Yahoo Lifestyle Buckling Babies in is Much Less of a Pain With One of These Rotating Car Seats
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Buckling Babies in is Much Less of a Pain With One of These Rotating Car Seats
Rotating car seats, or “spinning” car seats, have become more and more popular in the United States over the past few years. They’ve been available in Europe for a while now, and Americans are finally getting to enjoy the spoils of those designs. Cybex was the first company to release a rotating car seat in the U.S., with most other major brands following suit pretty quickly.
These car seats are one of those things that people may put on their registry thinking that they’re aspirational. Really, they pose the perfect chance for a group to go in on one big gift, as opposed to everyone buying separately. It’ll automatically make you the baby shower heroes. Still, since rotating car seats are so new, most people don’t really know what to expect. That’s where I come in. Read on for things you should consider when buying or registering for one of these seats, followed by our reviews of the best.
The Best Rotating Car Seats
The Basics of Rotating Car Seats
Rotating car seats spin on the base, allowing parents to get their babies and toddlers in and out of the car with a great deal more ease. They’re convertible and appropriate for kids through the late toddler stage. The way that they work is that the base of the car seat is stable and unmoving, but the seat itself is slightly bowl-shaped at the bottom, and it runs on a track on the base, spinning either 180 or 360 degrees. You secure the base into your car’s latch system, and the car seat attaches to the base, clicking in at the back with a slide-like mechanism that holds it steady in the forward or rear-facing position.
I understand that many people are concerned that the strength of the connection between the seat and the base is less than traditional car seats, but that’s not true. These pass all the same tests in the U.S. and often Europe as the standard seats. You may have seen the viral video of an empty Evenflo Revolve that came off of the base during a collision. The reason that happened is that it was not installed properly. That can happen with any car seat, which is why it is so critical to install it correctly, follow all instructions for usage, and keep it maintained according to the brand's directions.
Most major brands have a rotating car seat, and some, like Cybex, have more than one. But I’m only including the best on this list—car seats that I have tested personally or have had a trusted tester use and comment on. (Though even in those cases, I’ve seen and operated them myself.)
What You Need to Know Before You Buy
These are undeniably creative, helpful, and convenient car seats. Anyone who has ever tried to put a baby in a car seat when the baby decided they want to plank can understand why these would be a great asset. As someone who has a partially paralyzed left hand, I can tell you that the accessibility level of these car seats is worth the price of entry all on its own. But that’s not to say they’re perfect. There are a few issues that come up that might mean these car seats are not a good fit for your family. First: They take up a lot of space. They’re never going to be a model that you can fit three across, like something from Clek. In fact, they make the middle seat of a bench virtually unusable unless the person is quite small and gets out before the baby and in after the baby is locked in place.
Another sticking point for a lot of families is that these seats are hard to fit in some cars, or in cars where the front or middle-row seat is close to the row where the seat is installed. For example. my sister-in-law tested the Baby Jogger, and when my gigantic brother is driving, the car seat clips the corner of the front seat on the turn. It doesn’t affect the safety at all, but it might start damaging the corner of the car’s seat.
These also have a lower limit for weight and height in rear-facing mode than traditional car seats. There are parents for whom this is an automatic no.
And yes, rotating car seats are more expensive than standard, fixed-position ones. There’s no getting around that, and lo, though I wish that weren’t the case, it is. The majority of rotating car seats are over $500, though two on this list are under that threshold.
What to Consider
As with any car seat purchase, there are a few major things that you need to prioritize when shopping: the size of the seat, the height and weight limits, how you care for or clean it, and the style of the leveling indicator. In most car seat reviews, I bring up what the harness type is on the seat. However, with these, they all have five-point, no-rethread harnesses.
- Size of the seat: Does it fit in your car? With these car seats, I tell parents to look at the dimensions and add a few inches in every direction except the side nearest the door to see if it fits in your space. That top part really does jut out, and it can clip your seat or plain old not fit in the space.
- Height and weight limits: Pay close attention to these, especially if your kids are on the taller or heavier side.
- How to clean it: Is the cover machine-washable or spot clean only? Is the base easy to clean? Kids are wonderful, gross little humans, and cleaning up after them can feel like a full-time gig.
- Leveling indicator: This is a crucial functioning item of the rotating car seats. This is the indicator that tells you whether or not the seat is safe and ready for driving. Some are bead indicators, and others, like the Nuna, do not have one, as it’s a permanent connection.
How We Tested
Each of these seats has gone through the testing gauntlet either by myself personally or a trusted tester. We installed them in different sizes and makes of cars, tested them with different ages and sizes of children, cleaned their fabrics, cleaned the bases, and scrubbed the mechanisms. And they went through the wringer. We’re talking kids with juice, kids who get car sick, and a few accidental diaper blowouts. (We tested two at the height of norovirus season, so you know intense cleaning followed.) All of the seats on this list have enhanced safety measures, like anti-rebound mechanisms in the Cybex Sirona S 360 or the SnugLock technology of the Graco, that assists parents in easy and safe installation.
Check out the very best rotating car seats you can get your hands on.
Best Products; Graco - 2/6
1) Emme 360 All-In-One Rotating Convertible Car Seat
Maxi-Cosi
nordstrom.com
$449.99
This is my favorite rotating car seat and I’ll tell you why before I break it down — it accommodates your kid all the way up through when they’ll need a traditional seatbelt booster seat. You can’t rotate it any more at that point, but the added value is pretty wonderful, especially considering this is a $450 car seat.
This Emme 360 is big, and it’s quite heavy at nearly 30 pounds. But thankfully, it’s easy to install. What’s also easy: getting your baby in and out of the seat, with the QuickFit 10-position shoulder harness and magnetic chest clip. No more wrestling with the arm straps. Plus, once they’re in, the red/green indicator lets you know if the harness is properly tightened.
The machine-washable PureCosi fabric and padding are made without wool or fire-retardant treatment, relying on a tight weave to keep it safe. Did I mention it’s dryer-friendly?
What Our Tester Loved: In our testing, one of the features we found to be the most intriguing is that the foam, which is rated for side-impact crashes, doesn’t feel overly rigid or uncomfortable as many car seats can. It feels luxurious. It was by far the easiest to clean rotating car seat we tried, with the base never getting gunked up, and the machine-washable, dryer-safe fabrics were easy to remove, clean, and deodorize. The cup holders are also dishwasher-safe.
What Our Tester Didn’t Love: It’s really heavy, so lugging the box wasn’t fun. Also, the adjustability does take a bit of futzing to get it right, though, after you learn, it becomes second nature.
nordstrom.com - 3/6
2) Sirona S SensorSafe Convertible Car Seat
Cybex
bloomingdales.com
$549.95
The biggest fear many parents have is that their exhausted brains forget to remind them that their child is still in their car seat when they leave the car and the unimaginable happens. The Sirona 360 allays that fear because the chest clip is “smart,” connecting to an app and alarm on your phone that lets you know if your child is still in the car or if they’ve opened the clip while the car is moving. Yes, it can be a pain if your partner is in the car with the child while you run in the store, but the safety and peace of mind it brings cannot be overstated.
This car seat can rotate 360 degrees, while a load leg stabilizer provides additional support. Others in the Sirona’s laundry list of features: a one-time vehicle belt installation for both rear-facing and forward-facing mode; 12 positions of recline; a 12-position harness; two level indicators; and a latch system that is both intuitive and simple.
What Our Tester Loved: I didn’t have any issues installing it, and the load leg really makes it feel like they’ve covered all of the bases. I am nervous at heart, so having this makes things so much better for me. It’s also super easy to spin.
What Our Tester Didn’t Love: The reason this is not the best overall is that it’s a spot-clean-only seat, and the base and load leg can both get pretty sticky thanks to their location relative to the child. I also found it to feel a bit bulky, taking up a lot of space in the backseat, though the turning mechanism is one-handed and the smoothest on the market.
bloomingdales.com - 4/6
3) Turn2Me 3-in-1 Car Seat
Graco
amazon.com
$449.97
Like the Maxi Cosi Emme, the Graco Turn2Me also becomes a high-seat booster for older kids. Graco is known for more affordable, high-quality car seats, and this one really shines. You can install it in about a minute thanks to Graco’s super easy latch system. The seat has a 10-position, no-rethread harness and headrest and is tested to both American and European standards. Plus, the cushioning is some of the best I’ve felt. Overall, the Turn2Me is hard to beat for the money.
What Our Tester Loved: She adored the Turn2Me and told me: “I would pay way more than $450 for this car seat. It has saved my back, and it was just so easy to stick in my truck.” She was also a fan of how easy it is to adjust, even when she’s holding her other child.
What Our Tester Didn’t Love: What she didn’t love was that getting the machine-washable cover off of the seat wasn’t as easy as it should be. It’s also not dryer-safe, the plastic around the cupholders gets gross, and it’s hard to get around it to clean.
amazon.com - 5/6
4) City Turn Rotating Convertible Car Seat
Baby Jogger
amazon.com
$549.99
The City Turn is the coolest car seat of the bunch — literally. The light Coolmax (as Baby Jogger calls it) wicks moisture and allows the seat to breathe in a way that many technical fabrics do not. My nephew is a sweaty little dude in the best of circumstances, and he’s comfy in his Baby Jogger.
The City Turn is large, there’s no doubt about that. But one of the bonuses of that size is that, when you spin baby, the car seat actually brings them 10 inches closer to you. And your back will thank you for it.
Unlike other rotating car seats, this one only spins 180 degrees, so there’s no option to remove your baby from the opposite side of the car. The 10-position headrest and harness are simple to operate, and surprisingly, some magic on them makes them resistant to baby puke, which normally clings to seat belt straps like glue.
The cool belt tensioner makes belt installs a lot easier – though the latch is just as easy if you have that in your car.
What Our Tester Loved: It’s cool, the sliding turn is smooth and easy, and the whole thing is very stable. Our tester particularly loved how close your child gets to you in this seat. She tested it when she was pregnant, so this was maximum comfort.
What Our Tester Didn’t Love: First of all, even though the straps seem to be magic, the fabrics are not when it comes to cleaning. You can only spot clean them, which isn’t ideal for many parents. The seat is also really big with a large amount of clearance required to fit.
amazon.com - 6/6
5) Revv Rotating Convertible Car Seat
Nuna
nordstrom.com
$650.00
Our tester couldn’t stop raving about this seat. It feels like a tank, it’s made with top shelf everything, and you can operate the spinning mechanism even when you’re holding another baby and your keys.
Alas, you are certainly paying for it at $650. The fabrics have to feel amazing, and the Revv has to feel like a tank at that price. So, like most Nuna products, every cent feels worth it. It has a 10-position harness and headrest, an easy-to-adjust fit strap, and ample cushions. The seat doesn’t require a leveling indicator because as soon as it stops in rear or forward-facing position, it locks.
The initial install is a bit trickier than others, but once the seat is in, it’s in, and feels grounded and stable. Like others on this list, the Revv is flame-retardant-free. But unlike some others, it’s still very breathable because of its merino wool.
What Our Tester Loved: Our tester felt like everything about the Revv was top-quality. He loved that the Nuna has these little magnetic buckle holders that keep them out of the way when you’re putting baby into the seat, which doesn’t seem like it would be that big of a deal, but it really is.
What Our Tester Didn’t Love: Nuna purports that the install is simple and straightforward, but the latch buckles are not the easiest to open, and the initial setup is also a bit tricky.
nordstrom.com
