Combi Connection

Anyone have any experience with the Combi Connection infant car seat? I like the look of it and the extra padding it seems to have, but am wary since it is a new car seat without a lot of ratings yet. We have one vehicle that does not have the LATCH system; wondering if it will be a problem with this car seat. We have a Zooper stroller and I am hoping it will work with this car seat.

[Joolsplus2]

I have one in my living room...I like the seat, but haven't tried to install it yet (I'd better try before the cold weather sets in... lol...let me go out right now and tell you how it is... I'll be back, if not in the next half hour, at the latest, tonight :) )
In the meantime, here are some great pictures (not mine): http://www.flickr.com/photos/murphydog77/sets/280480/
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joolsplus2]

Well...it's light, it's easy to get in and out of the base... the canopy could be a little bigger, the harness strap covers are way too long and will have to be removed for a young baby (otherwise they push the chest clip down to the belly button...no velcro to get those off, so they'll have to be taken off the harness from the unhooked ends), harness is simple, harness adjustment is easy, padding is excellent, EPS foam for head and side impact protection, the handle must be left up (most handles have to be put down, so this is unusual, but certainly very convenient), can be installed very easily without the base, it's VERY easy to get the right recline, almost too easy to get the seat overreclined.
The base is definitely the most....unique...installation I've ever seen with a seatbelt...as you could see from those pictures in that other link, the lapbelt goes UNDER the seat and around the sides. I didn't find this very easy, but I'm so used to every other seat simply being a hole or slots on top of the base, that I came at it with some preconceptions. And then, it really didn't install well at all in the captain's chair of my minivan pushed to the center of the van... but when I installed it on another seat, with the seatbelt anchors much closer together, it installed fine. With LATCH, it installed super-fast, super tight, and I think it would install quite easily with a lap-only belt, too.

All in all, if I wipe out my own past experience with other seats that have more obvious belt paths, it's quite a nice seat, light, easy to get in and out of the base, and at least won't be tippy when installed with a lap/shoulderbelt (though, in a pre 1996 vehicle with shoulderbelts that don't lock, it DOES require a locking clip...it comes with one, the niftiest black locking clip I've ever seen, too, lol).

Anyway, I don't know anyone who has actually used one day in-day out with a baby, yet (I'm not due till February), but I'd imagine it's quite pleasant to use....I'll probably find another home or use for my Britax Companion, which is heavier, and *really* hard to get in and out of the base, though installs *way easier* with a seatbelt...ah, tradeoffs!)

:)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

So, what do you think about this seat vs the KeyFit? I looked at the Combi Connection in a store, and I did like the fabric and weight of it better than the KeyFit (which I am very happy with, but I'm not quite ready to let my girls cut the KeyFit box up to play in until I'm absolutely positive there's not something else I'll like better ;-)).

Kirsten

[Joolsplus2]

In terms of installation, the KeyFit really wins... but hmmm..in terms of the seat... hmmm...the Combi is really pretty nice... Tell me, how is the canopy on the KF? The Connection's seems a little short (well, compared to the enormous Snugride, they all pale in comparison!)... but is the KF canopy 'big enough'?
The harness strap covers really will have to come off of the Connection, that's for sure, and they make you install your own energy absorbent Egg Shock foam, which seems odd to me, it looks like a sample you could just toss out, but it MUST be used and there are several places to install it (in the infant pad, or in the seat pad)... if people throw away Britax EPS foam, which has to be pried out of the seat, almost, then this Egg Shock stuff is going to be tossed out even faster (but now I'm just rambling...lol)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

The canopy on the KeyFit seems okay size-wise--not big, but it didn't strike me as small. I feel like it's a little in the way of putting the handle up and down, though. I think I'll end up either keeping it pushed all the way back, out of the way most of the time, or perhaps I will remove it. It's been several years since I've had a baby, and I can't remember why I'd need the canopy, lol. I can't leave it up in the car to keep sun out of baby's eyes, and this is a winter baby anyways (in Seattle-area), so I'm not seeing sun as a major problem :-).

Thats weird about the foam on the Combi.

Kirsten

[Joolsplus2]

Think you could find a Connection anywhere to play with it? Nice baby stores have had it for months, now...maybe that would be the deciding factor for you? (Oh, you aren't *supposed* to put them in shopping carts at all, but a little birdie told me the Connection doesn't fit in any cart, in any way...which she found rather annoying... just another 2 cents to think about ;) )
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

That's a good idea, I think I will. I saw one at the Right Start, but was with a friend, so didn't play much ;-). I think I'll likely be sticking with the KeyFit, but my personality-type compels me to make sure I've made the right decision.