Convertible Car Seats

Mimaloo

I apologize if this has already been discussed. I've been away from TB until recently...who knew babies kept you so busy!?

Have any of you FTMs bought a convertible seat yet? STMs please feel free to weigh in!

DH and I are going to put our BRU registry gift card towards a convertible car seat. 

I was all set on the Britax because they are one of only two convertible car seats that have steel reinforcements (according to the car seat guy at BBB. The other is the Clek Foonf). 

However, a friend of mine was telling me to look at the new chicco Nextfit Zip. I had talked him into the Britax because of the steel. He is happy with it but I think he would have preferred the Chicco.

I checked both of them out and the Chicco seems to be cooler (fabric) which I like since we will be living in Florida in less than two weeks. I also like that I would be able to wash it easily in case DD gets sick in it. 

Any advice is appreciated!

britab

Check out the Facebook page Car seats for the littles! They give good feedback.

ksyknelvr73

I honestly believe both will be safe and meet any requirements you may have, but I can see going with something that seems cooler. I am in GA and that is definitely appealing, but not necessary. We have a Graco MyRide 65 that DS1 is in right now and I have a Britax Roundabout stored away right now (new) for this LO.

kat8805

Feeling this one for us personally. Also, link is to the Carseat for the Littles website. Explore it
https://csftl.org/graco-4ever-all-in-one-car-seat-review/

mrsbtobe20122

We got a Britax Marathon for mil's car,we will get Boulevards for ours.

ns1

We have a britax roundabout for DD and it's been fine. I was happy with the online reviews and the baby bargains information. And we got it on sale.

BUT...I don't like that you can't machine wash and dry the cover. If only I'd known how important this was. After a couple potty accidents and a stomach bug get ahold of it you'll want to clean it as quickly and easily as possible. So...I would make that a consideration if I bought another.

Emmagk

I asked about this last week, seems like a lot of people love the Britax ones. We decided to get the Evenflo symphony in the end, I liked the features like no retread harness and surefit latch system. It was delivered yesterday, haven't tried it in the car yet but like how plush and comfy it is. Here's DS trying it out in the living room

amanda.grace.w

If you're looking for safety you can't get any better than the Foonf. It's leading the pack in terms of safety features. It's also incredibly narrow to fit into any and every vehicle but because it's not bulky on the sides, the child has more room on their seat. I went to my local children's store and got the low down on all the features and I was almost sold but still chose to go with the Britax Boulavard as it's still an extremely safe seat but looks a little more plush and comfortable for long drives and it's also almost half the cost. If you can afford the Foonf, it would be your best choice. After countless hours of research and visiting 7 different baby stores to pick sales associates brains, this is what I have learned: The lowest end Britax seat is the Roundabout. The only difference between the Roundabout and the Marathon is you have to rethread the Roundabout when baby grows and the max height is 46 inches as opposed to 49inches for all the other seats. The Marathon also has a "pillow" that they advertise as side impact protection but in the event of a crash it makes no difference than the Roundabout safety-wise. The next seat up from the Marathon is the Boulevard which has true side impact protection which helps to protect baby from a spinal injury in the event of a crash. It's estimated to offer 30% more protection than the Roundabout and the Marathon but the Roundabout and Marathon are still both exceptional seats and offer great protection in the event of an accident. The only difference between the Boulavard and the Pavillion is the "click and safe" feature which tells you when the harness is snug enough. This feature will cost you about $30 more and is a nice extra but not at all worth the price tag. I am not exactly sure what the Advocate's features are as it seems extremely bulky and I had no interest in it as there wasn't much difference to it than the other seats. All of their seats are the same size and are built on the same frame with the same "foam" that protects much like a motor bike helmet. Baby can sit rear facing up to 40 pounds and must legally be in the fully reclined position at all times while rear facing. Forward facing goes up to 65 pounds and 49 inches and the child must be in the upright position at all times while forward facing. Generally a child will stay in a convertible until kindergarten age before going into a booster seat. After researching any and every car seat on the Market I chose to go with the Britax Boulavard. Britax knows how to make an exceptional convertible car seat and I chose the Boulavard for the true impact protection feature. It ran about $30 more than the Marathon for a seat that's 30% safer so that seemed like a good upgrade. It looks extremely comfortable to help make long drives more enjoyable and I appreciate having peace of mind knowing my child is safe and snug thanks to Britax. My second choice would have been the Roundabout as it's about $150 less than the Boulavard and the safety features don't even compare to the other cheaper brands on the market. All in all you can't really go wrong with a Britax or Clek as they are leaders in convertible car seat technology. I'd be hesitant to go with another brand. Just depends on how much your willing to spend for certain features!

Mimaloo

Thanks ladies. The only reason I'm not going with the Foonf is because I have $200 from BRU to put towards my seat and only BBB carries it. But who knows - maybe DH will shell out the $500 for it. Will see. 

ho11yday

I live in Arizona with some days approaching 120F. In all honesty, never had an issue with the Britax Marathon being too hot. I have had an issue with the chicco keyfit (infant car seat) making baby sweaty, but that is it.

Meg&Austin

I.second checking out car seats for the littles on Facebook. They give good recommendations on car seats by your kids stats and the car you drive. I know Britax is a popular seat but i know ive seen on their Facebook page that if you plan to do extended rear facing most britax seats are outlived in the height restrictions.

danabsd

Britax family here.  We have {including grandparents} in total 5 Britax seats.  My almost 2 year old is still rearfacing in her Advocate.  We've used and Evenflo seat and the difference in features were immediately apparent.  We have Advocates installed in our sedan and crossover.  

His(1&only)wife

We are getting a foonf this time because we have very tall kids and want the extra RFing height and weight. With ds1 we had the boulevard and it was an awesome seat. Had he not outgrown it at only 2 I would get it again. Ds1 now has the britax frontier 90 and it is also great for the after convertible stage.

frasey

honestly we love our Evenflos. DD used the Triumph, and DS will get that when we switch him out of the infant seat in my car. They go on sale frequently and have great features. We did buy DS the Sungli AIO seat, which I think its the upgraded version of the Evenflo Symphony for DH's car. 

The only downside Ive heard about many Britax convertibles is that they tend to have shorter shells than many other seats, meaning kids often outgrow them by height before weight. So you may not be able to use them as long as you intend to. But that depends on the kid for sure. 

pistolpackinmomma

Diono radian family here!

NorthernGal248

My little girl has been in the Combi Concoro from birth. I love how plush and compact it is. DH has a ucket seat style and she hates it. When I put her into the Combi she is relaxed and seems to be happy.

babyaotw

We love our Recaro performance ride. It's super safe, and recaro makes the seats in my car so they match and fit amazing!

Dplusbsquared

I did a ton of research online and at the stores and chose the Britax Advocate for the safety of it. I just felt that LO's safety was my most important factor, but that is just my opinion (I'm an engineer not a car seat safety expert (hehe).
We ordered online from albeebaby at an awesome price (BRU should price match - BuyBuyBaby had agreed to match but didn't have the seat in the store that day)! I was terrified that the fabric would be hot like the infant seat, but it is so much better. We chose the "diamond" pattern fabric and it is soft and not too hot.
My LO is so much happier than he was in the infant seat! I wished just skipped the infant seat all together. My LO is a big boy and has outgrown everything too quickly!!

QOTR

@becole42, are you still happy with your nextfit?  I think that's what we're going to get. 

gutsysneakers

pistolpackinmomma said:

Diono radian family here!

@pistolpackinmomma - I'm leaning towards this car seat - any cons I should know about? Also - can the fabric come off and is it machine washable? 

Katzalia

frasey said:

honestly we love our Evenflos. DD used the Triumph, and DS will get that when we switch him out of the infant seat in my car. They go on sale frequently and have great features. We did buy DS the Sungli AIO seat, which I think its the upgraded version of the Evenflo Symphony for DH's car. 

The only downside Ive heard about many Britax convertibles is that they tend to have shorter shells than many other seats, meaning kids often outgrow them by height before weight. So you may not be able to use them as long as you intend to. But that depends on the kid for sure. 

I was planning on getting a Britax convertible (she's been in the Britax B-safe from birth and loves it). But in doing my research I heard that too, and I have a tall girl here -- 29.5 inches at 7 months.

I don't want to buy a Britax convertible if she's not going to get that much use out of it. Anyone have recommendations for best convertible for a long skinny babe?

bumpuser10194737

I have been really happy with our Britax Marathon.  The only downside is that if you do extended rear facing their legs can get a little cramped, but mine never seemed to be bothered by it, but both of my oldest kiddos are average height.  

spacepotatoes

We got the Graco My Ride 65 on Black Friday and just picked up another for Boxing Day. Haven't installed either yet, though. We're trying to get as much mileage as possible out of the infant seat through the winter.

gutsysneakers

Just to let you all know - Amazon usually has their items at a lower price than BBB or other baby stores. If you print out the price of the item in your cart and bring it into the store - they will price match. I did this when we bought our stroller and they let me use a 20% off coupon on top of the price match. 

lrmrtn

For those of you with smaller cars, do you have any recommendations?

ns1

This will reveal my laziness and maybe my ignorance, but do any carseats have machine washable AND dry-able covers?

QOTR

thanks!  

SurprisePartySue

DD got the Graco 4-ever for Christmas. I really like it.

rainbowsockmonkey

I'm thinking of getting the Graco Milestone in the spring (probably for DD 1st birthday).  The differences from the 4ever are it doesn't go to a NNB, and only has 1 cup holder, but is about $100 cheaper.  

frasey

OK, just ordered the Peg Perego convertible for DS. It was between that, the Boulevard CT and the Diono Paciffica. The Pacifica is a BEAST and I didn't want to be dealing with that. The Boulevard fabric is not machine washable which suuuucks. The Peg met everything I wanted - no-rethread harness, machine washable and dryable cover, high RFing limits. I want to get DS to 3 RFing. 

And funny thing, DD is asking to be RF'ed again, so Im going to put her in the new Peg, as DS is still using his Triumph. 

cgarklavs

We bought the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 and it's made our car rides so much easier! DS still hates the car but is more willing to endure it now; he just looks much more comfortable. I'm a FTM and have nothing else to compare it to but we're happy. We bought it based on reviews from friends, online research and we needed something that would fit in our small car.

yogasailmomma

There's a Facebook group called car seat for littles that will give you recs for your vehicle type and budget, worth checking out then hiding their feed cause they get crazy!!

We have a Graco Size 4 me 65 and totally love it. It is easy to install and move back and forth between cars and should grow with her for a long time, it's one of the best seat for talk babes.

I was super into the foonf and diono but the were not going to fit well in our vehicle and honestly for the price our graco has been amazing.

Amazon has some super deals on seats so be sure to check out their pricing vs what you see in the store.

ama7165

We have the grace size 4 me and grace headwise. We just starting using them since Christmas and really like them so far and they were easy to install.

frasey

bunannie said:

@Chevygrrl91 We started with the Britax Pavilion. It's totally fine if they aren't sitting up although sometimes they slump a little to one side or the other depending on control. I just found it was a lot harder to get them in and out of the convertibles, rear-facing, and ended up buying an infant car seat to use til my son is 1.

dont say this on the CSFTL FB group!!!

yogasailmomma

kittyriot said:

yogasailmomma said:

There's a Facebook group called car seat for littles that will give you recs for your vehicle type and budget, worth checking out then hiding their feed cause they get crazy!!

We have a Graco Size 4 me 65 and totally love it. It is easy to install and move back and forth between cars and should grow with her for a long time, it's one of the best seat for talk babes.

I was super into the foonf and diono but the were not going to fit well in our vehicle and honestly for the price our graco has been amazing.

Amazon has some super deals on seats so be sure to check out their pricing vs what you see in the store.

Glad to hear you like it, Car Seat for Little's recommended this one for my small car. We haven't purchased it yet, because I've been contemplating the Marathon and the Diono. Mom guilt is getting to me. I keep on thinking should I get the more expensive seat cause I can afford it?! Ahhh... So it's nice to hear someone is loving it!

Yea, the buckle is a little stiff for about a week but the fabric is nice and the straps don't get all twisty like my infant seat did. The cup holder is great for holding Sophie and our lives are greatly improved since she used to scream bloody murder in the car.

We have a Volvo wagon so it's got a tiny backseat and the seat actually gives my husband more leg room then the infant seat.

gutsysneakers

bunannie said:

bunannie said:

@Chevygrrl91 We started with the Britax Pavilion. It's totally fine if they aren't sitting up although sometimes they slump a little to one side or the other depending on control. I just found it was a lot harder to get them in and out of the convertibles, rear-facing, and ended up buying an infant car seat to use til my son is 1.

dont say this on the CSFTL FB group!!!

Why is that? I was opposed to getting an infant seat for a while but the one I got (uppababy Mesa) is high weight and height requirements for use up to 1 yr.

Don't you love the Mesa @bunannie? I love mine - only complaint is the straps get twisted all the time although I think E may be to blame.  

frasey

@bunannie  OK yeah that makes sense - your post sounded like you planned on FFing at 1. ERF is where its at!! 

Anyone looking at the Britax seats should DEFINITELY look into the Click Tight versions of all the seats - the non CT versions are some of the shortest shells available, meaning they will be outgrown the quickest. The CT versions are now some of the tallest!  

Katzalia

frasey said:

@bunannie  OK yeah that makes sense - your post sounded like you planned on FFing at 1. ERF is where its at!! 

Anyone looking at the Britax seats should DEFINITELY look into the Click Tight versions of all the seats - the non CT versions are some of the shortest shells available, meaning they will be outgrown the quickest. The CT versions are now some of the tallest!  

Thank you!! That is exactly what I needed to know, @frasey‌ . I was hoping to stick with Britax but DD is so tall. Sounds like one of the CT versions would be perfect for us!

ns1

Question again - where do you all find recs on car seats specific to your own vehicle?  I see the car seats for littles facebook page mentioned, but do you have to like the page?  Or does it have somewhere on it recs?  I visited their website and didn't see any specifics on car seats and cars, just info. on the carseats themselves.  Thanks!

rainbowsockmonkey

@ns1 you can join the Facebook group and get in for that way. Just create a post with your child's stats (age, height, weight), type of car(s)s the seat will be going into, budget and if there are any other kids in the back seat with them. You might have to bump your post cause the page tends to move very quickly.

yogasailmomma

ns1 said:

Question again - where do you all find recs on car seats specific to your own vehicle?  I see the car seats for littles facebook page mentioned, but do you have to like the page?  Or does it have somewhere on it recs?  I visited their website and didn't see any specifics on car seats and cars, just info. on the carseats themselves.  Thanks!

If you join the group, not just like the page, you can post and give them your specs and they will give you recs. I suggest lurking a bit as they are pretty specific in what they like/tolerate and your post will get deleted if not correct. It moves super fast too so you might want to tag yourself in the post or it could get lost.

I had to hide the group on FB after awhile. They are quite helpful but it's a lot of people asking a lot of questions and was a little much for me