Top Infant Car Seats of 2021

An infant car seat is, arguably, the most important purchase you'll make before your baby is born. It is the one product that can literally save your baby's life. When you load baby up for their first car ride, we want you to be confident that you've chosen the car seat that is right for your family, so let's dig in on the top infant car seats of 2021!

Clek Liing

The Clek Liing infant car seat is one of the easiest installs of infant car seats that we have yet to come across – and that’s saying a LOT! A proper angle is easy to find with a bubble level indicator that can be adjusted once the seat is already installed – this is literally unheard of until now in the car seat world!

The rigid latches make it a “sweat-proof” install and the load leg adds additional stability and decreases rotation in case of a collision. Pair those things with the green indicators throughout and you can be confident you’ve got a proper install every single time.  

One more thing! It’s also super narrow and quite compact from front to back, so a top choice for 3-across installations, smaller vehicles, or long-legged parents up front who can’t have their front seats too close to the dashboard.

Read the entire product review on the Clek Liing here.  

Use From
4-35 lbs

Install without base when required [aka European Belt Path or “taxi-safe” belt path]
Yes  

FAA Approved
Yes  

Extendable Canopy
Yes  

Canopy UPF Rating
100+

Infant Inserts Included
Yes  

Load Leg or Anti-Rebound Bar
Load leg

No Re-Thread Harness
No  

Biggest Pros:

Very easy to get a super secure install and be confident it's properly installed every single time.
Made in Canada!

Biggest Cons:

Not a no re-thread harness

Maxi Cosi Mico Max Plus

The Mico Max Plus by Maxi Cosi is an upgraded and newer version of the Mico Max 30 and it was just released in 2020. This seat is equipped with a load leg to increase stability and decrease rotation in case of a collision. It also has a canopy with a ventilation panel that can be zipped out for additional coverage during those sunny or snowy days.  

This seat has a padded carry handle which makes it more comfortable to tote around when getting in and out of the car, but our favourite part about this car seat is the “flip away crotch buckle” feature, so that you’re not digging the crotch buckle out from underneath baby! It stays in a forward position.  

Use From
4-30 lbs

Install without base when required [aka European Belt Path or “taxi-safe” belt path]
Yes

FAA Approved

Yes  

Extendable Canopy

Yes  

Canopy UPF Rating

50+

Infant Inserts Included

Yes  

Load leg or Anti-Rebound Bar
Load leg

No Re-Thread Harness
No  

Biggest Pros:

Compatible with a wide variety of strollers to make a travel system [with adapters sold separately]

Biggest Cons:

Wide base takes up quite a bit of space in vehicle and base is not as easy to properly install as some of the others on this list

Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 Nido

The Primo Viaggio 4-35 Nido infant car seat comes with a base that is equipped with both a load leg AND an anti-rebound bar which work together to significantly decrease rotation in case of a collision. It also has a bubble level indicator that you’ll use to ensure your car seat is at the correct angle for your baby’s weight and a dial on the base to adjust the foot to achieve this correct angle.  The deep shell with side impact protection provides ultimate protection for baby.

Use From

4-35 lbs

Install without base when required [aka European Belt Path or “taxi-safe” belt path]
Yes  

FAA Approved
Yes

Extendable Canopy
Yes

Canopy UPF Rating

50+

Infant Inserts Included

Yes  

Load Leg or Anti-Rebound Bar

Both!

No Re-Thread Harness

Yes

Biggest Pros:

Load leg and anti-rebound bar provide excellent stability & no re-thread harness is very convenient for adjustments on the fly  

Biggest Cons:

Base is not as easy to properly install as some of the others on this list

Nuna Pipa

Parents love the simplistic look and leatherette accents on the Nuna Pipa series infant car seats [they are beautiful car seats!] and it’s also one of the lightest car seats on the market at just 7.9lbs! They were able to keep this car seat at such a low weight AND include a “Dream Drape” which is a pop-out sun canopy that provides complete coverage from all the elements.  

 The Nuna Pipa is equipped with rigid latches for an extremely quick installation! With the Nuna Pipa, you are able to install using the rigid latches AND the seatbelt [note that on all other infant car seats you must use one or the other]. Although in the United States it features a load leg on the base, it does NOT in Canada.

If you’re comparing the Nuna Pipa, Nuna Pipa Lite and Nuna Pipa Lite LX you can read more about those differences here.   

Use From

4-35 lbs

Install without base when required [aka European Belt Path or “taxi-safe” belt path]

Yes  

FAA Approved

Yes  

Extendable Canopy

Yes  

Canopy UPF Rating

50+

Infant Inserts Included

Yes  

Load Leg or Anti-Rebound Bar

Neither

No Re-Thread Harness

No

Biggest Pros:

Extremely lightweight and looks very stylish

Biggest Cons:

Can be difficult to achieve a proper recline in vehicles without use of pool noodles or towels to aid in adjustments

  

UPPAbaby Mesa

The UPPAbaby Mesa infant car seat is an extremely popular choice for parents because of the ease of use when paired with an UPPAbaby stroller! There are no adapters required at an additional cost and it clips right onto the frame of Vista V2 or Cruz V2 strollers #winning.  

The Mesa base features a “SmartSecure” system, which is essentially self-retracting UAS connectors so that you can easily get a tight and secure installation without breaking a sweat! The indicator changes from red to green when you have it installed tight enough, and there is another red/green indicator located on the side of the base confirming when you have the correct angle.  

Use From

4-35 lbs

Install without base when required [aka European Belt Path or “taxi-safe” belt path]

Yes  

FAA Approved

Yes  

Extendable Canopy

No

Canopy UPF Rating

50+

Infant Inserts Included

Yes  

Load Leg or Anti-Rebound Bar

Neither

No Re-Thread Harness

Yes

Biggest Pros:

No re-thread harness and ease of install

Biggest Cons:

Small canopy compared to others on this list