Orbit Toddler Car Seat - Black
From Orbit Baby
Orbit's Toddler Car Seat is a revolutionary upgrade for your Orbit Infant System. Dock it onto either the Orbit Base or Stroller for unprecedented convenience and flexibility. No other convertible car seat can match the Toddler Car Seat's fully integrated design. You can be proud to show off this sleek car seat without dealing with dangling straps and belts.
Amazon Sales Rank: #8067 in Baby Product Color: Black Brand: Orbit Baby Dimensions: 29.50" h x 23.70" w x 19.60" l, 37.05 pounds
Sturdy and safe, but not used with stroller We were so relieved that we were able to buy this product at last despite the lengthy delays prior to its release. It should be noted that once the seat becomes forward-facing, the famous "docking" car seat base, needed for the Orbit infant car seat, is not used at all. This went against my expectation of the Orbit system "growing with your baby". We had put off buying a forward-facing car seat, despite my child's discomfort with her legs significantly hanging over, as I had thought we would still use the base, so I feel a tad misled. This would have been less of an issue if the seat had been available towards the end of 2007 as was originally promoted. Anyhow now that we have it in our car, our toddler enjoys being in her seat and the elevated position helps with her ability to see more out the window (which is helpful in keeping her entertained with the passing view and therefore less temper tantrum prone!) It is well constructed as well as fairly easy to put together and install. Our only gripe is, similar to the Orbit infant car seat (but worse), the seat belts get tangled very easily. Given the earlier reviewers raves about Orbit's customer service, I'll be contacting them this week to see if they can help us resolve this recurring issue. We have not used it as a stroller seat (as advertised) because the forward-facing seat does not use the patented dock, and thus the convenience of being able to rotate the seat off the dock and into the stroller (like the infant car seat) is not available. For us, it is easier and faster to take her out into a more compact stroller, such as the Maclaren Techno Sport, rather than re-do all the seat-belt anchors when we return to our car. Sturdy system, depite few glitches I'm overall really pleased with the orbit toddler system My child has grown with the entire Orbit line ... he started with infant carseat and stroller, and now is in the toddler carseat. We still use the carseat with the stroller, but also have the toddler stroller seat for more convenience. The positives: The toddler carseat, when docked for rear facing, or when using the braces and latch belts for forward facing, is very very sturdy -- a lot sturdier than other systems I have tested. My son is comfortable and has no problem sleeping in it, and the upholstery is easy to remove and clean. The drawbacks: If you need to put the toddler seat in forward facing, you do not need the base, in which case you need some sort of hook to attach the anchor down in the back behind the seat. I have an old Honda Civic that doesn't have a latch system or hook. So while the shoulder/lap seatbelt anchor the toddler seat against the chair, I worry that if I am rear-ended in an accident, the carseat would move forward too much because I don't have any place to anchor the seat down in the back. So for now, in this car, we have no choice but to place our son sitting only in a rear-facing position where we use the base. In a small car like a Civic, having the seat in a rear facing position can make it difficult to see out the back. Which brings me to the next drawback ... in the rear facing position in my old Civic, I can't use the sun shade because it would block my view while driving. This isn't normally a big deal, but I did have to buy one of those mesh window shades -- after a super hot day and long drive when I realized my son got sunburned through the window because I didn't have the carseat shade up. All of the above drawbacks are not a problem in our other car, which is bigger, has the latch system/hook system, and is big enough to see over the carseat while driving. It's just when the seat is installed in my Civic (that doesn't have a latch system) that it's a problem. Finally, I agree with the earlier review that the seatbelts do get tangled, which seems to bother my husband a lot when he's trying to buckle our son in. I generally don't have a problem untwisting the belts. I do take my son in and out of the car in the toddler car seat and dock it on the stroller. It's admittedly heavy to lift in and out of the car with him in it, but sometimes it's just easier to move him while he's already strapped in than to unbuckle him and put him into some other stroller or backpack. So, I'm really happy about it still working with the stroller. we love it! We don't have the stroller, only two toddler car seats for our twins and we are completely satisfied! They are safe and sturdy, the fabric is very soft, and our boys are comfortable riding in them - they love to look outside enjoying the scenery - it relaxes and puts them to sleep easily - giving us peace of mind driving with two calm babies in the back! In our case the seats are fixed in the car - taking the children out of them each time is not a big deal for us - we would have to keep doing it anyways... We hope Orbit Baby will release a system for multiples soon!
