Convertible car seat Q - hard to tighten straps?

[indifferentstars]

You're probably not doing anything wrong unfortunately. Someone posted yesterday about a dupe of this seat and several people mentioned having the same problem. We have the Headwise 70 (another dupe of this one) in our second car and I hate, hate, hate dealing with the straps. We manage by pulling from behind as you and some other posters in the other post do but it's a pain

pandce.proboards.com/thread/415085/graco-size4me

[hetty]

We just installed that seat yesterday and have the same problem! So it sounds like this is normal which sucks...

[AlpineSlide]

I have this problem too

[spk926]

Jan 31, 2015 11:32:16 GMT -5 AlpineSlide said:

I have this problem too

Jan 31, 2015 10:48:29 GMT -5 hetty said:

We just installed that seat yesterday and have the same problem! So it sounds like this is normal which sucks...

Jan 31, 2015 10:15:54 GMT -5 bricco said:

So we're making the switch to a convertible carseat because my 26 pound baby is too heavy to carry in his bucket.

We bought the Graco Size4Me 65.

We got it installed and had an awesome fit in the car, and then went to put the baby in it and had a hell of a time getting the straps tightened on him.  Like the strap you pull to tighten it was SO hard to tighten.  I was eventually able to get it tightened by pulling them from the back of the carseat and then pulling the strap.

So, I pulled the whole damn carseat out and when it's not in the car, it's super easy to pull to loosen and tighten the straps.

We put it back in the car,  and again it's nearly impossible to pull on.

What am I doing wrong?  Is this normal for convertible carseats?  It's REALLY hard to tighten.

We have two. One Size4Me and one Headwise70, but they're the same seat.

DD is rear facing behind the driver. So I put her in and buckle the crotch and chest straps. Then I move the chest strap DOWN. I pull on the harness straps from behind the car seat and get them really snug. I use my left hand to hold them snug and use my right hand to move the chest clip up and then pull on the strap down by the feet until all the slack is out. Then when I let go the chest clip is in it's place and the harness is nice and snug. 

It sounds tricky but it's actually really easy. I do it all in like 6 seconds. A CPST saw me do and thought it was perfect and even made the comment that she's going to teach others to do it that same way on all seats!

This shows kind of what I do - www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMSXgYGPuzU


Read more: pandce.proboards.com/thread/415085/graco-size4me#ixzz3QQWcgkrW


Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards

[humpforfree]

We had the same problem and just replaced with a 4ever during the trade in.

[andthentherewere10]

Our nextfit is similarly difficult and it is even harder b/c it is center-installed. It takes a lot of force.

[londoncalling]

I took out the slack at the back first. You get used to it. In fact, I almost prefer it now since i can see how tight it's going to be and how much slack I have to remove.

[catsarecute]

I have the same car seat. Yes. The straps are a bitch to tighten. But they get better the more you use it.

[Deleted]

This is why I never loosen the straps to get her out. I cannot pull the strap.
I hate when my H takes her out because he loosens the straps and then I am stuck alone trying to put her in.

[andthentherewere10]

Jan 31, 2015 22:15:11 GMT -5 @hannymaren said:

This is why I never loosen the straps to get her out. I cannot pull the strap.
I hate when my H takes her out because he loosens the straps and then I am stuck alone trying to put her in.

I don't see how this is possible?  I can't get DS out if I don't loosen. 

[andthentherewere10]

Feb 1, 2015 9:24:42 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Feb 1, 2015 7:41:47 GMT -5 andthentherewere10 said:

I don't see how this is possible?  I can't get DS out if I don't loosen. 

If you have a continuous harness, it's easy (because you can pull one side and then the other without loosening it).  

But I almost never loosen our (non-continous) harnesses.  I just pull the strap over and work the arm out like I'm taking off a coat.  Then repeat on the other side.  I do have to tighten a bit if she is wearing a disposable or no fleece.  This is much easier once they are older and not floppy, though.

From what I've read, this is an unresolvable issue, LOL - no one who loosens thinks they can get the kid in/out without adjusting, and no one who doesn't loosen can conceive of a world where they would have to loosen.  

Do I have a continuous harness?

[jena]

I have this problem with the cosco scenera, especially when it's installed in certain cars. I think the shape of the car's seat makes a difference, it just rubs more on the bottom of the carseat in certain cars. But the only way I can tighten it in those cars is to do as spk926 described.

And we don't loosen straps on a daily basis either. It's hard to do with a baby, but easy to do with a toddler or older kid. My 5yo is still harnessed and gets into and out of his carseat by himself, so definitely no tightening/loosening there.

To see if you have a continuous harness, when there's no baby in the seat buckle the straps and then just pull on one side. Does one side get big while the other side gets tight against the seat? That's continuous. If pulling on one doesn't change the other, it's not.