What Do I Mean by Best Rear Facing Convertible Seat?
When considering which are the best rear facing convertible car seats of 2017, the aim is to find those that can enable your child to use the seat in the rear-facing position for as long as possible.
This means trying to find out which seat has the combination of maximum height and weight limits that best suit your child’s body shape. Some are better for taller kids and others are better for heavy kids. In this post, I will give you the technical information that you need to make the right decision for your child.
Of course, if you are buying a convertible car seat for your newborn child (or even a 1 year old child), you won’t necessarily know how tall or heavy they are going to be when they are 3 or 4 years old. You should, however, be able to make a pretty good guess though based upon the physique of the child’s parents and any older siblings.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that children should remain in rear facing car seats until they are at least 2 years.
These are not guidelines that have been plucked out of thin air. They are, in fact, based upon respectable scientific studies into the relative safety of rear facing car seats as against forwards facing car seats.
In short, the US research (that simply confirms previous Swedish research) shows that kids aged 1 and above are more than 5 times safer in rear facing seats.
Since the AAP and NHTSA have raised awareness of the massive safety benefits of extended rear-facing, all of the major child car seat manufacturers have sought to manufacture products that can be used in the rear-facing position for as long as possible.
Many of the convertible car seats that are available on the US market have such generous rear-facing child height and weight limits that almost any child can remain in the rear-facing position until the age of 4, provided you choose the correct seat at the outset for your child’s body shape.
Sadly, road traffic collisions remain the biggest cause of deaths amongst US children aged 1 and above. Extended rear facing is just one very simple and effective way that you can keep your child as safe as possible on the road.
What Height / Weight Limits Should I Be looking for?
The logical starting point is to consider the available age/height/weight data in relation to American children, with the aim to find a seat that will probably allow your child to remain rear-facing until the age of 4 years.
All of the data below comes from the CDC website and relates to boys and girls between the 5th and 95th centiles. Note: some of the numbers have been rounded up or down slightly for ease of reading.
Boys at 4 years of age:
Height range: 38 to 43 inches
Weight range: 30 to 45 pounds
Girls at 4 years of age:
Height range: 37 to 42 inches
Weight range: 28 to 44 pounds
For the purposes of this post, I am going to discount any seat that does not allow a child on the 95th centile to remain rear-facing until they are at least 4 years of age.
Based upon the CDC data, this means that any seat must have a maximum rear-facing weight limit of at least 45 pounds and a rear-facing height limit of at least 43 inches.
There may well be other convertible car seats that would allow your particular child to remain rear-facing until they are aged 4 years or over (perhaps because they are very tall, but slim and light), but the seats listed below are considered by me to be the best within this category simply because they can accommodate almost all children up until the age of 4 years.
The 5 Top Convertible Seats for Extended Rear-Facing
#1 & #2 – The Clek Foonf & Clek Fllo Seats
The Clek Foonf and Fllo Convertible Car Seats boast the highest rear-facing weight limits on the market; namely 50 lbs, with a height limit of 43 inches (provided that the top of the head must be at least 1 inch below the top of the headrest).
In reality, your child is likely to outgrow the seat by weight long before they exceed the maximum height limit, but they should reach 4 years of age before that stage according to the CDC data.
If your child is likely to be heavy for their age, but likely to be of average to small height, then you may be able to take full advantage of the very generous weight limit.
Please note that this seat is NOT suitable for newborns UNLESS you buy the Clek Infant-Thingy Insert, which makes it suitable for use from 5 lbs upwards, Without the infant insert, the usable weight limits are 14 to 65 lbs.
Both of the Clek convertible car seats are quite expensive, but in return you get some pretty impressive safety features, including a metal substructure, 3 layers of energy-absorbing foam, and an anti-rebound bar.
They are also 2 of the slimmest convertible car seats that you can buy (just 17 inches across), which means that you would almost certainly be able to fit 3-in-a-row in a standard family-sized vehicle.
You can read my in-depth comparison review of the Clek Foonf and Fllo seats here.
Video Comparison Review of the Foonf and Fllo Seats:
Check the Latest Price of the Clek Fllo here.
Note: The Clek Fllo is the younger sister to the Clek Foonf convertible car seat. It offers a lighter, more compact, and slightly cheaper alternative to the Foonf.
Check the Latest Price of the Clek Foonf here.
#3 – The Graco Extend2Fit SeatsThe Graco Extend2Fit convertible car seats also boast the highest rear-facing weight limits on the market; namely 50 lbs, with a height limit of 49 inches (provided that the top of the head must be at least 1 inch below the plastic headrest adjuster).
You will note that the Graco Extend2Fit has a significantly higher maximum child height limit than the Clek seats (6 inches more), subject to the caveat in relation to the top of the head position.
The other major plus point in favour of the Extend2Fit seats is that they are much cheaper than the Clek seats.
They also have multiple recline positions, a steel reinforced frame, and LATCH connectors.
They do not, however, come fitted with an anti-rebound bar.
Video Review of the Graco Extend2Fit Seat by “Baby Gizmo”
Check the latest price of the Graco Extend2Fit here.
Read User Reviews of the Graco Extend2Fit here.
#4 – The Diono Radian RXT Seat
The Diono Radian RXT has been on the market for many years and has proved to be very popular amongst parents. Although Diono have introduced newer alternative convertible car seats onto the market, they have never discontinued the Radian RXT – presumably because is continues to sell in huge numbers.
The latest version (shown above) looks a lot more modern and sleek than the original model.
The rear-facing weight limit is 45 lbs and the height limit is 44 inches (provided that the seat shell must be at least 1.5 inches above the child’s head).
It comes with the sort of safety features that one expects to find on a premium car seat, including steel reinforced frame and impact protection systems.
It is also a very slim seat, measuring just 17 inches across.
Although it is considered to be a convertible car seat, it can also be used as a harness to booster seat as your child gets older, since the overall forwards-facing weight limit is 80 lbs (120 lbs in booster mode) and the overall height limit is 57 inches.
It is usually priced somewhere between the Clek seats and the Graco Extend2Fit seats and, when you take account of its extended lifespan, it represents excellent value for money.
Check the latest price of the Diono Radian RXT here.
Read User Reviews of the Diono Radian RXT here.
#5 – The Diono Rainier Seat
The Diono Rainier is one of the newer convertible car seats and many thought that its introduction would spell the end of the road for the Radian RXT. This is not proved to be the case and the Rainier has some significant differences to the Radian RXT.
One major difference is that it comes fitted with added side impact protection head wings and higher weight limits. The height limits are the same as the Radian RXT.
The trade off for these extra features is that it is wider than the Radian RXT and bulkier all around.
The rear-facing weight limit is 50 lbs and the height limit is 44 inches (provided that the seat shell must be at least 1.5 inches above the child’s head).
Just like the Radian RXT, the Rainier can also be used as a harness to booster seat later on. The overall forwards-facing weight limit is slightly higher than the Radian, at 90 lbs (120 lbs in booster mode) and the overall height limit is 57 inches.
Check latest price of the Diono Rainier here.
Read User Reviews of the Diono Rainier here.
Safety Information
After purchasing any child car seat, you should always read the User Manual thoroughly before using it. It is also advisable to visit your local Fire Department or NHTSA Child Car Seat Inspection Centre to ensure that the seat is definitely suitable for your child’s specific requirements and that you have installed it correctly. These services are usually provided free of charge.
You can find your nearest NHTSA Centre here.
Get in Touch
If you have any comments to share or questions to ask about my “Best Rear Facing Convertible Car Seats″ post, please leave a comment in the box below or send me an email.
Thank you for your comprehensive review on baby car seat. Do you have any advise for choosing between an infant and convertible car seat.
John,
Thank you for your kind words.
There are a number of different factors to consider when deciding between an infant seat and a convertible seat.
Firstly, only an infant seat can be used as part of an integrated travel system where you simply transfer the seat itself between your stroller frame and the car seat base (which remains installed in the vehicle). This can be a convenient way to transfer baby between your vehicle and other places without waking them up, although you need to be careful not to leave a small baby seated in their car seat for too long as this can be hazardous. With a convertible seat, you will need to remove your baby from the seat in order to transfer them.
Secondly, you need to be aware that infant seats can generally only be used until your baby is about 30-35 lbs in weight or 30-32 inches in height (each model has its own specific restrictions), whereas some convertible car seats can be used all the way from birth to 65 lbs or so. As seat like the Diono Radian RXT, for example, can be used from birth all the way until your child no longer needs a car seat.
On other factor to consider is whether or not you need to be able to transport your baby in multiple different vehicles on a regular basis. With a convertible car seat, you with either have to buy more than one (expensive!) or spend a lot of time re-installing them. With an infant seat, you can simply buy an extra base for each additional vehicle rather than needing an extra seat (cheaper).
Provided your baby isn’t premature or under 5 lbs in weight, it really comes down to your own personal choice and preferences, which will largely be based upon your lifestyle needs and finances.
I hope that this helps, but please let me know if you have any further questions or want to provide a little more information about your baby’s weight and height, or your personal circumstances.
Hi! Thanks for the great reviews / comparisons. Our LO has been at 95th percentile height, and 60th weight. We need to switch out of her infant carrier. We were looking at Maxi Cosi Pria 85 Max because she’s so comfy and always falls asleep in her Maxi Cosi infant carrier. But I am concerned about the Pria’s height limit of 40 rear and 52 forward face.
In addition to safety and comfort, would be even more functional if car seat did not take up so much space front to back especially. I will be buying a new car soon and ironically I don’t feel as safe handling / driving in a really big car / suv. I would also like to go electric if possible.
The Diono seats do not look like they are as comfy / cradle / fit the same as other seats, for a baby transitioning out of an infant carrier.
So if I may ask, with one baby and these concerns, which of these seats you reviewed would you pick for yourself, Clek Fllo, Diono, Evenflo, or even back to our Maxi Cosi Pria 85 Max? Price is not too much of a concern.
Thanks in advance for your time. Looking for her next seat has been slightly overwhelming. (Was easier to research and buy her infant carrier because she was still in my tummy. Haha. Had more time.)
Ann,
This is a very difficult question to answer because each of those seats has its pros and cons when it comes to accommodating children who are taller and/or heavier than average.
It would seem that height is the main consideration for your child since they are on the 95th centile.
The Pria 85 Max has the highest forwards-facing limit of 52 inches, as compared to the 49 inches on the Clek Fllo and Graco Extend-2-Fit. However, the rear-facing height limit on the Fllo (43 inches) is better than the Pria 85 Max (40 inches). It is more difficult to judge the maximum rear-facing height limit on the Extend-2-Fit because it is said to be 49 inches provided that your child’s head is at least 1 inch below the adjuster handle when fully extended.
The Diono Radian RXT is a pretty popular option and the height limits are (44 inches RF, 57 inches FF).
If money is not an issue, I would probably go for the Clek Fllo and then transition to a harness-to-booster seat like the Britax Pinnacle or Pioneer when the height limits for the Fllo are outgrown.
This is just what I would choose based upon the limited information that can be conveyed over the internet. All of the seats that you have mentioned would be fine for different reasons.
Correction to my comment.
Evenflo TO Graco Extend2Fit.
I also wrote Clek Fllo because it’s a lot lighter than the Foonf. Thanks.
The Graco Extend2Fit Seats is good for my son as he is tall. Thank you for sharing this post! It helps me a lot in deciding what kind of car seat I would buy.
I am delighted to hear that my review helped you to choose a great car seat for your son.
Receiving positive feedback like this makes the effort involved in writing these reviews worth while.
Best Wishes.