# Thoughts on Safety First Alpha Omega Elite



## RiverSky (Jun 26, 2005)

We have a 2004 Honda Odyssey and because it was such a great deal, we purchased a Safety First Alpha Omega Elite convertible car seat at Costco last week. We haven't installed it yet and we are 38 weeks pregnant. We are in Florida.

link

What do you think? Is this a good fit for our vehicle and for a newborn baby? My first two children were both 8 lbs 10 1/2 ounces at birth, so I assume this baby will not be that tiny at birth.

Costco has a good return policy and we could always change our mind, but if it's not necessary, and this is a good well-fitting seat in our vehicle, I think we'll stick with it.

Thanks for any input you have!

p.s. I plan on making an appointment with a car seat safety inspector this week to make sure it is installed correctly and safely but would prefer to get some input here first.


----------



## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Return the seat. It's not actually a great deal.

It won't fit newborns. It has the highest bottom slots of any convertible currently on the market (harness must be BELOW baby's shoulders rear-facing, so you want LOW bottom slots for newborns).

It won't fit preschoolers. The top harness setting is for booster mode only, so the top useable strap setting is very low (harness must be ABOVE child's shoulders forward-facing, so you want HIGH top slots for older kids). Many average-size kids outgrow it around age three.

It's no good for big kids. It makes a terrible, horrible, no-good booster. I've never seen it fit any kid well.

So for $90, you have a seat that fits from about age 6mo-36mo. It's not a great buy for 30 months of use, when for about $50 more you can get a seat that lasts from birth through booster age (Evenflo Triumph, Learning Curve TrueFit, maybe Graco MyRide).


----------



## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

I'd return it. If you don't, you'll need an infant seat to fit the baby properly until they grow into this seat, then you'll need a FF harnessed seat to get the kid to a good booster age, and a booster seat because that seat doesn't make a decent booster. It works fine for kids who fit it, but the "only seat you'll ever need" claim is false advertising.

The best value would be to look for a seat to get you from birth-booster age then plan to buy a separate booster. Or get a seat that will work well RF from birth, then get something like a Nautilus (FF harness -> booster). The seats that claim to do all three (RF, FF, booster) seem to not do any of them well.

We have a TrueFit and love it (It will last most kids from birth to booster age). The Radian is nice too (higher RF limits, though pricier). The downside is that neither of those tend to be available in mainstream stores so you'll need to find a specialty store or order online. If your kids tend not to be terribly tall, or if you have an infant seat to get through the first few months, or if you don't mind getting a harnessed seat down the road, there are several other choices also.


----------



## mamandedeux (Jan 15, 2010)

Agreed that it's not great for newborns, but we used it with DS1 RF until he was 35 lbs (at 3.5) and we now use it for him FF. He fits it great. I'll wait to try out the booster option though (he's 4 and just about 40 lbs, so we need to find him ANOTHER car seat with harnesses). DS2 is 22 lbs and about to turn 1. I tried him in it RF to see if we should put him in now, but he doesn't seem as comfortable. I think safety-wise, it's ok (but admitedly, I don't know as much as many of the pps).


----------



## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

As a rule, the AOE makes a terribly unsafe booster. The Graco Turbobooster is only $70 in Canada, and less than that in the US, and fits almost all children well.

The AOE is not unsafe, as long as it is used correctly. However, it's not generally worth the money they charge for it, as you will need to buy 3 additional seats for the average child before they are done with seats.


----------



## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

My DD1 was a 7 1/2 pound baby, and did not fit in our alpha omega until she was more than a month old-- and she was on the long side. And then she outgrew the harness at only 3 1/2 years old, which is way too young for a booster. I got my Alpha Omega for free, from a promotional program, so I didn't consider it a loss that I had to buy an infant seat, and the second harnessed seat came in handy once I had my second child. But if I'd paid money for it, I would have felt ripped off, because of all those claims that it would be the only seat a child would ever need.

It doesn't make a safe booster, because it doesn't position the lap belt correctly for most children-- on my DD1, the belt rode high on the middle of her belly, and that's not safe.


----------



## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

I have one...it's crap.

It's a pain to install and just not a good seat.


----------



## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamandedeux* 
Agreed that it's not great for newborns, but we used it with DS1 RF until he was 35 lbs (at 3.5) and we now use it for him FF. He fits it great. I'll wait to try out the booster option though (he's 4 and just about 40 lbs, so we need to find him ANOTHER car seat with harnesses). DS2 is 22 lbs and about to turn 1. I tried him in it RF to see if we should put him in now, but he doesn't seem as comfortable. I think safety-wise, it's ok (but admitedly, I don't know as much as many of the pps).

If you have the seat that goes to 50#, it's actually a somewhat different seat from the seat in the OP.

If you have a seat that goes to 40# and your child is 40#, he can't ride in the harness again, not even once (even assuming he hasn't outgrown it by height, which seems unlikely).


----------



## shanniesue2 (Jul 4, 2007)

Here's how I feel about our AOEuke

I was NEVER able to get it installed well... DH could, but I couldn't

The straps were constantly twisting and bunching

add that to being PO'ed about the false claims "the only car seat you'll ever need"

We had to buy a bucket seat b/c we couldn't get the AOE to fit in our car without having our knees in our armpits. Plus, there is no way DS would have fit safely when he was a newborn. The lowest strap setting is too high

It RFs to 35, which is decent... but b/c of the way you have to have the straps set, many kids have outgrown it for FF by the time they outgrow it for RF... and it makes an awful booster.

So yeah, I hate that seat!


----------



## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamandedeux* 
Agreed that it's not great for newborns, but we used it with DS1 RF until he was 35 lbs (at 3.5) and we now use it for him FF. He fits it great. I'll wait to try out the booster option though (he's 4 and just about 40 lbs, so we need to find him ANOTHER car seat with harnesses). DS2 is 22 lbs and about to turn 1. I tried him in it RF to see if we should put him in now, but he doesn't seem as comfortable. I think safety-wise, it's ok (but admitedly, I don't know as much as many of the pps).

I hate to say it, but there is a good chance a normal-height 3 year old has outgrown it by height. The topmost headrest setting cannot be used with the harness--the highest setting you can use with the harness is the second-from-top. That's right about 14" which is outgrown by height VERY early. My kid had outgrown the harness by 2, at about 25 pounds


----------



## SilverFish (Jan 14, 2010)

i bought it in canada. i don't hate it, i have to say. not yet anyway. dd was only a month or two old when we first put her in it (we were using a borrowed infant seat prior) and it honestly fit her quite well, straps below the shoulders, looked comfortable. we didn't even own a car at that point so we didn't really want to pay a lot for something we weren't going to be using often, and we'll get use out of it with a second child anyway. i don't know how quickly she'll outgrow it, but she's quite light and not very tall, so we should get a decent amount of use out of it.

don't know if i'd buy it again, but really, there isn't a whole lot of choice in canada.


----------



## KaliShanti (Mar 23, 2008)

I'd highly recommend another seat, like the Evenflo triumph advance rear-faces to 40 pounds and just great for newborns! or grace my ride or truefit. we used the triumph for my son and we love it! he is 3.5 and still in it.


----------



## leighi123 (Nov 14, 2007)

For convertibles from birth I'd suggest the TrueFit (esp for smaller cars, the headrest comes off), MyRide, and Radian (Radian if you have a bigger car, or can install it in the center between the front seats). All of these fit newborns well, esp with the newborn inserts, and all will last you a long time refacing and forward facing.

Remember that for newborns seats need to be installed at 45*, so some will take up a lot of room.

The seat you got doesnt fit newborns properly, is a pain to use, and is outgrown VERY quickly. I would return it for something else for sure.


----------



## RiverSky (Jun 26, 2005)

Thank you so much to everyone for the great advice and info. We decided to return it. I went out and bought a Chicco Key 30 infant car seat today, instead. I feel
much better about our choice!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------

