Sarah Mahan
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Evenflo Tribute Car Seat Review

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Evenflo Tribute

The Evenflo Tribute

For most families, saving money is a top priority; however, you don’t want to skimp on things like safety. Thankfully, any car seat sold in the United States has to meet minimum federal safety standards, so even if you find one for less money, your child will still be safe. This means you don’t have to spend $300 or more on your child’s car seat, unless, of course, you want to.

My younger daughter was growing out of her infant seat and needed a convertible car seat, but the two we already had were Graco My Ride 65s, which are incredibly wide—21”. We couldn’t fit two of them next to each other, so I had to find something narrower. The Evenflo Tribute is a slender 16.5” wide.

Evenflo Tribute Sadie

My 10-month-old sitting comfortably in the Evenflo Tribute.

I purchased this seat in October 2013 and paid less than $60 for it, which makes it an ideal, affordable solution for many families. I wasn’t expecting much in the looks department from this seat from what I saw online, but it looks and feels much nicer in person, which was a nice surprise. The fabric in the seat area has a nice diamond pattern and sheen to it. It also feels like it would be very easy to wipe clean. The seat doesn’t have tons of padding, but it doesn’t feel particularly hard, either. My daughter seems to find it comfortable and does fall asleep in the seat. There is a padded head rest for a bit of extra support.

This seat does not come with latch hooks for rear facing. There is a strap with hooks for forward facing, but it can’t be moved to the front of the seat. This however, isn’t a deal breaker since you can easily use the car’s seat belt to install the seat.

Editors note: Evenflo contacted us to instruct on how to properly use the LATCH hooks for rear-facing positions: “LATCH belt shipped with the seat in the forward facing belt path is the same LATCH belt that is intended to be used for rear faching LATCH installations. Page 19 of the instruction manual states to move the LATCH belt from the forward facing belt path to the rear facing for use in a rear facing install.

Evenflo Tribute Side View

No strap with latch hooks in the front.

The Evenflo Tribute has an upper weight and height limit of 40 pounds and 40 inches. It can be used rear-facing until your child reaches 40 pounds or 37 inches tall. Keep in mind their head need to be at least 1” below the top of the seat. Once they exceed any of these limits, you have to turn them forward facing to continue using the Evenflo Tribute.

For my current family and car situation this was the perfect seat for us. Despite costing less than $100, I do not feel my daughter is any less safe riding in this than riding in a seat that costs more. By the time she outgrows this seat, my older daughter will have outgrown the Graco My Ride 65, so the low weight limit was not a concern for me.

For tips on installing and using your car seat correctly, read this all-inclusive car seat safety guide. You can also check out my reviews for the Graco My Ride 65 and Evenflo SecureKid.

Pros:

  • Narrow width
  • Light Weight
  • Easy to clean fabric

Cons:

  • Low weight limit
  • Not very padded
  • No latch hooks for rear-facing