melissel Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 DD4 has outgrown her seat in DH's car, so we're going to switch one of the Frontiers from my car to DH's car for her. That leaves me short one seat for DD7. She's about 65 pounds and quite tall--not tall enough to go past the height limit for the Frontier, but almost tall enough to go past the seated to-shoulder limit (she's long waisted). Where does that leave me? With just a Graco TurboBooster or a backless booster? She has a TurboBooster in DH's car, but I'd really love to keep a 5-point harness for her. Does anyone have any recommendations? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Can you measure her torso? (Have her sit on the floor and then measure from the floor to the top of her shoulder.) Depending on her torso height, I may be able to recommend a few harnessed seat, otherwise there are several nice high-back boosters (other than the Turbobooster) that would offer upper body protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 The Britax Regent has been discontinued, but there are still a few around (they would have a shorter life, however, because they would expire sooner than a new seat.) The downside of the Regent is that it is just a harnessed seat, and will not convert to a booster, so you may still need to buy a booster if you child doesn't fit an adult seatbelt when she outgrows the Regent. Another seat you may want to try is the Graco Nautilus. This one is sold at most Walmarts/Targets, so you could see if the slot height fits her. The Nautilus does convert to a booster. Other boosters to consider - The Britax Parkway and the Sunshine Kids Monterrey. Both of these have nice tall heights, and offer deep headwings for added side-impact protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 The Britax Regent has been discontinued, but there are still a few around (they would have a shorter life, however, because they would expire sooner than a new seat.) The downside of the Regent is that it is just a harnessed seat, and will not convert to a booster, so you may still need to buy a booster if you child doesn't fit an adult seatbelt when she outgrows the Regent. Another seat you may want to try is the Graco Nautilus. This one is sold at most Walmarts/Targets, so you could see if the slot height fits her. The Nautilus does convert to a booster. Other boosters to consider - The Britax Parkway and the Sunshine Kids Monterrey. Both of these have nice tall heights, and offer deep headwings for added side-impact protection. Thank you! I'll measure her again when I get home. We just did this about a year ago when we bought the Frontiers, and she measured into the range. In reality, it turned out that her shoulders were juuuuust above the top slot for the harness, so we ended up using the regular belt anyway, and that doesn't slide through the guide the way it should, so she has to be very careful about leaning forward (which she is, always). I wasn't thrilled with the Frontier for a bunch of reasons, so if I could avoid dropping $250 on another, I'd be so happy :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 If she's already too tall for the Frontier in harness mode, your only harnessed choice is the Regent. They can be found relatively inexpensive now because they've been discontinued. That said, unless she has special needs which prevent her from sitting properly in a booster, she's fine using one from a safety standpoint. Seven is actually a good age for booster use because kids are starting to understand that their actions have consequences and they can be hurt. There are several new boosters available now, including the new Parkway with anti-submarine clip and the new Clek high back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) We LOVE our Compass B510 high-back booster which we purchased 2 years ago. It looks like there are newer models by Compass that are even "cushier". For our 2nd, we bought a Britax Decathlon and called it good -- sure she'll start to realize that she's 5 yo and wearing a 5 point harness (because it's good to 65 pounds), but that was a lot of money, and the Compass was about $95 new. My almost 6 yo is in the 98th %-ile for height and sits very comfortably. It is rated for up to 100 pounds. The link I provided is to their website, but the seats are available many places online. Edited November 5, 2009 by BikeBookBread weight correction on Britax Decathlon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We have a Husky Britax that is called something else now. It's 5-pt harness till they are really tall and I think...100lbs.. Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We have a Graco Nautilus. It goes from a 5pt harness (for smaller kids) to a backed or backless booster for the older. I bought mine at Amazon after I read the good reviews. Here is Graco's website It is heavy so I wouldn't suggest it if you have to move it around a lot, but it seems very comfortable for the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) The Sunshine Kids Radian 80 goes up to 80 lbs in a 5 point harness, doesn't take up much width in the car, sits low on the seat, is made of a steel frame with EPS foam added, and was crashed tested with a 10 yr old "dummy", so the height might work. We love our Radian. Edited October 31, 2009 by Blessedfamily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Duplicate post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devotional Soul Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Sunshine Kids also has a Radian XT that has side impact protection if you want that. I've read many saying that the Radians don't truly fit up to 80 lbs. because it gets outgrown by height before weight. They do fold up for easier travel, and are narrower than the Regent. Britax Husky became the Regent, which you can find on amazon and ebay for cheaper now that it's discontinued. It goes up to 80 lbs, and it's just a gigantic carseat that I can fit in. http://www.car-seat.org is a great forum to search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 The Husky/Regent goes to 80 lbs, and will actually fit most kids to that weight unless they're REALLY long-torsoed. The Decathalon goes to 65 lbs, and like the Radian is usually outgrown by height long before the weight limit is reached. The 80 lb limit Radian is not any taller than the 65 lb version, so it's unlikely any but the shortest children would fit in it at the top end. The Nautilus and the Frontier both have about the same (or slightly taller than) harness heights as the Radian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 We have our tall 7yo in a Graco Nautilus... the only harness that seemed to fit her. She doesn't fit in our Radian 65. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Thank you everyone! We're still working this whole thing out. DH finally figured out what we were doing wrong with the harnessed height with the Frontier, so we were able to try her in it with the harness. She absolutely HATED the harness, which didn't surprise me after a year spent in booster mode. So now we're on the search for a good booster that won't make her feel claustrophobic because of the head wings, but will still provide good side-impact protection. Anyone have any suggestions for that? :D I'm leaning toward the Britax Parkway, but it's so hard to buy without having her try it out first. She's sensitive to physical things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 We have the older Parkway and Dot does very well in it, but she is in a harnes 80% of the time and still prefers that. (She's 6.) The new Cleck high back is really nice, but pricey. The Monterey is a good choice, and the new Parkway is supposed to be very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alte Veste Academy Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 The new Cleck high back is really nice, but pricey. Love this! I didn't know it existed until you posted! I've got the kids in Regents now but this gives me hope that there's something great out there for when they grow out of those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 :) It's very nice, I helped a mom with one last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Thank you everyone! We're still working this whole thing out. DH finally figured out what we were doing wrong with the harnessed height with the Frontier, so we were able to try her in it with the harness. She absolutely HATED the harness, which didn't surprise me after a year spent in booster mode. So now we're on the search for a good booster that won't make her feel claustrophobic because of the head wings, but will still provide good side-impact protection. Anyone have any suggestions for that? :D I'm leaning toward the Britax Parkway, but it's so hard to buy without having her try it out first. She's sensitive to physical things like that. I'm thinking of my dd now, as she'll probably outgrow her Radian by spring. It just makes me nervous to graduate her from a harness. But then she's the "curious" "explore my new freedom" type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Dot actively prefers her Regent to her Parkway. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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