Consumer Reports: Pricey & risky car seat system

When it comes to baby travel-stroller systems, Orbit is one of the hippest and most expensive. The company touts that celebrities use the stroller/car seat combo, which costs a whopping $900!

Like other "travel systems," the Orbit Infant System is a child seat that can either be snapped into its stroller or latched into its car-seat base. But in Consumer Reports' tests at a specialized lab, two out of six seats failed simulated crashes.

In one case when the seat was installed with LATCH and was tested to the federal standard, it detached from its base. In the second case it did so when attached with the lap and shoulder belt. Though there have been no reported injuries, Consumer Reports feels that this poses a safety risk.

Consumer Reports contacted the manufacturer, Orbit Baby. The company insists its seat is safe and said, "We took immediate action and scheduled further extensive testing at the same certified test lab. All of the car seats subjected to these tests passed." The company says if you have questions about its seat, you should call 877-ORB-BABY.

Still, Consumer Reports says Don't Buy the Orbit Infant System. And if you own it, use it without the base. That means you'll strap it directly into your car using the safety belts. And in that configuration it passed Consumer Reports' crash tests.

But Consumer Reports says that you don't need to spend $900 for a travel system. The $245 Graco Stylus Travel System passed all of Consumer Reports' tests and was named a Consumer Reports Best Buy.

When installing a car seat, if you find you're having trouble getting it snugly in place or if you want to check you've done it correctly, you can go to a car-seat installation checkpoint. You can find one in your area at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Web site: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm.

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