Every car seat goes through the same crash and safety testing as regulated by the federal government and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, in recent years, car seat manufacturers have gone above and beyond to provide additional advanced safety features for their customers. One such advanced feature is a “load leg,” which provides many additional crash protection and safety benefits.
The load leg braces the car seat against the vehicle floor and prevents the seat from vaulting forward toward the front of the car in a crash. In doing this, the load leg absorbs a lot of the crash forces. So the rebound — or secondary movement after the collision — is also less severe with this advanced technology. This is a really great feature because the less movement a child’s body experiences in a car crash, the better!
Load legs aren’t always available or usable. A few vehicles, particularly those with hollow floors due to stow-and-go seating, prohibit the use of load legs, so check your vehicle manual! And not all brands currently offer car seats with the load leg feature. So we decided to share a round-up of one car seat per manufacturer that has a seat with a load leg! Many of these seats have additional advanced safety tech and convenience features. Which makes them great choices for your next car seat purchase.
In our blog post Car Seat Load legs, we explain how load legs work, why they enhance safety, and highlights some of the car seats with this feature, including the UPPAbaby Aria V2, Cybex Cloud T, and Romer Juni. While all car seats meet safety standards, those with load legs offer extra protection by managing crash forces more effectively.
Here are 11 brands that have car seats with a load leg:
11 Brands With load leg For Car Seat
1. Evenflo
Evenflo Revolve180 LiteMax NXT
This is one of Evenflo's newer seats. One of the versions comes with a load leg and the other LiteMax NXT seats have the load leg available as a separate purchase. This version has a lot of features besides the load leg! It also swivels to the side for ease of getting baby in and out of the seat when you don't feel like taking the infant seat out of the vehicle. It has SensorySoothe, which is a light and sound featuree built into the handle bar. This can be controlled via a button on the side of the handle or with Evenflo's app. This seat also features the SensorSafe chest clip which alerts you if the temperature is too high/too low or if the baby has been left in the vehicle. It has flame-retardant-free fabric and it's super easy to install.
2. Clek
Clek Liing Infant Car Seat
The brand Clek is the one that you go to when looking for a premium car seat. Of course, every car seat must pass the same crash tests. But there are other luxuries some parents look for, like Clek’s non-toxic fabric choices. All Clek fabric options are free of flame retardants. This makes it an excellent choice for parents who want to prioritize this feature!
This infant seat has a load leg, of course. But another safety feature we appreciate is the Rigid Latch installation option. A Rigid Latch means that the lower anchor connectors extend from the base on adjustable steel bars, rather than a flexible seatbelt-like strap. This makes for an extra-secure and very easy installation! A Rigid Latch can also act as an energy absorber during a crash, limiting the side-to-side rotation of the car seat. In addition to the load leg, it’s one of our favorite features to see on a car seat!
In addition to these safety and ease-of-use features, we love that the Liing provides an excellent fit on smaller newborns, all the way down to its 4-pound minimum. The Liing is one of the only car seats that lets you adjust the recline after installing the base — unlike most seats that must be uninstalled, adjusted, and reinstalled to achieve that perfect recline — and it’s also very compact front to back. If you’re in a 3-across situation, the Clek Liing infant car seat is a great pick, because it’s only 16.9 inches wide! And, if you’re wondering about a stroller system, Clek doesn’t have its own collection. But the Clek Liing fits in plenty of strollers from other brands. All of these features make a top-quality infant car seat at just over $450.
See our full review of the Clek Liing here.
Install Clek Liing YouTube Video here.
Watch the Nuna Pipa RX vs Clek Liing video here.
3. Nuna
Nuna PIPA RX
The Nuna PIPA RX infant car seat is definitely light at about 8lbs. But that’s not its only attractive feature. It has a load leg, multiple recline options — which can be adjusted without uninstalling the car seat, similar to the Clek Liing — and an anti-rebound panel. This seat features a supportive infant insert that helps it fit small babies well. Other features include a mesh “sky drape” canopy that comes all the way down and attaches with magnets. The harness straps also have magnetic holders to make buckling easier!
All color options of the Nuna PIPA RX meet federal safety standards without using added flame retardants. In fact, this seat is GreenGuard Gold certified organic. And we should mention that premium fabric and foam padding is machine washable. This car seat works with all Nuna strollers and several other stroller brands with the proper adapters. And you can even get a rain cover and transport bag for your seat for additional convenience. This car seat comes in at about $400.
See our Nuna Pipa RX review here and YouTube Videos here.
4. Cybex
Cybex Cloud T
The Cybex Cloud T infant seat has a lot of features. It's on the heavier side at around 12 pounds. But the base has a load leg, anti-rebound bar, and rigid lower anchors. It's super easy to install. It also features a SensorSafe chest clip. The fabric is free of flame retardants. When used outside of the vehicle, the infant seat can be reclined to offer better positioning.
5. Axkid
One3
The Axkid One3 is the first non-infant seat in the US that is rear-facing only. It can be used until 65 pounds or 49," making it also the longest lasting rear-facing seat by weight on the US market. It features rigid lower anchors and an anti-rebound bar, in addition to the load leg. It can be very compact, or it can be installed in a way that gives a lot of legroom to the child. This is one of the few seats that allows installation with both the seat belt AND the lower anchors at the same time. The fabric is free of flame retardants.
6. Babyark
Smart
The Babyark Smart is a convertible car seat has rigid lower anchors, an anti-rebound bar, and a load leg. It's very easy to install and has an app that guides you through the process. It has a flip forward buckle to easily get the child in and out of the seat. It does not have a very tall harness height, but it will last most kids to around 4. The fabric is free of flame retardants.
7. Uppababy
Aria V2
Uppababy Aria V2 is an infant seat. It's super easy to install with either the seat belt or the self-ratcheting lower anchors. It has both a load leg and an anti-rebound bar. The fabric is free of flame retardants.
8. PEG
Primo Viaggio Lounge
The PEG Primo Viaggio Lounge has been updated to meet the new side impact safety standards, giving you the latest protection technology. The base has an anti-rebound bar. The seat features an extendable canopy to shield your baby from sun and glare while driving, and the fabric is free of flame retardants. When you're using the seat outside the vehicle (like in a stroller), it reclines for comfortable positioning.
Ambra
The Maxi Cosi Ambra is one of Maxi Cosi's newest seats. It has an anti-rebound bar and rigid lower anchors. It's very easy to install. The fabric is also free of flame retardants.
10. Romer
Juni
Romer is one of the newest brands in the US, and the Juni infant seat is worth paying attention to if you value both safety features and eco-friendly design. It comes with rigid lower anchors (steel bars that lock firmly into your vehicle for a rock-solid connection) and a full-coverage canopy with UPF 50+ protection, plus mesh ventilation so your baby doesn't overheat underneath. The base features both a load leg and an anti-rebound bar, giving you multiple layers of crash protection.
The Juni's fabric is flame-retardant-free and made from recycled oyster shells, which appeals to parents looking for non-toxic materials. Installation is straightforward with either the rigid anchors or the seat belt,
11. Doona
X
The Doona X is the first car seat stroller in the US to have a load leg on the base. The base also has rigid lower anchors, although they have a maximum weight of 25 pounds, which is unusual for an infant seat. It is super easy to install with either the rigid lower anchors or the seat belt. The handle doubles as an anti-rebound bar when the seat is in the vehicle. When used outside of the vehicle, the Doona X has a recline feature.
BONUS: Convertible Car Seats with a rear-facing tether
While there are not many US convertible car seats with a load leg, there are a few convertible car seats with a rear-facing tether feature that serves a similar energy management purpose during a crash. This “Australian” top tether feature (named because it’s seen on Australian rear-facing car seats) allows the top tether strap of a convertible car seat to be routed around the back and side of the car seat shell in a rear-facing installation, then hooked to that vehicle seat’s top tether anchor. Like a load leg, this style of rear-facing tether feature adds a connection point to the vehicle and limits how much the car seat shell can rotate towards the front of the vehicle during a crash. While this feature looks very different from a load leg, it functionally provides a similar safety benefit!
Clek Foonf and Clek Fllo
Clek is known for its commitment to advanced energy management features in its seats. And they live up to this reputation by offering their Q-tether accessory for their convertible car seat lineup! The Q-tether assembly hooks onto the vehicle seat’s top tether anchor. Then wraps around the back of the rear-facing car seat and is secured through the forward-facing lock-offs. While it does route around both sides of the car seat, it’s easy to loosen the tether strap on the loading side of the car seat to remove your child. Then quickly tighten it back up after loading and buckling your kiddo so that it’s not in the way.
The Q-tether must be purchased separately for about $20. But don’t worry, it’s not an unsafe, unregulated accessory like most extra accessories for car seats that you might see out there. It’s specifically designed, tested, and approved for use with Clek’s convertible car seats! And while the Foonf and Fllo are both extremely safe without this added feature, we love that Clek offers this option as an above-and-beyond energy management measure for their convertible car seats.
How to install Clek Foonf rear-facing: YouTube Video
How to install Clek Foonf forward-facing: YouTube Video
UPPAbaby Rove
The UPPAbaby Rove convertible car seat is the only US car seat that offers an Australian-style rear-facing top tether option built in! Unlike the Clek Q-tether, the Rove doesn’t require an extra accessory purchase to take advantage of this cool feature, which Uppababy calls the Multi-directional Top Tether. Instead, the normal top tether on the Rove — the same one that’s critical for forward-facing installs — can be routed along one side of the car seat shell and hooked to a top tether anchor. Since the Rove's top tether is a single strap, there’s no need to adjust when loading or unloading the child. When installing, simply route the tether strap along the opposite side of the car seat from the vehicle door!
A load leg is an advanced safety feature that’s available in several car seat models.
All car seats must pass the same crash testing. But that doesn’t mean car seat manufacturers can’t do even more to keep their little customers safe. Load legs, anti-rebound bars, and L.S.Ps are all fantastic safety features that prevent movement in a crash. Which reduces your child’s risk of head injury, broken bones, and worse in the event of a collision.
We hope this list helps you find the seat you’re looking for. But if not, check out our car seat review page and car seat shopping guides for more Safe in the Seat car seat recommendations. We also have car seat buying kits that help you narrow down your search and find the perfect seat for your family.
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