Car seat preference?
vicky7139
member
It's time to move my DD into her toddler car seat. She is 15 months old and just under 21 pounds and almost 31 inches in height....
We are having a VERY hard time deciding what kind to get. We currently use an Orbit car seat (as well as the stroller) and LOVE it. I know there is an Orbit toddler car seat as well....this is one that we are looking at. We are also looking at the Britax Marathon 70 and the Diono Radian RXT as well as the Recar Pro Sport Graco SmartSeat.
We are first time parents, new to this kind of seat and are so confused reading all the different reviews!! We only want to buy one really good seat if possible and just transition it between the two cars when necessary. We also travel a lot (by car) and want her to be comfortable. We plan on rear-facing until at least 2, not sure if we will go beyond that yet.
We also possibly want to use it while traveling by plane, and we want to have ease of use to install in rentals, cabs, and older cars that do not have LATCH systems (grandparents). Can anyone reccomend any of the above from experience...or give me some comparison...any help would be appreciated!
Re: Car seat preference?
BFP #2 7/18/11 - EDD 3/29/12 - Born 3/13/12
BFP #1 4/4/11 - Natural M/C - 7w1d - 4/30/11
If you are wanting to rear face longer, I would recommend a Foonf or a Diono RXT. They are the ones that last the longest rear facing. My nearly six year old fits in both of these rear facing. Foonf has a higher weight rear facing limit, but has the same seated height. It is most likely to be outgrown height wise, before weight wise. Leah is 40 pounds and 41 inches. She has 2 inches left in both height wise, and 10 pounds in the Foonf, and five pounds in the RXT.
Recaro, has less leg room. It is going to be squished when rear facing.
Marathon, has quite a short shell and a lower weight harness for rear facing.
Smart seat, is heavy and heavy. It needs to be used with the base, unless used in a booster mode.
None of these seats are the end all. They all make poor booster seats, but would last long enough that you could go into a cheaper booster seat.
The only down fall is the price and its size/ weight. I love that it is taller/ bigger because it will fit her longer but because it is on the heavy side it isn't the most ideal to switch from car to car. It is super easy to install though so it is just the work out that I am lazy about.
That being said, even though it is big we haven't had a problem with it fitting into any car, even though I am sure if is better suited for bigger cars then smaller.
Mommy loves you Eevee!
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We have two - the Diono and the Evenflo Symphony 65.
Diono is great for small cars and folds up for traveling in planes. It is also approved for air travel. Has a high rear facing weight limit and can be used as a booster. However, it is dificult to tighten when rear facing.
We got the Evenflo because it is so easy to use, has a high rear facing weight limit and can be used as a booster. You don't have to rethread the straps to move them up or the head rest: both slide easily. The only thing I don't like about the Evenflo is that the cover tends to slip off and it doesn't have neck protectors on the straps.
BFP #1 9-22-10 Missed M/c 10-18-10 D&E 10-28-10
BFP #2 5-9-11 EDD 1-12-12 Audrey Rachel born 1-12-12
BFP #3 9-21-13 EDD 5-30-14
We chose one based on Consumer Reports...they're all meeting guidelines...but the top rated was the evenflo triumph...so we got that...didn't hurt that it less than $200 as well. We have the one you can find at target and the DLX as well.
We've traveled with it on planes, and in rental cars/shuttles, etc. DH was able to get it in quickly...which was especially helpful on planes and shuttles since you have people waiting on you in those instances.
Just bought a Diono Radian not too long ago and like it. We bought it for a few reasons: 1) its slim so can fit 3 wide in the backseat of a car 2) airplane safe since we plan to fly alot to visit family 3) folds flat into a back pack bag for thus flying trips.
We got the Diono Radian older model r100 or something. It doesn't have the things on the side of the head--I read those could be an issue if child is too tall/too short just them in awkward spots. We got ours $189 on sale, and it'll last her now until she is done with carseats & boosters so I'm real happy.
Pipsqueak born 6/9/14