Customer Reviews

The First Years Via Infant Car Seat - Cappuccino

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a carseat fanatic and have owned dozens of seats over the past ten to fifteen years. I have owned four different infant seats in recent years and this is my favorite seat so far.

The handle on this seat is extremely comfortable to carry. It is well-padded, well-molded, and easy to adjust into one of the five different positions provided.

The base is extremely easy to install with either LATCH or a seatbelt. It is easy to adjust in height, easy to click the seat into, and easy to clean (unfortunately, I have already had to do a major clean!).

The canopy, which snaps onto the back of the seat and unsnaps for full rotation, is nicely sized to provide protection from the sun.

The padding on this seat is fabulous. The entire seat is lined in energy-absorbing EPS foam, there is a layer of comfort foam under the baby's body, and the entire cover is also padded. In addition, there are harness covers and a head support.

The bottom harness slots are low enough that a preemie or newborn fits well in this seat.

It is true that you cannot use this seat on a shopping cart, but you should not use ANY carseat on top of a shopping cart. It is very dangerous to do so. This seat fits PERFECTLY in the basket of standard shopping carts, though. :) While that doesn't leave much room for groceries or other purchases, it isn't impossible, as long as you are creative. :)

While this seat doesn't snap into many strollers, it does fit well in some larger strollers. As long as there is a tray and the seat is fairly large, the Via will fit.

I adore this seat and will recommend it to anyone with a small baby. I love it!

I got this car seat for my son when he was 3 months old. He has scoliosis and HATED his Graco. I tried the padded inserts and various other tricks to soften up the seat but finally had to find an alternative. At only 12lbs he swam in the convertible we tested so I thought we'd give this a try.

The padding is like having little puffy pillows keeping him in place and happy! This seat is a true Life Saver! When he was 7 months old I was in a fatal head on collision with a drunk driver. My son didn't have a scratch on him. The car seat was hit so hard the metal clamps that "click" it to the base must have fused the two peices together because we could not remove the seat and had to cut my suv's belt to remove it. The CHP officer was shocked that the two peices stayed together. He said he has seen in other crashes that the base stays in the car but the seat and baby are usually knocked off the base and discharged from the vehicle. Scary to even imagine but it is a reality.

The seat was under warranty and the manufacturer UPS'd me a brand new seat and had me return mine (postage paid) for research. I'm so thankfull (and lucky) I took a chance and purchased this seat!

As for convienence the car seat is compatible with a few Evenflo strollers (full size) and DOES SNAP INTO the Inglesina Zippy stroller. It was made to be compatable with this car seat, but it is not cheap. I use an Evenflo and my husband added a belt to strap the seat in so it can't fall out.

I will continue to buy Compass and The First Years car seats as my children grow.

I recently purchased this car seat from Amazon and I was at first really excited about receiving it, but when it did arrive the outside color that I thought was a deep chocolate or coffee brown was actually a dark navy blue like color. I am having a girl so i was extremely disappointed as i thought that having an all brown seat would be cute and gender neutral for my future children.

It also appears to be a really soft, almost microfiber like material but it isnt. It had a tag attached to it promoting that the material is easily cleaned and wipeable. The material did not feel cheap to me but i was really looking for a super soft material for my new baby.

I was happy with the amount of padding in the seat and it did look very comfortable. The handle was also a nice material and felt good to hold. I also was happy to see that on the handle you can add pictures or info. to make it more personalized.

overall it is a very well made seat but I was unhappy about the color and I am returning mine.

Hope this helps! :)

I could write at length describing the lovely attributes of this car seat. However, anything positive about the Via is irrelevant because it can NOT be safely used with any snap n go or universal type stroller base (the biggest plus in owning an infant car seat as far as I am concerned). I was told by The First Year's customer service representative that it is only compatible with one stroller made by their company (formerly Compass)with a price tag of $269. (And only available in a plum color.)
I wasted $120 on this car seat and it is now sitting at our local childrens consignment store. For the sake of convenience and sheer survival with a newborn, I purchased the Graco Safe Seat as a replacement (which I am extremely pleased with). Only buy this car seat if you plan on lugging your child around everywhere you go.

When I first opened the product I loved it. The seat belt height adjusted very easily from the back, the padding was great, and the handle was the best I have seen. Then I saw the stickers on the side that said it can't be used without the base and it can't be used in a shopping cart which meant it can't be secured in a stroller either. This car seat is only useful for transporting baby from car to house. I'm not sure what your supposed to do with your baby when you go shopping. You would basically have to carry your baby around all the time. I was very disappointed and could have dealt with always using the base but it had to be able to be used in a stroller or shopping cart. Also, I received my seat damaged due to a gouge in the side of the box that riped the foam on the side of the handle.