Evenflo - Discovery 5 Infant Car Seat, Marianna 3.5 5 6 8
Is this the best seat for you? As a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and Instructor I've installed the Discovery 5 many many times in the 11 years I've been certified. While this seat does tend to fit newborn babies quite well and the price is great. It does have many downfalls.First, you must loosen and tighten the harness webbing from the back of the seat. Why is this such a big deal? Because with newborn babies, they are quite small (even the bigger newborns) and when the harness is properly fitted there is not a lot of webbing to work with. So when putting baby in and taking baby out of the seat it is quite difficult if you do not loosen the webbing some. This is not an easy task with this seat. I recommend that parents to play with the adjuster before purchasing. Put a doll in the seat and see if you can easily tighten it, and then loosen it.The second major downfall to this seat is that it does not fit well in most vehicles. Evenflo REQUIRES that the handle be in a down and locked position in the vehicle, and that there be 1.5-2 inches of clearance from the handle in all directions. In most vehicles this would put the front seats pushed dangerously forward for whoever rides in that seat. I highly suggest to anyone considering purchasing this seat that they try it in their vehicle prior to purchasing.Another downfall is that it is hard to put in and remove from the base. There is a lip on the front of the base that "holds" the seat into the base. This makes it more difficult to get the seat in and out of the base. I suggest playing with it before purchasing.So in summary...Pros: Seat fits newborn babies well and the price is great.Cons: Handle must be down and locked and requires 1.5-2in of clearance around it. Has a rear harness adjuster making it harder to loosen and tighten. And its difficult to get in and out of the base.Parents, choose a seat with will fit your car, your baby, and one you will use correctly each and every single time. Do your research and try seats out, play with the adjusters etc... prior to purchasing. Before your baby is born, find a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician in your area and visit them to ensure your seat is installed correctly and you know how to use it correctly. 02/17/2012
Beautiful seat! I just got this carseat and I love it! It's beautiful, very easy to figure out.I also got the matching infant carrier. 02/19/2012
Does not work with the Snap and Go Stroller The price is a deal and the safety ratings are up to par, however it does not work with the Snap and Go stroller or any other frame stroller that we could find. The Snap and Go site states that the stroller works with Evenflo carseats, however we found out after we purchased it that it does not work with this particular Evenflo car seat. We have registered for an alternate stroller, but had originally been looking for that convenience. I called the Evenflo customer service hotline, but they do not have a list of any frame strollers that would work with this car seat. 05/02/2012
Fantastic car seat for the price! I purchased this car seat for my daughter to use while we were on vacation so we wouldn't have to take her car seat on the airplane. I decided to get a "cheap" car seat since we would only be using it for a week or so. The only thing "cheap" about this car seat is the price! I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. We own another very expensive, "top-rated" car seat, and this car seat worked just as well as the one we have at home. I love that it's lightweight (ours is SO heavy), the fabric is stain-resistant, the handle is designed to be easy to carry, and the design is so cute. The only thing I would change about it would be to make the strap adjustment feature easier. It was not easy to do. However, that was a minor flaw in comparison to all the other great things about it. I have definitely learned my lesson...more expensive does NOT always equal better. This seat is absolutely fantastic, and I will keep it in mind if/when we have future children. 04/14/2012