*I was provided with an Evenflo Symphony DLX car seat. All opinions are my own.

Kelsie turned seven months old this week, and although she’s petite for her age at about 15lbs, her infant car seat that she had used from birth was really bulky and heavy. I went to the mall with her and her mom when she was about six weeks old and I couldn’t believe how heavy her car seat was even without her in it. If it had been me carrying the seat regularly, I would have been looking for a new one early on. My sister was more patient than me, and used the seat for about six months but she was ready to swap to something more practical. We were recently able to test out the Evenflo Symphony DLX all-in-one car seat and have really enjoyed it.

The Symphony DLX all-in-1 can be used from birth (5lbs and 19 inches) up to 110lbs and 57 inches, making it truly an all in one car seat.

It can be used rear-facing from 5 to 40lbs and 19 to 37 inches. Kelsie’s brother Drew is 3 years and 1 month old and only 33lbs so for his weight, he could ride in this car seat rear-facing for quite a while yet but he’s 38 inches which is an inch too tall, but for most kids they will definitely be able to rear-face the recommended 2 years without an issue and many will be able to continue rear-facing even longer than that.

Once children outgrow rear-facing, it can be used forward facing with a harness for 22-65lbs and 28-50inches. Again, the generous weight and height limits mean that children will be able to stay in harness mode much longer than in many other car seats.

Once your child outgrows the harness, the harness can be removed and the seat can be used as a high back booster. My 10 year old sister is petite for her age, but she still fits into this in booster mode.

Once I saw the car seat in person, I thought she would look so tiny in it but once I added the body & head pillow she didn’t look nearly as out of place as I thought. The seat has three recline positions and we put it in the third position (most reclined) so that we could use it with Kelsie rear-facing. She doesn’t sit up on her own yet and the seat reclines enough that she’s comfortable and not straining (like she does if shes too upright) but the seat still takes up a surprisingly small amount of space between the back and front seats. My sister has a medium sized four door and the infant seat was really long (it was designed to accommodate longer rear-facing) but it was too long to fit in the backseat unless the front seat was as far forward as possible, and then it was really uncomfortable for the driver or passenger because their knees were in the dash. The Symphony DLX is short enough that it allows the front seat to come back quite a ways, and gives spaces to put groceries, a diaper bag, etc in between the child seat and the front seat without having to wrestle it into place.

The SureLATCH connectors are absolutely awesome – they just snap onto the latch anchors in a vehicle so quickly and easily. I’ve never seen a latch system that was so simple, and once in place they keep the car seat so much more secure in my sister’s car, I could barely shake the car seat at all even when giving it all my might. Yet, unhooking the SureLATCH connectors just requires the push of the button on each connector. You’ll want to refer to the instruction manual or a car seat specialist when deciding whether it’s best to use the LATCH system or seat belt, but if you use your car seat belt, the car seat pad lifts out of place in the bottom of the pad (Where baby’s bottom and legs go) so that you can easily pull the car seat belt in place. Then once it’s through, it just velcro’s back on.

My favorite feature of the Evenflo Symphony DLX is the infinite slide harness. See those red sections at the top of the straps? You simply grab them and pull up or down and when you stop moving, the straps stay in place. So instead of there being 2-5 harness height options like most car seats, you can customize it to your child. Seems how it adjusts right from the front, it literally only takes a second or two to adjust the height from newborn to big kid.

The headrest height also adjusts really easily, by squeezing and pulling the red plastic handle at the top of the seat and pulling or pushing up or down. I can adjust it with one hand! It does take a strong squeeze and makes a clear lock into place, so while its easy to adjust it stays in place as it should.

The left is the shortest harness and headrest heights (with a towel in the seat so you can see the straps), the right is the highest harness and headrest heights.

There are three recline positions, which are adjusted with a red lever at the lower front of the seat which is again just a squeeze and push or pull and can be done with a single hand. All three of these quick and easy adjustments make this seat a great choice for parents who are looking for a seat to use with multiple children. It could also be a great option for grandparents or daycare owners who need to be able to quickly and easily adjust the seat for different heights, weights and sizes of children.

I’ve heard parents make comments like “I need to adjust his/her harness, but I haven’t found the time to take the cover off yet.” The cover can stay on, and the seat can be adjusted so easily that it could almost be considered a safety feature seems how there’s no excuse to delay adjusting the seat to perfectly fit your child. If you want to remove the cover to wash it, you don’t have to remove the straps at all, making washing the cover a lot easier as well.

I absolutely love how convenient all of the features of this seat are – but of course, the most important part of any car seat is how safe it is. The Evenflo Symphony DLX was the #1 rated car seat by a leading consumer magazine! Plus, The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety put it into the “best bet” for providing a good lap and shoulder belt fit for 4 to 8 year olds in almost any car, minivan or SUV.

This seat sells for$200 on Amazon. While it may cost more than some car seats, its important to keep in mind that it’s truly three car seats in one. Compared to other 3-in-1 car seats with high height and weight limits, plus the convenience features, it’s truly a great value.

You can connect with Evenflo on Facebook, Twitter and their Blog.

You can purchase the Evenflo Symphony DLX on Amazon, at Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Target.com, Walmart.com and more.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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