The Safety 1st Tri Safe Plus car seat conforms to ECE R44/04 standards and is installed with your car’s own seatbelt. It has an adjustable headrest, adjustable one-pull 5-point harness and rotating armrests, but no recline. Once your child’s old enough, the 5-point harness isn’t required, and you used the car’s own seatbelt to fasten your child in.
What we love
The Safety 1st Tri Safe looks stylish and comfortable and has a washable cover.
It comes with an easy-to-adjust headrest and 5-point safety harness. The headrest is deep and padded to offer side protection.
The rotating armrests are probably the best feature. The armrests swing out of the way, so lifting my son Louie in and out the car seat is much easier than some of the other models I’ve used. There’s no risk of bumped heads or elbows with this one.
The Safety 1st Tri Safe Plus car seat is light too, and is easily carried from one car to another without the struggles I’ve had transporting bulkier models.
The price is hugely appealing too, as is the fact there shouldn’t be a need to purchase a new one a few years down the line.
What to watch out for
While the Safety 1st Tri Safe Plus car seat certainly looks good, I feel parts of it are disappointing.
Fitting this car seat into the car is far too awkward. It doesn’t have ISOFIX so is secured with the seatbelt, which snakes around the back of the seat. It sounds easy but feeding it through the slots isn’t a quick job.
Aside from the fiddly installation, I have trouble making sure the harness straps are tight enough on both sides to secure 1-year-old Louie. When I pulled on the one-pull harness, it doesn’t immediately tighten both straps so I have to check, and check again, before I’m happy Louie is secure.
The Tri Safe Plus doesn’t recline. While this isn’t a must for everyone, I personally wouldn’t choose a model that doesn’t have this function, unless it was going to be used as a spare. Louie immediately slouches forward when he sleeps in this seat and looks very uncomfortable.
I’m also disappointed to notice snags in the fabric after Louie’s only been in the seat a handful of times. I’m therefore unsure if the seat would withstand years of use.
After trialling the Tri Safe Plus, I can’t help but think it would be a better choice for an older child. My other son, 4-year-old Sam, looks right at home and I feel happier using the car’s seatbelt to fasten him in instead of the harness. I’d recommend it as a safe and comfortable seat but would steer away from it if I were shopping for a Group 1 car seat.
Who is the Safety 1st Tri Safe Plus car seat best for?
Parents or grandparents of older children looking for a reasonably priced second car seat.
The Safety 1st Tri Safe Plus car seat is a lightweight and stylish multi-group option, but it may not be robust enough to stand 10 years of everyday use. It also may not be the best choice if you’re looking for a car seat to use right from 9kg. It would be a suitable seat for an older child who could be strapped in with the car’s seatbelt instead of the fiddly-to-secure harness.
