As a parent, you want to buy the right things for your kids – especially when it comes to safety. Infant car seats are a must-have, and nowhere is safety more important than in a vehicle. If you are searching for an infant car seat that will exceed your expectations, you need to check out Chicco Keyfit 30, manufactured by Chicco.
The Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat is an excellent premier infant carrier for safety that is proven and exceeds federal safety standards. Easy to install, proven crash test results, affordability, and value for money make it a good choice for the family.
Chicco Keyfit 30 Review: Quick Facts
Installation Type: LATCH
Material: Iron
Product Dimensions: 27.5 x 17 x 24 inches; 16.6 Pounds
Maximum height recommendation: 30 Inches
Rear-facing maximum child weight: 30 Pounds
Rear-facing minimum child weight: 4 Pounds
Harness type: Five-point harness
Pros
- Proven crash test results
- Value for money
- Easy LATCH installation
- Carries a 4-30 pound baby
- Comfortable padding with an infant insert
- Works well with various travel system strollers
- One pull tightening and releasing harness (SuperCinch LATCH)
- Storage compartments to prevent straps from interfering with a secure connection between carrier and base
- Removable newborn head soft cushion
- ReclineSure leveling foot
- FAA approved for plane use
- The warranty expiration date is 6 years from the date of manufacture
- Easy to attach and detach
Cons
- Heavier than other infant car seats
- Canopy is small
- Padding is not breathable
Features of the Chicco Keyfit 30
Weight and Height Limits
The Keyfit 30 is a 9.5 lbs seat without the base; it is not the heaviest compared to some other infant car seats that weigh up to almost 12 lbs. The height restriction for Keyfit 30 is 30 inches with a weight limit of 4 to 30 lbs.
Convenience Features
Ease of Installation and Use
Some parents find it hard to install a car seat because of unclear instructions and a lack of advanced features. Fortunately, the Chicco Keyfit 30 is super easy to install and use, plus it comes with a user-friendly manual.
Chicco Keyfit 30’s LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for children) system makes it easy for you to install it accurately and securely in your vehicle. It has two ride-right bubble level indicators to help you verify the right angle of the infant car seat.
It is essential to position the infant car seat at the right angle because babies may find it difficult to breathe in a sitting position. It also helps to keep your baby’s head from falling forward.
A base setup also makes it easier to install it in your vehicle. The carrier will click if it is appropriately connected, giving extra comfort and ensuring the safety of the Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat installation. A ReclineSure leveling foot is also one of the best features of the Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat. You can adjust the car seat position at a more suitable angle for your baby.
It has a comfortable, well-designed handle, making it easy to pick up or put down, with three different possible positions. The handle is operated by pushing the two levers on each side and rotating the handle to your desired position.
Comfort and Quality
If you want quality and comfort, Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat is excellent. It is made of durable material, with a thick padded seat and a soft head cushion to make your baby comfortable. The fabric covering is coarse, making it a bit unfriendly for the baby’s skin, but it has a soft infant insert so your baby will be more comfortable.
It is also one of the highly recommended car seats for premature infants by ICU nurses because it offers plenty of safety features.
Maintenance
The cover’s fabric and the head cushion are removable and machine washable. However, the harness cover has Velcro, so it must be washed and dried manually.
Safety Features
Using Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat’s five-point harness safety feature, you can securely strap your baby using the shoulders straps. The five-point harness is highly recommended for your baby’s better protection; you can easily tighten or loosen it with a single-button chest clip. The Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat also has a front-facing crotch strap belt.
The Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat has energy-absorbing foam for side impact protection (SIP). The federal crash test results also prove that you can be at ease while your baby is sitting in the back seat of your vehicle.
If your baby grows taller and you needed to change the height of the harness to make sure your baby fits in the car seat, there’s a built-in five-point harness strap at the back of the seat so you can adjust your baby’s position.
The Chicco brand meets all government safety regulations.
Design Features
Car Seat Base
Chicco Keyfit 30 has the best base for the easy installation of an infant car seat. However, Chicco Keyfit 30 Car Seat is challenging to install without its base. In addition, you can only use the American belt path for proper installation without the base as it lacks the European belt path system.
The Chicco Keyfit 30 base is well-designed with RideRight level indicators. A bubble level indicator is located on each side of the base to indicate the appropriate angle for correct installation. The Keyfit 30 base also has a SuperCinch LATCH tightening for easy and secure tightening of the LATCH belt.
The Canopy
Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat features a moderate-size canopy. The canopy provides enough shade for extra sun protection for your baby’s head while on a stroller or at the backseat of your vehicle. However, many parents wish that the canopy was a bit longer to cover their babies’ legs.
About the Manufacturer
The largest baby-centric brand makes Chicco Keyfit 30 in Europe. Enrico Catelli, Chicco’s founder, wants what’s best for parents and babies. His products are all proven, tested, and well known in more than 120 countries across the globe.
Products
Since its foundation in 1958, Chicco produces a wide variety of baby products. They include strollers, car seats, travel systems, playards and bassinets, highchairs and boosters, walkers & baby carriers, feeding, soothing, and other products.
Awards
Chicco’s products have won various awards, including the Best Bassinet, What to Expect Editors’ Choice Award 2019, BabyCenter’s Love It Awards Best Travel System 2021, and BabyCenter’s Love It Awards Best Infant Car Seat 2021.
Keyfit30 Car Seat Stroller Compatibility
If you don’t want to wake your baby up as they sleep in the car, Chicco Keyfit 30 is a recommended infant car seat that clicks together into the stay-in-car base and a stroller. Keyfit 30 has click-and-go adapters that can help you detach it from the car seat base effortlessly and transfer your baby to a stroller without interrupting their sleep.
The Keyfit 30 car seat works perfectly with a Baby Jogger City Mini GT stroller. The Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat is so versatile that it can fit with various brands of strollers to form a travel system. Such strollers include the Bravo, Cortina Magic, Urban, and TRE. The City Mini stroller works well with the Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat even though it’s a bit heavy with 16.8 lbs. It is perfect for parents who love to walk around with their babies. This travel system can be folded with one hand, is very handy, is easily stored in a closet, and is more affordable than many other similar strollers.
Other full-size stroller brands that are compatible with Chicco Keyfit 30 car seats are:
- BOB Gear (Britax)
- Donkey 3
- Fox 2
- Caboose S
- Qool
- Twin Roo+ Car Seat Stroller Frame
- Mocking Bird
There are other strollers compatible with the Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat, but the ones listed above are the most popular. Most require adapters that are sold separately.
Price
Although most car seats are good and have the essential features that a parent will look for when buying a car seat, they range in price due to the quality of materials used, bonus accessories, and additional safety features.
Chicco Keyfit30 is an affordable car seat that exceeded the federal crash tests requirements, priced at around the low bracket; with many other options run upwards. Chicco Keyfit 30 has comfort, safety, and durability – it’s a solid purchase.
Why choose a separate infant car seat?
You are wondering what convenience there is in purchasing a separate infant car seat. All infant car seats are designed specifically for infants that need extra support with their tiny bodies. Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat is devised to give extra care and protection for the neck, head, and back of your baby.
With all other car seat products out there, Chicco Keyfit 30 is one of the best infant car seats you can get for your baby. You can switch from forward to rear-facing until the child is about 40 pounds with a height of 30 inches or less. It’s a very versatile car seat that can carry a child from infant up to 2 years old baby.
Newborns weighing 20 pounds are believed to be safe with a rear-facing infant car seat. Newborn babies are so tiny, and they won’t fit perfectly with the car infant seat’s long straps and harness. Thus, you can use an infant insert for your baby to fit in perfectly.
Product Comparison: Chicco Keyfit 30 vs. Britax B-Safe
Our Chicco Keyfit 30 review would not be complete without looking at how it compares to its leading competitor!
Crash Tests Ratings
The Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat has similar crash rating tests as Britax B-Safe. Keyfit 30 car seats have a 30 lbs weight limit while Britax B-Safe is 35lbs. The height limit for B- Safe is 32 inches while KeyFit 30 is 30 inches, and both have the same restriction for the baby’s head which is 1 inch from the top of the shell. It is always best to check weight and height limits.
Installation
Both infant car seat brands have click-and-go systems (adapters); both are easy to install with a car seat base and are compatible with various stroller brands to form travel systems. Both have a reclinable car seat base and bubble leveling features.
Straps
The Britax B-Safe straps can be a bit twisty because they are slippery and thinner than the Keyfit 30. Thinner straps can lead to webbing, which can be hard to untangle. The Chicco Keyfit 30 straps are thicker, don’t get easily twisted in the buckles, and are adjustable.
Safety
The Keyfit 30 is advanced in safety features; it has added Side Impact Protection to provide more protection for your baby’s head. Both car seat brands have the same crash rating test results, but Keyfit 30 has the edge in pricing. Budget-wise, Chicco Keyfit 30 is more affordable with a budget-friendly price range compared to Britax B-Safe.
Color
The Keyfit 30 has a lighter color on the head and feet area, while B-Safe is darker. A lighter-colored car seat is more appealing and easier to notice any unwanted bugs that may attach to it. Darker colors can hide specks of dirt, and it is not safe for your baby to sit on a dusty and dirty car seat. Your baby’s skin is highly sensitive, so you should regularly check your car seat and keep it clean.
Bottom Line
If you are searching for a simple, easy to install, comfortable, baby-safe, and stroller-compatible infant car seat, Chicco Keyfit 30 is your perfect choice, as it’s an all-in-one. You won’t go wrong in choosing this convertible car seat. With its incredible and sophisticated features, you can see why Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat is America’s #1 rated car seat.
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