How are Evenflo Triumph Car Seats?

[soontobemomto2]

I need to buy another car seat, and I have been looking at the Evenflo Triumph Car Seats, since they have the foam in them also.

How are these safety wise?

[reseam]

The Triumph is a good seat, we considered it for DS when he outgrew his carrier, but we had a few issues with it so we returned it. The first negative thing we noticed about it was that DS was going to outgrow it rearfacing too quickly. He would have been too tall to reaface in it between 11-15 months old and we wanted to keep him rearfacing as long as possible since it is safer. DH convinced me to road test it to be sure we didn't want to keep it (he wasn't too gung ho on the prices for the Britax at the time), and that's when the big issue hit us, the harness adjustment system. As you may have noticed the Triumph has a unique system with a knob to tighten and loosen the harness. It also requires that you pull from the leg area to tighten rather than the shoulder which many are used to. Well on our road tests we fought and fought with this harness system. We couldn't get it tight enough and my wrist was getting sore. DH got frustrated with it as did I and by the time we had decided to return it, DS was refusing to sit in the seat! I convinced DH to go and look at BRU to see the Britax seats and lo and behold we all fell in love with the Marathon. It was so much easier to use, installed like a dream, DS loved to sit in it, he could rearface for much longer and he would be able to use it for a long, long time since it goes to 65 lbs where the Triumph only goes to 40. He is now almost 2 1/2, still loves the seat and has a long way to grow! My 4 1/2 year old DD loves it as well and asks to sit in it on many occasions and she fits well too with room to grow.

Well after all that the final point is the Triumph is a nice seat and many people do like it. In our experience though it just didn't work out at all. I'd recommend you find a place where you can try out seats like BRU and see which is going to work out best for you and your little one. Remember the best seat for you is one that fits your child, you can install correctly and will be able to use correctly everytime.

One final note on the Triumph....if you do choose it, be sure you teach others who will be using the seat how to work it. I could never imagine my parents for example figuring it out.

Good luck in your decision,
Reseam

[Gena]

We have the Evenflo Triumph and love it. It fits great in our both our non-latch Dodge Stratus and in our latch Chrysler Town & Country. I even bought one for my parents Pacifica and it fits great in that too. (My parents have no problem with the harness.) In each of these vehicles the fit is very tight and the seat doesn’t even move a tiny bit. My little guy is very comfortable in this seat (he’s 11 months, so he’s rear-facing). We moved him into the Triumph at 11 weeks when he got too wide for his Snugride, but he’s got lots of grow room in this seat. I really like the unique harness system and I think it’s very easy to adjust.

I highly recommend this seat.

[tricialudao]

We have used the evenflo triumph since DD was 10 weeks ago and LOVE it! Would totally buy it all over again, and highly highly recommend it! DD is so comfortable in it, both RF and FF and the recline is great and easy to use. The harness is also SO easy to use! I don't understand why some people have problems with twisty straps or what the previous post mentioned about teaching the grandparents to use. We also didn't want to spend so much on a britax that everybody is getting on this board.

Safety-wise, they all have to pass the same regulations.

[Goosemom]

I cannot STAND this car seat. I should have returned it. The problem is the restraint system. Because of the weird straps (double straps over each shoulder, and as someone else mentioned the tightening and loosening happen at the legs), here's what you have to do to loosen it: Turn tightening knob a bit to allow loosening knob to turn. Turn loosening knob. You may also have to pull on leg straps while turning knob. Pull extra length through chest snap to loosen one top shoulder strap. Hold that strap still while pulling up on bottom shoulder strap (your fingers will be pressed against your baby's shoulder) to loosen bottom shoulder strap. Repeat as necessary to get the right fit and to make sure all six sections of strap (three on each side) are equally tight/loose.

Argh!

And after all that, the bottom shoulder strap slides off the baby's shoulder as she shifts around in her seat.

I am thinking of just tossing this thing and spending another $300 that we don't have to get this seat out of my life.

I know my lone voice crying out against this seat won't convince anyone with all the good reviews out there. Maybe someone who likes this seat could come over to my place and show me how you deal with it? I'm in NE Pennsylvania. :-)

Amanda

[jkpalotay]

I had to SAME problems with the Trimuph. I got pulled in with the EPS foam, and I just didn't know as much about carseats as I do now... I also really hated the harness. It was so hard to adjust, and the double straps were horrible. I went to a car seat clinic, and the tech there said "Well, I've never seen a harness like this before, I'm not sure how to adjust it well." After about 4-5 months of use, I got into a minor fender bender, and was able to replace the seat with a Britax, which the insurance company paid for!

Kelli
Mommy to Luke 4/16/2003

[Kungjo]

I have two of these seats and love them. I initially bought one to use in my car and ended up getting another one for my mom's car so that she can pick up my DD from preschool when I'm out running errands. DD is currently 3 and still fits her seat. I have had no problems with the straps and don't understand why some people find them hard to adjust or find them falling off the shoulders of their DC. Maybe they haven't adjusted the straps tight enough or haven't pushed the chest clip up to mid chest so that the straps fit correctly. Not sure. I love the fact that I can adjust the straps easily and my DD is comfortable enough in the seat that she quite frequently falls asleep in it. I have heard that if you have a tall child, that he/she may grow out of it rather quickly. My child is average in height so she still fits it and should for at least another year. I highly recommend this seat.

I also wanted to mention that we have the seats installed in a Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey and they both fit tightly and do not budge. Both vehicles have the latch system.

Joyce

[reseam]

I was just reminded of one problem that I forgot to mention. The PP mentioned the straps falling off the shoulder and we had this problem too. The reason if I remember correctly is that sometimes when you are in between using the bottom and second harness slots the seat can become difficult to adjust and the straps can slip. The problem becomes easier after you are able to move the straps up (or so I have been told.) I'll look around and see if I can find more info on it, but this is what I remember.

Reseam

[Allie29]

Safety-wise, the Triumph is excellent. In Consumer Reports' Aug 2004 issue, the Triumph was rated #1 (out of all the convertible car seats CR tested!) for crash protection.

We have a Triumph and love it. My husband and I both find it very easy to use. It fits well - doesn't budge - in our cars. I really like the straps and the adjustment system (knob for tightening, lever for loosening).