Chicco - KeyFit 35

I have the clear Tex keyfit 35 and love it! Is it heavy? Sure. I have a 20 lb 6 month old but I’m only ever carrying it from inside to a car or vice versa so it doesn’t really bother me. If I did it again I would probably get the 30 though. Save a few dollars and when they get too heavy you’ll want a new seat anyway

I loved the bassinet attachment for my July baby. I had and am still having lost of postpartum hot flashes so I’d try to baby wear, but he made me hotter then I’d get a hot flash and need to take him out. The bassinet attachment was so nice for walks around the neighborhood. We didn’t use it anywhere else though. If we left the house we used the car seat attachment or the stroller seat flat. We stopped using the bassinet around 2 months as my son is 90th percentile.  We have an UppaBaby Cruz and Chicco kefit 35

Our baby can still fit in the infant car seat he has, but he’s started to get too heavy and too tall to be in it for much longer. We bought the Chicco Fit360 and I installed in just to make sure I knew how to do it. I had it in my car along with the infant base and I ended up using it a handful of times in the couple of weeks it was installed (took it out because relative is visiting and using that car). Currently are primarily using the Chicco key fit 35 and we love Chicco. The positive: - ease of getting baby in when we’d come back to a car parked too close to the line or over the line next to us - baby looks a lot comfier in it than the infant car seat because it seems more open and baby can look at more things when rear facing - it’ll work well for baby long term and we won’t have to upgrade the car seat as baby grows. Baby has consistently been in the 90th percentile for height and weight and he’s only 17 weeks (almost 4 months). The negatives: - the base itself is heavy and wide so we wouldn’t be able to comfortably put a person in the middle seat if both infant and rotating car seat were installed (currently drive an older ford escape) - there’s not a lot of space for front seat passenger or driver if rear facing. When baby is eventually big enough to forward face, it would be fine. I’m 5’6 with longer legs and my husband is 6’0 and we can’t have a car seat behind us while driving to safely operate the vehicles we have (he drives a ford bronco sport). We’re getting a Honda Odyssey for me so this won’t be an issue, but if you have a smaller car or are taller and don’t have sufficient backseat space, I’d keep that in mind when shopping for any car seat.

The options are overwhelming for sure. But the good news is you definitely don’t have to spend &1k! I recommend starting by looking up which infant car seats in different price ranges are top-rated for safety. Personally I went with a travel system that included the Chicco Keyfit35. You can also get a car seat that’s not just for infants, but those tend to be less portable and less useful as carriers, so it’s a trade-off. Beyond the car seat you have options of different configurations depending on what appeals to you; some folks like a full-sized stroller with a bassinet attachment, some prefer a travel stroller with an infant insert or bassinet, some do a stroller or a caddy you can click the car seat into. Personally I went with a travel system (the Chicco Corso LE one) where you can either use the stroller as an infant car seat caddy, use an infant insert in the regular stroller seat, or later on use the stroller beyond the infant stage (and we’ll get a non-infant car seat at that point).

The Keyfit35 (over the 30) is incredible! I tell everyone about this car seat!

Chico KeyFit 35 and the Bravo! Absolutely did the trick for us and the KeyFit is one of the safest car seats

I looked at safety ratings, and then I was able to feel the padding on a couple of car seats. I think it was at one of the bigger targets and determined that one of the graco ones was really hard and uncomfortable despite the decent safety rating ultimately, I ended up with the Chicco Corso LE modular after reading reviews . And I love the chicco 35 car seat and just like the stroller. I wish that the seat was at more of a 90° angle. It reclines too much and it’s most upright position in my opinion. Also, when you buy the travel system, the stroller does not come with the newborn insert.

I have a skip hop and one of the straps that clips onto the shopping cart broke one of the first few times I used it. Based on safety ratings I went with the chicco key fit 35 travel system with the corso modular LE stroller. It is a bit flawed though. It lays down all the way but isn’t completely flat. It doesn’t come with the newborn insert if you’re buying it in the travel system. The seat doesn’t sit at a 90 degree angle so the child is always a bit reclined on it which is problematic when they get older and want to look around. No snack track. I bought a universal one and had to return it since the seat is too far back baby couldn’t reach it. Ride is smooth and storage space is great though. We are left wanting a new affordable stroller that isn’t flawed in those areas. Especially now that she is zoo age. Also don’t get a truck unless there’s a waterproof cover. You can’t have a stroller on the back sliding around when it’s raining. And you don’t want to put something big and bulky like that in the cab.

We have a Chicco Keyfit35 and got a used Chicco Bravo stroller on FB marketplace for $40. I see them listed on there all the time. I wish we had gotten a used Chicco Corso stroller because it lays back for a newborn but both allow for you to pop the car seat on and off so it’s not a big deal, it would just be nice for going on walks. They’re safe and affordable and the car seat is insanely easy to install and adjust.

I got the Chicco Corso Keyfit 35 travel system. It was great. We are still using the stroller sometimes. He's 4 now, so we've upgraded the car seat to Chicco NextFit and Kid Fit booster.

Look into the Joie mint latch + nutmeg - the stroller is our travel stroller but folds small and doesn’t take up much space at all + mint latch doesn’t require a base and has a decent height/weight limit. It’s not that expensive either. I’ve used this stroller on walks and it handles our paved neighborhood sidewalks and stores well. I wouldn’t take it on any huge hikes or through gravel/grass/sand but it works really well! We don’t use this car seat but we looking at it extensively. We ended up with a chicco keyfit35. I have for my normal system the keyfit and we chose that off of recommendations and reviews. We use an uppababy vista but that’s giant. We love it though.