Confused | Imamother

amother

Orchid

Mon, Dec 07 2015, 8:59 pm

Snugrider elite im looking into getting a car seat and light travel system for a new born. My choices are a graco car seat with the graco snugrider elite or the mazi cosi car seat with the same kind of thing from maxi cisi( forgot what its called) my issue is this. I live in williamsburg. Ive made alot of phone calls to baby furniture stores n most of them dont sell graco car seat or snugrider. Their trying to push the maxi cosi on me which is much mire expensive. They claim the graco is junk( reviews online say the opposite) is it a thing that bp/ williamsburg ppl like better things or is the graco really junk? The extra few dollars mean alot to us but if the look and quality gonna drive me crazy all day maby its worth it. Anyone out there know the REAL difference? It wld b a huge help

seeker

Mon, Dec 07 2015, 9:37 pm

Graco is not junk. They are considered a fine company hitting the sweet spot for value - lower prices but good functionality. Their car seats and snap-n-go bases have always been fine and still are (though I'm not sure if they still do now, but when my babies were born there was a higher end and lower end of the car seats and the higher end was much better - the lower end was less padded and you had to fiddle with a buckle in back to adjust the straps each time. But I'm not sure if they even make those anymore.) Their full strollers in the past were junkier but I heard that they became much more competitive recently and are now worth a look. Most strollers that work with car seats either fit the Graco or you can buy an adapter to work with Graco. So no need to be married to a "travel system," you can choose the stroller you like and just click the car seat you like into it.

I have no idea why some communities seem to have some kind of baby gear snobbery. In some cases like full-size/double strollers I understand certain types of people expect to get much more use out of them and need something more durable and comfortable (e.g. live in williamsburg means you're walking just about everywhere. You do deserve a good stroller for that. Not like suburbs where you might spend half your life in a car.) But a car seat is a car seat. It expires in 6 years and they should all last that long. They all need to pass safety standards. There are perks to different ones but there is nothing wrong with Graco. I know people who have higher budgets than that and still choose Graco car seats because they work.

thanks

Mon, Dec 07 2015, 9:49 pm

I just bought the Graco car seat and wheels. The maxi cozi was tempting because it looks more sleek, but Graco has some nice looking ones too. The quality seems great. It goes in and out of the base easily, it's easy to open and fold the wheels, and it's easy to push. The one down side is the Graco has lots of warning stickers all over that don't come off.

seeker

Mon, Dec 07 2015, 10:04 pm

Um, the warnings are there for a reason. And they are hard to peel off for the same reason.

Maxi Cosi happens to make great products too, I just don't agree that Graco is junk by comparison and that everyone needs $200 infant seats and $600+ strollers. Every time I go through Williamsburg I run into at least a couple of bugaboo conventions. It's unreal. I don't know much about strollers anymore but I secretly applaud when I see someone there with a Mountain Buggy or something, just for being different.

spring13

Mon, Dec 07 2015, 10:05 pm

Graco carseats and stroller frames (aka snap n go) are good quality. I'm not as big a fan of their actual strollers, but there are plenty out there that are compatible with Graco carseats, at a wide range of prices.

And yes, there's definite snobbery in much of the frum world about baby gear brands. People justify some insane expenses claiming that they're getting better quality, when that's only true up to a certain point - and even then, it doesn't really justify spending beyond one's means. And for a snap n go frame? I wouldn't bother. Save your money for a better actual stroller, or whatever else it is that you guys really do need. You'll be a better mother for having made the right choice for your own family.