Snugride vs. Century Smartfit

[nbrackman]

Hi everyone! I have a dilemma. I have my Century SmartFit Elite which I used for my first child (2 years 9 months). It's still in fine condition, no accidents, etc. It fits into my Snap n Go LX already.

I also have as a gift from a friend a Graco Snugride (bought new about 18 months ago) in fine condition, no accidents, etc.

The Century seems to be a little lighter, and a bit easier in and out of the base. It fits in my Snap N Go.

The Graco however has a tightfit adjuster for the belts right on the front of the seat, whereas the Century has to be adjusted for tightness in the back. I'd need to get a new snap n go for the Graco as I have long since lost the adapter bar for it.

Neither was included in recalls.

We have a 2001 model CRV and may get a minivan within a few months, so the other possibility is ditching them both for a new latch model, though this seems wasteful at the moment since we don't have the car and do have 2 carseats!

Any thoughts? Thanks.
Nicole

[KMommie]

Even though I loved my Snugride for DD, I'd say go with your Century IF you were happy using it with your first child. The front adjuster is convenient though, but if you're used to tightening from the back, it might not be such a big deal to you. I'm always for a lighter infant seat!! I couldn't believe how heavy DD got so quickly!

I'd just hate to buy a new Snap N Go, when you already have one. Could you buy just an adapter bar from Graco? You might want to call their customer service to see. If you can do that, you can try both seats out see which one works better.

As for the LATCH, and buying one--- I'd say not to bother. We used the LATCH in my husband's car, and it didn't really make a difference in our opinion with the infant seat. Now, with our Roundabout, we can see the difference in the LATCH system!

HTH,

Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[JP4]

Why don't you use the Century in your main car and you can still use your Snap-n-go. If you have a second car, you can use the Graco there. If you have more than one car seat, you can have them both installed semi-permanantly and then LATCH isn't very important. My baby was born in early Sept. 2002, so I had to buy a non-LATCH seat. We installed it and haven't moved it in 10.5 months.