You’ve probably seen the Chicco KeyFit 30 or 22 at a car seat check event or read our Recommended Seats page when looking for a rear facing only car seat. Over the years, this car seat has proven to be a great choice for many families (including CSFTL families). In addition to the Fit2 and the 35, the KeyFit family now includes the Fit2 and the Fit2. As a hybrid of the KeyFit and Fit2, the KeyFit 35 has many features found in both seats. Here are some of its similarities and differences. Best Infant Car Seat For Toyota Tacoma
Stats from CSFTL
- Four-to-35 pound weight range
- At least one inch of shell should be above the child’s head when the child is less than 32 inches tall
- When the car seat is in the vehicle, you may use any locked position of the handle
- It is not permissible to use inflatable seatbelts
- The validity period is six years
- Any crash will require Chicco replacement
Analyses
- The buckle should be placed at a 4 inch position
- 6.5 inches from the ground (with body insert), 6.75 inches (without body insert)
- A width of 16.5 inches at its widest point (carrier handles)
- Weight of the carrier (carrier weight): 10.1 pounds
- 8.2 lbs. is the base weight
Featured Uniquely
- Base for KeyFit 35, KeyFit30, and KeyFit35 car seats (not compatible with Fit2)
- On the base, there are anti-rebound bars
- A headrest that can be adjusted without rethreading the harness
- Installations utilizing baseless routing in Europe
- With steel-reinforced lockoff, LockSure
- The lockoff can be used after the belt has been locked.
- From fall 2020, customers can purchase the Corso LE travel system.
- Smaller (at the handle) than the Fit2.
Textiles used for cover
Its cover and soft goods offer a number of advantages over other carriers. It caught my eye right away because the canopy has a UPF 50+ label. With this rating you can take advantage of a two-layer knit material (compared to adding chemicals to increase protection), which adds a new level of protection.
To begin with, there are actually two types of fabric — a plush, ultrasoft knit fabric that covers the areas behind the baby. It is made from more robust material underneath the parts of the baby that are more likely to be used heavily (foot and rump).
There’s a slightly new shape to the cover that mimics the shape of the handle and adds a bit of space between the canopy and the handle. We never got stuck on the seat handle, not once!
The seat is padded with thicker foam.
Besides the KeyFit 30 base, a separate base is available for $109.99.
The space between the front and the back
In addition to the space it takes up front-to-back, the KeyFit 35 differs from the KeyFit 30 and 22 in another small but important way. After the seat is installed, Chicco cleverly adjusted the base height and the way the carrier sits in the base to improve leg room for the child. This additional space is also created by the anti-rebound bar.
A bar that acts as an anti-rebound
Adding additional force dispersion to the base is the purpose of this bar. In my experience, the KeyFit 35 is one of a small handful of seats with an anti-rebound bar that, as if it has always been there, blends into the vehicle seat (in all of the vehicles I tested the seat in).
Chicco’s engineering team made sure the bar was given extra attention when designing this seat. Here is our attempt at an artistic picture of the base to recognize that effort.
Compatiblity with the basis
In addition to the KeyFit 35, the KeyFit 22 and KeyFit 30 bases can also be used with the KeyFit 35.
Neither the Fit2 nor the Fit30’s bases can be used with the KeyFit 35. For anyone wondering whether or not this base is compatible with Chicco rear facing only seats, we mention it twice in our review.
Harnesses do not need to be rethreaded
The list of features that fall into this category would be fairly short if you asked me to find something that wasn’t perfect about the original KeyFit. It was the harness that was most notable – you had to manually move it as your child grew. Caretakers haven’t always performed this task, even though it isn’t difficult. The harness of the seat emerges from the box on the lowest level, so bigger infants or even toddlers would be shoved into the seat.
Presently. Despite having no rethread harness, we still see that scenario. Squeezing a button operates the harness and a headrest, but at least it is easier to fix. The KeyFit 35 is equipped with two orange buttons on the back – they are placed just below the harness in a sort of awkward place. Taking the harness off to access the buttons, I squeezed them to move the headrest up and down after loosening it. Getting to the harness adjustments was quite simple once I discovered how to reach them.
KeyFit 35 harness is meant to be worn between the child’s shoulders or below at all times.
Angular adjuster for recliner
Its recline angle adjuster is located on top of the base, something that distinguishes it from the original KeyFit (the keys on the original KeyFit are on each side of the base). Depending on the child’s age, the bar on the Fit2 can be flipped up or down. In our testing, the bar blocked the angle adjuster, but that’s not an issue since caregivers have to adjust that recline only once – when the vehicle is first installed. A pull-up mechanism makes it easy to access and adjust the KeyFit 35’s adjuster.
When using the adjuster, be sure not to press the base into the ground, otherwise it won’t adjust.
Ratio of recline to inclination
Generally speaking, the recline angle indicator on the original KeyFit is pretty easy to read, but Chicco has improved visibility with the KeyFit 35 by making it a bit brighter.
Lockoff has been updated
Over the years, I’ve never encountered a lockoff issue with KeyFit’s original car seat when helping caregivers with their seats. The KeyFit 35 is very similar to the KeyFit 35, and that trend continues. Two things make it different from the original KeyFit: first, the angle is slightly higher than when it was originally designed. The Mini Countryman had a problem with the top of the vehicle seat belt sliding into the buckle side lockoff lock thanks to this change. In order to remove it from the belt path, I had to consciously move it. I couldn’t duplicate this installation challenge in any other vehicle, just like almost every other challenge I faced in that vehicle.
It is also reinforced with steel, which is another difference from the lockoff. FMVSS213 does not include steel in its definition for car seats, so we cannot be certain of the type of impact that reinforcement might have.
Insertion of infants
Smaller infants benefit from a head and body support in the KeyFit 35. Children weighing between 4-11 pounds are recommended to use the body insert. These weight ranges are listed on an insert itself. There’s a wonderful subtlety to this, but the clarity is terrific!
A Chicco label is attached to the headrest. Taking the seat inserts out of the car when they are still inside can be tricky because these inserts are easy to lose track of once they are out. Caretakers can use this label to prepare the seat for a new baby.
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