bars are tight.

4. The carseat is than locked into the adapter. Clip the seatbelt on and you're ready to go!

Hope this review helps clear up how to install the Chicco car seat adapter to the City Jogger City Select stroller.

Length:: 5:44 Mins

Video review of how we think the car seat adapters are installed.

Note: Remark about poorly written instructions are in reference to the manufactures instructions and not Bonnie's. If anyone sees any issues with how we installed these or my explanation of the product please feel free to remark.

(Just to clarify - this is the adapter for the Baby Jogger City Mini stroller and the Chicco KeyFit30 car seat. For some reason, this has been very confusing for some people.)

I used this adapter on my 2010 City Mini stroller, and it works perfectly well. When I place my carseat (without the base) into the adapter, it locks into place and is so secure that I can actually lift the entire stroller by the handle of the carseat. I still use the strap just for added security. The adapter is the same price as a Snap and Go stroller, but this way I can use my City Mini, which is a much better stroller than just the frame, and I have one less piece of gear to store. I cannot recommend this carseat adapter enough! For those with Graco carseats, I believe there is a different adapter for other carseats - don't get this one.

The adapter is pretty good although expensive and not really neccessary. Be careful to order the correct one according to your stroller and car seat. If you search in Amazon for car seat adapter it gives you more than one Baby Jogger adapter, descriptions are not item specific and can be confusing. ***It's best to call Baby Jogger and ask them for the ITEM # based on your specific stroller and seat model*** Then type the item # in the Amazon search box so you don't waste 2 weeks like me trying to get the correct adapter.

I bought this adapter to work with a Baby Jogger City Select Stroller and a Chicco Ketfit 30 and honestly, while it does the job, it was certainly a head-scratcher with regards to its design.

First off, let me say that there are MULTIPLE Chicco adapters for the Baby Jogger product line and to make sure you buy the right one. I know there are multiple adapters in general, but again, there are TWO different City Stroller Series adapters for the Chicco brand products.

To be fair to those reading this review, this is the adapter I purchased.

[...]

If you have purchased this one (and you'll know becuz the included adapter components will match EXACTLY) or need one for the City Select Stroller with the Keyfit Series, this review is for you.


If you have purchased the following Chicco adapter (or is the one you will need for a non-City Select stroller), this review isnt for you, although youre welcomed to continue.

[...]

Edit: Amazon took down the web addresses of .pdf instruction manuals of both products so that people can see the difference in adapters. Consult the manufacturer's website for the manuals. Sorry about that.


On to the review..

Let me start off by saying Baby Jogger had the right idea in making this adapter system. It is designed to be simple (maybe too simple), yet secure and consistent with their City Select product line.

The adapter itself is made up of the two shaped rails that connect together, the stroller locking brackets, each with an attached locking ribbon (the big, black components, which connect to the spots that your stroller's first and/or second seats would) and two screw-like bolts that secure the two rails once theye connected.

When the adapter is assembled, it will form a square shaped device and the Keyfit seat will sit/fit perfectly inside. The black locking brackets would attach to the stroller and the attached ribbons would wrap around the Keyfit seat, further securing it. Pretty simple, perhaps too simple.

Once assembled, the rails are able to slide within the brackets (the rails go thru them) and once you have your desired adapter position, the rails can be locked into the brackets using two red levers on the brackets' outer side.

So, here is the problem and probably where most of us have had issues. The two black brackets connect perfectly to the stroller. However, they have absolutely NO connectivity to the Keyfit. None, Niet, Zero, Zilch, Nada.

Upon closer examination of the locking brackets (you can look at them if you already own the adapter or increase the zoom on the pdf file above), while the bottom identically match that of the Baby Jogger seats, the top portion have grooves and are distinctly shapely, giving you the impression that they connect with something on the Keyfit. They dont.

Maybe Baby Jogger was told that the design specs would include a space for those brackets to connect. Maybe Baby Jogger is foretelling an upcoming design change of the Keyfit series. But, whatever it is, it has no relevance to March 2, 2011, as the two brackets DO NOT directly connect to the Keyfit on this date.

Now, this normally wouldnt be a big problem, BUT becuz the design of the adapter is so simplistic, the brackets give the undoubted impression that they connect to the Keyfit and many users, including myself, have spent a bunch of time trying to figure out how to connect them. And unless someone has re-constructed their Keyfit seat in some sort of manner, its not happening.

Now, to a very small credit (and I mean pebble of sand small), the brackets do somewhat connect to the two grey locking pieces on the bottom sides of the Keyfit (the pieces that lock the Keyfit into its base in the car), but it is not a seemless connect in the least and is more of a "stuck" than connect. I figured this out accidentally when trying to unhook the Keyfit to the adapter when putting the stroller in the car and was surprisingly unable to remove it. But, again, to me, this is more of a concidence and becuz the rails can be adjusted, thus adjusting the Keyfit's position in the stroller, this is not guaranteed to happen and if it does, users may be inclined to adjust the brackets' position on the rails so it doesnt happen again.

It is just a poor design of a product that works decent in spite of it. The biggest problem is when youre dealing with stuff like this, the first and foremost thing people are concerned with is the safety of your children. When you have components that look like they connect to something and dont, it leaves cause for concern, at the very least. Baby Jogger would be VERY WISE to re-design it or at least allow a third-party to design an alternative since nothing of the sort exists.

Buy the adapter at your own risk and more importantly, comfort level. If it is something you must have to get use of your Baby Jogger stroller with your small child (Baby Jogger doesnt recommend using their stroller's standard seats until the child is 40 lbs or so), then buy it, but understand that it wont work like you think it should. And if you can avoid it, at least until it's re-designed, or have the money to purchase a temporary alternative, then do that.

This review isnt to condemn the Baby Jogger product line becuz I actually love it. Its really more of a reminder to them of whats most important and that their current design of this product has major flaws which will make the consumer very apprehensive about making a purchase. Hopefully, they will get the message, if they already have not received it.

I have the City Select and got the adapter for the Chicco Key fit30 all together. I read the reviews here before hand, tried them in a store and the two products seemed to be the best for us. (I bought them in the brick and mortar that helped us because the service was fantastic.) Individually I like the usability of both. The adapter kit is very poor though, and it is really irritating that they sell it at all with this design, never mind at the price. Even more frustrating is when you read the reviews for other adapters for the Chicco, for example on the Uppababy system, and find that with a little care they could have made a great fitting adapter that doesn't even use the straps to be secured.

I looked it over and the design flaw is fairly obvious when you take a minute. The bar that holds the head of the car seat is too low, so when the seat is settled into it the grey "tabs" that lock and release the seat in both the adapter and the car seat base are partially depressed by the structure cross pieces below. If the angle of the head side bar held the seat higher it would not allow the tabs to get half pressed in. So it does click into a very secure locked position, then gets half unlocked because it goes past where it should. This is why it is loose, and also why if you pull upward on the head of the car seat after it is "locked" it will slip right out. This too is why they added the ridiculous strap to the system when other Chicco stroller adapters get by fine without it.

If you look at the box there is a sticker that says it was designed for use with Chicco brand car seats. Under that sticker, if you peel it back, it says it was designed for "several popular brands of car seat" and lists a bunch of brands, and not Chicco. This was clearly made to be as universal as possible with a cure all strap added for when it's design counter-acts the locking mechanism as it does in the case of the Keyfit.

Like others here, we are going to keep it because the stroller is the best one for my wife to fold and lift into the trunk, and the Chicco has the best safety rating, but I am super disappointed in the adapter. It will work, it is safe, but I feel scammed for both the price and care of design. Even more frustrating when you see how easy it would be to address this issue. If i knew I could bend the bar to the proper angle it myself without weakening the structure I would, but I guess we'll stick with the cheesy straps and a safe ride for the baby.

Long story short? Works. Safe. Necessary if you want the travel system with these two devices. Feels like a slap in the face, though.

I think I've figured out the reason that some people think that this is a piece of trash, and others think that it works perfectly. I "followed the instructions", like others and found that it was not secure, at all, and that the KeyFit could be removed without using the latch. The reason it does not work is that, just based on the adapter alone, the KeyFit goes too far down into the adapter when it rests on the foot and head bars of the adapter. ***This can't possibly work without a modification***.

The solution is to throw out the instructions. Leave the stroller cloth on the car seat, and instead of resting the KeyFit on the foot bar, rest it on the cloth at the top. This prevents the KeyFit from going too far down, and actually acts as a sort of spring to keep the KeyFit latch securely fastened to the adapter. Now I can't remove it without using the latch, and it feels very secure. My guess is that the people for whom this adapter has worked either do not have the KeyFit30, or happened to install it with the cloth on and got lucky. My only concern is that the cloth will tear at some point, and that it is still possible to put the seat in without resting it on the cloth. So the answer is that it is a piece of trash, but can work fine with this hack. Another solution would be to add a spacer to the adapter so that the KeyFit Sits higher. Baby Jogger needs to change this adapter.

Loving this car seat adapter and stroller!!! We had a newborn and a 15m old... this was the perfect solution for us. I love the seating, I love the car seat option. The stroller is beyond nice. The other day someone stopped me and said " wow, that is a great stroller"... it is! Worth every penny. Our boys are now 3m old and 18m old, both in the 95% range for size and weight and the stroller is hanging tough! Not to mention, it comes completely apart so it fits into any space... I have a small SUV and the stroller fits, with both seats and the adapter in my trunk with groceries. Yesterday I brought only one baby with me and it was a piece of cake to change my double into a single.. what a wonderful invention!

We received the Baby Jogger FIT and ordered the Chicco car seat adapter. My husband did all the installation, but followed the directions and the seat snapped in perfectly. It was snug and just as secure as snapping it into the base in our vehicle. We did have to unsnap the fabric on the sides of the stroller to ensure a proper fit, but that was all. I went for a nice jog with my baby in her seat. No jiggling, totally secure. The FIT is also a wonderful jogging stroller if you're in the market for one. I would definitely recommend this!