This review was written Autumn of 2009. We still love our Air Protect!
Over the past twenty years, side impact crashes have dramatically increased and today they seem to be the deadliest kind of crashes children can be involved in. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the vast majority of these fatalities are due to head trauma. Keeping that in mind, Safety 1st has created the Safety 1st Complete Air Convertible Car Seat. This line of car seats use side impact technology to provide a double layer of security that shields where a child is most vulnerable, their head. On impact, the Compete Air immediately diverts crash forces and side impact intrusion by releasing a precise amount of air.
Safety 1st sent over their Complete Air Convertible Car Seat for us to review. Immediately, after taking the car seat out of the box, I noticed the side head protection. I have never seen a car seat with extended head shields. This feature gave me a sense of confidence knowing that in case of emergency, my child’s risk of head trauma decreases while riding in this car seat.
Installing the car seat was very easy. It would have been even easier if our car supported the latch system. We removed our old car seat and let Jayden grandparents take it for when he visits with them. Greg installed the Complete Air using the seat belt in forward facing mode. The Complete Air actually offers 2 modes of use; rear facing from 5-40 lbs and forward facing 22-50 lbs. So if we had the extra space in our car, we could let Jayden ride rear facing for an extended period. The quick fit harness easily adjusts as a child grows taller. In some of the pictures here, the top of Jayden’s head wasn’t lining up with the top of the head shields. We had to double back and lower the quick fit harness to Jayden’s height and now all is well.
Car seats have definitely come a LONG way. This is me as an infant sitting in my car seat. It was literally a laundry basket. I can definitely appreciate the technologies of today and Safety 1st’s dedication to taking car safety another step further.
For more information about Safety 1st Air Protect products, visit airprotect.safety1st.com.