Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We had the Cosco Alpha Omega for our two boys, 1 and 3, (and loved it!) but moved up to the Summit after a car accident. We knew it had received the best ratings from Consumer Reports and liked the fact that it was the same brand as the seats we liked so much. Briefly, here are some things that I didn't see addressed completely in the other reviews: * First, the facts. We have a 2003 Chevy Suburban and have used this car seat in every location except the front seats. Our boys were 20 months and 3-1/2 years when we first purchased the seats. We've had the seats for about 9 months, but have not yet used them as boosters. Our boys are now roughly 38" tall/35 lbs and 34" tall/25 lbs. * Installing the car seats using the LATCH system is a breeze. Installing them with the seat belt is also not difficult. I agree that the tether system is not very good -- it's easy to hook the tether on, but not to get it tight. We just do the best we can and don't worry too much about it because it's a redundant system anyway. * The recline issue: We originally had the car seats directly on our leather seats, and the recline was easy, although it usually required two hands. You do not have to recline the vehicle's seat -- the base of the car seat just slides forward to allow the car seat to recline. We have since put non-slip shelf liner under the car seat to protect our vehicle's seats, which makes it more difficult to recline the car seat, but it's still not too bad. We usually keep the seat slightly reclined, which is comfortable for the boys when they're awake and keeps their heads from bobbing around if they fall asleep. * Extras: The removable head rest/pillow thing that is supposed to cradle their head is useless. It fits on the top of the headrest, but is so high relative to where the shoulder straps come out that I can't imagine it being in the right position for any child's head (unless they had a 9-inch long neck). However, my children have always just leaned their heads on the deep, well-padded sides of the seat and don't really have a problem with their head bobbing around, especially when the seat is reclined. The little cushions around the shoulder straps are nice and keep the straps from digging into the neck. The front-adjusting straps are very convenient -- I will never again buy another car seat where you have to tighten the straps from the back. * This is a big car seat. While the Alpha-Omega allowed my boys' legs to dangle comfortably over the edge, the bottom of this seat is longer, so they can't dangle their legs like they would in a chair. My 2-year old usually just folds his legs on the seat (kind of Indian-style), and my 4-year-old stretches his legs out in front of him, allowing the edge of the car seat bottom to hit him mid-calf. It doesn't look very comfortable to me (and encourages him to kick the seat in front of him), but he's never complained. * Why kids like it: Although I preferred the Alpha-Omega, my boys say they like this seat better, "because of the arm-rests." The kids love the arm-rests, I guess because they make them feel grown-up. The arm-rests are very easy for adults to move up and down, although my boys haven't yet figured out how to do it while they're sitting in the seat. The kids also like the cup holder, and have been able to reach it from the seat since the beginning. The seat sits nice and high, so the kids can easily see out the windows. * Washing the cover: Compared to other car seats, even the Alpha-Omega, this cover is extremely difficult to remove for washing. There are a number of plastic parts that have to be pried off with so much force that you're sure you're going to break something. We had to combine my husband's brute strength with my little hands (to reach in the small crevices and re-thread the harness) in order to remove and replace the cover. We won't be washing it very often. However, I do have to say that it looks just as good as new after washed. * Twisting straps? I haven't had any problems with this in 9 months of use. * The bottom line -- it has all the bells and whistles I would expect in a car seat of this price, installs easily and safely, is durable, looks good, keeps them securely strapped in, and my kids love it! Like all car seats, you'll want to check to make sure it fits well in your car. This seat is definitely meant more for bigger kids -- if your child is small to average in size and you're looking for a first front-facing car seat, I would recommend the Alpha-Omega instead, just because it seems to fit smaller kids better.