Britax Grow With You ClickTight Combination Car Seat Review

Lower Anchor Storage Closed

Lower Anchor Storage Open

Here’s the scene: your brand new Britax Grow With You ClickTight has arrived! You open the box, pull out the seat, and start preparing to install the seat in your vehicle. Wait! Something seems to be missing. Where are the lower anchors?Federal regulations require that manufacturers include lower anchors on all harnessed child restraints, though they may not be easy to find. On the Grow With You ClickTight, the lower anchors are hidden in a small compartment in the seat pan area, under where the child’s bottom would sit. They’re kind of hidden because this seat installs MUCH EASIER with the vehicle seat belt.

Moving the Buckle – Inner Slot

Moving the Buckle – In Action!

Moving the Buckle – Outer Slot

The Grow With You ClickTight has two settings for the crotch buckle. The buckle should be in the slot closest to, but not under, the child.To move the crotch buckle, open the ClickTight panel by squeezing the two release levers together. Next, locate the two small clips inside the ClickTight area that hold the seat cover in place and unclip them. Pull the seat cover forward while pushing the crotch buckle and EZ-Buckle belly pad through the slot in the cover. Hold the crotch buckle, turn it slightly, then pull it along the path to the desired slot in the shell. Then, place the crotch buckle and EZ-Buckle belly pad back through the cover, replace the cover on the shell, and clip the cover back inside the ClickTight area.

Note: During the course of this review, I had a pretty tough time when attempting to unclip those retaining clips. Over the course of many transitions from booster to harness mode while reviewing the seat, the retaining clips ended up stuck on the seat’s shell at one point. It took some time and effort to remove the clips by sticking a hand into the reclined base and pushing the clips out from the back.

We’d suggest that caregivers pay special attention to these clips’ location when removing and reattaching them.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Seat Belt

The Grow With You ClickTight is designed for simple installation with the vehicle seat belt.  The vehicle seat belt is listed in the manual as the preferred installation method for this seat. To install the Grow With You ClickTight with the vehicle seat belt, start by placing the car seat on the vehicle seat. Lengthen the tether strap, lay it over the back of the vehicle seat and loosely attach it to the tether anchor for easy access later. Next, extend the harness, then unbuckle the chest clip and crotch buckle, and drape each side over each armrest to keep the harness out of the way.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight panel

There are two small slots in the cover — they’re located toward the bottom of the seat, right about where the child’s lower back would be.  Reach through those slots in the cover to access the find the ClickTight release levers.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight panel

Squeeze the levers together to open the ClickTight panel.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight belt path

Once the panel is open, you’ll see a belt path indicated by green labels.  Route the vehicle seat belt through the belt path and buckle the seat belt. Pull gently to remove most of the slack from the vehicle seat belt (but not all — the ClickTight panel will do the rest of the work for you!), then close the ClickTight panel firmly – an audible click should confirm that the panel is closed securely.

Check for a secure installation by giving the car seat a firm handshake at the belt path with your non-dominant hand. The seat should not move more than one inch in any direction. After the seat is properly installed, turn your attention to the final step – removing the slack from the top tether anchor’s webbing.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Lower Anchors

While the vehicle seat belt is the preferred installation method for the Grow With You ClickTight, it is possible to install with the lower anchors.

To install the Grow With You ClickTight with the lower anchors, start by placing the car seat on the vehicle seat. Lengthen the tether strap, lay and place it over the back of the vehicle seat and loosely attach it to the tether anchor for easy access later. Next, extend the harness, then unbuckle the chest clip and crotch buckle, harness and drape each side it over each armrest to keep the harness it out of the way.

Locate the two small slots in the cover — they’re located toward the bottom of the seat, right about where the child’s lower back would be.  Reach through those slots in the cover to access the ClickTight release levers. Squeeze the levers together to open the ClickTight panel.

Please take a moment here to note that both Britax and CSFTL would suggest that you use the vehicle seat belt to install this seat instead of lower anchors.

Once the panel is open, you’ll see a belt path indicated by green labels.  Route the lower anchor webbing through the belt path that is marked by green labels and attach the lower anchors on each side of the car seat to the lower anchors that are mounted inside your vehicle.  Pull gently to remove most of the slack from the webbing (but not all — the ClickTight panel will do the rest of the work for you!) only, then close the ClickTight panel firmly – an audible “click!” should confirm that the panel is closed securely.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight 3 Year Old

This model is 3 years old, weighs 34 pounds, and is 39 inches tall. She is very outspoken – especially when it comes to her car seats! She was thrilled when the Grow With You ClickTight arrived on our porch and she saw the bright purple fabric. She fit very well in this seat with plenty of room to grow, and hasn’t voiced any complaints.  We take that as high praise.

Britax Grow With You 3 Years Old

This 3 year old model weighs 32 pounds and is 37 inches tall.  He’s a big fan of the Grow With You and he’s got plenty of room to grow in the seat.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight 4 Year Old

This model is 4 years old, weighs 42 pounds, and is 45 inches tall. Although he is on the larger size for his age, he has a lot of room still left before outgrowing the harness on the Grow With You ClickTight. He found the seat comfortable, and commented multiple times on how soft the fabric is.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Harness Stored

The Grow WIth You ClickTight has two options for harness storage when the seat is converted to booster mode:  one option leaves the harness stored on the seat and the other involves removing the harness altogether. We prefer the option that keeps all of the parts stored on the seat since we’re prone to losing things.

We’ll explore both ways with a reminder that we definitely found leaving the harness attached to the seat the best way to go.

First, make sure the harness is fully raised, loosened, and unbuckled. Drape the loose harness around the armrests to keep it out of the way. Open the ClickTight panel and locate the two small clips on the back of the seat cover. Unhook the seat cover and pull it forward while pulling the crotch buckle and EZ-Buckle belly pad through the slot in the cover. Lay the crotch buckle and EZ-Buckle belly pad forward so they are on top of the harness adjuster release lever.

Harness Folded for Storage – With Pads

Harness Folded for Storage

Move the cover back into the in-use position, reattach the retaining clips the car seat’s shell, then close the ClickTight panel. Next, grab each harness straps and slide the chest pads, chest clip, and buckle tongues towards the top of the harness. Fold each harness strap to remove any slack, then tuck the harness strap, chest pads, chest clip, and buckle tongues under each side wing cover.

Comfort Pads

Comfort Pads Moved Together for Storage

Note: To store the comfort pads with the seat, unhook one and pull it across towards the other side. Place the two pads together and slide them both under one side of the cover with the rest of the harness.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Harness Removed

We’ll explore this harness storage option with a reminder that we definitely found leaving the harness attached to the seat the best way to go

To remove the harness, start by raising the headrest to the highest setting. Unhook the harness from the splitter plate on the back of the car seat and store the splitter plate in the base of the seat. Then, pull each harness strap through the slots in the seat.

Pro tip: if the harness straps get stuck on the way out, press the red handle and pull gently up on the headrest while pulling the harness strap.

Next, open the ClickTight panel and unhook each harness strap from the metal hip anchors. Finally, pull back the seat cover and pull the crotch buckle out of the slot by rotating it until the metal retainer slides through the slot.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Buckled

When used in booster mode, the Grow With You ClickTight could potentially become a projectile in the event of a crash while unoccupied. There are two ways to prevent this – by buckling the vehicle seat belt around the booster while unoccupied or by using the lower anchors to hold the seat in place while unoccupied.  While there is a 40 pound weight limit for using the lower anchors while the Grow With You ClickTight is in harness mode, that weight limit does not apply for booster mode.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight 6 Year Old

This model is 6 years old, weighs 56 pounds, and is 51 inches tall. He had no difficulty with buckling himself into the Grow With You ClickTight, and he has plenty of time left before outgrowing this seat.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight 9 Year Old

Here we see a 9 year old model who is 68 pounds and 57 inches tall. Although she is at the top of the chart for height, she still has some room left to grow before outgrowing the Grow With You ClickTight in booster mode.

Britax Grow With You date of manufacture label

Date of Manufacture: The date of manufacture can be found on a white label located on the top of the shell on the child’s left side.

Expiration Date: The Grow With You ClickTight’s expiration date is conveniently located on the same label as the date of manufacture.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight FAA Approval

FAA Approval: The FAA approval label is on either side of the seat’s base, with English on the child’s left side and Spanish on the child’s right side.

Lower Anchor Storage Closed

Lower Anchor Storage Open

Lower Anchor Storage: The lower anchors for the Grow With You ClickTight are hidden below a cover on the inside of the ClickTight panel.

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Tether Storage

Top Tether Storage Unlike many other car seats on the market, the Grow With You ClickTight does not have a dedicated top tether storage location. When the top tether is not in use, it hangs from the back of the seat.   Remove all of the slack from the webbing and secure the tail with the included elastic to keep it from becoming a projectile!

Britax Grow With You ClickTight Manual Storage

Manual Storage: The Grow With You ClickTight includes a convenient pocket to store the manual, located on the back of the fabric located on the seat where the child’s back would be. The location is marked by a small label showing a person reading a book.