Customer Reviews

Companion Infant Car Seat - unity

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Britax Companion Carseat and Britax Preview Stroller make a great travel system. The carseat is heavier than some others, but it is VERY SAFE and STURDY. The straps are easy to adjust, they never twist, and my 4 week old daughter always looks comfortable and secure in it. The harness straps can be adjusted easily each time with a built-in lever found under a flap in front of the seat. It is very easy to remove and install in our Honda Element. The fabric is easy to spot clean as well. It snaps in easily to the stroller which, by the way, is more like an umbrella stroller than the bulky strollers in most travel systems. Originally I bought the Graco Metrolite, but returned it and bought the Britax system because I felt it was safer and more durable. The price is more expensive than most, but I see no reason to skimp when it comes to the safety of my child. (CR rated this seat as #1 this past May.) I also do not have to purchase an umbrella stroller later on, so in a way, I've saved money!

I bought this carseat for its safety rating, but my four month old overheats in the vinyl onyx seatcover. After only a short ride (15 min) her hair is wet with sweat - after a long ride (1 hour) she needs a change of clothes to not catch a chill. I live in Hawaii but run the AC while driving to keep her cooler to no avail. She detests the carseat and I am concerned that it may be because she is overheating. Britax is sending me a cotton poly unity blue cover to see if this alleviates the problem.

Another problem is that she is able to lift her head forward out of the side impact protection and if it is inflated snuggly she cannot put her head back - creating a safety problem. Britax rep did not have a solution for this.

If you are quite tall, you may need to test it out in your car to see if you are able to use the seat in the center seat position or behind the driver.

Weight not an issue: The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using carseats in shopping carts due to 1000 injuries per year. Also consumer reports advises against subjecting carseats to wear and tear caused by using a carseat as a baby carrier. Aprica Strollers research claim it unhealful for infants to be in a carseat position for more than two hours per day. Therefore, i think it is good that the seat is so heavy and incovenient to remove. It helps me resist the temptation to keep her in the seat while shopping. I just pick her up and carry her or use a stroller - offering her more freedom safety and HUGS!

D.D.

Honolulu, HI

I am a HUGE fan of britax i was so excited to learn that Target finally carried Britax. I was having to buy all my carseats off other sites because no one carried Britax in the stores. I love this new infant one. It is soooo easy to install and big enough to let my baby grow in it. I had a problem with my old one which was a peg perego my son was out of it in 3 months and i bought my first Britax the roundabout. Which was also incredilby easy to install and very secure once it is put in. The new infant one is a little on the big side but i love that and the air adjustable head cushion is great. The straps are secure and easy to release and tighten. I am a BRITAX mom all the way i will never buy another brand of carseat in my life.

We purchased the Britax after doing quite a bit of research both online and in the stores.

Why we purchased -

1. Safety rating

2. Britax reputation

3. Compatible with a lightweight stroller

Why we are glad we have it -

1. Head rest provides excellent support for baby. Baby isn't folded over at the neck.

2. Car seat does not move, at all, when installed correctly (check around locally to make sure you have it installed correctly).

3. FAA approved and fairly easy to use without the base, but it will take some practice both with lap belts and shoulder belts.

4. Baby cannot lift head out past the restaints when the strap is tightened and the "slide" is in place.

5. Cover is machine washable, and the straps are easy to remove to clean out the car seat. This is important when your baby out poops a diaper or throws up. Plus, it dries pretty quickly.

Things that can be improved -

1. Handle, it's a bit uncomfortable to carry as the baby gets heavier.

2. Sun shade - could go down further.

3. Handle release - it's two handed, one handed would be easier.

Our baby was 29" and right around 20 lbs. when she outgrew the seat so it can last awhile depending on the size of your baby. We have a Mazda Tribute and it fits well in the center. You will probably have to keep one of the front seats fairly upright in order to maneuver the car seat in and out.

ANY car seat is going to get bulky and heavy when a baby gets bigger. While the seat is probably heavier than most, the longest trip you may carry it for is from the parking lot into a building.

Definitely worth the money.

After checking all the reviews and prices for infant car seats, we purchased the Britax Companion for our newborn. We are VERY pleased with our decision.

Positives:

SAFE, SAFE, SAFE

Price is compromise between cheap and 'high-end' seats

High quality product - sturdy and comfortable for our little guy Side-impact/head support

Anti-rebound bar on base

Coordinating Britax Preview Stroller

Drawbacks:

Hard to find (not in any stores in our area and out of stock most of the time online)

Heavier than most infant car seats (but this is also a positive)

Handle hard to move, especially with canopy in place (but it is getting easier after 2 months of use)

My baby used this carseat for almost 6 months, and I feel we provided her with one of, if not, the safest infant car seat out there. I was very impressed with the feel of the fabric, which is pleasantly soft and cushy, as well as the overall quality of the car seat and base. I have a friend who purchased a Snugride for her son, and after I saw hers, I changed my mind about the one that we had initially wanted to buy for our baby. It was not cushy at all, and her son just seemed to roll around in it. I am happy that we decided to change to the Britax, even though the price difference was fairly substantial. With the side impact head protection, her head never flopped around like other babies did.

It IS a heavy seat, as some have commented, but my friend who has a Peg said it was lighter than hers. I think that any infant carrier is going to get heavy the more you use it - that's just something we all have to go through.

We also purchased the Preview stroller that goes with the seat. It was not difficult to put together and rolled well and is very good stroller for the money. The only problem I had was that while she was riding in the carrier, you have to fully recline the stroller which causes the basket underneath to be unusable. I do like the stroller for it's weight and the $$. As a first time mom, you don't always know what to get and while there are other features I now know would be nice on a stroller, I can't say that I still wouldn't get it again.

After a lot of research my husband and I got the Companion for our daughter, we both felt very safe with her in it. However our daughter is a baby that runs hot, and this seat does not have breathable fabic, she is always hot in it! Also the seat is very heavy which I agree means safe but it is so hard to carry even on short trips like from the car into the post office and back. Also since it is bigger than most car seats it's hard to take into a restaurant. Most car seats will fit in the wooden high chairs turned upside down, however the companion does not and a lot of the times it doesn't fit in a booth either. As with people saying it's hard to get into the base we found that if you hold the release handle and push down at the same time it goes in first time every time. I would buy the companion again because I feel it's worth the extra effort, just go into knowing it's not the most user friendly but it's the safest!

Yes this carseat may(?) be slightly heavier than other car seats (I haven't put it on a scale) but if you care about your child this is the car seat to have bar none! Look at a graco or evenflo. It is all plastic with maybe 1/2 inch of soft foam padding behind the babies back. Britax puts soft foam in for comfort and then installs dense foam between layers of plastic like a motorcycle helmet. Also unlike some carseats the locking mechanisms are metal instead of plastic. As for the extra cost consider that the length & weight limits are more generous than other car seats.

You can buy what you want for your child but for mine it is a Britax or they stay home!

I bought this carseat because it was rated number one by consumer reports as the "safest" carseat against peg perego, graco snug ride, and others. However it is on the upper end of the price scale. When the car seat arrived, it was a perfect fit for my daughter who was a preemie.. she came home at 4 lbs and 6 oz. I really liked this car seat because my daughters head did not flop around like in other car seats and she seemed to be quite snug in it. The red buttons to raise or lower the handle bar are a bit tough to press, and sometimes the car seat doesnt want to cooperate coming out of the base. But I guess thats the price you pay for safety. I hope that all is well in your travels with your new bundle of joy(s).

I bought the Britax Companion after I was convinced my son hated his peg perego. I, too, was impressed with the safety ratings, and I thought compared to my peg, it's not as heavy or bulky.

Pros-

Very safe, like the anti rebound bar, sturdy, good coverage from canopy, easier to carry then my peg, fits into pliko p3 and baby trend snap and go, can wash cover and order covers from Britax direct (to solve heat issue).

Cons-

Not easy to get in and out of base (be careful that it is locked, have to check and check), hard to get baby in and out of (the TSIP is not secured by velcro or anything and tends to flop around), the straps to not stay aside to place baby in seat, harness does not click to let one know it is secure, have to feed straps through the back in order to adjust height (this is just a slide up and down feature in my peg), carrier handle also difficult and noisy (wakes sleeping baby). Also, the TSIP seems like it over-confines my baby (3 mos) even completely deflated. I want to remove it, but then I'm removing the SIP. Not a worry in the peg since the SIP is built in and adjusts with the seat belt positioning.

All in all, I like the Britax line and will likely return to it for the next seat up (decathlon or marathon) but I think this seat has too many quirks as pp said. Also, my son no longer constantly screams in his peg, so it must have be a developmental thing.