Does anyone own a Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat? It says it can be used without the base? Why is that?
I am installing my new SnugRide Infant Car Seat by Graco… The owner’s manual shows how to use the Car seat with and without the base… both have areas to thread the car’s seat belt through them…
Maybe I am having a "blonde" moment here… but why would anyone want to use it without the base?
I mean if they give you the base, it seems logical to just strap it in and leave it there since the carrier part can be released and baby taken out without disturbing him.
Does anyone know why there is both options? Is one way better than the other? Does it make any difference? Does anyone own this type of carseat from Graco and what was your experience?
Thanks for alll answers.
Tagged with: carseat • experience thanks • google • graco • infant car seat • script type • seat belt • snugride infant car seat • text javascript
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Most infant seats can be used without the base. This means you can use your infant seat in any car regardless of if you have the base or not. Actually bases are just there for convienence since it is easier to just click the carseat in than to re-install it everytime.
Thats in case someone is babysitting…you can still bring the baby in the car, even if you forgot the base. It seems like its safer with the base, more secure. I got my nephew’s car seat in pretty tight without the base. I think it’s more a "just in case" thing.
I actually thought it was more secure without the base, but for convenience I used the base most of the time.
The main reason to use it without the base is to save the $40 it costs to by a 2nd base for your 2nd car–which, as it turns out, is totally not necessary. It’s also easier to take the carseat without the base if you travel by air.
Honestly, I’m annoyed I spent extra money for something I don’t really need. I’m also annoyed that I carried the stupid base through a couple of airports before figuring out that I could have left it at home!
They do that because some people have more then one car, that way they don’t have to keep moving the base in and out of the car. You can leave the base in one and then if you have to just strap them in in the other car.
say you are going to drive in someone else’s car and you don’t want to use the base or say you have two cars and you’re in a hurry, so you don’t want to move the base, it’s just another option in case the base isn’t available.
1. If you are traveling- it is lighter to travel without the base. Think: airports with heavy security.
2. When we were car shopping last April, we didn’t take the base from our car into the cars we were test driving. We only took the carseat as it was easier to snap in and out easily and quickly.
I wouldn’t use it that way permanently, but for quick in and outs, it was easier. I too found it was seemingly more secure without the base. I thought was just me until I read similar answers here. In any event, we always used the base except for those 2 times and it was easier to get it in and out of the car.
Because you may use the seat in a car that does not have the base. Mom goes to work in the van forgets to take out the base and dad has to run to the Dr. No base in his car………baby can still ride in a safe way!!!
I have that car seat. I reccomend to use the base if you have the "latch" system in your car. If you do not have the "latch" system, and all your backseats have seatbelts with the shoulder strap, don’t use the base. It can tip to the side when you turn. If your middle backseat just has a lapbelt then use the base.
so if there was a reason you needed to go somewhere and u did not have the base….i think that it is safer with the base we bought a second base for our second truck
when i brought my baby home for the 1st time a lady with the hospital had to have me bring the car seat in so she could ok it before i left with my son… she installed it into the car as well and when she did she said we had to take the base off and put it in the trunk because it was safer without it. I think the base can be used when you have baby out of the car inside.. the base holds the seat still in place and doesn’t let ut rock back n forth like it would without the base.
The base is for the "all the time vehicles" – We have 5 month old twins (one has the safeseat and one has the snugride) – we bought an extra base to both. We have one of each in the vehicle and are getting ready to buy a 2nd vehicle and have a set of bases for it.
The only time that we have used the car seats without the bases is when we ran out with a set of the grandparents (and wasn’t going to be gone long, so it wasn’t worth wasting the time or putting the bases in).
It is A LOT safer with the bases (if correctly installed) and it is a lot simpler (just latching the seats in and lifting handle to take them out, instead of having to deal with the seat belt everytime!
Best of luck !
It feels like it sits better w/out the base actually. We have 2 bases, but my husband took his out and straps it in the old fashioned way.
I travel with her more, so the base makes it easier…but to me it feels less "sturdy?" then without the base.
If you travel…it’s just one less thing to take up space if you don’t use it.
i am so glad you asked this…i have the same thing and was wondering the same LOL! i hate putting the seat in the base and its such a pain and doesn’t seem very safe and secure.
I’ve had a carseat that offers you both options. It is a blessing that just might come in handy down the road. Say, you are running late for work in the morning and you quickly take the car seat off the base and run the baby into your sister’s house. That is much quicker than having to take the seat belt off completely. If your sister needs to run errands during the day, then she can because the car seat has that option.
I just bought a chicco-very expensive set and got home, put it all together and realized I don’t have that option and was kind of disgusted with myself for not noticing….
I use my infant seat without the base. Provided that your car seat is designed to be used without the base, and provided that you get a good install, there is no difference in safety. It really depends on your preference and/or needs.
2 cars, grandparents, babysitters, too many people that your child could go out with that it is just easier to transfer the car seat w/o the base
Some people don’t own cars and need to use the seat in friend’s cars. If you ride in taxi’s, you can’t install the base either. If you or a grandparent has vision problems, it is better not to use the base because they can’t be sure they have installed the seat back in the base correctly. The base also doesn’t seat correctly in some cars, but the seat will without the base.
Using the base is better.
However, if you only have one base and two cars, you can either purchase another base, or use the seat without the base.
We have two bases, but have used the car seat without a base on several occasions:
1. Travel (flying without the base)
2. Getting the base out of the car is a hassle, so if we are taking someone else’s car, we might just use the seat
3. The base is convenient because you don’t have to strap it down every time, just click in and out. With the regular seat, you’d need to adjust the belts every time.
It’s easier to use the base, but there are times when you won’t.
Because it makes it nice if Hubby is gone with the car and Mom shows up to take you and baby out. Just grab the car seat and go, no worries that the base is who knows where in the car that isn’t home!
We have two vehicles and rarely did we take the baby in the car (2 door vs minivan – you can guess which was easiest to take baby out and about with) but the odd time baby did need to go in the car it was nice not to have to try and get a base in there that would have made the seat sit so high that the front seat would have to stay all the way forward (fine for me, I’m short, not so fine for Uncle L who is over 6ft tall!! or Daddy with his long legs!)
It’s marginally safer with the base (simply because once the base is properly installed, it’s done. The car seat alone runs the risk of accidently not being secured properly), although some tests show that in certain vehicles with the base it can be worse than without (because of the height of the car seat especially when installed in small cars).
Put the base in the car that you will be using with baby and relax that if you ever need to go somewhere in a different vehicle you have that option if the base isn’t home.
The original stems from the history of the infant carrier car seat – in the beginning carrier seats didn’t have bases, to use a carrier seat you had to install/uninstall the carrier each and every time you wanted to use the seat. Some carriers still have this capability today but its important to note that not all do. And most frequently it is harder to get a good install without the base, aside from the fact that the more often you install and uninstall the seat the more likely it is that the seat will get put in incorrectly one of those times. Over 80% of seats are used/installed incorrectly and will not protect the kids in them.
Since we now have bases for our infant carrier seats, most of the time its a hassle to use them without – if it’s going to have to be installed and uninstalled every time you use it you may as well get a convertible seat an djust leave it in the car!