Customer Reviews

Combi Zeus 360 Convertible Car Seat, Licorice

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This car seat is amazing. It is so awkward to get a baby in a rear facing car seat. This seat allows you to turn it any way is most comfortable for you, plop your baby in and buckle up, and then rotate it to rear-facing. If you have a large baby, you definitely need this as opposed to the Zues turn. I called Combi to clarify and the "Zues turn" should never be used rear facing for a baby over 20 lbs! My LO is 5 months and already 20 lbs. so the "turn" was not an option. They came out with the "360" for that reason alone. The rear facing limit is 35 lbs.

The AAP is now saying that you should keep your baby rear facing as long as possible (not 20 lbs/1 year anymore) Many parents turn their kids forward facing ASAP because it is such a hassle. This seat is so simple, I will def. keep my little guy rear facing until 35 lbs. which is much safer for him.

*btw- the seat is very comfy and luxurious as well!

Well, it said that we could use the carseat from newborn to toddler. But the truth is that the vertical format of the seat while backward is uncomfortable for the newborn... I have to always be checking my baby's head that leans foward, since the seat is so straight up and their is no possibility if reclining it when its facing backward. I'm sure it will be great once i turn it foward, since I love the convenience of the rotation and its hight for the child to look out the window. Another problem is that while facing back its soo high that I haven't found a good mirror so I can monitor my child. I'm 50/ 50 on this one.

This seat is really nice for those of us with bigger infants. They can still be rear facing, but you don't need to tote their infant seat around with them and add to their 18+ lbs. I guess my only two concerns with the seat are that for one, it's huge. I have a full size chevy truck with a full back seat, so it's fine in there (besides the fact that I can't see much while backing up). My husband has a dodge dakota and thinks the seat is too huge for his truck. The baby loves it though because he can actually see out the window instead of staring at the seat. My other concern is that even though he's only 6 months old, when he's wearing shoes his feet are already in the way of the swivel motion. If I forget to move his feet first, his legs get all curled up when I turn the seat toward me. I am still happy with my purchase and think it was well worth the money.

I was seriously considering selling my car before I found this carseat. That would have been sad indeed, as I love my Honda Element as I have loved no other car. But getting a rear-facing carseat that is functional with the back seats set back so far seemed impossible. Then I found the Combi Zeus 360! Oh Joy! It may seem like a very niche-y seat, and it is, but if you need it its priceless.

Pus my babe finds it very comfortable and has stopped crying every time we go somewhere. Can't ask for better than that!

This has been a perfect upgrade to our regular rear facing car seat that served its purpose for 7 months. Firstly before all the great things about this seat, I must mention a few facts about this seat.

1. There is no recline position for rear facing. Two recline positions for front facing.
2. This is a fixed car seat (you cannot take the baby with the car seat out for eg. to a shopping mall in a cart). Hence, for infants who cannot yet sit (on a cart in a mall or a stroller -- less than 6 months) you should prefer a regular rear facing infant car seat that can be carried with you.

Now to some of the real nice aspects:

1. As everyone has told, absolutely great to side face the seat for placing and lifting up your baby. Perfect, when the baby is fallen asleep and needs to be placed without any disturbance (or taken out). Again some facts to add to this point --- The rotation of the seat is only possible when the seat is erect (which is also the case when the seat faces rear). So if the seat is facing rear and you wish to rotate it (to the side or front), then its already in the right position to rotate and it requires only the use of a single lever. However if the seat is front facing (this means its not erect and is at the one of two other inclined positions), then rotating it to the side requires first to unlock one switch, and then use the lever to push up the seat to the erect position and then to rotate. Also, the locking of the seat is only in the front or in the rear position. The seat automatically locks in the rear position. For the front position it requires a little downward thrust (but hardly a problem).
2. Very high seat, I installed this on my Nissan Murano on the window side rear to the front passenger seat. The motivation to install it near the window and not at the center was the high seat. The baby happily is able to view outside the window and also a little (in case of a suv) through the glass at the rear trunk. So this is really awesome.
3. There is plenty of room (and much much more compared to my regular rear facing seat) for the front passenger seat to come all the way back and also recline himself/herself. In my older regular rear facing seat (a Graco), when I reclined the front seat, it used to hit the car seat very quickly.
4. The seat is very comfortable for the kid. There is padding on top of the buckle which is great and also on the shoulder straps. There is great head rest. The infant car insert should provide even more comfort.
5. The straps will never get entangled, and is easy to use.

Cons:

1. There is a weight limitation of 40 lbs and 40 inches height to which this seat be used. So if you have a very tall kid who you think might grow taller than 40 inches before reaching 40 pounds, then it might be a problem. Once 40 lbs or 4 yrs, the law says that you can shift him to a booster ([...]) . So the weight is never an issue.

We've been using the Zeus for 5 months in our H3 for our 16 month old and can't say enough great things about it. Why on earth does every car seat not turn?!?!

For baby:
*The car seat is comfortable and reclines at an angle so that even tall toddlers (like mine) can sit rear facing without their legs being terrible jammed into their stomach.
*The fabric used breathes well. Despite it being black, the seat doesn't retain heat like so many others seem too.
*The straps/harness don't cut into my child's legs like some others we tried.

For parents:
*Getting your child into a seat and strapped in properly is a royal PITA with a rear-facing seat. (I suspect the same with forward-facing, but don't have any personal experience). With the Zeus, loading your toddler into the seat and snugly fastening them in is a cinch since they are facing you!!!
*The fabric resists stains and when dirty is easily removed and washable.

The harness release mechanism (to loosen the straps) can be a bit tricky since the button is buried deep into the seat (and in between your child's legs) and is a real nail-breaker if you have acrylics.

All-in-all this has been one of the best baby purchases we've made. I can't imagine ever going back to a car seat that doesn't rotate.

Your baby will feel like Captain Kirk in this tall car seat. Our one-year-old loves to look out the window of our SUV when we're out driving. He sits as high as an adult in this wonderful, fully featured car seat. We all love it. It is big, it is expensive, and it is worth it!

I bought this seat in lieu of financing a new car. We own an Element (Honda). If you are not familiar with this car, it has "suicide" style doors, lots of rear leg room, and only two large seats in the back.

It's great for a one child family, but not so great for a new baby addition with the lift out car seat. I didn't think about this. It wasn't on my radar until my right arm started showing signs of repetitive motion injury. Knowing I would not make it past my daughter's 15th pound, and knowing the last thing I want to do in my near future is wrestle a 2 year old into a rear facing Britax Marathon, I desperately researched seats recommended by other Element owners.

This is it, folks. If you have a difficult entry vehicle, or any back or neck problems and you dream of spinning safety baby seats, you have found your Shangri La.
It's a dream come true.

I own it in Chestnut.

The only weird thing is the buckle, which I am already used to one week into use, and my husband is concerned about the microfraction of wobble/rock action when seat is rear facing (I'm guessing the slight 1/8 inch of movement is because the seat rotates, I've watched all the Youtube videos and it almost seems like there is a snap-in-place wobble when they are demo'ing it, so I know it's in right). He's checking it now to make sure it's really in right, but it locks fine and doesn't move if you push it, it's just got a seat wobble and the base is secured very well. I love this thing, it's plushy, cushioned, and awesome.

I waited until our baby stopped leaning forward when she fell asleep to use it, but honestly, some of the reviews saying the seat tilt is too extreme is just not applicable in our car, we could have been using this a lot sooner.

Great for Element owners. Definitely.

I bought this seat just before my daughter turned one. I loved the functionality of the swivel. Yes, the seat is heavy but I didn't move the seat in and out of the car, so that was a nonissue for us. In rearfacing the seat is a little more upright than most and is not adjustable. My daughter would end up with her head hanging forward anytime she fell asleep.

When driving without my daughter in the seat, the carseat and base rattle and it is loud an annoying! Once I rotated forward facing the rattle continued. I could not drive without getting annoyed from the noise. I promptly returned the seat and bought a Britax Boulevard instead.

We purchased this carseat because of a recommendation from a friend. She has two children, and absolutely loved this seat. I took my chances and ordered the Combi Zeus 360 after only reading reviews. The baby stores near me only offered this carseat online, so there was no way to try it out. It arrived at my doorstep in 4-5 days after I ordered online through Amazon.

First, the positive... Installation was no big deal (as some people will say). I am petite and 5 feet tall, and I removed this carseat from the box by myself and installed it in my car by myself as well. I usually leave things like this for my husband, but I was so excited to try the seat out, I did it all myself. It took me about 30 minutes to install and figure out how the seat works. Simple! A lot of people claim that this seat is really tall and bulky. I drive a 2005 Nissan Altima (which is a bigger car) and it fits perfectly in my back seat. I have no problem seeing out my back window, however if I am turning around I have to stretch a little to peek over the top. But, again I am 5 feet tall. Even when my husband drives my car and pushes the seat all the way back, we still don't hit the carseat. I LOVE the material of this carseat. Very well made... easily removeable and washable. I don't feel like my baby sweats in it, like she did in her infant carrier. The infant seat insert (which we soon took out because she outgrew it) and tummy pad is great. Most other carseats don't offer that, and I feel like it is more comfortable and protects them more. I felt like my baby was padded and secure and comfortable. The rotation mechanism is pure genius. I had nieces and nephews who had regular rear-facing carseats, and having this luxury with my own baby has been so nice.

The negatives... just two. My baby was not yet 6 months old when it was delivered. She was only 14-15 lbs at that time, so I was worried about her head hanging uncomfortably. This is one of two negative things I will say about the seat. Her head did (and still does) hang a little awkward when she falls asleep in it. But to me, that is to be expected with a convertible seat anyway. The other negative is the lap belt attachment over the tummy pad is a little short. Sometimes it is a little work (especially when the baby is fighting being put in the carseat) to get it fastened. Most other times, it goes in pretty easily, but it could be a little longer.

For the most part, I feel like this seat is amazing. Knowing that when my child is a year old, all I have to do is hold a few buttons to turn the seat around is NICE. I would recommend this seat to anyone! Best baby purchase yet!