Apples to apples, oranges to oranges.

The comprehensive head-to-head car seat comparison While the babyark in many ways is different from any other convertible car seat before it, we thought it’s still important to create an in-depth comparison with other leading car seat brands; especially where we could go feature-to-feature. Eli Gurock, owner of Magic Beans, and well known baby gear expert, took it upon himself to take a look under the hood of each car seat. We’re sure you will want to see what he discovered.   The babyark x Clek Foonf comparison For parents with safety on their mind, the babyark vs Clek Foonf conversation is an interesting must-watch between two of the safest and upscale convertible car seats on the market. Eli Gurock, renowned child gear expert, founder of Magic Beans, walks us through the differences between the two. He brings a unique perspective by comparing everything from cost to ease-of-installation to materials all the way up to enhanced safety features. While both seats are 17” wide and 3 across, the babyark has a unique BioArk ™ system designed to provide side-impact protection, diverting the energy away from the child and diffusing it throughout the seat.  The Clek Foonf also has an effective side-impact protection system, but it is designed differently. Both seats are quite easy to change from rear-facing to front-facing, with both seats providing industry-best extended switch position limits of up to 65Lbs, meaning your child has more time to stay in the safer rear-facing position before needing to switch to front-facing position. The babyark comes with a loading leg and anti-rebound bar to break forward momentum in the event of impact. The Clek Foonf has an anti-rebound bar, but doesn’t have a loading leg. While both seats are made of premium materials, the babyark has the added advantage of having a headrest made of D3O, the world’s most advanced shock-absorbing polymer. Another key difference between the two is that the babyark features the innovative energy-absorbing SafeCoil ™ system which was originally pioneered in helicopters and armoured vehicles. The system is embedded in the base of the seat, and is designed to absorb impact, diverting the energy away from the child and towards the core of the seat. While the Clek doesn’t have the SafeCoil ™ system, it does have a super strong titanium plate that greatly absorbs the impact as well as the Re-Axis, a “crumple zone” in the base which provides highly efficient shock absorption. The babyark also includes 14 different sensors which are connected to a mobile app, providing step-by-step guidance to proper installation, as well as a wide range of other real-time alerts and notifications.     The babyark x Britax Poplar For parents looking to compare convertible car seats that are 17” wide, provide an extended rear facing limit and have flame retardant materials, the babyark vs Britax Poplar conversation is an interesting must-watch.Eli Gurock, renowned child gear expert, and founder of Magic Beans, walks us through the differences between the two, comparing everything from cost to ease-of-installation to materials all the way up to enhanced safety features.While both seats are extremely safe, the difference between the two is not only one of price.  With the Britax Poplar coming in at around $300 and the babyark at around $1000, the reason for this difference lies in the enhanced safety features you will find with the babyark.The Britax Polar is both light and easy-to-install, but the similarities pretty much end there. The babyark features two energy management systems, the SafeCoil ™ and BioArk ™, which were originally pioneered by helicopters and armoured vehicles. The SafeCoil ™ is embedded in the base of the seat, and acts to divert the energy at the moment of impact to the seat and away from the child. The BioArk ™ system is designed to provide side-impact protection, diverting the energy away from the child and diffusing it throughout the seat. Furthermore, the babyark features a loading leg and anti-rebound bar that slows down forward movement in the event of a crash. The seat also includes premium materials and a headrest made of D3O, the world’s most advanced shock-absorbing polymer.The babyark also includes 14 different sensors which are connected to a mobile app, providing step-by-step guidance to proper installation, as well as a wide range of other real-time alerts and notifications.While price is always a big issue, comparing these two convertible car seats raises interesting questions regarding how we view safety.       The babyark x Nuna Exec comparison Eli Gurock, renowned child gear expert, founder of Magic Beans, walks us through the differences between two ultra-premium, top-of-the-line convertible car seat options, the babyark and the Nuna Exec. Both of the seats offer extended rear-facing limits, with the babyark having a slight advantage of 55Lbs compared to the Nuna Exec’s 50Lbs, but the Nuna Exec turns into a booster once the child exceeds that weight. Both seats are very easy to install, the Nuna Exec is installed by seatbelt. The babyark can be installed with either seatbelt or Rigid LATCH, but is optimized for the latter. Both seats have an anti-rebound, but only the babyark has a front loading leg that is easily released from the car seat base during the installation process, anchoring the seat and breaking forward movement.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the two models is that the babyark features the innovative energy-absorbing SafeCoil ™ system which was originally pioneered in helicopters and armoured vehicles, tested on the battlefield to absorb impact, and modified to divert the energy away from the child and towards the core of the seat. The babyark comes with a magnetic shoulder and chest clip that lets you easily place your child in the seat. The Nuna Exec uses a more traditional chest clip. One of the cooler features with the babyark is that it uses D3O in its headrest, the world’s most advanced shock-absorbing polymer.In terms of comfort and luxury, both car seats use premium upholstery, with fire resistant fabrics. Both seats are stylish and modern looking, and in this regard, it’s really a question of taste.While both seats take safety to the next level, it really comes down to the difference in extended safety features.      

The 5 things to know when choosing your car seat

Buying a convertible car seat is both a meaningful, and slightly confusing experience, especially if you’re a first time parent. But instead of writing a long blog post detailing the ins and outs of safety, we were lucky enough to have Eli Gurock, renowned child gear expert, and founder of Magic Beans, walk us through the 5 major things every parent needs to know before making their big decision. The 5 things to know: Ease of installation - the seatbelt vs rigid LATCH question. Rear facing limit - how long can your child stay in the safer rear-facing position. Side impact protection - the different layers of protection. Fabric considerations - from materials to ease of removal and cleaning. Enhanced safety features  - the unique features that stand out.    

The Road First Traveled

Inspired by Robert Frost’s poem, the The Road Not Taken, we want to sponsor your baby’s first road trip! :) For adventurous families, here are the Official Rules to win a babyark and $500 on lodging for your next road trip: How to Enter the promotion: Share this contest in your IG Story and tag @getbabyark. *You must be following babyark to win. Submit one 60-second video about your summer road trip plan: Where do you plan to go? What activities will your family take part in? Why do you wish to #travelwithbabyark? (What’s your favorite feature? ) Entry Deadline: Deadline for submissions: Friday, June 14,2024 Winner will be announced Monday, June 17, 2024 Winner babyark team will choose One Winner for the Grand Prize based on creativity by babyark’s internal judging panel. Grand Prize includes: 1 babyark ($990 value) 1 Voucher for lodging ($500 value) 1 AudioBook in your voice by Sound AiSleep All contestants that submit an entry will receive a FREE AudioBook Gift from Sound AiSleep! No purchase necessary to win. Promotion begins May 27, 2024 to June 17, 2024 Promotion is eligible for parents aged 18 or older and residing in the United States only. Limited to one entry per family. Sponsor babyark 9442 N. Capital of Texas Hwy Ste 1-500 Austin, Texas 78759-7257 Contest Administrator: dot@babyark.com

A new seat has been born

The story behind babyark Revolutions don’t happen very often, and when they do, it’s because something just wasn’t working anymore. When it came to the convertible car seat, most saw no reason for a revolution. As a result, it remained largely unchanged for over 3 decades. Some might say if it’s not broken why fix it, but that’s just because no one had taken a closer look. Until Shy Mindel, an accomplished engineer who had pioneered a highly innovative steel coil impact absorbing system for the military, became a fresh father. Naturally, he started looking at car seats for his newborn. Quickly, the engineer in him started looking a bit deeper. He realized that most seats weren’t really built for real protection; they were made out of plastic and had only basic foam and padding to soften the blow of impact.  And most importantly, they didn’t have anything even close to the steel coil system he had already built for armoured vehicles that had already proven their ability to limit the exposure to impact. This system would become the basis of the SafeCoil ™ impact-absorbing mechanism, that would eventually make the babyark the new benchmark in safety Shy knew he could figure out the engineering to recalibrate the system for a baby’s changing weight. He now needed a designer. Meet Frank Most people wouldn’t intuitively make Frank Stephenson their first pick for designing what they hoped would become the safest car seat ever built.  As  lead designer at BMW, MINI, Ferrari, Maserati and McLaren, Frank had created some of the world’s fastest and most elegant vehicles, and built his reputation for designing for performance and speed.  The challenge of designing for ultimate performance safety would prove too hard to resist.  Shy knew he had found his man even before meeting him. 5 years of close collaboration between them proved they both made the right choice. Nature knows best Both Shy and Frank believe that nature can provide the answers to life’s greatest questions, and in their quest to build the world’s safest seat, this was their first stop. Babyark’s unique egg-shape not only visually sets it apart from any other car seat, it lies at the heart of both the design and engineering philosophy. The egg shape is nature’s most robust structure. It protects the life that is growing inside it. Some of the world’s sturdiest structures such as bridges and domes are also egg-shaped, as this carries weight and diffuses impact optimally.  From a design and consumer standpoint, the sleek egg shape makes the babyark a product that has a love-at-first sight effect on parents. It looks like nothing else in the car seat category. Some have even said that it looks so good it makes you want to have a baby. There were no shortcuts on this journey  Both Frank and Shy didn’t just want to make slight improvements to the existing alternatives, they wanted to push the boundaries on what’s possible. They wanted to reinvent the wheel. “When it comes to safety, good is just not good enough.” Unlike traditional seats that are made of plastic, the babyark egg was built out of carbon fibre, the world’s sturdiest, lightweight material.  Instead of traditional foam, the design and engineering teams looked at the protective gear of extreme athletes and used D3O™, the world’s most technologically-advanced impact absorbing polymer for the headrest. A new standard of testing   Everyone knows the expression, measure many times to cut once…when it comes to safety, babyark performed over 200 crash tests, not only surpassing industry regulations, but almost imagination itself.  We designed our own tests—at higher speeds, different temperatures, different angles, varying baby weights… even with the seat installed incorrectly—anything to ensure we would never be surprised by anything. After 5 years of research, development, labour, endless design and engineering iterations and yes, all those crash testings, Shy, Frank and the entire babyark team feel they haven’t only built a great car seat; they’ve set a new standard for safety.

Safety starts at installation

According to Joe Collela, the Director of Child Passenger Safety at JPMA (The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association), more than half of all car seats are improperly installed. As a result, even their basic protective features won’t function properly when called upon. This puts babies and young children at unnecessary risk.  However, for anyone who has ever tried installing a car seat on their own for the first time, this should come with little surprise. Car seat installation can be a challenge even for engineers. When we designed the babyark, we understood the need to make installation simple and intuitive, and most importantly, completely foolproof. We set out to provide parents with an innovative visually-guided step-by-step process -- giving them the peace of mind that they got it right. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), just by ensuring proper installation, we can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers. When a Smart Base meets a Mobile App The cornerstone of the babyark seat is the ACTV8 ™ Smart Base, fully equipped with 14 sensors and a LED-light system which turns green when each step of the process has been achieved. The Smart Base is paired to the babyark mobile app we developed, providing parents with simple, step-by-step instructions and on-screen visual confirmation when the seat has been properly installed. More data. More control The ACTV8™ Smart Base system serves an additional function: it constantly analyses and processes a large number of critical safety parameters such as acceleration, speed, and proximity to foreign objects to ensure all safety features are fully activated, as well as tracking the baby’s position in the seat - even when someone else might be driving. It prevents parents from forgetting their child behind, as well as ensures  they are safely buckled up each and every ride -- for today’s modern parent, this provides a practical and powerful tool as well as unprecedented peace of mind.