Looks good, but isn't easy to use
I struggled with this thing for the 11 months! First and foremost, it is important to note that this seat is great aesthetically. We got SO many complements on it. Plus I've never seen another one around. Its rarity has made it a bit of a novelty. Ours is a vibrant blue and black. (But from what I can tell it isn't being manufactured in that color scheme anymore). The seat feel like it is well constructed and solid, but my frustration comes from it's functionality. For starters, taking the seat on and off of the base has been MISERABLE! It usually takes several tries (and brute strength) to get the thing on, or off. Because of this, I never really used it as an infant carrier. It was just too much of a struggle! However, there has been a recall on the base because of this and I expect to have a new one soon. We'll see... Also the bottom (crotch) portion of the 5 point harness is hard to use. You have to hold both sides together, and then snap them into the buckle simultaneously. They are forever slipping apart, making it a challenge especially with squirming kid. Also, it has a tendency to catch the babies' clothing. When this happens it won't snap. You have to pull the two (slippery) pieces together, push the babies' clothes out of the way, AND hold on to the buckle, all at the same time. It can be a challenge even when there is another adult there to help! We have it in a VW Jetta, and while it fits in the back seat there isn't any room to spare. Also the passenger in the front sear has to forward in order to accommodate the baby seat in the (middle) of the back seat. Also, the few times we did carry it around as a carrier the sunshade fell down bellow the seat and ended up dragging along the ground. The only solutions were to remove it and carry it around with us separately, or to hold it up in your hand that is holding the handle (very awkward).
LooeyBee
Santa Cruz, CA