If you have a car, and you have a kid, then you are going to need a car seat.
You are going to probably need 3 actually: Infant carrier, toddler car seat, and eventually a big kid booster. Not all at once, luckily.
Sadly, these seats aren't cheap.
But, what if you could buy one seat that could last you from newborn to big kid, and get it cheaper than any one of the above mentioned seats?
What if I told you that you can?
No, this is not just name brand, but industry leading Name Brand. This is Safety First.
Behold, the Alpha Omega Elite! Available in a choice of colors! (Sometimes)
The only thing this seat doesn't do is act as a portable infant carrier. If you don't need an infant carrier, and are OK with moving your tiny tot to the stroller, harness, or whatever carrying contraption you are using, then this is the only car seat you will ever need.
It even has cup holders.
Review
First things first: This seat is huge. Like, really big. If you have a 5 seat sedan and you place this seat in the middle like you should, then you'll probably have a functional two seater. Well, 3 if you count the kid in the back. You could still have a 5 seater, if you have really skinny friends without personal space needs, or 2 kids in the back that know better than to complain to you about their personal space needs.
If you have two kids with this seat in the back, then the middle seat is a lost cause, no mans land of snacks and spilled drinks. Anyone who could possibly sit there probably should be checked for sanity before being sat between two kids.
On to the functions of the seat itself:
Adjustment
This seat will really last you from the first ride home till the last time the kid needs a booster and can ride on their own. To do this, the seat adjusts to change the harness height. Just grab the two large red handles at the top, and twist them towards the inside of the seat. Then, pull upwards.
The best thing about adjusting this seat is that it can all be done while the seat is still secured in the car. No need to undo all the work that you did have done to properly get it into place.
Belt Path Guides
On the sides of the seat, you can see the belt paths for where the seatbelt will go when your kid is ready to use this as a booster seat. Those pieces are attached firmly to the seat, and do not come off. They can not get lost by a curious toddler, or an errant bump from a parent. A huge plus in my book.
Pillows
Moving down the seat, you will find a removable infant insert. If you are using this seat for your infant, their head will be supported by this, no need to roll up a towel to place on the sides of their head.
When your kid grows, removing this insert is trivial.
Also trivial to remove is the top pillow. That's right, the giant padded "Safety First" logo at the top is actually a pillow! Your kid can use this to sleep on, rest their head, or you can completely remove it if it gets in the way. It's only secured by velcro, allowing you to move it yourself, or if your kid is flexible, they can get it for themselves. Hopefully they don't toss it to you in the front seat. My kid's haven't tried doing that yet, and none of you reading this better give them the idea.
Buckles
Some car seats really want to fight you when buckling as much as your kid does when trying to get buckled! Luckily, this seat is more of a lover than a fighter, and that's why I love buckling my kids into this seat.
The chest buckle is very simple to do. One button that is hard for kids to press slides flat into the other side. That's it, nothing fancy.
The bottom buckle is two individual separate tabs that can go into the bottom red buttoned receiver. If your kid is a squirmer or a fighter, you will have little trouble getting one side in, and then the other. Nothing special here, nothing to cause you difficulty. A huge plus goes to it's simplicity.
Tightening and Loosening
Like many other car seats, this one has a strap that goes between the kids legs that can easily pulled to tighten the seat and keep themfrom escaping safe in the car. When your kids is wearing that extra thick jacket, pressing the same spot and pulling on the shoulder straps loosens the belt. This is pretty straightforwards, and common on most seats today.
What is not common is the cup holder!
Cup Holder
Kids need their drinks and snacks, otherwise they'll never be able to make it on those extremely long road trips, like the 5 minute drive to the store. This seat has your butt covered when the kids butt is secured, by giving you their very own cupholder.
This cup holder is even removable.
The only downside to the cup holder is that it seems to work better on one side than the other. Sure, it can go on either side, but it seems made to go on the left side. Putting it on the right seems to cause it to tilt a little too far over, which may cause taller items to fall out.
This is the only downside I have found to this car seat, a minor inconvenience to an accessory!
Recliner
Adjusting the seat to recline is a simple and painless procedure. Unless of course you get your fingers pinched somewhere, but you should really be more careful. With that said, there really isn't a pinch point to be found, except between the child's car seat and your car's actual seat.
Just grab the big red bar in the front of the seat, and pull to slide the seat. It's really that easy.
Reclining is not just for your kid to ride in style, but to make the seat at an optimal tilt for them to ride safely. Infants need a maximum recline, while the seat should be tilted less as your kid grows. When the seat is facing forwards, the tilt depends upon the angle of your car's seat.
Overall
This seat is Gaijin Daddy Approved. I bought this on my own, and am not being compensated in any way at all (unless you click an Amazon link, but you shouldn't, keep reading) for saying so.
I really like this seat. If we didn't need the baby seat for the infant carrier and stroller combo that we had for each kid, then this would have been the only seat that we needed.
Buy this, and you'll be happy.
Purchasing Options
Sure, you could buy it at Amazon, click the link, and give me a referral credit, which makes me some money. But, I'm telling you not to. That's right, I'm telling you not to pay me.
As of this writing, the seat is about $112 at it's cheapest on Amazon. Different color options cost more.
However, if you have a Costco membership, you can get it there, for $80.
But, if you can wait, don't buy it yet!
See, about twice a year, Costco has $20 off their price. That means you can get this seat for $60!! You can buy TWO of these seats, for cheaper than the Amazon price for one!
So, shop around, and check out Costco if you are a member, to get this seat at a great deal.
You'll be happy with the seat no matter where you get it from, but you'll be even happier if you paid less for it.
 |
| They're really hard to miss |
Belt Path Guides
On the sides of the seat, you can see the belt paths for where the seatbelt will go when your kid is ready to use this as a booster seat. Those pieces are attached firmly to the seat, and do not come off. They can not get lost by a curious toddler, or an errant bump from a parent. A huge plus in my book.
Pillows
Moving down the seat, you will find a removable infant insert. If you are using this seat for your infant, their head will be supported by this, no need to roll up a towel to place on the sides of their head.
When your kid grows, removing this insert is trivial.
Also trivial to remove is the top pillow. That's right, the giant padded "Safety First" logo at the top is actually a pillow! Your kid can use this to sleep on, rest their head, or you can completely remove it if it gets in the way. It's only secured by velcro, allowing you to move it yourself, or if your kid is flexible, they can get it for themselves. Hopefully they don't toss it to you in the front seat. My kid's haven't tried doing that yet, and none of you reading this better give them the idea.
Buckles
Some car seats really want to fight you when buckling as much as your kid does when trying to get buckled! Luckily, this seat is more of a lover than a fighter, and that's why I love buckling my kids into this seat.
 |
| I wish all buckles were this easy. It would make life easier. |
The bottom buckle is two individual separate tabs that can go into the bottom red buttoned receiver. If your kid is a squirmer or a fighter, you will have little trouble getting one side in, and then the other. Nothing special here, nothing to cause you difficulty. A huge plus goes to it's simplicity.
Tightening and Loosening
Like many other car seats, this one has a strap that goes between the kids legs that can easily pulled to tighten the seat and keep them
What is not common is the cup holder!
Cup Holder
Kids need their drinks and snacks, otherwise they'll never be able to make it on those extremely long road trips, like the 5 minute drive to the store. This seat has your butt covered when the kids butt is secured, by giving you their very own cupholder.
This cup holder is even removable.
The only downside to the cup holder is that it seems to work better on one side than the other. Sure, it can go on either side, but it seems made to go on the left side. Putting it on the right seems to cause it to tilt a little too far over, which may cause taller items to fall out.
This is the only downside I have found to this car seat, a minor inconvenience to an accessory!
Recliner
Adjusting the seat to recline is a simple and painless procedure. Unless of course you get your fingers pinched somewhere, but you should really be more careful. With that said, there really isn't a pinch point to be found, except between the child's car seat and your car's actual seat.
Just grab the big red bar in the front of the seat, and pull to slide the seat. It's really that easy.
Reclining is not just for your kid to ride in style, but to make the seat at an optimal tilt for them to ride safely. Infants need a maximum recline, while the seat should be tilted less as your kid grows. When the seat is facing forwards, the tilt depends upon the angle of your car's seat.
Overall
This seat is Gaijin Daddy Approved. I bought this on my own, and am not being compensated in any way at all (unless you click an Amazon link, but you shouldn't, keep reading) for saying so.
I really like this seat. If we didn't need the baby seat for the infant carrier and stroller combo that we had for each kid, then this would have been the only seat that we needed.
Buy this, and you'll be happy.
Purchasing Options
Sure, you could buy it at Amazon, click the link, and give me a referral credit, which makes me some money. But, I'm telling you not to. That's right, I'm telling you not to pay me.
As of this writing, the seat is about $112 at it's cheapest on Amazon. Different color options cost more.
However, if you have a Costco membership, you can get it there, for $80.
But, if you can wait, don't buy it yet!
See, about twice a year, Costco has $20 off their price. That means you can get this seat for $60!! You can buy TWO of these seats, for cheaper than the Amazon price for one!
So, shop around, and check out Costco if you are a member, to get this seat at a great deal.
You'll be happy with the seat no matter where you get it from, but you'll be even happier if you paid less for it.
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