Safety First Grow and Go Air Car Seat Review

Safety 1^st Grow and Go 3-in-i Auto Seat Review

This 3-in-1 carseat from Dorel Juvenile Grouping (parent company of Safety 1st, Cosco and several other juvenile brands) has its limitations merely overall it's a solid success in practicality, installation, and fit. From a five-position no-rethread harness, to protective caput wings, to user-friendly features such as harness holders, the Safety 1^st Grow and Go shows information technology'southward up to the challenge of taking children from rear-facing through early grade schoolhouse.

Go and Grow Model Specs:

• Rear-facing:  5-40 lbs., and child's caput is 1" below acme of headrest, and 19-40"
• Forward-facing: 22-65 lbs., and 29-49", and at least 1 year old
• Belt-positioning booster: 40-100 lbs., 43-52", and at least 4 years old

Comparison of various Condom 1st Grow and Become Models:

*Tip – turn your phone sideways to see all the columns

Carseat Name	RF Weight Limit	FF Weight Limit	BPB Weight Limit	MSRP
EverFit	five-40 lbs.	22-40 lbs.	twoscore-100 lbs.	Sams Club Exclusive $129.99
Continuum	5-xl lbs.	22-l lbs.	forty-lxxx lbs.	$149.99
Adjust n Go	5-xl lbs.	22-50 lbs.	40-80 lbs.	$129.99
Abound and Go	five-forty lbs.	22-65 lbs.	40-100 lbs.	$169.99
Abound and Become Sprint	5-40 lbs.	22-65 lbs.	40-100 lbs.	$149.99
Abound and Become Comfort Cool	5-50 lbs.	22-65 lbs.	40-100 lbs.	$199.99
Grow and Go Extend n Ride	five-40 lbs.	22-65 lbs.	forty-100 lbs.	$219.99
MultiFit EX Air	four-50 lbs.	22-65 lbs.	40-100 lbs.	$169.99

Grow and Go Overview

• No-rethread harness with 5 height positions and a split up baby position
• 3 crotch strap positions
• Baby cushion
• Versatile harness holders
• Car washable and dryable cover
• ii integrated cup holders
• IIHS "Adept Bet" Rating for booster mode
• Made in the United states!

Measurements

• Harness height range with no-rethread harness: x" – 17 ¼"
• Dissever newborn harness slot: 5 ¾" lesser slots with baby cushion
• Highest belt-positioning booster belt guide: 18″
• External widest point: 18″
• Usable shell height with headrest: 26″
• Shoulder width: 14 ½"
• Crotch strap depth: 3 ½", 4 ¾", six″
• Seat depth: 12 ½"
• Seat weight: fifteen.four lbs.

2022 Fashions:

Blue Coral, Everest Pinkish, Harvest Moon, Night Horizon & Vitamint

Installation

Grow and Go has 3 recline positions. For babies who cannot sit upright without support, the red level line on the sticker MUST exist parallel with the ground. For older babies and toddlers (who can sit upright without support), you may use recline position ii or 3 on the base and the seat tin exist installed rear-facing at a more upright angle. For forward-facing and booster mode you must place the seat in the fully upright (#i) position.

This seat does Not have a congenital in lockoff feature for installations with seatbelt. Therefore, if you demand to install with seatbelt, you lot must understand how the belts in your vehicle lock. Read your vehicle owners manual for guidance and consult a CPS Technician if you're still unsure.

Installation is color-coded for ease: bluish for rear-facing, ruby for forrad-facing.

Ane nice thing about installing the Grow and Go rear-facing is that the recline bending tin can be more than upright for kids who can sit down up unassisted. For the younger, less coordinated crowd, the level line must be parallel to the ground.

When it'due south installed more than upright in my vehicle, a 2011 Acura MDX, information technology gives the front passenger seat well-nigh normal legroom. Unfortunately, when installed in the full recline position for younger babies, it created a knees-in-the-dashboard state of affairs.

It also required something additional (puddle noodle or rolled up towel) to accomplish that required recline angle. For more than info on how to properly use a pool noodle or rolled up towel to adjust the recline bending of a rear-facing carseat, see our article Hither.

Pool noodle needed to achieve correct recline angle for babies who can't sit down upwards without support.

Installation with LATCH:

Forrard-facing LATCH weight limit: 40 lbs. Children weighing between 40-65 lbs. using the harness must have the seat installed with a seatbelt and tether. The tether must be used when the seat is installed forward-facing using the 5-pt harness.

LATCH in Booster Fashion: The lower LATCH connectors and tether may NOT be used when the carseat is used in booster mode.

Center LATCH Installations with Non-Standard Spacing: Permitted only in designated LATCH positions; if your vehicle doesn't have defended lower LATCH anchors in the heart seating position, you cannot install this carseat with LATCH.

Inflatable Seat Belts:Safety ane^st does Non let the Grow and Become to be used with inflatable seat belts found in some Ford, Lincoln, and Mercedes vehicles. If the vehicle has inflatable seatbelts, apply LATCH to install the auto seat.

Fit to Child

The babe cushion MUST exist used for children using the carve up, lesser harness slots. Its use of the baby insert is optional at other times. The buckle cover MUST be used at all times. The harness strap covers are optional and may exist removed at any time.

Rear-facing: Use the harness slots that are "at or slightly below" the child's shoulder level. The seat comes out of the box with the harness straps in the no-rethread harness system (lowest height position is ten″ high). 10″ is waaay too loftier for a newborn merely since near parents will use an infant seat kickoff, babies are unremarkably six-12 months old before they are transitioned into a convertible seat. Past 6 months old, most average-sized babies can fit properly in harness slots that are 10″ high.

For Newborns or Smaller Infants: The harness straps must be manually moved to a separate set of lower harness slots which are approximately 6″ high. I don't similar to brand assumptions about motorcar seat designs simply this extra slot in the plastic crush seems like an reconsideration.  If you demand to use these lower slots for a newborn or small baby, exist prepared for the reality that you lot will demand to use this single set of low harness slots until your infant can fit in the next set of slots that are x″ loftier. At that place is a four-inch gap betwixt those two harness pinnacle positions. It's really non an platonic situation. Withal, if yous look until your baby is large/alpine plenty to use the harness the way it comes out of the box – you lot avoid these potential bug.

On the sample seat I received, the cover was not aligned properly by near a ½" and it made for an extremely frustrating job of re-threading the harness through the separate newborn slots. I couldn't follow the instructions; average parents without knowledge of how to re-thread harnesses volition probably cease upward doing it incorrectly.

Honestly, my suggestion is not to employ this carseat for pocket-sized infants. Since most parents will likely showtime with an infant seat anyway and transition baby into a convertible at some point later on 6 months, this won't exist an issue for the majority of users.

Setting upward Grow and Get for pocket-size baby:

If you lot choose to use the Grow and Become from birth, you will need to brand sure that the harness is threaded correctly through the infant insert cushion, through the separate bottom slots of the adjustable headrest, through the bottom slots in the carseat shell and attached to the splitter plate using what we refer to every bit the "newborn loops" on the harness.

Make sure the headrest is in lowest position to align the lower set of harness slots on the adjustable headrest (blue arrow in moving-picture show beneath) with the bottom harness slots on the trounce. There's a sticker on the dorsum of the seat that references this. Do NOT move the headrest upwards from the bottom position while the harness is routed through these slots. Leave the headrest in its lowest position when using the newborn harness slots. In add-on, the harness straps must be shortened when using the lower slots. The metallic splitter plate should be attached to the upper loops on the harness. This leaves a long "tail" of backlog webbing hanging down from the splitter plate (see 2nd moving-picture show beneath). If you don't shorten the straps this way  – y'all won't exist able to get a snug harness fit on a pocket-sized infant.

If you lot air current upward using the lower slots, move the harness dorsum to the original out-of-box settings once your infant is tall enough that their shoulders are level with the regular slots in the headrest (come across green pointer in pic above). On the back of the seat, you volition run into the harness come through the red plastic slot in the adjustable headrest – to a higher place the metallic reinforcement bar. Now you can take advantage of the no-rethread harness feature equally your child continues to grow!

Other Grow and Go issues:

When tightening the harness on my newborn doll, I noticed that the straps got stuck and wouldn't tighten all the style. Kecia was having a similar issue with her Abound and Become model when the seat was installed RF using those dissever newborn harness slots. Since this is occurring betwixt the bottom of the beat out and the base, it'due south hard to figure out what's going on. However, we determined that there are plastic ribs under the seating area of the shell and the splitter plate sometimes gets stuck on those ribs when the harness is routed through those newborn slots. Nosotros did non experience this problem when the straps were routed through the no-rethread harness system.

Because of this, and the complicated nature of re-routing the harness straps, we actually don't recommend any of the Grow and Go models for babies who aren't tall plenty to use the seat the fashion it comes out of the box.

Those problems aside, harness fit on my newborn doll, Romeo, was excellent, though I did find that buckle aligning for smaller infants to exist also brusk. Adjusting it dorsum to the normal length was just right. Using the buckle aligning for smaller infants is optional, and then adjust it to fit your child.

Nora, my smaller rear-facing model below, is ane and effectually 25 lbs. Emma, my older model in the majestic shirt, is 4 and around 30 lbs.

Forward-facing: With a 17″ elevation harness top position, the Grow and Go harness should accommodate many kids until they are the age and size where they tin can safely transition to booster style. Almost all kids will outgrow the harness by pinnacle before reaching the 65 lbs. weight limit.

Models beneath are 2 years erstwhile, 24 lbs. and 34″ tall. And 5 years old, 48 lbs. and 43″ tall.

Tethering the seat is required when forward-facing . Use the tether strap regardless of the installation method (LATCH or seatbelt). Tethering a forward-facing carseat is a critical step that many parents miss. Figure out where the tether anchors are in your vehicle and use them with any frontwards-facing carseat!

We recommend that children ride rear-facing until at least age 2 and plainly this would be necessary if your country constabulary requires rear-facing until at least 24 months. However, we also acknowledge that there are some families with compelling circumstances who may chose forward-facing before 24 months and those families have that choice with current Go and Grow models (unless they live in a country with a higher legal age minimum historic period for forward-facing).

Booster Usage:

Belt fit was excellent on our model below who is 6 years old, 48 lbs. and 47″ tall. This seat isn't particularly tall or wide so it won't be the last booster your child needs before they are tall enough to pass the 5-Step Test, merely it does a adept job in this mode for kids over age 4 who weigh at least 40 pounds. The Abound and Go received a "Expert Bet" rating from the IIHS in their nearly recent circular of belt fit testing.

Converting the Abound and Go into a booster is a pretty elementary procedure. On many seats that convert from a harnessed carseat to a belt-positioning booster, the harness must be removed and stored somewhere. Then promptly lost, correct? Not in this case. Prophylactic ane^st made room for the harness storage backside the headrest/backrest panel. Unfortunately, you volition take to remove the buckle and harness covers and shop them somewhere safe if you want to employ the carseat in harness style once again. A gallon size Ziploc bag is great for property all the padding and the buckle.

Cover/Maintenance/Ease of Use

I opened the manual and the first 2 pages blew me away—in a good manner! I can tell a lot of idea went into making it easier for parents and caregivers to navigate. The iconography throughout is outstanding.

The comprehend has harness holders and then you can go on the harness out of the seat while you put your child in it. If yous've never had this feature before, you'll never exist able to apply another seat without it!

The cover removes very easily. It literally is one of those covers you can unsnap and rip off in less than x seconds after your kid pukes or has a poop explosion and yous're gagging on the sidelines. After you wash it in the washer in common cold water in a gentle cycle, you can dry it on depression oestrus for 10-12 minutes to jump start the drying process. The harness can be wiped downward with a wash fabric and sudsy water. The encompass simply slides back on and in that location are 4 snaps to secure information technology.

FAA-Approval/Lifespan/Crash Guidelines

The Abound and Go is FAA-approved for employ every bit a harnessed seat but. Boosters are non allowed to be used on airplanes because they require lap/shoulder belts.

The Grow and Go has a lifespan of 10 years and Prophylactic 1^st wants you to replace it later any crash.

Advantages

• 3 modes of usage: rear-facing, forward-facing & booster
• Fits a range of children well
• Relatively narrow
• Easy to convert to booster
• Comprehend is easy to remove, machine washable and dryer safe
• Versatile harness holders
• ii integrated cup holders that are removable and dishwasher safe
• ten year lifespan earlier expiration
• Made in the USA

Disadvantages

• Requires manual adjustments to use for newborn or smaller infant. Those adjustments create many opportunities for misuse.
• On my seat, the harness was extremely hard to thread through the carve up lower slots due to the cover sizing
• Splitter plate can grab on the bottom of the seat when the separate lower harness slots are used; we don't recommend the Grow and Go models for infants until they are large enough fit in the bottom setting of the no- rethread harness
• Takes upwards a lot of infinite rear-facing when reclined to the level line, only tin can be positioned much more upright one time child is older and able to sit upright without support
• Cannot utilise LATCH in booster mode (lower anchor connectors and tether claw must be stored in booster mode)
• Kids with long torsos may outgrow booster style earlier they are prepare to switch to an inexpensive backless booster

Conclusion

For older infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, the Safety 1st Grow and Go is a vast comeback over the previous generation of Dorel iii-in-1 models. These new seats are easier to install, fit kiddos and vehicles so much improve, take improved covers with much better padding and we love that they are easy to remove, machine washable and even dryer condom! Dorel has also made corking improvements in their manuals and labeling and we applaud them for that. Every bit an added bonus – all Grow and Go models are Made in the U.s.a.!

Even though we don't recommend whatsoever of the Grow and Go models for utilise with newborns or smaller babies, overall these seats offering what many consumers are looking for. An affordable convertible + booster seat that will keep their kid prophylactic and comfortable through several ages and stages!

Yes, this is a giant, twenty′ tall inflatable Grow and Go EX Air. Isn't it crawly?

Thanks to Dorel for providing the Condom 1st Grow and Go used for this review. No other compensation was provided. All opinions expressed are those of CarseatBlog.

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Source: https://carseatblog.com/38582/safety-1st-grow-and-go-3-in-1-carseat-review-raising-the-bar/

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