Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by Mama_C : BEST seat for the $$$

This seat is AWESOME. It is sturdy, easy to use, easy to clean, inexpensive, comfortable, long-lasting, and more. I had an older version of this same seat (about two years ago) and bought two of this version--the old one for my hubby's car and these two for my minivan. My two-year-old LOVES the soft, cushiony seat--she always takes her shoes and socks off to rub her feet on it, and my 6-month-old loves the extra room and freedom of the bigger seat (she got too big for the Graco carrier kind.) The tilt is very easy to use and it installs fast and quickly--with LATCH--I haven't tried any other method. They fit beautifully into both my hubby's VW Passat and my Hyundai minivan--we're both tall and still have plenty of room to have our seats all the way back and these seats installed in both front and rear facing positions. It also cleans easy--straight into the wash and cool-setting dryer.

I hope this helps you with your car-seat purchase decision. I know I was a little overwhelmed by all of the choices and price differences. This seat was $90 with free shipping (from Amazon via BabyAge, I think--got here in two days!!) when I got it. I did go to a local store first to check these out (it was $160 in the store) I found the cheaper seats (Graco, Evenflo) had thinner padding. The more expensive seats (Brittax, etc.) had lots of colors and similar padding to this seat. I don't really think the kids care that much about the colors--their butts are on them, you know? I like that this fabric seems to hide everything my two-year-old can dish out on it--and then wash easily if it gets stinky. Oh--the other thing I really like about this seat is how easily the straps adjust--I haven't seen any that are easier--if you look at the picture you'll see these little red handles at the top--you simply push/pull these and the straps slide up or down--other car seats you have to rethread the things--who has time for that!?! Also, the arm rests are adjustable--I have them up and out of the way for now--when we transition to the booster, I'm sure I'll bring them down.

Good luck!!
p.s. I've read a few of the negative reviews and have some tips--
1. For the ones who couldn't remove the infant headrest, it is very easy to remove. Unthread the belts from the clip in the rear, thread out through the front and the headrest slides off--then rethread (the instructions are in the back of the book--look under cleaning.)
2. For the tilt--for cars with bucket seats, you will need to use a prop to adjust the front of the seat when rear-facing. You can purchase a $10 adjuster, cut up a $1 swimmers noodle, or roll up a towel--all are safe--and you can ask you car service dept or safety official to help with the install (most local police departments have monthly safety seat checks.)
I still love this seat--I think it is super easy to use.

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by JAH : Rear facing car seat - you CAN install it rear facing!!!

Okay....so all of these reviews make it seem impossible to install rear-facing. However, I'm here to tell you it's not.

First, let me tell you my little story of installation! I first tried installing the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite car seat rear-facing in my 2004 Mazda 3 using the LATCH system. I followed the instructions to the letter and also used one regular-size towel rolled up underneath it. I thought I had it in there pretty good, but I asked my husband to take a look to see if he could get it a little tighter since it seemed to move a little side to side. We both agreed that it was a little too loose and there was still quite a bit of open space underneath the car seat, which caused additional wiggle room for the car seat to move. We also couldn't seem to get the darn thing level AND tight at the same time.

We took a break from my car and my husband starting working on installing the same car seat in his 2003 GMC pickup, again using the LATCH system. (We bought two identical car seats.) He used one towel underneath, but he absolutely couldn't get it level with the ground and tight at the same time! As he pulled the seat tighter, the seat kept moving up to a sitting position rather than reclined. In fact, he pulled the straps so tight, we couldn't get the darn thing OUT either! The locking mechanism gets jammed if you pull it too tight. Thank goodness we were able to get the towel out from underneath and we detached the base from the car seat (while it was still installed in the truck), which gave us enough room to unhook the car seat from the pickup's LATCH hooks.

So, after about an hour or more of messing around with the car seat and cussing up a storm, we decided to take a break and I did a little research online. I found a video on Safety 1st's website about how to install a rear facing car seat and I also checked out several reviews to see if anyone had advice.

After watching the video, reading the instructions several more times and reading several reviews, I decided to tackle it again. First, ***I removed the base from the car seat*** and used a rolled up bath sheet(a big oversized towel similar to the one used in the video) to put underneath the car seat. The secret is to REMOVE THE BASE!!! It doesn't affect the safety at all and allows for a MUCH better fit when rear-facing!!! It took me all of 5 minutes to get the car seat secured rear-facing in my Mazda 3. And, the bath towel just basically fills the open space right underneath the lower section of the car seat. The car seat really doesn't sit on the towel at all. I did it just like the video shows and it is a secure fit. Another secret I learned from another review is to put your knee down in the car seat where the child's sits and also push straight down hard on the top of the car seat as you pull the straps tight. This will help keep it level with the ground as you're pulling it tight.

I strongly urge you to watch the video and be patient. It was a heck of a lot easier than I thought originally and all it took was for me to step away for a little while and come back to it. Five minutes, literally, to install this thing without the base attached. Give it a try! This car seat is worth it and is very secure for my 10-month old!

Good luck and best wishes to you!

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by Matt Sievers "leardude" : Such a great seat we now have 2.

We have had this carseat for our 3 year old daughter since she outgrew her infant seat and now that her baby brother was due to outgrow the infant seat we decided to look for another exact seat and found it on Amazon for $60.00 less than we paid for the first one. We love the seat. It is installed and is removed from our minivan very easily and is very secure. If you don't have the LATCH system there is a great device from sunshine kids called the "Mighty Tight" it is like a ratcheting tie down and easy to use, get one to make the seat secure in non LATCH vehicles. I didn't have any problems with it at all. I would say that if you plan to remove the cover to wash it will take a few minutes, to take apart and put back together. About 10 minutes each way. The seat is comfortable for long trips and the kids like them. The reason the cupholder is not attached firmly is to be able to move it from side to side or remove it all together I like it and so do my kids. We would buy another if another child comes along.

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by J. Morris : Which End Up???

I am sure that this carseat has been deemed safe, however, I found it very complicated and hard to use. First of all, when we installed the seat in a rear facing position, it was extremely hard to tighten it properly, due to its shape. Also, there was virtually zero visibility out of the back window of the car when we finally did get it properly installed in the middle, or on the sides of the back seat! It's just so enormous! (We own a Honda Civic) This carseat is alot easier to use as a front facing seat, or booster.

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by A. D. McWilliams : I agree

I just wanted to say that we bought this car seat thinking the 3 in 1 aspect would save us having to buy another one later on. We find we have the same problem with the seat not being able to recline enough. We own a Hyundai Elantra, and there just isn't enough room in the middle for the car seat to fully recline. Unless we bring the seats forward to the point where this isn't safe, either. I hope Safety 1 can work on this for future car seat models.

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by Dootgrrl : Worth every penny!

Buy these at Amazon or other place online since they're almost DOUBLE the price at Toys-R-Us ($169 in Feb 2008).

We bought these car seats for our 1-yr-old (22 lb) twin boys and WE LOVE THEM!! They're really padded, cushiony and roomy, so they were very comfortable for the road trip we just took. Once I figured out how to use the hooks to attach to the LATCH bolts built-into my car (incl. in most cars built after 2002), it didn't take long to install.

They will be easy to adjust as our boys grow, and we're thrilled that we won't need to buy another car seat EVER. As a 3-in-1 car seat, they can be converted and used until the child is up to 100 lbs!

We agree that they'll be too big for small cars. In fact, our boys just barely met the limit to situate the car seat to be front-facing. If they hadn't, I don't think it would have fit in our Toyota 4Runner as a rear-facing seat.

The car seat itself isn't big. The problem is that it requires a lot of width (i.e. looks reclined) in order to be set at the safety level in the back seat.

Otherwise....we love it and would highly recommend it.

Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat in Triton
Review by Concerned Dad : Great price but not the same as the one sold at Babys R us

I have been looking for a car seat for our 7 month old son and wanted to buy a car seat that will grow with him. I purchased the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite 3-in-1 Car Seat at Baby's R Us for $159.99. My cousin was looking for the same seat and found it here on Amazon for $89.99. I could not believe the price difference. In reading the reviews many mention it is the same as the one sold at Baby's R Us. So I ordered it from Amazon intending to return the one I bought for $159.99. I received the car seat yesterday. It looks similar has most the same features but one major difference. The $159.99 version Features EPP energy-absorbing foam which makes the seat much softer, yes it's a small difference and might not be worth $70.00. Also it is a different color and different model number then the Baby's R Us model. But I'm going to keep the one for $159.99 and give the other to a family member. I wanted to write this review to point out the difference so that anyone else wanting to buy this car seat knows that there is a difference between the two car seats. I do recommend this car seat just be aware for the differences.