Century Carry On 35 LX Rear Facing Only Car Seat Review

Century Carry On 35 LX

Century is a “new” car seat/child safety product name that you might know from your own childhood.  I promise you, the seat I’m reviewing today is not from that batch of seats, nor was the seat I’m reviewing used on the original Full House.  The Century name has been relaunched with a small line of modestly-priced seats.  Today, we’ll introduce you to the rather compact Carry On 35 LX rear facing only seat.

There are two versions of this seat:  the Carry On 35 and the Carry On 35 LX.  The LX model has beefier infant padding, a larger canopy, a handle that’s separate from the canopy (note:  we didn’t have a Carry On 35 to compare this handle to) and harness covers.

Century Carry On 35 LX infant inserts

Our seat came with a robust infant insert and separate head pillow.  Both pieces can be used until the child weighs 12 pounds, they can also be removed at any time to fit the child. You may find that your child fits best with just one of the inserts in the seat — that’s just fine!  The base model of this seat doesn’t include this insert but the manual states that tightly rolled towels can be used alongside the child’s torso to position the child if necessary.

Century Carry On 35 LX recline line

The recline angle indicator is a line on the side of the base.  That goes along with the bare-bones theme of the seat.  The manual also has FOUR sets of instructions for checking that this line is level with the ground, the second set of instructions want caregivers to check this after the child is in the seat.  The third set is identical to the first: “The red level line on the side of the base MUST BE LEVEL with the ground.”  The second and fourth sets of level line instructions remind caregivers to check once more after the child is in the seat.  There is an additional note of caution about the LXvel line in the baseless install section of the manual.

Note: the level line on the base is not red, it’s just molded plastic in the same gray color as the base.  There is a red line on the carrier, but not the base.  The manufacturer will be changing this to make the seat consistent with the manual.

There are also two additional reminders to check the level line in the installation summaries, bringing the grand total of reminders about the level line to 10, plus a bonus reminder on the quick start guide.  This could possibly be overkill.

Century Carry On 35 LX logo

The base has a fairly large recline angle adjuster, we suspect that this means the Carry On 35 LX will fit in a variety of vehicles.  This adjuster extends via kind of a unique, clever mechanism — by lifting the big C logo on the front of the base.  Not related to anything, the logo reminds me of the sticker that many county employees have on their cars in my neck of the woods.

Century Carry On 35 LX lower anchor connectors

The Carry On 35 LX’s base includes the standard j-hook lower anchor connectors.  In most cases, the mere sight of these types of lower anchors inspires me to try a vehicle seat belt installation first.  These anchor connectors get the job done but I tend to find them difficult to remove once they’re installed tightly.

Century Carry On 35 LX harness adjustment

The rethread harness means that the harness has to be disconnected and manually rethreaded as the child grows.

The harness also has two sets of loops for differently sized children.  The splitter plate must be on top of the harness loops.  The manual instructs caregivers to use the upper loops of the harness if the child is using the lowest 2 harness slots.  Similarly, the lower loops of the harness must be used when the child is using the upper 2 harness slots.

Century Carry On 35 LX

There’s something unusual about the cover — it’s made from recycled soda bottles!  It’s quite plush.

Century Carry On 35 LX

The Carry On 35 LX has standard j-hook lower anchor connectors. Personally, I find wrestling with this type of lower anchor to be more of a challenge than I prefer, so I tend to use the vehicle seat belt to install bases with this type of lower anchor connector.  For science, and for you, I accepted the challenge and installed the seat with these little beauties.

Installing the base with those lower anchors was just fine — I was able to get a secure install with very little effort.  I attached the lower anchor connectors to the vehicle’s lower anchors, put some pressure on the end of the back, then pulled the slack out of the webbing until it was snug.  And thanks to the many reminders in the manual, I knew to check that the level line was level to the ground.

Century Carry On 35 LX lower anchors

Once the base is installed, check your work by giving the base a firm handshake at the belt path with your non-dominant hand.  The base should move less than an inch at the belt path.

However, when it was time to remove the base, those lower anchors fought back mightily.  The release mechanism did not want to release!  It took a lot of effort but eventually, I was able to get the release mechanism to move a bit and release the lower anchor webbing.

I stand behind my assertion that the vehicle seat belt is preferable over standard j-hook lower anchors.

OF COURSE, if installing with the lower anchors works best for your family, please ignore me and do that.  The installation method that works best and that YOU feel confident about doing is the right one.

Century Carry On 35 LX vehicle seat belt

Installing the base with the vehicle seat belt was so simple.  The base doesn’t have any lockoffs or extra features.  That translates to a very simple install, which is a gift in and of itself.

I threaded the vehicle seat belt through the clearly-marked belt path and buckled the seat belt.  Pull the shoulder portion of the seat belt out until the retractor engages (you’ll know when there’s a clicking noise as the belt goes back into the vehicle), then feed that seat belt back into the vehicle until the slack is removed from the seat belt.

Check your work by giving the base a firm handshake at the belt path with your non-dominant hand.  The base should move less than an inch at the belt path.

Thanks to the many reminders in the manual and the extra two reminders on the base itself, I knew to check that the level line was level to the ground.

Century Carry On 35 LX installed without the base

A rolled towel is permitted to help with the recline angle.  The “rolled towel” in the manual looks more like a towel-blob than a tightly rolled towel but we don’t take that to mean that blobs can be used in place of rolled towels.

The carrier portion of the seat has a traditional routing for a baseless installation, which means only the lap portion of the vehicle seat belt is threaded through the belt guides.  I was able to install the carrier without issue.

Century Carry On 35 LX preemie doll

Our preemie doll weighs 4 pounds and is 17 inches long.  With the infant insert in the seat, the harness fit our doll well.  The insert can be used until the child weighs 12 pounds, our preemie is well within that range.

Century Carry On 35 LX newborn doll

Our newborn doll weighs 7 pounds and is also 17 inches long. With the infant insert in the seat, the harness also fit our newborn doll well, though I admit that our doll looks a bit surprised here.

Century Carry On 35 LX 16 month old doll

Since the seat is rated to 32 inches and 35 pounds, we asked our 16 month old doll to model the seat.  Before asking our doll to model, I removed the insert since that is only rated for children who weigh up to 12 pounds.

The doll has more room to grow than in some rear facing only seats this doll has modeled recently!  Since the carrier is so lightweight, it’s possible that families may choose to use this seat for quite some time — it’s nice to see that a young toddler could fit!

Century Carry On 35 LX FAA approval

FAA approval label: the Carry On 35 LX’s carrier can be installed on aircraft.  The approval label is found underneath the carrier.  At just under 7 pounds, this seat would be a very lightweight option for travel!

Century Carry On 35 LX date of manufacture and manual storage

Manual storage: there’s a handy slot for the manual on top of the base.

Date of manufacture label: the seat has a 7 year lifespan.  The date of manufacture label is found on the underside of the carrier and on the underside of the base.