Do you remember the days when we didn’t need seatbelts, and car seats weren’t even thought of (or if they were, they were little more than booster seats)?
Our parents took a lot of risks with us, but not because they didn’t love us – they just didn’t have the types of safety devices that we have today.
The only problem is, even though we want to protect our children, we don’t want to have to take out a bank loan in order to buy a car seat. Some of the models today can cost hundreds of dollars, and there really is no need of it.
If one of these super-expensive car seats isn’t in your budget, you might want to check out the Safety 1st Guide 65 convertible car seat, front and rear facing. It costs less than $100, and has all of the same safety features you would expect to see on the more expensive models.
It can be front or rear-facing, and the head rest is fully adjustable. If you are interested in learning more about this car seat, read on to see our complete review.
Safety 1st Guide 65
Keep your little one safe from infancy up to 65 pounds with the Safety 1st Guide 65 convertible car seat. This car seat can safely hold children from 5 to 40 pounds in the rear-facing position, and children weighing 22 to 65 pounds in the front-facing position.
It has a 5-point harness with a center front adjust, and the head rest can be moved into multiple positions as your child grows. It has anti-rebound bolsters, and the seat pad can be washed by hand, so if there are any spills or other little accidents, they will be easy to clean.
This is the ideal car seat for families with smaller cars, or who have multiple children. It is roomy enough to be comfortable, but you can fit as many as three side by side in most vehicles.
So, if you have a larger vehicle, you will have more than enough room for up to three of these car seats, with a bit of wiggle room to spare. At its price point, you aren’t likely going to find a much better deal on a convertible car seat anywhere; it is affordable for most families.
The 5-point harness system has an adjustable buckle that is located right at the front, so it is easy to get to. There are actually three buckles all together, and five harness heights, so this car seat is going to grow with your child. It offers side impact protection, and there are also anti-rebound bolsters for added protection.
Because it is compact, it is easy to remove it and put it into another vehicle in just a few minutes (more on installation later in this article). Installation can be a bit tricky at first, but once you are used to it, you shouldn’t have any problems at all if you do need to transfer it to another vehicle.
Who is this Car Seat For?
Getting everything that you need for a new baby can be a very costly venture, and there really is no need to spend any more than absolutely necessary. If you want to ensure your baby’s safety without having to spend a fortune, this just might be the car seat for your family.
It will grow with your child, up to a weight of 65 pounds, so you aren’t going to have to go out and buy a new car seat in a year or two. This car seat meets all federal crash safety requirements, and is FAA compliant.
This is not a product that is new to the market. You can go online and find plenty of great customer reviews, so you aren’t going to be buying something blind.
This is also a great car seat for anyone who doesn’t want to fuss with anything complicated when they are trying to get their kids in the car and ready to go on an outing.
It only takes a couple of minutes to take it out and transfer it to another vehicle (once you get the hang of it), and it is roomy yet compact enough to fit into most vehicles, even smaller vehicles, with some room to spare.
What’s Included?
When the box arrives, you will open it to find the Safety 1st Guide 65 car seat, with all of the harnesses attached and ready to be set up inside your vehicle. This car seat even comes with a cup holder.
This is not part of the car seat itself, but it is included as an extra attachment. This can come in pretty handy with little ones who have a tendency to spill things.
It is important that you take special care to read the manual that is included and follow the instructions to the letter when installing this car seat. Your child’s safety is the concern here, so you need to make sure that their car seat is safely and securely installed.
Overview of Features
The Guide 65 convertible car seat from Safety 1st can be used for infants all the way up to toddlers weighing up to 65 pounds and standing up to 52 inches in height. Other car seats in this price range do not go up to this weight, and you will have to get a new one sooner than you would with the Guide 65.
This is an inexpensive car seat to begin with, and you won’t have to drop another $100 or more in a year or so when your child grows past 40 pounds. Some of the best features of this car seat include:
Air Protect
This is the first car seat with the new Air Protect side impact protection system. This system, developed in a partnership with the Kettering University Crash Safety Center, was the first that was tested using the side-impact crash test known as the “intruding door,” which copies the impact from a side impact crash.
There are pillows on either side of the head that are filled with air, and they protect your child’s head from a side impact crash.
Rear Facing Weight Limit
This car seat has a 40-pound rear-facing weight restriction, and it has a tall seat shell, so it will work for your child, even after the age of two.
Studies show that rear-facing seats are much safer for children, so the longer you can leave your child in a rear-facing seat, the better. O
nce your child weighs more than 40 pounds, you can turn the seat into a front-facing one, and they can use it until they reach 65 pounds. You should be able to get two to three years out of this car seat.
Simple Adjustments
We love the convenience of this car seat. You don’t have to take apart the entire harness simply to adjust the height. It may take a few tries to get it down pat, but once you do, it isn’t difficult at all to twist the tabs at the top, which will adjust the height as your child grows.
Unlike other car seats, the harness adjuster tail won’t get caught up against the seat when the car seat is in the rear-facing position.
Easy Installation
Another great thing about this car seat is how easy it is to install, especially in the forward-facing position. The belt path for this position is very easy to get to, and it isn’t going to slip between the seats. The Safety 1st Guide 65 will fit into most vehicles, and often you can fit two or three in the back seat of your car.
You can set this seat for reclining and non-reclining positions simply by folding the foot at the bottom. There are push-button latch connectors that are easy to use, and that will anchor the car seat inside the vehicle.
Warranty
This car seat comes with a 2-year warranty that protect you against any manufacturing defects. If for any reason you have a problem with this car seat that is not caused by regular wear and tear, negligence, accidents, or abuse, contact customer service for and repairs or a replacement.
Keep your sales receipt in case you need repairs or spare parts that are under warranty to prove that you bought the car seat within the past 24 months. Damages not covered by the warranty can be repaired for a reasonable fee.
Compliance
The Safety 1st Guide 65 convertible car seat meets or exceeds all federal crash safety requirements, and has undergone many different types of testing to ensure the safety of all children that will be using it.
The side-impact protection is FAA compliant. You will be hard-pressed to find another child safety seat that is going to offer more protection, especially at such a low price.
How to Install the Safety 1st Guide 65
Since you will be using this seat in the rear-facing position for the first year or two of your child’s life, this is the installation we are going to concentrate on today.
The first thing you need to do is ensure that the foot on the back of the car seat is pressed up against the car seat, so it can be reclined while in the rear-facing position.
Next, decide if you want to install it with the seat belt, or with the lower anchors. Using the lower anchors will help to make the seat even more secure, so we recommend doing this.
Once you choose your installation method, the seat belt or the lower anchor connector strap will have to be passed through the rear-facing belt path. This can be found on the bottom of the car seat. The straps will also need to be passed through the front of the crotch strap. Check the recline level, and then tighten the straps to secure them.
Finally, you will need to do something to fill in the small gap that will be between the seat bight and the car seat bottom. You can either slide a towel that has been tightly rolled up into this space, or cut off a piece of a pool noodle.
Alternative Product
If you want to do a bit of comparison shopping and look at other car seats, we would like to recommend the Eddie Bauer XRS 65. Like the Safety 1st Guide 65, this car seat will accommodate children up to 65 pounds in weight, and it is convertible for front or rear-facing.
It also offers side impact protection. It seems that it is easier to adjust this seat as your child grows, and it is compact in design. One of the best things about this car seat is the easy installation, because of the LATCH system compatibility. It is even easier to install than the Guide 65.
Conclusion
Part of the Safety 1st brand is to offer child restraint seats at a price that parents can afford. The Guide 65 is an overall good choice if you are looking for a convertible car seat to keep your precious cargo safe and comfortable.
Safety is the most significant concern for parents. The Guide 65 has side impact protection and an anti-rebound bar that adds an extra layer of security. You will need to roll a towel to position your little one in the safest recline. The Guide 65 has a no-rethread harness that makes adjustments so much easier.
The Guide 65 lacks ease of installation, especially in rear-facing mode. If you choose to use your vehicle belt system, the fit is not quite right while in rear-facing mode. A belt locking clip is a requirement for securing rear-facing installation in most positions. In the forward-facing position, the installation is more comfortable, but the LATCH system can be stubborn.
The Safety 1st Guide 65 works best for carpoolers and busy parents. It is lightweight, narrow, and affordable. However, in rear-facing mode, it does become difficult to install.
Growing up I was a carefree male going about life like there was no tomorrow. Naturally, I ‘grew’ up, settled down and started a family.
Going from an independent carefree male to a family man was somewhat of a U-turn and required a lot of learning. Luckily for me, my wife works in education and has always been the shining light always ahead of me on all factors kids related.
Initially, my wife didn’t have a driving license (luckily this has now changed and it does make life easier), and all things car related were my task. Child locks were the obvious starting point which lead me down a rabbit hole.
So far we have personally tested dozens of convertible car seats and have owned five despite neither of our kids having reached the age of 5! Simply put, a car seat can be great on paper, work great on trying out but can fail on you in real life.
This is why I have put together this website – to help inform and educate you!
Of course, as I mentioned above, at the end of the day your experience will be the best test so I’d love to hear your experiences and feedback in the comments.
To contact me personally, please do so through my contact page.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Peter
P.S. If you click a link on my site and end up buying a car seat on Amazon, I’ll get paid a small commission (or as the Amazon lawyers put it: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases”)
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