Britax Boulevard 70 Review and Winter Travel Event

Britax is one of the best know car seat brands available and has been for years. The Boulevard 70 is a convertible car seat that holds babies from 5-40lbs in a rear facing position and children from 20lbs (at 1 year of age) to 70lbs or 49" tall.

I personally have one in my car, and it is the easiest of the three different convertible car seats our family owns to install. My son is tall for his age and is very comfortable in it (more so than in the other two seats, his escape attempts are far fewer and never successful in this seat). Unlike with our other seats, this car seat has never damaged the surface of the seat below it. The cover stays on well and the recline is suitable for even my tall toddler, boosting him enough to see out the window. When we replace the unmentionable second car seat, we will be getting another Boulevard. I definitely recommend a Convertible Car Seat Child Cup Holder or two, sold separately, to hold your kiddos drink and snack in the car.

This car seat has many safety features, including:
- SafeCell™ Technology - significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels the child toward the front seat
- Integrated Steel Bars - strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash.
- Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether® - staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat
- True Side Impact Protection - offers a head restraint creating an extra layer of energy-absorbing EPP foam, keeping the head, neck and spine “in true” or aligned, and deep side walls lined with EPP foam to distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body
- Tangle-Free, Five-Point Harness - distributes crash forces across the strongest parts of the body and provides a secure fit
- Harness Ultra Guard System (HUGS™) - provides resistance to forward movement in the event of a crash


Other great features:
- High Density Comfort Foam provides an extra layer of padding to gently cushion your child
- Plush, Easy-Remove Cover with matching comfort pads and infant body pillow to provide extra comfort and easy cleaning without disassembling or uninstalling the child seat
- Two Buckle Positions for your growing child
- Infant Positioning Insert may be necessary for small infants to achieve a snug fit of the harness around your child (sold separately)
- Quick-Adjust, No-Rethread Harness repositions the harness shoulder height without disassembling the harness straps
- Premium Lower LATCH Connectors for a quick and simple installation featuring a push button for easy release
- Built-in Lock-Offs ensure a snug lap and shoulder belt installation with minimal effort
- Anti-Slip, Contoured Base grips and protects the vehicle seat while offering optimum vehicle fit
- Convenient Harness Holders keep harness straps out of the way when placing your child in the car seat
- Certified for Aircraft Travel
- Made in the USA with global components

One month only special offer!*

* This promotion is available October 15, 2011-November 15, 2011 while supplies last, CS only available in Onyx

Car Seat Safety Class Oct 13th

This class is great for expecting parents and parents of children in any kind of car seat. Come learn how to properly install you child's car seat and other car safety tips from our trained baby gear car seat technicians. You will be surprised at the statistics on how many children ride in car seats that are not properly installed. Don't let your child become a part of that statistic. Take a couple hours out of your week to learn how to keep your child as safe as possible while riding in your car.

*Receive a $5 Goore's Gift Card just for attending this workshop!*

Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat with Air Protect Technology

Maxi-Cosi has one of the first convertible car seats designed to hold even the tiniest of infants (4 lbs-22 lbs) with it's included Tiny Fit infant insert as well as children rear facing from 18-40 lbs and forward facing for over 1 year olds from 40-70 lbs without the Tiny Fit insert. With specialized Air Protect technology, the Pria 70 fits your family for the first ride home from the hospital up to those first rides to elementary school.

On top of Air Protect advanced side impact protection, the Pria 70 also features the safety of FlexTech for multi-directional crash energy management, and has been through next generation crash testing techniques. It fits easily with OneClick LATCH connectors, deep recline angle adjustment and color coded installation systems and fits with less space for the rear-facing seat, providing more leg room for front seat parents.

Overall, the Pria 70 is designed to provide the right fit. It fits your protective nature, it fits for peace of mind, and it fits with plush comfort for an enjoyable ride. For the right fit, choose Pria 70.

Click here for some stories about how Air Protect has saved lives.

Less is More with the Combi Coccoro

I’ve always been a big believer that less is more, but never more so than now, with two small children and all the stuff they accrue. When I was pregnant with my son four years ago, I was determined that I’d make it through with a convertible car seat and skip the infant seat. Well, that lasted about a week before I realized that 1) he looked very small in that big seat, and 2) having a lightweight, portable seat really was important, especially when he fell asleep in the car.
Today, our Subaru is packed in the back seat with two Britax Marathons—great car seats, and I love the prints: Henry is sporting the Cowmooflage, and Sophie went for the Couture pattern. They’re fabulous seats, have excellent safety ratings, and seem to be comfortable—not that I’ve tried them out myself, mind you.

But I just came across these fabulous new seats from Japanese manufacturer Combi, and I’m quite smitten. It’s about time someone stepped up to the plate in designing a car seat that doesn’t take up half your back seat. The Combi Coccoro is small and lightweight (only 11 pounds—great for travel!), and comes in seven happy colors with scrumptious names like Carrot Cake, Cherry Pie, Strawberry Shake, Key Lime, Hazelnut, Cool Mint, and Chestnut.

So the fashion is there—fantastic. And I’ve mentioned how light they are—11 pounds is pretty easy to move about if you’re switching cars, having Grandma pick your kid up from daycare, or traveling by plane. But here’s the truly amazing thing about the Coccoro—you can fit THREE car seats in the back seat of a compact car!! No more of this, “Well, we’re having a third, guess we’ll have to succumb to the minivan” mentality. That’s right THREE Coccoros will fit in the back of a Toyota Corolla!

Now, this also means that when you have only two car seats in the back, an adult can fit between them—not the case in my car now. When we travel with my mom, we must either take two cars (locally), or rent a minivan (long-distance), just because our car seats take up so much room.

The Coccoro is also a convertible seat, meaning you can use it in the rear-facing position from birth and then turn it to face forwards once your little one turns 1. And is has this sweet insert for the littlest ones called the Mommy’s Lap Insert, which keeps your baby snug and comfy.

The Coccoro is arriving this month at Goore’s, and I tell you, if I was starting out with my first now, it’s the car seat I’d choose.

Jane