Infant Car Blog

I absolutely love this car seat. I haven’t used it yet, but it is really light. The colors are great! The material seems like you just just wipe it clean!

This review is for the Graco Snugride 35 Infant Carseat – Lowery Design

Pros:
1. Self Supported Canopy (Big plus for me)
2. Easy to adjust harness
3. Up to 35lbs and 32 inches
4. Sturdy Base with adjustable angle
5. Extra handle position
6. Great design (haven’t seen the other designs, Brunswick and Flint)
7. Rubber on base to prevent slippage
8. Works with the Graco SnugGlider Swing

Cons:
9. On the heavy side of car seats

Description:
1. I must say I am really writing this review because of the self supported canopy. I have seen and used many other strollers and car seats with annoying canopies that latch to the back of the head rest and come out a certain distance. While this is a standard design, I hate it. Unless the canopy is really huge, it is basically useless, because unless you live on the equator, the sun always comes in at an angle. The Graco Snugride 35 has a self supporting canopy frame. So the canopy can be adjusted as far forward as you’d like and still maintain its structure. This is such a great feature to keep sun light, wind, and all sorts of weather off the baby, regardless of what angle it’s coming in at. Sure other car seats let you unlatch the canopy from the back and move it forward, but then the back of the canopy droops down because it has no support.

2. I love the harness on this seat. First off it has the individual side clips that can be buckled in separately, so there is no fancy finger work trying to get the two sides together and then snap it in. Second, the harness is easily loosened by depressing the clamp and pulling the harness away from the baby. This makes for easier access to the baby. Just in case you were worried, when the seat is snapped into the base, even if you depress the clamp, the harness won’t budge. Safety feature I guess. I had a car seat prior to this one that was just incredibly difficult to loosen the harness, so annoying. I do say the chest plate seems a little large for a newborn, but my 7lb 7ounce son does just fine (he’s now 8lb 4ounces).

3. I love how long this should last. It seems so stupid to buy a car seat that can only be used a few months. 35 lbs and 32 inches should make life a little easier. However, this feature causes a little more weight, which I will discuss later.

4. I am coming from and Eddie Bauer car seat to this car seat and owe my, the difference is like night and day. I don’t know what Eddie was thinking, but their base was so wobbly when installed it was like placing the car seat on a took pick and praying it didn’t tip over around a curve (Yes, I put all my weight on it and tightened it real tight). When I installed the Graco Carseat, which was a breeze to do, it felt sturdy before I even gave it a big tightening pull. And to add the security, the base has an angle adjustment knob which causes the plate on the bottom, called the `foot’ to move downward by twisting the knob on top. I did this after I tightened the base in. This increase in height tightened the base even more. That base doesn’t move an inch, or even a millimeter. The only thing I’m worried about, is the nice square imprint the foot will leave on the seat of my car, lol. Oh well, the safety of my child is way more important.

5. The extra handle position is another plus for me. Most car seats have 2 positions in which the handle snaps. One spot is the carrying position and the other is at the head rest. The Graco Snugride 35 has and extra one in between. It’s not really a big deal, but it’s just one of those things that makes life a little easier. Mostly I like to set it in that position when he’s in the car so that the handle doesn’t block my mirror set up.

6. Design is awesome, soft and sturdy. My wife loves the print. So do I since it’s pretty neutral and we are planning on having more kids. I love the newborn head rest. It’s seems more plump and effective than others, but I do agree with the other review that it could be plumper as there’s still plenty of room for the newborn head to move around. We just add a small rolled up towel around his head for now. In about a month, I imagine it will be the perfect size.

7. I love the rubber and the bottom of the car seat. It makes me feel so much more at ease when I put him down on a slick surface. Also it still has a curve to it so you can rock the car seat if you’d like.

8. This car seat works with the Graco SnugGlider, which I am so happy with right now. My son will cry (sometimes) when I first put into the car seat, but as soon as he’s situated, it’s off to a peaceful sleep. He doesn’t like being still though for very long. So we either place the car seat on the swing or hurry up and get to the car. Not sure why, but car rides put our baby at peace like nothing else. Perhaps it’s the vibrations, I don’t know, but they need to make a car simulator for babies, lol. Anyways, since he sleeps so well in the car, we love the fact that when we get home, we don’t have to take him out of the car seat and wake him up. Instead, we just attach the car seat to the SnugGlider and it keeps the motion feeling going which keeps the baby asleep. The swing does have a vibrating setting on it, I just haven’t used it yet, probably should try that out. Anyways, the ability to turn the car seat into a swing and not have to take out the baby (which usually wakes him) is just so nice.

9. Well, I put this in the cons area, but it doesn’t really bother me. I’ve read many reviews about car seats, and the one thing people complain about and take away stars for is the weight of a car seat. I tried out a few car seats and determined that these people are stupid idiots. This car seat may be a little bit more then the lightest ones out there, but those light ones won’t hold as much weight as the heavier ones. And my goodness, we are talking about a few pounds difference. If you want to down grade something for weight alone, why don’t you take a star away from your baby for every pound he/she gains. When the baby weighs 25lbs, the weight of the car seat should be a breeze. The best way to make things seem lighter is to do arm curls and work up your muscles, either that order a carbon fiber car seat. But I’m sure there still people who want to know about the weight. At 9.4 pounds it basically doubles the weight of your newborn. Both my wife and I are able to carry it around without much hassle. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go on long walks with the car seat. But carrying it into a store or for a short period of time isn’t a big deal. If he’s gonna be traveling with me, I’ll put him into his stroller.

Summary:
This is really a great car seat. I am very glad with my purchase and would highly recommend it to anyone with a new baby.

At 5′10″ I’ve found the stroller handle to be a little short. My husband can’t stand to push the stroller for long because it’s even worse for him (at 6′2″).
Also, when the handle is in the “tall” position (which should work well for someone who is 5′8″), the stroller is so close to your body that you end up kicking the frame when you walk.

Only other complaint is the orange latches that keeps the foot of the carseat in place. These are very difficult to twist, so it’s hard to undo them.

Otherwise, I like the stroller. It’s easy to fold and unfold (as long as you can use both hands). Diaper bag and blankets easily fit in the basket. Cup holders are convient for a bottle of water.

This stroller is fantastic for our Graco SnugRide carseat. Very easy to open and fold, lightweight so easy to stow in the back of the SUV, small enough to maneuver through tight spots (like between racks or down aisles in stores), and turns on a dime. Decent storage under the seat, plus a cup holder and a second holder on the handle. In response to the reviewers who said the carseat clicked into place but still flipped out — there are two RED clips that, after clicking the carseat into place, must be turned to lock the other end of the seat down. If you don’t turn those red clips, the carseat is NOT secure. But if you do turn them, that seat’s not going anywhere. We highly recommend this stroller.

I purchased an older Graco Travel System when my daughter was born in fall of 2009. It came with the Safe Seat carseat. This was the recommended extra carseat base according to Graco. Installs just like the base that came with the Safe Seat. Both Grandmother’s have one so no matter where baby is going we can pick up the carrier and be gone in a flash!

I tried to purchase this base at local stores in my area and all were out of stock. When I looked at Amazon, I saw it was out of stock there also, but at least it gave an approximate delivery date. I went ahead and ordered and to my surprise my order arrived well ahead of schedule. The base is perfect and fits the carrier portion exactly as it should. Being the grandmother, I now don’t have to worry when I’m called on to transport my precious cargo!

Why on earth does this adapter hold only one car seat? It’s for a DUALLIE. I have twins, and that renders this accessory completely useless to me. What a waste.