I had two Britax seats in the main car, but needed some seats for the car in the extra car which my two girls ride occasionally (about once or twice a month). I didn't want to have them out of a 5 point harness, but I didn't want to buy new carseats that they (esp. my older daughter) would grow out of quickly. I researched all the car seats and this one got good ratings in that it went up to 65 pounds for the 5 point harness. After the child grows out of the 5 point harness, you can remove the straps and use the seat as a high-backed booster. My older daughter outgrew it by weight quickly, as I knew she would, so I took out the straps and she used it as a booster while my younger daughter (about 2.5 years younger), used it with the straps. When my mom came to visit, and the school schedules changed so that we had just one girl in this car at a time, we took out one of the seats and just used the one as both a booster and a 5 point harness. One problem we had is that my husband often got confused as to how to use the seats. I caught him a couple of times strapping our younger daughter into the 5 point harness when the seat was unfastened and *should* have been used as a booster. AAAAAhHHH! Another problem was that my older daughter quickly outgrew the seat by height--it's quite a short booster compared to others out there. We finally just started using the Graco highbacked booster for her (she's nine now; I think we bought it for her two years ago) and kept this one as a booster for the younger one (she is six and quite small for her age). However, a friend just told me that a backless booster was safer than a high-backed one. I'm going to do some research on that issue right now.

mum22girls

Portland, OR

I love this carseat! I bought 2 of them, one for my 2 year old and one for my tiny 4 1/2 year old! They both love them and so do I! I love that my 4 year old will be harnessed til she is 65 pounds and then we will use it as a booster! It is the only carseat we will ever need! Super easy to clean and love the style and materials!

nicole31779

Chicopee, MA

We have a 4 year old girl and we were in need of a new carseat. Our daughter is on the small side, so even though many children her age are moving into booster seats or belt positioning boosters, we were not comfortable giving up the safety of a 5 pt harness yet. She weighs 36 lbs and is 39 inches tall. I researched car seats for a couple of months before deciding on the Apex 65. In my research, there were only 2 car seats that I found with 5 pt harness systems that were able to be used beyond 40 lbs. This one and a Britax. Britax is completely out of our budget range and was not even an option. While this car seat isn't "cheap", overall it is a value since the 5 pt can be used to 65 lbs and then the harness can be removed and the seat used as a belt positioning booster to 100 lbs. So this should be the last car seat we ever have to buy. The seat is very wide and comfortable for our daughter. She loves it. It was very easy to install using the LATCH system in our vehicle and very easy to make sure it is a very tight fit. I've read a couple of complaints by people saying that the crotch strap isn't long enough. IMO they are not positioning the crotch strap in the right position for their child. The crotch strap has 3 individual slots. If you have the strap in the appropriate slot for your child, there should be absolutely no problem whatsoever with it not being long enough. I'm not a fan of Cosco baby items. I have 3 children and when my first was born 14 years ago, Cosco had a horrible history of recalls and some serious injuries with many of their items. (And in the more recent past, their track record hasn't been much better IMO) It took me a while to find enough reviews (including Consumer Reports) to make me let go of that Cosco image for this one item. I have not found one bad review or instance of a safety concern with the carseat. We love it.

hoosiermomof3

Warren, IN

I bought this carseat for my son when he outgrew his 40lb convertible carseat, and the other reviews I read were mixed, the main reason was because the head rest on the seat needs to be reinforced by a car-seat back, and the reviews i read thought this deemed the seat unsafe, but nonetheless, I bought the seat and was quite pleased  with it. While the seat head back is a little less unstable, I find the overall fit of the seat for my son to be nice, it has fit well in all the vehicles i have used it in, unlike the graco nautilus, which I have not been able to use in about half of the cars/vans/suvs I have tried to install it in. My 4 1/2 year old is still harnessed at 48 inches and 53 lbs, and I plan to keep him so until he his 5 thanks to the extended weight and height limits on this seat. I have also found no problems with the crotch strap, which I also read could be a problem with this seat, but find the graco nautilus to have a shorter crotch strap. If you have adjustable seat backs in your car that can accomodate this seat, I would definitely buy it over the graco nautilus.

devimama06

Olathe, KS

We bought one of these car seats at babies r us open box discount. because it was the same price basically as the other ones. The feature that sold me was the 5 point harness for children beyond the typical 40 lbs! So when we had to upgrade another child to a car seat beyond the typical 40 lb car seat - I went on the search to find the best possible price! We ended up getting a sweet deal online and the car seat shipped quickly and was awesome! My kids LOVE it and actually fight over who gets to sit there! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that my kids can grow with this car seat! We have 5 kids in a 7 passenger van - which means 2 adults in the front, 3 car seats line the back row and one in one captain chair and the other child is 10. In Michigan kids have to be in car seats until 8 yrs old or 80 lbs so this is a life saver b/c when you have that many kids in a row with that many car seats, the last thing you want to do is dig for a shoulder or lap belt to buckle them everytime! This was an awesome deal at a 5 point harness, and similar to the nautilus which also offered similar size but it was MUCH more affordable! My best friend has the nautilus and side by side, there really is no big difference! I LOVE the side areas around the head as when we take long trips my kids are able to rest easily.  My 4 and 5 yr old use these car seats and they fit in them easily. They are around 40 lbs now and my 4 yr old is the size in height of a 6 yr old and she is very comfortable! LOVE these car seats!

MelissaErtleBarney

Warren, MI

The Safety First Apex car seat is a great way to keep your child in a 5 point harness longer than most car seats, up to 65 pounds and that is the safest way to keep them. This car seat is attractive and while not the easiest to wash, I don't know a car seat that has an easily removed cover. I think it feels cushy and that it would be comfortable to use. My older son thought it was really nice until he got to be an age where he felt it was too babyish, ya know - second grade. Now at 9 years old he still can fit in it and is within the weight/ height limits, I just set it aside until I move my toddler to this seat. I only wish The Safety First Apex could be a rear-facing car seat, it would expand it's market to those moms that rear face their kids until High School (just kidding, I know it is safest way way to place you child) .My toddler isn't riding in in our Apex yet because of being only forward facing seat and I'm not quite ready to face him forward. But if I am before our Apex is 7 years old, my youngest will use it, no other way about it.

KyKosMommy

Fayetteville, NC

This is an excellent seat for keeping kids safer and harnessing them past the "normal" 40lbs that most carseats offer - but lower in price than other high end seats that harness higher. The padding on it is great!  the harness has nice shoulder pads that keep the belt from rubbing on the kids' shoulders.  The seat came with cup holders - but opted to not put them on - I am not a fan of snap on cup holders and would have prefer ones that flip out or down.  Not a deal breaker though my any means. It is a nice wide seat - and my kids have both said it is very comfortable.  I have suggested it to several friends. Both of my kids have ridden in this seat.  My son from the time he was 4 untill 5 1/2  -- and my daughter from 3 1/2 to present time (she is almost 5)  She will continue to ride in this until she is ready to go into a booster full time -- maybe at age 6 -- probably age 7.  At that time I will give to my niece to use until it expires!  

Kaceylynn

Nashwauk, MN

I love this car seat!  I bought it a couple of years ago for my then 5 year old when he grew past the 40lb weight limit on his car seat and he's still using it now.   I have a fear of Booster seats that are not strapped into the car.  I don't know why, they just don't feel safe to me!  This seat is strapped into the car using the latch system at the base and with the top tether.  My son now uses the car seatbelt to strap himself in, but it feels sooooooo safe! I will be buying a second one for my youngest in the next couple of months.

petstafford

Deltona, FL

when it came time to graduate my son from the 5 piont harness to a big boy car seat I knew there would be many to choose from. I shopped around for the best, good quality booster that I could find. I have always liked the Safety 1st line of furnisherings for children so I looked mostly at that brand, I know that I can trust this company for the safety of my child. The booster I decieded to buy was not expensive and even more wonderful it was not heavy at all. The first time I used it it was very simple and the belt stayed where it should be, I even noticed it came with a cup holder which I thought was great, when not using the cup holder it just snaps back in place. My 4 year old really likes the booster seat he can climb in on his own and can even see out the window with out streaching. He is so comfortable in his new Safety 1st booster that he has even fell asleep during a drive to the store.If I ever need to buy another car seat or a booster I will again trust the Safety 1st line of baby products.

stewart1024

Port Richey, FL