Safety First Complete Air Review

A month or so ago, I managed to get the Safety First Complete Air car seat for $99 at BRU. It had been on my list of possible "good" car seats, but the amazing deal sealed it.

We've been using it for about a week and so far so good! I had heard it was difficult to install, but I didn't find it so. The main issues are to make sure it fits in your car and to be sure you are installing it following the instructions. It fits in both of our cars (Civic and Focus), but surprisingly it fits in the Civic better. It fits best in the middle in the Civic and either the middle or the passenger side in the Focus if the seat is pushed pretty far up. There is a groove on one side of the seat that needs to be aligned with the level ground. Once that is attained, it's pretty simple, (if using the latch system) to push down on the groove in the seat (not the seat itself or you'll mess up the alignment) while pulling on the belt to tighten. The instructions say you can use a swim noodle or rolled up towel to prop the seat while you tighten it to maintain the proper tilt. This confused me until I actually did it. Basically, if you have the flat part of the car seat aligned completely with the backseat of your car, it's not tilted properly. There will be some open air between the seat bottom and the back seat. That's where the swim noodle could go if you need it. Just remember to remove it once the seat is tight. - CORRECTION: You can leave the swim noodle or towel under the seat to give it something to rest on.

I find the belts for restraining baby much easier than in our old infant seat. They also seem more comfortable for E. The seat itself seems very plush, padded, comfy and safe. E reclines in it like he's ready to watch a movie. We worried that the head padding on either side would hinder E's vision and annoy him, but so far he doesn't seem to care. We haven't used the cup holder yet, but I'll let you know how it works when we do. It doesn't seem too sturdy, but since the whole seat is a win, I think we can live with that.

So far the main drawbacks I've found have been how large it is (but since it's convertible and can be rear facing to 40 lbs, I don't mind), and that it is a little trickier to install tightly and properly than an infant base. However, I feel far more comfortable with him in that seat.

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