Baby Trend Flex Loc Car Seat, Vanilla Bean

I thought we would love this car seat, however trying to push in the handle releases is such an aggravation and getting it to release the first time is almost impossible! I contacted Baby Trend and they told me to spray a little cooking spray on it and that it was a safety feature. I called back again after the spray didn't work and was again told it was a safety feature and it's how the seat was designed. I highly doubt any of those customer service reps have ever tried out the seat. Our daughter has severe reflux and there's been several occasions where she has began to choke and getting her quickly out of the seat was imperative. I ended up sticking the car seat in the garage and spending another $140 on a new car seat due to the stupid handle releases.

This carseat was a dissappointment. I figured that Baby Trend would have atleast made a decent design, but they have failed at this carseat. The handle is too difficult to release, even for my husband. Also, in the winter you cant have the canopy on and use a cover for the carseat or the handle won't go down. The design for the buckle is horrible, super hard to hold together and get locked when you have a crying baby. Also, the shoulder straps don't allow enough room when your child gets to the upper end of the weight limit. My son is 18 lbs and the straps don't have any movement for when he grows a little bit more. We are getting rid of this and looking for another for our next child. The matching stroller was a peice too. Overall, good looking, easy to clean, but a VERY poor design. Not worth the hassle.

Yes the carrying handle can be tricky BUT if you don't try to lift at the same time it is much easier. When you put rotational tension eg lift motion on the handle it binds the mechanism making it difficult to operate.

I rarely if ever use the handle because I purchased a strap right here on Amazon by Flying Falcon. I would NEVER EVER go without this on a car set again. Do not balk or judge unless you own one. I wish these things were around with my other three kids. I am actually going to remove the handle because I NEVER EVER use it anymore, it just adds weight and gets in the way. Carrying a car seat by the handle is one of the most awkward things in a parents life.

The seat itself does have a very easy to adjust shoulder height mechanism, the buckle system could really be more elegant and simple but it can be hard if you don't have the strength to control your baby, if they do the hip thrust, and push them down while buckling at the same time. Once the two...Read more