Pros: Fits all sizes of shopping carts, easy to put on carts, padding makes shopping cart seats and highchairs more comfortable, durable fabric, has small storage pockets.
Cons: A little bulky for highchairs, attached toys are not that interesting.
When I first saw a cart cover like this being used by a mom in Babies R Us, my initial thought was, "Isn't that a bit much?" That was when I was still schlepping SB around in his carseat or stroller in stores. When he started to sit up on his own and I tried putting him in a shopping cart on our shopping trips, I realized how handy these cart covers could be. The main purpose of cart covers is to provide a barrier against all those germs that could be lurking on shopping cart handles and seats. But an added bonus is that they also provide comfy, padded seating for your little one's bottom instead of hard plastic and metal bars. I didn't know how important that was until I started trying to sit SB in a shopping cart when he was about 6 months old and he looked so uncomfortable and acted it, too (lots of fussing).
So that's when I broke down and purchased the Infantino Savvy Seat 2-in-1 cover. It is made to fit both shopping carts and restaurant highchairs. I can't compare it to other covers, because I haven't tried anything else, but I have to say that I am very satisfied with this purchase. And I think SB is, too. He has fussed a lot less in shopping carts and restaurant highchairs since getting this cover. I think it just makes the seat more comfortable for him. He sometimes even lays his head on the side when he is tired, which would be pretty uncomfortable with plain metal bars.
The Savvy Seat has Microban Protection, which supposedly inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Mine has never started to smell bad, so I assume it's working. Made of 65% polyester/35% cotton, it's not the softest fabric around but it's not bad, and it has held up pretty well in terms of durability. The nice thing about this particular model is that it fits all size shopping carts - even the big ones at Costco and Target. I did some research on other models, and many of them only fit standard supermarket shopping carts. This one provides complete coverage on all carts - it goes over the handlebars, sides, and the entire seating area. Now the actual need for all this germ protection is debatable (see this Consumer Reports article), but it can't hurt to be safe, right?
Some other nice features are its storage pockets for holding things like your wallet and cellphone and the four toy loops that you can use to attach small toys. It comes with two cheapie toys - a little plush lion toy that squeaks and a thin, plastic teething ring. SB has shown very little interest in these toys, so I can't say that they are a bonus, but if you have fun toys that have a loop on them, you can just attach them to the two additional velcro-close loops. The cover also comes with a storage bag. Just fold the cover up and stick it in the bag. That way, you don't have a bulky item sitting in the backseat of your car. And it is a bit bulky. So much so that it gets a little bunched up on those small restaurant highchairs. It does work with them, but it's just a tad unwieldy.
I have the Savvy Seat in the Olive Mod color. It's a pea green color with a brown, light purple, and olive green geometric pattern, as you can see in the photo above. I know - it's not the most attractive pattern around, but I like it because it's gender neutral and not garish. I've seen other covers with crazy patterns, which is not my thing, but if you like bright and colorful, this same model is also available in a color called Candy Paisley (it's more of a girl pattern).
I found that Infantino also is now offering a slightly upgraded version of the Savvy Seat, called "Shop & Dine Deluxe," which comes in a pattern called Happy Hula. The pattern looks like a blue Hawaiian flower print shirt. This "deluxe" version has a prop-up pillow for a headrest, as well as a plush lion toy and plush monkey toy that play music and squeak against a circus background. Also, there is a slightly different version of the Savvy Seat, simply called "2-in-1 High Chair/Cart Cover," that comes in a pattern called Blue Flower/Dots (or Pink Flower/Dots). I like this pattern the best - it's very subtle and has nice, gender-neutral colors. I would have gotten this version if I had known about it before purchasing the Olive Mod. The only difference I can see between this model and the Savvy Seat is that it doesn't come with any toys. Interestingly, the price of all of these models is the same at $39.99. Based on my online research, this price is about mid-range. I have found that prices of cart covers range anywhere from $20 to $100. Can't imagine how any cart cover is worth 100 bucks, but we have found this $39.99 Infantino cover to be more than sufficient for our needs.
Retail price of Savvy Seat: $39.99 (available at Target, as well as sites like Target.com and Amazon.com)
1 comment:
Post a Comment