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One Car Seat to Last You From Newborn to Seat Belt – This car seat from Diono truly will last from baby to big kid. It can act as an infant seat to booster!
As many of you know, car seat safety is an important topic for me. Hence the reason why I have posts on how to install a car seat and the benefits of extended rear-facing.
Car seats have come a long way since they were first introduced and because of them, children are now safer while riding around town.
However, it’s not just about picking a car seat and strapping your child in, there are lots of rules to car seats and not all car seats are created equal.
One of my favorite car seat companies is Diono. I’ve gone through quite a few car seats with my kids but Diono car seats are definitely our favorite.
A few years ago, I was able to check out their Radian RXT. This is a great car seat and we loved it so much that we now have two! So when Diono offered me their new Pacifica car seat, I immediately said yes!
Diono recently launched a new car seat line with their Rainier, Pacifica, and Olympia. These car seats are like the 2.0 version of their old line (which is still being made by the way. You can still by the RXT, R120, and R100.)
Why the new line? Well, the new car seat line has a few amazing additions/changes from the old line! The new line has higher rear facing limits and forward facing limits than the old line.
For instance, the Pacifica can rear face till a whopping 50 lbs, where as it’s old line counterpart, the R120 rear faces to 45 lbs.
Another change, is the extended expiration! Diono’s old line had one of the longest product life spans at 10 years. The new line has an expiration life of 12 years!!!
This is great news for parents because it means you could buy a Diono when you have a newborn and it won’t expire until your child is 12 years old which is great considering most kids need to be in a booster until 10-12 years!
One Car Seat to Last You From Newborn to Seat Belt!
That’s pretty impressive!
Now back to the Pacifica since it’s the model I am getting to review! As I mentioned above, the Pacifica has higher weight limits and a longer life span but there are other great reasons to use this seat such as…
- Full steel frame and aluminum reinforced sides for unmatched safety
- Reinforced extra deep sidewalls lined with energy-absorbing foam give Pacifica superior head and body protection
- Comfortably seats rear-facing children from 5 to 50 lbs
- Highest forward-facing capacity of any car seat in a 5-point harness: from 20-90 lbs (up to 57″ in height)
- Converts to booster mode for children between 50 and 120 lbs. (up to 57″ in height)
- Rear facing tether capability
- Space saving design allows extra room for passengers while providing spacious interior for child (You can fit 3 across!)
- Folds flat for travel and is FAA certified (A lifesaver when flying! Trust me!)
- NCAP crash tested, the industry benchmark for verifying child seat performance in severe accident conditions
- 12 year product life
But I wanted to give you proof that a Diono car seat is indeed one car seat to last you from newborn to seat belt.
Luckily I have kids who range from just that! Ok so my newborn is 3 months old now and not so little but you get the idea…
Newborn: Clearly still rear-facing. She is using the toddler insert but I had removed the infant insert. I probably should have left the infant insert in but she has great head control.
Toddler: My daughter is 2.5 years so she could forward-face but since rear-facing is safer that is where she’ll stay.
4 year old: My 4 year old is shown rear-facing in these pictures and thanks to Diono’s great rear-facing limits she safety can! That said, she can also forward-face which she actually does due to car configuration and 5 kids.
8 year old: As you can see, my 8 year old is still harnessed in the forward-facing position. He can continue to be forward-facing for a long time yet he is still 36lbs under the weight max and 8inches under the height max.
9 year old: We actually normally have my 9 year old in a harness as even he still meets the harness requirements… however, he also could use the Diono in booster mode if I let him. (sorry I didn’t label his picture as booster and not forward facing) Even in booster mode he has a long time till he outgrows it. He is still 65lbs under the weight max and 7 inches under the height max.
Buy A Diono Car Seat
You can purchase a Diono Pacifica (or any of the Diono car seats) on Amazon.
Alternatively, you can use Diono’s retailer locator to find a seller online or near you!
FTC DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging and social media activities, I may receive monetary compensation for my endorsement, recommendation, reviews and/or link to any products or services from this article. However, I only recommend products or services I feel are up to my standards. The Pistachio Project’s a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
