certified Child Passenger Safety Technician
The Bottom Line
The Cosco/Safety 1st Apex 65 is a nice, inexpensive higher harnessing weight seat. There are a couple of drawbacks, but all in all, a great seat for certain situations.Pros:
- It will harness to 65 pounds, then transition into a booster up to 100 pounds.
- Installation is pretty easy and compatible in a variety of vehicles.
- Wider seat that can hold children of many sizes.
Cons:
- You must have headrests or high seatbacks in your vehicle to help reinforce the adjustable headrest on the carseat.
- The crotch strap that comes with the seat is very short (you can call customer service and request a longer one).
- The top harness slot is 16" with the toddler padding in it, so a child with a longer torso may not fit the seat by height as long as a parent may want.
Description
- The Apex 65 is a forward facing only combination seat with a 5-point harness for children 22-65 pounds.
- This seat can be used as a booster from 40-100 pounds with lap/shoulder belt only.
- The Apex 65 can be installed, when used with the harness, using LATCH, lap belt only or lap/shoulder belt.
- Four harness height positions ranging from 9" to 16" with the toddler padding inserted.
- Three crotch strap positions to grow with your child.
- This restraint is FAA approved when used with the harness.
Tech Review
I was pleasantly surprised with the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex 65 car seat. The material is very soft and the padding is plush. The headrest was very easy to adjust. There is a dial in the back that you turn to unlock the headrest, then move the headrest to the correct position, then turn it back to lock into position. The carseat headrest is very flimsy, though. It twists very easily, which is why you want the additional support from your vehicles headrest or high seatbacks.The crotch strap that comes with the seat is very short and pinched my children's legs, but after calling the car seat manufacturer, they sent me a longer strap at no charge. The fit is much better.
The harness adjuster has a simple lever that you press and it moves really well without any hang ups. You can remove the toddler insert padding and will gain some extra room in the harness. The straps have a tendency to twist as the straps are softer and not as stiff as others on the market.
In the booster mode, because the seat is so wide at the hips (around 15" wide), some smaller children may not fit well in the seatbelt and have extra space between them and the seatbelt.
The Apex 65 may be a good choice if you're looking for a less expensive car seat that will let you keep your child in a harness beyond the minimum 40 pounds. However, since this car seat is forward-facing only, it is not an appropriate choice for children under one year old or who weigh less than 22 pounds.
One problem with some combination car seats is that they tend not to make great boosters for various reasons. The Apex 65 actually does make a decent booster seat, though, with open shoulder belt guides and simple adjustments for good fit.
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