Review: Cybex Car Seat
A week after finding out I was pregnant with Ezra, I went to a blogging conference called Mom 2.0 in Atlanta. Though I was barely four weeks along, I was already thinking about baby gear we would need, which meant my head was spinning with ideas and to-do lists as I walked around the exhibitor area.
Of the dozens of products and brands featured, the product that I connected with the most was Cybex’s Aton Q infant rear-facing car seat. Though its sleek design is eye-catching and space saving, I was blown away by its safety features, which exceeded anything I have ever seen on an infant seat.
Working at a children’s hospital has made me incredibly passionate about car seat safety. Did you know that some estimates suggest that as many as 90% of car seats are installed incorrectly? I think if I ever stop working in marketing, I could easily transition to safety advocacy. 🙂
After seeing a short demonstration about the Aton Q, a Cybex representative offered to send me their infant car seat in exchange for a review about the product. I waited six months since receiving the car seat because I wanted to be able to share my really honest feedback.
leaving the hospital with Ezra
The short version: I love this carseat.
Consumer Reports put the Aton Q on its list of the 5 best carseats for your baby and its obvious why. The seat’s safety and crash-test performance record is impressive.
For instance, the Aton Q is equipped with the L.S.P. System, linear side-impact protection. In simpler terms, the L.S.P. system includes two pull-out impact protectors that, if ever in an accident, receive the initial force of the collision, offering added protection to the carseat’s shell.
Moreover, the Aton Q is one of only a few carseats sold in the United States with an adjustable Load Leg on its base. Practically a standard in Europe, the Load Leg not only adds balance and sturdiness to your child’s seat, it also adds further protection to your child by distributing collision force to the floor, further preventing the carseat from rotating forward.
But my favorite safety feature is the added safety belt hook on the front of the Aton Q, an added support system when using the carseat without its base. Because I traveled so much while on maternity leave (without the car seat base) I really put this feature to the test. That one added feature makes a huge difference, noticeable helping to secure the seat in place.
The Aton Q is sturdy yet plush and seemingly quite comfortable for Ezra. Even when he was a tiny, 6 lb. newborn, the seat’s “Newborn Inlay” provided him a safe, more fitted ride and put his tiny body in a position in which allowed him sit comfortably. It also ensured that he was positioned in a way that would minimize his head tipping forward, as is the case in other car seats.
The headrest also adjusts to eight different positions. What’s great about this is that when you and when you adjust it, it automatically adjusts the harness. This prevents any need for moving the harness, which any parent knows, can be a big pain!
The car seat is lightweight and features an canopy that is totally flat to the seat when not in use (you can see the difference when the seat is next to my sister’s Chicco car seat) and when up, provides UVP50+ protection from the sun.
With stroller attachment, the Aton Q easily attaches to a wide range of strollers, though the majority of them are high-priced.We bought the Baby Jogger City Mini stroller and adapter, which was just under $300 for both. (At first, I was bummed about having to buy a new stroller, but now I could do a whole separate post about how obsessed with are with this stroller. It is a million times easier to open and maneuver than our former Chicco stroller. ADORE!)
Price is actually the only drawback of the Aton Q, as its cost sits on the higher end of the carseat price range (the seat + base are $350). But considering its lightweight and space-saving design and all of the added safety benefits, it might just be worth the added expense. Had I not received the car seat for review, I would have bought it for Ezra.
If you are looking for a truly excellent car seat, I definitely recommend checking out Cybex.
Disclosure: As mentioned in the post above, I received this car seat in exchange for an honest review. My love of this car seat is 100% my own.
I love how thorough and honest this review is– I am sharing this post with all my mom friends who need infant car seats!
What a five star review!
Impressive.
I love what you do here and how you do it, Jessica.
Wow, car seats sure have come a long way, haven’t they!?
Honest question: I’ve seen the 90% (+/-) of car seats are installed wrong several places.
Is there any data on how many of those things that are “wrong” are truly serious safety issues, and how many are minor “not best practice, but isn’t practically going to cause a problem” type issues?
And if the majority of the 90% are serious safety issues, then shouldn’t that be a clear sign to manufacturers and the auto industry that something with the product needs to change if it’s that hard for end users to figure out?
I’m all for car seat safety, but I struggle to know how worried I really should be about constantly checking and re-checking my kids’ carseats.
Love this!! Our infant seat will be up for expiration before this next baby outgrows it, so we may be in the market – tucking this review away for the future. Thanks Jess!
that is the BMW of car seats. Safe, comfortable, and stylish. I’m past this stage in life, but will share this post with some expecting friends. Also, I appreciate how honest you keep your reviews and the fact that you include so many helpful and practical facts.
What I want to know is if you hadn’t been provided this car seat for free (in exchange for review) would you have even considered it @$350.00+? What I think is ironic is that this blog is all about frugal living/fringe hours – shopping clearance sections, getting the most from your money and time – but you’re not afraid to post a review on a luxury item and encourage your readers to purchase it. A luxury item that you didn’t have to pay or budget for.
How can one trust a review when the person didn’t have to consider the money (and possible sacrifices) that went into the purchase? You made a statement that it might be worth the added expense but you didn’t say if you would be willing to make this purchase for your family. And then you provide an affiliate link.
In fact a lot of the amazing things you post about doing (Trips, Birthday Parties, Room Redecorating) have elements provided (or even made possible) by companies who send you things for free in hopes of getting a mention. It’s more like frugal living with a side order of corporate sponsorship.
I know that you work a full time job, have a family and are able to maintain a successful blogging career, in which gifts from companies are perks of the job. And I get that you work hard. This is not intended to diminish any of that.
Maybe I am jealous, maybe I want free stuff sent to me, maybe I want to see a blogger post something and in the first line lay it all out to their readers. About receiving something for free to review – and then liking the product, but also owning up to the fact that if they hadn’t been sent the item it would never been considered an option due to expense or budget.
Maybe I want to live in a world where the best car seats for children are not the ones the majority of families can’t afford.
Lizi, I was taken aback by your words and want to publicly address your remarks here.
First of all, yes, I would have bought this car seat had I not received one to review. After seeing it at Mom 2.0, I was pretty much obsessed. One of the many benefits of living frugally in some areas of my life is that then we are able to budget for things that are more expensive in other areas. Certainly the expense of the car seat would be hard for some to justify (especially if only one child was going to use it, as was the case for us), but car seats are one of those things that I am willing to spend good money on.
I am very, very, very conscientious of the brands that I collaborate with and products that I review. I turn down 100s of products to review a year because of cost. In this specific case, I did consider the cost. I really believed in the product, so gratefully accepted the review opportunity. (And yes, it was a huge blessing!)
I used the words “might be worth the added expense” because I recognized that this seat/price point wouldn’t be a fit for everyone.
I work incredibly hard producing content that I hope people will enjoy. For the past 7 years, this lifestyle blog has always been a mix of product reviews, projects and parenting content. It has taken many years of investing time and money to receive opportunities to work with some of the brands that I do today.
When it comes to sponsored/review content, I put a lot of effort into only accepting products/opportunities that I believe in. Also these opportunities help offset the cost of running the blog (which is hundreds of dollars each month) and the time that it takes to produce the content.
I hope this helps. Thank you for visiting my site. I hope you’ll continue to read.
Hi Lizi!
I think Jess answered eloquently below but I’ll chime in here as well for another blogger-viewpoint.
I subscribe to the same theory as Jess- I am incredibly frugal in many (maybe most!) areas and selectively splurge on certain luxury items. While there are times that I may decide to review a product that would typically be outside of our family budget, I’m always careful to note that and I’m really grateful that blogging does allow me that opportunity to experience some things we may not otherwise have had the chance to, since we do have to budget carefully in order to have one parent staying at home.
In addition, nothing bloggers get is actually free. We still pay taxes on every product, plus the cost to host the website, send a newsletter, etc. I can’t speak for Jess but for me? I don’t even have that big of a blog and it’s as much as a car payment every month. So sponsored posts/review items/affiliate links help offset that cost.
I decided to reply mostly because I was actually with Jess at that event, she was barely pregnant and I have a three year old but she sent me a text and was like “MEET ME AT THIS BOOTH, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS CAR SEAT!” It really is fantastic and she was so enthusiastic about it as a product because her work has made her very passionate about carseat safety. I saw your comment and thought “Oh man, Jess fell in love with that car seat a year ago!” 🙂
So to answer your question, I think that is how you can trust a review when someone doesn’t have to pay the full retail price of the item, because you trust the person writing it. I think it’s fairly apparent when a blogger just throws up a hasty review for a free product versus someone who takes the time to really try something out and provide a comprehensive and honest review. At least, I hope it is, because I know that I am very selective of what I choose to feature and who I choose to work with because I never want to mislead my readers – even it means passing up some really cool freebies because they aren’t genuinely the best fit for my family. (And also because I’m trying to film a video today on how to do that whole roly-duvet-cover-thing for a post about our new mattress that we love and it is taking me forever because duvet covers, man. I have a love/hate relationship with duvet covers. I totally hope people like the video when I’m done!)
HTH!
Great review. LOVE this car-seat as well.
Thanks for the review! This is on our registry, and I was wondering if it was really going to be worth the cost.
Great inclusive review! I love Cybex! It was one of my first strollers!
What a great review! It’s been so long since I have had to think about a car seat that I am amazed at all the seats offer now. Thank you, Jess!! xo
What a thorough review and your photos of your cutie are so adorable!
My days of car seats over but I’d be drooling over this one if they weren’t.
Hi,
I just recently bought the Aton Q for my daughter who is a preemie and was able to leave the NICU at 4lbs! The car seat is amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better one for my little baby.
My only problem is taking the seat in and out for the stroller. The buttons on the seat are really stiff and my hands seem to be too small to be able to push on the buttons and pull the seat out. I was wondering if you experienced the same or is there something I’m doing wrong or is there something wrong with my seat?
Thank you
I had an accessory to attach to another brand’s stroller, so I didn’t experience this- sorry. I am glad you love the seat!
Great & honest review. Love this car seat as well.