Britax One4Life ClickTight Review

Britax has been creating juvenile products for over 70 years. They design gear for families keeping fun and safety in view. The company began distribution in the United States in 1996 after selling the best car seats in Europe. Britax also sells some top-ranked strollers and now owns the BOB company.

Performance Comparison

Crash Test

The One4Life has one of the lowest crash test analysis results in our best convertible car seat review, with disappointing results for the chest sensor data and better than average HIC results. We tested this car seat without the Anti-Rebound Bar, as that is how it came when purchased. Each seat in this review meets or exceeds the federal safety guidelines in the FMVSS 213. This Britax has lower results than most of the other Britax options in this review. We commission our crash tests using the same guidelines and facilities used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The graphs provided above include the actual test data with the Britax in black and the top-performing seat results in green for comparison purposes. The Clek Foonf has the least amount of G-forces for the chest clip with a 33, while the One4Life result is 56 (max allowable is 60). The One4Life HIC result is 399, where the max allowed is 1000, and the best is the Britax Allegiance with a 186.

Ease of Install - LATCH

The One4Life is easy to install using LATCH and earned one of the highest results in the group, with only a couple of seats offering easier installation, including the Britax Boulevard ClickTight ARB with perfect scores for all installation methods.

This Britax has the push-button connection (above left) we prefer and a strap that is easy to tighten without much effort. Parents can check the installation angle of the seat using the visual indicators (above right) on the side of the seat, which is straightforward to read.

The angle on this seat can be adjusted using a push-button on the seat's base. This button works well but is sort of awkward compared to those with a pull lever.

Ease of Install - Belt

Installing the One4Life is simple with the vehicle belt and earned the same result here as it did for the LATCH connection. The seat bottom stays out of the way, leaving it open to thread the belt.

Rear-facing installation (above left) is a super easy and totally painless proposition. Forward-facing (above right) is somewhat more difficult as you have to thread the belt through smaller holes but still straightforward.

Ease of Use

This Britax has much in common with its brothers, and being easy to use is one of those things.

Harness

The buckle and chest clip are easy enough to operate though somewhat stiff. The harness is easy to tighten and release with a smooth strap and a button that is easy to find and push.

This seat's harness height adjustment is a non-rethread headrest assembly that moves up and down with the squeeze of a lever. The whole operation moves smoothly and is easy to use. The shoulder height has 15 positions, and the crotch strap has 2, which helps ensure a good fit for all little ones.

LATCH and Manual Storage

The LATCH connectors stow in the seat back sort of wadded up and shoved in (above left). It does keep the straps out of the way, even if it isn't artfully executed. The manual stores behind a fabric flap under the main padding of the seatback (above right). It seems fairly contained, but it could potentially get soiled if there is a significant vomiting incident or spilled drink.

Cover

The cover on this seat comes off surprisingly easily. It tucks under the edges of the seat and is four pieces, making for easier removal and replacement and also means you can remove just the part that is dirty if your mess is isolated to a single area. Unfortunately, the fabric is hand wash and line dry only, which can be time-consuming both in effort and dry time. Handwash always feels shortsighted in children's products, especially for a car seat that gets a lot of action.

Comfort/Quality

The One4Life is a quality seat, like most Britax offerings earning one of the top scores for the metric. This seat has thicker padding that is firm enough to support little bodies. The main portion of the seat is a soft yet durable fabric, while the fabric on the seat sides is a little coarser (above left). The shell is almost completely encased (above right) for easy cleanup and fewer places for the gunk to hide. The overall fit and finish are great with attention to detail that has everything in its place and tightly constructed.

Britax uses EPP foam here, which is less brittle than EPS foam, and it doesn't off-gas. This foam choice is a good example of thoughtfully using a higher-end quality material than the average seat.

Weight

The One4Life seat is both heavy and wide, with a width of 19.8 inches and a weight of just over 28 lbs. While it isn't the heaviest option in the group, it is over the average of 21 and certainly not light enough to consider lugging through an airport or city sidewalk. The width will prevent you from using 3 safety seats across or 2 seats with an average size adult between them.

Should You Buy the Britax One4Life ClickTight?

This safety seat claims suitability for all stages of life from infancy to booster seat. And we see why this would be attractive as a potential to save money and time buying more than one product. However, this specific seat did not score well in our tests; we don't like the idea of using the same seat for all stages. Car seats are designed with different body sizes and shapes in mind, as well as the developmental stages of muscle control. We don't believe it is possible to create one seat to meet all those needs that is comparable to the more specific one-stage seat options. This, along with poor metric performance in critical areas, makes the One4Life a no-go for us.

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