The Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2 has some great features such as being able to dock in a stroller system and rotating while installed in the car. But is it worth the hefty price tag? Continue reading for my complete review.
Safety Features
The Toddler Car Seat G2 uses side impact braces when installed without a base to provide additional impact protection. Also aiding in side impacts are large foam wings are built in to the upper sides of the seats along with an adjustable headrest with soft side wings.
While Orbit Baby’s convertible car seat is not as popular as their infant seats, they do have a good reputation for safety.
As with all car seats, detailed NHTSA crash data is not available. The NHTSA does rate ease-of-use, and the Toddler Seat G2 comes in at 2 stars rear facing and 4 stars forward facing.
Weight and Dimensions
Depth: 23” – The depth of the Toddler Seat G2 is a bit large, which doesn’t make it ideal for smaller cars with taller passengers up front.
Width: 18” – The width of this seat is slightly below average, so it doesn’t require too wide of a car to allow seating for other passengers in the back seat. When installed, the width shouldn’t interfere with access to the other seat buckles in most vehicles.
Height: 24” – On the low end, so it won’t obstruct rear visibility when the headrest is at lower positions, and minimally at higher positions.
Weight: 21.5 pounds – This seat is certainly on the heavy side. This is something to take into consideration if you like the seat for its ability to lock into the Stroller G2 and the optional car seat base. This is about twice as much as the infant car seat, so moving it around could become cumbersome as your baby grows.
Installation
Optionally, this seat car be used with the same Orbit Baby car seat base as their infant car seat. This base is not included, but is what allows the seat to swivel and dock which are two of its most helpful features.
Installing the base is simple, and locking the seat into this base is also straightforward, though it takes a bit of practice to line it up just right. A helpful indicator on the base shows up in red if it’s not docked correctly.
Without the optional base, it takes a little more work to install. You’ll first need to separate the two side impact braces, make sure the locking knob is unlocked, press the braces in place, then lock. After the braces are in place, you’ll continue with the LATCH or seat belt install. A level on the side of one side brace helps ensure the proper angle. It’s not a tough install, but more time consuming than some other seats if you don’t have the base.
Rear Facing
This seat can be used rear facing starting at 15 pounds, so it can’t be used with newborns unlike many other convertible seats. The weight limit is 35 pounds, which isn’t bad, but not as good as a lot of others which support up to 40 pounds.
A big complaint with the Toddler Seat G2 is that it sits a little too upright – the seat back for the child doesn’t have much of an incline. Because of this, I recommend it only be used for babies with good head control. Even then, some babies sleep better at more of an incline, so keep this in mind.
Forward Facing
The Toddler Seat G2 can be used up to a maximum of 65 pounds and 50”, which is quite good. Most children can ride in this seat until about 7 years of age.
Again, this seat sits fairly upright, but for older forward-facing children this should be less of an issue as they’ll have good head control.
Adjustment
This seat has 4 pairs of upper harness slot which offer a good range of adjustment. Adjustment can be done from behind the rear access panel without removing the seat from the car, which is nice. The crotch belt and headrest are also adjustable.
The buckles on this seat feel solid and secure. The straps, however, feel a bit thin and can tangle somewhat easily.
My biggest dislike about this seat is the adjuster strap which sits at the front of the seat. To get the harness to the proper snugness, you pull the adjuster strap straight out from the seat. The problem with this comes when used in rear-facing mode. The seatback of the car gets in the way and makes it difficult to pull tight. Of course, it’s very important not to have too much slack in the harness so this is a big drawback. This is not much of an issue when fastening your child front-facing, or better yet, with the base installed and the seat rotated toward the door.
Fabric and Design
Three gender-neutral colors are available for the Toddler Seat G2 – Black, Red, and Mocha. The cover is very soft, plush, and comfortable. It doesn’t wipe down as well as some other fabrics, but removes easily for washing.
Warranty and Customer Service
This seat has a 2-year warranty, which beats a lot of other brands’ 1-year warranties. Orbit Baby is also known for having very good customer service, so if you have problems, they should have you covered.
Lifespan
The expiration of the Toddler Seat G2 is 6 years. While this is a common lifespan for a convertible seat, it doesn’t match the 7 year lifespan of Britax and Combi seats or even the 8 and 9 years of Chicco and Clek.
Value
If you already have the Orbit Baby car seat base, you’ll be able to take advantage of the swivel feature of this seat. The same goes with the ability to quickly dock the seat in the car. The price without the base is on the upper end, but not out of line with other high quality seats.
If you don’t already have the base, it becomes quite expensive to pair it with the seat.
Included Accessories
This seat is not intended for newborns, so it doesn’t have a newborn insert. No accessories are included with the seat.
Optional Accessories
The Orbit Baby base is highly recommended to take advantage of the swivel and docking features. This is also the only convertible car seat you can lock into a stroller and a cradle.
Pros
- Swivel feature makes getting your child in and out of the car easier
- The only convertible seat available that can easily be removed and locked into a stroller
- High quality, soft cover material
- Easy installation when used with base
Cons
- Base is sold separately
- Harness adjuster is difficult to use when rear-facing
- Heavy
- Seating position is quite upright
Conclusion
Whether I recommend this seat comes down to if you already have the Orbit Baby car seat base. If you do, the price of this seat isn’t out of line with other high-end seats, and it has some great features such as swiveling and docking into a stroller. Some people wouldn’t want to be without these added features, and this is the only seat that has both.
If you don’t use the base, I’m afraid this seat doesn’t stand out among its competition. If you need to purchase the base separately, this makes the combo of seat + base the most expensive out there. In this case, I only would choose the combo if the cost is not a factor and you must have the swivel and docking features.