Graco GoMax Baseless Insta-Install

The Graco GoMax Baseless Infant Car Seat is a rear-facing only infant car seat suitable for babies from birth (4 lbs.) to 30 lbs. or 32 inches, whichever comes first. The seat can be installed with the lower anchors without a base, thanks to rigid LATCH connectors, though a separate base can be purchased if needed. The Graco GoMax Baseless performed well in CR’s proprietary crash tests, and offered an excellent carrier-only fit in a variety of vehicles in our testing fleet. 

However, we achieved a better fit in multiple vehicles when installing with the seatbelt rather than the rigid LATCH connectors. Additionally, our child passenger safety experts were unable to get an appropriate recline for the 0- to 3-month-old infant weight range when installed with LATCH. For babies under 3 months, it may be best to use a seat belt installation and place a rolled towel underneath the front of the car seat to get a proper recline if needed, while making sure you’re still getting a secure installation. 

Given the baseless design, this seat will need to be reinstalled every time you take the car seat out of the car, but the “Insta-Install” rigid LATCH connectors are very easy to use and remove, and are stored automatically when released. There’s also the option to buy a separate base, which can stay installed in the primary vehicle. 

We also found it difficult to find the carrier release handle under the canopy fabric, making it a little hard to use, and it’s not possible to move the carrier handle to the furthest position when the harness is in its highest position. 

This seat may be a good choice for: 

• Families who want a dedicated infant seat for the first year before switching to a rear-facing convertible or all-in-one car seat
• Families who regularly use taxis, ride-shares, or need to move their car seat between multiple cars
• Anyone who needs a simple and straightforward installation, thanks to the rigid LATCH connectors

Ease of use: Overall, this seat was very easy to use, with a streamlined installation process, easily adjustable harness and headrest, easy open-close buckle, and rigid LATCH connectors.

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH: The rigid LATCH connectors make lower anchor installations easy, but caregivers should note that with this car seat you’re limited to vehicle seating positions with dedicated lower anchors, which means that positioning this seat in the rear center won’t work for most vehicles. We could not install this seat with the proper recline for a 0- to 3-month-old baby using LATCH in some cars, as the rigid LATCH attachments don’t allow sufficient rotation.

Fit-to-vehicle belt: When installing with the seat belt, this seat offered an excellent and secure fit.

Crash protection: In CR’s crash test protocol, this seat had good performance. We saw trim separation of the LATCH connector when tested with our heaviest 12-month-old crash test dummy (30 lbs), though the connector remained attached to the vehicle’s lower anchor. 

The Graco GoMax Baseless Insta-Install is part of the Car Seats test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Infant Car Seat models like the GoMax Baseless Insta-Install are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Maximum weight: The maximum weight of a child that a model will accommodate.

Ease of use: Includes the clarity of instructions, installing the seat, adjusting harness positions, placing a child in the seat, securing the harness, and removing the child.

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH: A rating of how easy it is to securely and correctly install each seat using the LATCH system in a variety of vehicles and how well the seats fit each vehicle once installed.