Do all car seats have steel bars?

[GuavaGirl]

I don't think so. ...but dh and I are having quite the car seat battle. I told him that I like the new Britax seats because of the steel bars and he said that all car seats have steel bars.

Can you clear this up for me?

[chickabiddy]

No, not all carseats have metal reinforcement; however, there is no evidence that the steel bars provide better protection.

[DahliaRW]

The only ones I know of that have the steel bars are the newer Britax seats (the 70 ones) and the radians.

But all meet the same safety standards, regardless!

[mamasthree]

they meet the same safety standards....but that doesn't necessarily mean that some aren't better than others, right? Maybe I'm just not understanding, but it seems very likely that some seats would outperform others in severity of injuries, types of injuries, etc. We just don't have access to anything but the base information.

thoughts? I find this an interesting topic!

[TheGirls]

It's true that some seats will probably outperform others, but we have no way to know which seats. We don't know if steel bars or headwings or head pillows or "true side impact protection" or whatever the newest marketing thing is are a significant advantage or not.

We do know that RF for the maximum possible time is a major safety advantage, and Britax seats do not allow that for many children, so in that way, if you RF to the limit and have kids who are taller rather than heavier, the Britax may be less safe than a seat with a taller shell.

I am aware that this is splitting hairs to some extent, though. They are certainly safe seats within their limitations. And they're not terribly limited either. But there are better options out there. Of course the Radian (one of those better options) also has steel bars....if only it didn't have install issues, lol.

There's no perfect seat! My current favorite is the Complete Air, which has no steel bars and kinda gimicky head pillows, but it RF to 40lbs and has a very tall shell and installs upright for older kids with good legroom. My DD is tall and hates being reclined, so that obviously influences my opinions.

[mommy2maya]

The old Fisher price seats were steel bar reinforced also. Isn't the graco nautilus as well?

[Eresh]

To my knowledge its only the new Britax and the Radians.

But PP poster is correct. The safest seat(s) for your family are the ones that install well in your vehicle, fit your child well, and allow your children to remain RFing the longest.