Ok carseat geeks, what seat would work for this...

[PeterPan]

Ds is 2 1/2 yrs, 36" tall, about 30lbs. in weight. He has a radian xtsl rear-facing for his regular carseat. He has a graco (the baby kind with a handle that goes onto a base) rear-facing for an extra carseat for riding with others. Thing is, his head is popping over the top, which I don't think is safe anymore, is it? The carseat goes to 32 lbs, but he barely squeezes in with the harnesses adjusted to the max (he has a long trunk) and his head sticks over the back of the unit.

 

So I guess that was actually two questions. One, is he still ok in that baby carseat? And two, to replace it, what options do I have?

 

I'd like:

$100 or less

fits to 85 lbs

safe

easy to install

 

Rear converting to forward is negotiable. This is to go between grandma's car and anyone else, so we'd like it to remove and reinstall relatively easily. I haven't tried my Radian forward recently, but rear-facing it's a stinkin' bear. Amazing, but a bear to install.

 

So any ideas in those specs? Something that hits 3 of the 4? Do I compromise safety too much at that price point? This is just for light use, like running to the Home Depot (5 minutes), that kind of thing. No highway driving, no long trips.

 

Thanks for your ideas! :)

[SunD]

I don't have any recommendations, but I can answer the question about the infant seat. Don't use it anymore. I hate to tell you this now, but if his head is coming over the top, he hasn't been safe in it for a while. There needs to be at least 1 inch of hard shell above the top of their head when rearfacing.

[LittleIzumi]

Definitely not safe now. The 1" of shell above the head is indeed needed.

 

Britax Marathon 70? It officially goes to 49" in height, and 40lbs rear-facing/70 lbs forward-facing.

 

http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats/britax-marathon-70/specs

 

I agree that installing Radians rear-facing is a BEAST, lol. Britax aren't reputed to be nearly as hard, AFAIK.

 

ETA: The ONLY convertible seat under $100 is a Cosco Scenara, AFAIK. Checking that but I think it's too small.

ETA2: Yup, the Scenara maxes out at 40 lbs, total, even forward-facing, and it's shorter. My oldest was too tall for it around 3 and she's a tiny girl.

Edited May 28, 2011 by LittleIzumi

[PeterPan]

See that's what I was afraid of. I just wasn't, sure, because all the seats are different. (Some want straps up, some straps down, some care about head above, some don't) Well that's why I need to buy him a new one. Just hoping someone has a pick for me. I'd love to just buy another radian, but that's too $$ for this 2nd seat.

[PeterPan]

Definitely not safe now. The 1" of shell above the head is indeed needed.

 

Britax Marathon 70? It officially goes to 49" in height, and 40lbs rear-facing/70 lbs forward-facing.

 

http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats/britax-marathon-70/specs

 

I agree that installing Radians rear-facing is a BEAST, lol. Britax aren't reputed to be nearly as hard, AFAIK.

 

Are you seeing one for under $100?? That's actually what is making this hard. I can find a safe one for $200-300. It's when I say under $100 that it gets more squeemish.

[PeterPan]

At that consumersearch site there was a Cosco Scenera listed. I'm checking to see if the 40RF would be large enough to last a while. Is it a decent seat? The reviews seem to say that for the money it's a safe option. Price point certainly is great.

[LittleIzumi]

I was slow, lol

 

"ETA: The ONLY convertible seat under $100 is a Cosco Scenara, AFAIK. Checking that but I think it's too small.

ETA2: Yup, the Scenera maxes out at 40 lbs, total, even forward-facing, and it's shorter. My oldest was too tall for it around 3 and she's a tiny girl."

[LittleIzumi]

I'll see if the 40RF is different....

[LittleIzumi]

At that consumersearch site there was a Cosco Scenera listed. I'm checking to see if the 40RF would be large enough to last a while. Is it a decent seat? The reviews seem to say that for the money it's a safe option. Price point certainly is great.

 

The 40RF is a new seat I haven't seen before. It looks like it might work. It goes up to 43" in height, and the Sceneras are generally a great value for the $. However, it does still only go to 40lbs, max, so you will have to buy another seat when you get there. Some kids would get there this year and other kids (like my dd) aren't there at 5 :glare:.

[TXBeth]

The Graco MyRide65 rear-faces to 40lbs. and forward-faces to 65lbs. It is $140 at ToysRUs, but you might be able to find it cheaper somewhere else. We got ours at Walmart and I'm almost positive we would not have paid more than $100 for it, but it might have been on sale.

 

ETA: I just checked Walmart, and it's $130. However, I do have to warn you it is HUGE, but fairly easy to install.

[PeterPan]

Well let me plot out and see. He's in the high 90's for height and usually around mid-50s for weight. If I didn't require rear-facing, then I could do a booster with 5-point harness. Does that open up any options?

[LittleIzumi]

Well let me plot out and see. He's in the high 90's for height and usually around mid-50s for weight. If I didn't require rear-facing, then I could do a booster with 5-point harness. Does that open up any options?

 

You mean a forward-facing seat that later converts into a booster, like a Nautilus? An actual booster I would never recommend for a child that young. You can get a Nautilus inexpensively but not under $100. It's $123 here. Dd5 has one. She's still in the full harness.

[PeterPan]

Thanks for all the info Izumi! You're the 2nd person to write me on the Nautilus, and that's where I going in my thinking. We're heading to the store now to try some out.

[LittleIzumi]

I'm always for rear-facing as long as possible, but I know sometimes the money isn't there for the super-long rear-facing seats. I only had Sceneras until dd outgrew hers. I waited until I found Radians on sale & stocked up, lol, and I have the Nautilus and dd3 will fit in her Scenera until she's at least 4 rear-facing :lol:. If you can swing a rear-facing, I would go with that, but if not, 2.5 is longer than most kids get rear-facing!

[sunriseiz]

we are looking at the evenflo maestro, fwiw. i think target has it b&m.

 

hth!

[Mrs_JWM]

We bought the Evenflo Maestro a few weeks ago for my 6-y-o. So far, so good - and under $100.

 

http://www.consumersearch.com/booster-seats/evenflo-maestro

[boscopup]

The Nautilus is super easy to install. Great seat for other people's cars. It harnesses a long time. My oldest is almost 7, slightly over 4 feet tall, and he is just now getting close to the height limit on the harness.

 

That seat is such a dream to install. The Radian is evil to install, and doesn't install at all in some vehicles (including my old van). I also have Britax, True Fit, and a Triumph. The Nautilus is the only one that never causes me problems.

[PeterPan]

Ok, here's where I'm at. We went to the store today. (The nothing, we went to 3 stores and tried as many as we could while catching a screaming toddler...) On the Scenera he's already at the top slot, although that does have 1 1/2 inches above. With the Evenflo Maestro/Chase he has a bit more room (2") and 2 slots. The Graco Nautilus is a seriously nice seat. It's just about twice what I wanted to spend. And it sort of opened up this whole can of worms about whether I ought to be insistent on the rear-facing or give on that. I don't know. At some point you see so many you go in circles, lol.

 

So there, if anyone can make heads or tails of that, have at it. I found a deal on an Evenflo Chase that would have been a fantastic price. But I felt like I was giving up too much there (adjustability, etc.).

[raceNzanesmom]

HI! Car seat tech here.

 

To keep him RF, the Scenera, OnAir and Tribute are under $100. All max out at 40 lbs FF.

 

Graco MyRide and Evenflo Triumph would last longer, can usually be found for under $130. My friend bought a Roundabout 55 for $139 shipped at diapers.com with codes, so that's an option too if you can find sales and coupon codes, and have the extra $.

 

All RF seats are outgrown when the head has less than 1" of seat shell above it OR they exceed the weight limit. Here's a link for measuring height. http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30201

 

The Maestro is FF only. It, and other FF seats, are outgrown when the top of the ears are above the seat back OR shoulders are above the top slots OR weight limit is exceeded. *The exception is the Radian. It can be used to a full 53" OR until the top of the ears are above the seat back, even if the shoulders are above the top slots. Weight limit, obviously, still applies.

 

HTH.

[PeterPan]

Thanks for the information! We're definitely not using the baby seat again, mercy. Thanks for the tip on diapers.com. Didn't know about that!

[raceNzanesmom]

Thanks for the information! We're definitely not using the baby seat again, mercy. Thanks for the tip on diapers.com. Didn't know about that!

 

Sure. Anytime you buy look for sales then Google for coupon codes- diapers.com and elsewhere. 1st time buyers usually get the best deals at diapers.com.

 

PM me anytime if I can be of help.

[happypamama]

My son is about your son's size. His primary seat is the Graco MyRide, which I got specifically for the extended rear-facing capability. I love the seat and would recommend it, except that it's very big and may not be the best thing for frequent switching (and it's a bit more than you wanted to spend).

 

I just went through the search for a good secondary seat for my son, for our other vehicles, and one option was the Nautilus, except that it's pretty expensive. I asked around and ended up getting an Evenflo Maestro. It should meet all of your concerns -- price, easy to install, safe (has nice side wings, moreso than the other similar seat we had, which was a Graco CarGo), and it will fit for a long time. Its harness will last until 50 pounds (assuming he doesn't outgrow it by height first) and then will last as a booster until 100 pounds. It installs easily, both with the vehicle safety belt and with LATCH.

 

At my son's age, I consider it reasonable for him to be forward-facing for occasional use, especially since it's so expensive for a second rear-facing seat. (Not to mention that having him RF'ing in our secondary vehicles causes a whole host of other issues wrt the other children's seats.)

 

I have one complaint about the Maestro, and I think it would be the same with any similar seat. In our pickup truck, the truck's rear seat back is so vertical that the Maestro is also very vertical, and if DS2 falls asleep in it, his head flops forward. We don't have that problem when we use the Maestro in our Ford Focus, though, and he naps comfortably in it in that car just fine. So unless you're using a pickup truck or some other vehicle whose rear seat back is very vertical, I'd vote for the Maestro. I think ours came from amazon and was about $80.

[raceNzanesmom]

. Its harness will last until 50 pounds (assuming he doesn't outgrow it by height first) and then will last as a booster until 100 pounds.

 

JSYK, it won't last as a booster. It's not a great booster to begin with and certainly won't fit kids until they're ready for the seat belt. http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm I'd use while you can with the harness and plan on buying a better booster later on.

 

I have found some of the head tipping while sleeping can be corrected with training. Teach them to lean their head to the side before they fall asleep. Deep sleep, however, is hard in any FF seat since the head does want to drop forward.

[PeterPan]

Angie, do you know if the Scenera RF is pretty easy to install in a variety of cars? Right now I'm thinking that's where I'd like to go. It has the lowest price point, good test results (right?), would keep him in a harness for quite a while, and would leave him ready for some other kind of booster later. If it's hard to install or takes up a lot of space (front to back) and ends up problematic, then I think I'm looking at the Maestro, like you all said. It's such a toss-up, that safety vs. practicality thing, so I'm just trying to see if there are any features that swing it one way or the other. If one of those is much easier to install than the other, I'd probably defer that way. Any thoughts?

[raceNzanesmom]

Angie, do you know if the Scenera RF is pretty easy to install in a variety of cars? Right now I'm thinking that's where I'd like to go. It has the lowest price point, good test results (right?), would keep him in a harness for quite a while, and would leave him ready for some other kind of booster later. If it's hard to install or takes up a lot of space (front to back) and ends up problematic, then I think I'm looking at the Maestro, like you all said. It's such a toss-up, that safety vs. practicality thing, so I'm just trying to see if there are any features that swing it one way or the other. If one of those is much easier to install than the other, I'd probably defer that way. Any thoughts?

 

I think any lower priced RF seat will need help with the recline- a pool noodle or newspaper rolled tightly and taped- placed in the bight (seat crack) of the vehicle seat.

 

The Scenera installs ok in most vehicles. Seat belt probably being easier than LATCH (lower anchors) in most cases. You might look at the Titan too. I can't remember the specs, but I think it's similar, size and price. Let me find a link for you. Here ya go: http://sites.google.com/site/carseatmeasurements/ That should give you an idea for size.

 

Then once you're truly ready to turn him FF, or he outgrows the 40 lb seat, you can look for a FF harnessed seat. Right now the Maestro is the best for low cost, light weight, decent harness height/weight. Who knows what will be available by the time you need it. Something that makes a better booster would be nice!

 

Kudos to you for keeping your ds RF!! So few parents go past a year.