REVIEW: Combi Shuttle 33 Car Seat

Time to take the baby somewhere.  You need an infant carrier.  But not just any infant carrier, one from a Japanese company.

This carrier is lightweight, pretty straightforwards, and adjustable to accommodate your growing kid.

This won't last your kid forever, just because they are going to outgrow it.

The carrieritself however, will possibly last quite a while.

We ended up using our baby carrier and the stroller that partners with it for both of our kids.  It is now 3 years old, and shows no sign of stopping.

It is easy to take apart for washing for when your kid spills food, drinks or bodily fluids all over it.  All the fabric parts can go through the washing machine with your other laundry.

There is no head roll that comes with this carrier, so you will have to use a blanket or towel to stabilize your newborn's head until they can support themselves.

Pull To Tighten

Adjusting the carrier to fit your child is easy.  The adjustment you will use most is the strap located near your kid's legs.  Pulling this will let you pull the straps tight to your kid's body  There is a little lever beneath the fabric that you push to release the strap, allowing you to loosen them for taking your kid out easily, especially when they have fallen asleep.

Twist to Adjust

On the back of the car seat is a knob that you can twist, which will allow the head and shoulder part to be moved upwards when your kid grows taller.  You will also need to move this into the proper position so you can slide the straps out when you take the fabric off for washing.

You can use this car seat all the way from infancy to early toddler years.  Your only limitation is the size of your kid, as they will grow out of the seat eventually.

The infant carrier attaches to a base that you can leave in your car.  It can use either a seatbelt or the LATCH system.  I have an older car, and had no issues using just a seatbelt to secure it.  Properly installed, it won't wiggle loose. Taking it out of the base is simple.  There is a bar at the top near your child's head that you grab and pull, then just lift the seat.

There is only one negative that I have found with this otherwise great car seat:  The Buckle.

Not Exactly User Friendly

You are going to be strapping your kid in alot, and you will find this to be your most dreaded part of the process.

The buckle is two interlocking halves.  One half goes on top of the other, and then into the lower buckle.  Even at the best of times, the fabric from the seat can become pinched in the buckle, and you can not clip your kid in.

If your kid is moving around, or fighting you, then the two halves may come apart, and not go into the buckle.

When your kid is asleep it's not that bad, but sometimes still a nuisance.  Add in the times that your kid is squirming and doesn't want to be strapped in, and this buckle becomes an outright annoyance.

Whoever thought this buckle design was a good idea definitely didn't test it out on an actual kid, probably just a stand in doll.

As punishment, the designer should be forced to strap an actual squirming kid in to the seat. Better yet, make it a set of triplets.  Daily.  I'm sure the design would have been changed.

Conclusion
If this buckle were changed in the next redesign, then I'd say this is a must buy.  As it is now, I'd say get this if you want to get a complete set with the accompanying stroller, as the Combi Cosmo stroller alone is a great buy.