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    Defender 360
    • Harness mode: 22-65 lbs, 27-57 in.
    • Booster mode: 30-110 lbs, 34-57 in.

    Price

    $82.00

    * This Model May Have Limited Distribution

    Description

    • Harness mode: 22-65 lbs, 27-57 in.
    • Booster mode: 30-110 lbs, 34-57 in.

    CR Expert Take

    How did it perform in our expert lab testing?

    Overall Score

    The Overall Score for this model is derived from our expert lab test results.
    Current Range of Tested Toddler-Booster Seats

    What goes into the Overall Score?

    EXPERT LAB TESTS

    Ease of use
    3  /  5
    Fit-to-vehicle LATCH
    5  /  5
    Fit-to-vehicle belt
    2  /  5
    Crash protection/Belt fit booster
    2  /  5
    Booster fit
    3  /  5
    Harnessed crash protection
    BASIC

    Pros

    • Installation with LATCH is excellent

    Cons

    • No top tether storage
    • Harness must be removed and stored separately for booster use
    • Lap belt fit not ideal in booster mode
    • Difficult to place belt under armrests in booster mode, making it easy to miss
    • Harnessed crash protection for children greater than 40 lbs. Difficult to assemble and requires tools

    CR's Take

    The Harmony Defender 3-in-1 has excellent installation with LATCH. Due to its performance in our crash tests, CR does not recommend its use in harness mode for children weighing greater than 40 lbs.

    Detailed Test Results

    Consumer Reports’ car seat crash test, developed in 2014, provides comparative performance information on which car seats could provide an additional margin of safety.  All child seats sold in the United States are required to meet government safety standards, and Consumer Reports’ tests are not designed to test compliance with those standards.  Rather, we evaluate the seats’ performance under conditions designed by our experts to simulate certain crash scenarios, and rate them on a scale ranging from “basic” to “best.”  The test conditions have been carefully designed to simulate the interior environment and forces encountered during a crash in contemporary vehicles. For more information on our crash test protocol, please click here.

    About

    The Harmony Defender 360 is part of the Car Seats test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Toddler-Booster Seats models like the Defender 360 are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

    Ease of use: Our judgment of how easy each seat is to use including the clarity of the labels and instructions, adjustments of clips and buckles, the transition of the seat between harness and booster modes and installation features such as LATCH connections and top tethers.

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

    Fit-to-vehicle belt: A rating of how easy it is to securely and correctly install each seat, in the harnessed mode, using the vehicle seat belts in a variety of vehicles and how well they fit each vehicle once installed.

    Additional Information

    In Consumer Reports’ crash tests, 2 of 2 Harmony Defender 360 seats tested forward-facing with a 62 lb. dummy, representing a heavier 6 year old child, and 1 of 2 Defender 360 seats tests forward-facing with a 52 lb. dummy, representing an average 6 year old child, experienced breakage of harness support hardware at the rear of the seat’s shell in the child’s shoulder area and the seat’s internal harness pulling through the shell, allowing the harness to loosen. This could provide a lesser margin of safety when compared to other models subjected to the same test protocol. Though the child-sized dummy remained within the harness, the loose harness could jeopardize the seat’s ability to effectively protect a child in any subsequent impacts occurring during a crash event. As required of all car seats sold in the U.S., the Harmony Defender 360 must comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and the manufacturers self-certify to such compliance. The federal standard is designed to ensure an essential level of crash protection. CR’s crash evaluation of car seats is based on how each seat’s performance compares with that of similar models in our 35 mph frontal crash tests. Given the results for the Harmony Defender 360, we believe there are better choices that could provide a greater margin of safety in certain crash conditions similar to those simulated in our tests. 

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