Thank you to Britax for providing me with product in exchange for review. All opinions are my own.
Car seats are a big deal. The amount of accidents in cars alone is quite staggering so why not go the extra mile to make sure your little one is protected by the best! car seats all pass the same testing but what can make a car seat safer? Ease of use. The easier a car seat is to use the more likely it will be used and installed correctly which equals safer.
In previous years my children have all been started with an infant seat and then moved to a convertible once they outgrew the infant seat. I noticed last baby I didn’t really need the infant seat as I mostly put her in a carrier anyways and avoided the need to lug around the infant seat. It would seem every time that I brought her inside somewhere still in the infant seat I was left carrying or wearing a baby while also carrying the car seat. So this time we decided to skip the infant seat all together and just go with the convertible from the start!
We went with the Emblem Convertible Car Seat in color Pulse from Britax’s new Essentials line. There are so many features so love about this car seat. One that is not so safety related but convenience related is the awesome velcro patches on the straps a s well as the side of the seat so that you can move the straps out of the way and keep them there while getting ready to set baby in! My husband is a huge fan of this feature as well as that always drove him nuts with our last seats.
When it comes to ease of use, having stickers that are located on the actual seat for reference is so helpful for quick install and tips. I love that the stickers on the Emblem seat are color coded, easy to find, and easy to read. The bright green stickers are for forward facing installation and the dark blue are for rear facing installation.
Having clear easy to read instructions on the seat is so important because the more accessible and easy the information the more often that information is used by the person installing the seat.
The back of the seat is incredibly organized with a compartment for each strap when it isn’t being used and labels to understand what each strap or piece is for.
The seat needs to be reclined for rear facing use, having an clearly labeled handle for that makes it easy to adjust if need be without fully uninstalling the seat or detaching parts, like some other models.
One of the cooler features of this seat is the quick adjustable strap height. In most other seats you need to unthread the straps of the seat have child sit on the seat to see which slot best fits and then rethread the straps through the correct fitting slots. With the Britax Essentials Emblem seat there is a red handle under the word Emblem at the top of the seat that you pinch and slide up or down, moving the entire head piece as well as the strap height. While adjusting this does take a bit of strength to do, it saves so much time.
Below is picture of the back of that same part of the seat but so that you can see just how many height options there are within the seats range.
Getting more slack for the straps of the seat is pretty simple as you just need to lift a metal level within this pocket pictured below.
Tightening the straps for the seat is equally as easy by pulling the strap pictured below until the straps are snug to baby.
The manual is color coded as well to coordinate well with the stickers on the seat and ensure again that the installer is doing everything that they should be depending on how they are using the seat. I also really appreciated that Britax shows the amount of over hang allowed for this specific seat as some other seat brands do have these restriction but they aren’t listed within the manual.
In the end we decided that this seat would be in the center riding seat between my other two childrens Diono car seats that are now all forward facing. The fit is perfect, we were able to get the tightest install with the Britax Emblem in this location by using the Lower LATCH anchors instead of the safety belt so we went with that. However had we gotten a tighter install with using the safety belt Britax features some pretty neat belt lock off pieces pictured below to ensure a tight and secure fit!
Since we don’t yet have our little one to try the seat out in yet we adjusted it in the house for my 4 year old daughter. She had plenty of room at the recline for rear facing and loved the feel of the seat.
I cant wait to put our newest bundle of joy in the seat and see how they do! Check out Britax’s new Essentials line to find the perfect seat for your little one! With bright colors to more muted tones you’re sure to find something you love!
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I am a stay at home mother of two, who loves to create in every form, from cooking, to henna, to painting or sculpting, creating with my hands is my passion! I love to dance and let loose when the music flows right. Being outside is a special kind of therapy I think humans need more of as well as mindfulness! I love all things new and adventurous and am always looking to experience more of life 🙂
This post currently has 14 responses.
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Maryann D.
The Britax’s New Emblem Convertible Car Seat does look comfortable and perfect. I really would have liked this one for my children.
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Lana Simanovicki
This the first time seeing one of these fancy car seats
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Katie Bellamy
I totally recommend a Britax! Best car seats!
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Shakeia Rieux
I like the features the Britax’s New Emblem Convertible Car Seat has. This would be a great gift for my cousin, and my friends sister they’re both currently expecting
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I like the features the Britax’s New Emblem Convertible Car Seat has. This would be a great gift for my cousin, and my friends sister they’re both currently expecting
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I like the features the Britax’s New Emblem Convertible Car Seat has. This would be a great gift for my cousin, and my friends sister they’re both currently expecting
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Peggy Nunn
This is such a nice seat. They keep making great improvements each year. Thank you for the review.
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Lauryn R
This definitely sounds like the perfect car seat! I love all of the safety features and how it can be used both backwards and forward facing. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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Sarah L
Car seat construction has come so far in 40 years. They weren’t even mandatory 40 years ago.
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Barrie
Britax was all I used when my baby, now 19, needed a car seat. I felt they were the best on the market and it still looks like they are!
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Britax was all I used when my baby, now 19, needed a car seat. I felt they were the best on the market and it still looks like they are!
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Britax was all I used when my baby, now 19, needed a car seat. I felt they were the best on the market and it still looks like they are!
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ellen beck
It is amazing hw comfortable car seats look now. Britax really steps up their game to ensure kids are as safe as possible. Great looking seat and very affordable too.
I will only buy Britax car seats. They are the best. I love the velcro on the sides of the seats for the straps. It is genius.