(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards)
US law requires that all car seats on the market pass this regulatory standard. To pass FMVSS 213 regulations, Orbit’s car seats and Base go through rigorous dynamic tests, including multiple kinds of ‘crash tests,’ as well as static tests, which include loading buckles and examining labels. These tests are meant to ensure a consistent level of car seat safety.

(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards)
This test is also required by law for all car seats. FMVSS 302 specifies and ensures a level of flame retardancy for Orbit’s car seats and Base. 

(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Because a car seat can only be safe if it is used correctly, NHTSA provides Ease-of-Use guidelines for car seat design. We take these guidelines seriously to certify that our manuals and product labels are user-friendly and that Orbit’s car seats are some of the easiest on the market to install.

Orbit’s SmartHub is the stainless steel ring of the car seat Base (and Stroller and Rocker) on which all Orbit car seats are docked. To guarantee the security of this primary component, Orbit tests the SmartHub by docking, rotating, and undocking each Orbit seat design 3000 times before production. Then, during production, each seat is inspected and tested again on the SmartHub before it is boxed and shipped out.

The StrongArm is the self-tightening mechanism that allows you to securely install your car seat Base with just the turn of a knob. Orbit’s StrongArm design is fully rotated forwards and backwards 500 times to prove that this design remains just as safe after hundreds of installations.

(American Society for Testing & Materials)
This voluntary regulatory measure ensures the safety of strollers and stroller seats, and includes tests for strength, durability, stability, and maneuverability. ASTM F833 also offers guidelines for the comfort and security of safety harnesses on children covering the appropriate size range. We meet this regulation with the Infant Car Seat, Toddler Car Seat, Bassinet, and Toddler Stroller Seat when docked onto the Stroller.

Because all Orbit seats rotate 360 degrees on the Stroller, we go above and beyond to perform the Tip Test for each seat in all four locked positions on the Stroller: facing forwards, backwards, and to either side. And since we designed for Orbit seats to sit at a comfortable height for parents, we test to make sure the Stroller can be tipped a full 13 degrees without falling over, beyond the ASTM standard.

Because the Orbit system grows with your child and can be used with all Orbit seats, we test our Stroller design to make sure it is undamaged after a strenuous simulated use of several years. In the Treadmill Test, an Orbit Stroller is loaded with a seat, Cargo Pod, and 55 pounds (24 kg) of weight, and is then mounted on a special treadmill machine. The treadmill belt has rows of aluminum blocks more than 4 cm high bolted to it, and the Stroller is run for 60 hours to simulate severe real-world Stroller usage.

Strolling off a sidewalk curb is often necessary when you’re out and about with your child, but can wear out a stroller. That’s why we test our Stroller design on a machine that simulates rolling off a curb & onto a curb 3000 times before production approval. Before the Curb Drop Test, the Orbit Stroller is loaded with a realistic amount of weight (50 lbs or 23 kg) so that we can be confident the design will remain fully functional all the way up to toddler hood.

Because some plastics can become brittle in cold temperatures. Plastic parts on Orbit’s Stroller are validated for cold temperature ranges. In the Cold Temperature Test, plastic parts are frozen to -20 degrees Celsius for 24 hours. Then the weakest areas are stressed by dynamic loading until we are sure all plastic structures can withstand very strenuous use in extremely cold temperatures.