Customer Reviews

Safety 1st Apex 65 Booster Car Seat in Milan

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

When my daughter was 2, I spent weeks researching the perfect seat for her. Unfortunately, most booster seats have harnesses with a 40 lb weight restriction, and I knew by the time was hit 40 lbs (under 4 y/o) she wouldn't be big enough to sit still with only a seatbelt. I wanted something safe that would last a few years. When my son turned 2, I again researched the perfect seat for weeks, and again bought the Apex 65, since my now 4 y/o daughter still loves hers. For the research I did, I found:

Harnesses - The Apex 65 is rated for children up to 65 lbs. Many children are not ready to sit still in a seatbelt by the time they're 40 lbs. If a child falls asleep and is tipping in the seat, than it is not working properly.

Harness height - The apex has 4 slots for harnesses (the highest is hidden under the headrest). I believe it is one of the tallest seats out there. From the seat to the top harness is 17.25 inches, compared to 3-in-1 seats such as the Eddie Bauer with a height of 14 inches. When forward facing, the harnesses must be above a child's shoulders. My daughter, at 36 inches, is still below the 3rd slot, so she has space to move up. I believe only the Britax Marathon (for twice the price) has a higher harness, at 18 inches.

Adjustable headrest - There is a lock in the back allowing the headrest to move up and down. Nice feature for a growing child.

Non-twisting straps - Need I say more?

Adjustable crotch strap - Both children fit easily with the furthest slot out - one in diapers, one not. I can see the complaint about the leg clasp, but my children never had an issue with it.

Belt positioning booster - This chair converts to a belt positioning booster when the child is old enough for it. Simply remove the harnesses, and it works well.

Ease of installation - If you're using LATCH and Tether (standard on most cars after 2000), you can attach anchors into the seat of the car (feel near the seatbelts within the seat) and the tether strap (usually on a rear dashoard or back of the seat). I found installing this seat to be EXTREMELY easy - click it in and pull the strap to tighten. Although the installation is similar to most car seats, I found it much easier than the 2 Gracos I previously owned.

Please remember, this is a forward facing seat only. Rear facing minimums state 1 year AND 20 lbs (not one or the other), but it is safest to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. If he/ she fits that way until 30 lbs, that is the safest way for them.

Don't forget - no matter what the state law is, it's important to keep a child in a carseat (harnessed) until they are old enough to sit properly with a seatbelt (no leaning over or unbuckling), and in a seatbelt until they are large enough that when they sit, their knees bend down at the seat edge, not point out. The seatbelt should cross their shoulder, not their neck, and their lap, not their stomach.

Safety 1st Apex is a great seat! Definitely look into this one!

I got this for my 4 yr old, with the desire to keep her in a 5-point as long as possible. I give it 3 stars for the fact that it does that, but it does have enough problems that I'm going to try the Graco Nautilus for our other car. The crotch strap is way too short, and the longer one they sent (for free without any problems at all) did not seem a whole lot longer. The buckle seems very uncomfortable. Also, I had read complaints about twisiting straps but didn't really believe that could be a very big deal. It is. The strap material feels very thin and I have to untwist it pretty much every time my daughter gets in. Safe, but like I said, I'm hoping for better with the Nautilus.

I have a Britax Wizard and this car seat installed in my Honday Odyssey and my two children fight over who gets to sit in this Apex 65 car seat. It is big and roomy and has just enough cushioning. It has all of the same safety features of the britax that sits next to it. Both have 5 point harnesses above and beyond 40 pounds and side impact protection. The difference? This one costs half the price, my kids like it better and so do I. It seems easier to get them into and out of it. I also think that they are not going to outgrow this one as fast as they will the britax - as it is much narrower and the crotch strap is shorter.

My daughter loves her new seat. Being that she is only 2 and almost 40 pounds there weren't many options out there to keep her in a harness. She had also grown to tall for her convertible seat so we got this seat in Biltmore. It was an adjustment now that she isn't as high up in the seat, she has to look up to see out the window. She is obviously very conformtable in this and I love the extra padding of the removable seat cushion. And YES, the crotch strap is on the short side for a toddlers chunky legs, but I called the company and the were happy to send me a replacement at no additional cost to me and I received it in a few days. The customer service alone was worth it for us.

Like other reviewers, I, too, had a problem with the crotch strap. I am not happy with the way it flares out on the sides, digging into little thighs. I also don't like that I have accidently pinched my son's thighs in the bucket while snapping him in. Poor baby!

I complained to the company and was sent - free of charge - two longer crotch straps (one for each seat we bought.) That made all the difference.

If the seat came with the longer strap, I would give it five stars. Since it doesn't, I'm giving it four.

Moral of the review: Call the company and ask for the longer strap!!

I bought this as a 2nd car seat for my 5 year old. I liked how the harness weight was high and it had high slots. I figured once he was done with that then I'd have a nice booster and be done with buying carseats for the boy.

Well the harness slots are higher but when on the highest slot, my sons head seemed to be leaning forward because of the way the headrest was positioned. It looked pretty uncomfortable sitting with your head forward all the time.

When I started having him use it as a booster, I like how it was nice and easy to figure out where to put the seat belt. I think the biggest drawback of the booster mode is how wide the seat is. My son is average for his age and I could fit 1 1/2 of him in that seat. He's all over when we're driving and half of the time he's sitting diagonal. There is just too much wiggle room for my liking.

I researched car seats as my daughter approached 40 pounds and was outgrowing her harness. Since she's just over 3 years old, I just didn't feel ready to switch her to a seatbelt. After researching and reading reviews I decided on the Apex 65 hoping to keep my "baby" hooked in to a harness as long as possible. So far I'm very happy with the car seat. It is mainly in my 2008 Honda Civic but shortly after receiving we took the car seat on vacation. It has worked well on 4 airplanes and 3 different cars while on vacation. I read one review saying her daughter was already at the top strap holes. It think this person didn't see that there is an additional set of strap holes under the headrest when it's raised. I don't know if my daughter will fit in the harness up to 65 pounds but I'm guessing she will fit in a harness up to at least 50-55 pounds and I'm happy with that. The only negative I've noticed is relating to the seat pad. When my daughter climbs up, the light blue seat pad sometimes bunches up under her. Otherwise, she's comfortable and seems to like the car seat. Super fast shipping...and free shipping on my purchase!

I think that this is probably the best seat for the money. I was looking to be able to keep my daughter in a five point harness as long as possible and she had outgrown her seat that could harness up to 40 pounds. I found some seats out there that harness up to 85 pounds, but just didn't have the money to spend $400 on one. So, I found this seat at a reasonable price and was able to feel good about harnessing her up to 65 pounds. It's easy to use, very comfy and my daughter just loves it.

I bought this seat instead of the Graco Nautilus that has a similar weight harness. I wish that I had bought the Graco that I was able to see in person at the big mart store because this seat is way bigger. My 8 year old daughter sits in this and it looks like a mini lazy boy. I was hoping to down size from the big Britax car seat that my son was in but instead this is bigger. This seat is lighter weight wise but in size if you have a small car this would take up almost half the back seat, this seat is WIDE (and tall). I was able to get this for $50 less than I could find the Nautilus for, I don't know if the Graco is worth the extra money or not. I didn't think the Graco looked as nice as this but the size and quality seemed better.

I have to agree with others that the crotch strap is way too short. When I first put my almost 3yr old 30lb daughter (90th % for height) the crotch strap was so short that the buckle was digging into her thighs. I then realized the strap could be moved foward another slot so we tried again and although it fit much better I could not imagine it working to 80lbs if it fit just perfectly at 30lbs! That was the biggest factor but then while putting the seat back in the box to return it I noticed the underside of the base is not even close to flat and has 2 plastic ridges that stick out pretty far which would majorily dig into your car seat. I just put the seat on my couch for 5 min, sat my daughter in it and then took it off and had grooves in my couch cushion. I cannot imagine what this seat will do to someones car seats after months/years of pressure from the straps pulling it down. I absolutly would not put it on leather.
Lastly I dont love the "seat cushion". I have never seen this on a seat before and cannot see any benefit of doing it this way. I can see this cushion getting bunched up when trying to get kids into the seat. It just doesn't make sense.
I would not recommend this seat to a friend. It is going back to Amazon.....