car seat experts....

auggiedoggy

So, my 5 y.o. daughter is outgrowing her britax marathon and I'm thinking of getting the Graco nautilus.  A couple of questions:

$139 is a good price, no?

Does using the latch affect the safety, or is it just a convenience thing?  We just had our 3rd DC and I'd like to put the older two in the third row, but it only has the latch in the middle, so I'd have to just use the seat belt.  Any advice?

 Overall thoughts on the nautilus?

Thanks in advance!!

penguingrrl

I've heard only good about the nautilus, so I would definitely look at that, especially since it also becomes a high back then backless booster.  Latch is only for convenience and is not safer than a correctly done seatbelt installation.  And, the latch weight limit in many cars is 40 lbs, so it's likely your daughter should only have a seatbelt installation at this point anyway (this is something I would check in your owner's manual).

CleoKitty

I bought my 5 y/o ds a Nautilus and moved our younger dd into his old Marathon. It's been a dissapointment. I wish I'd just shelled out the extra money for another Britax. I don't like the new seat and neither does ds- he's always complaining about it. Safety-wise it's fine, but it's a PITA because the straps are thin and twist easily plus the buckle always sticks. It also doesn't come apart to be cleaned/washed as easily as our previous Britax seats. I guess you get what you pay for, right?

As for the LATCH, yes, it's just a convenience thing. As long as the seat is correctly installed a seat belt is just as good. 

CBKMRB

Yes, that is a good price.  We bought the Graco Nautilus earlier this year and we've been happy with it so far.  The straps do get twisted sometimes but we fix it pretty easily.  Overall we are happy with it and so is Keira.

Using the seatbelt should be fine as long as it is installed correctly.

 

Angela814

$139 is a good price.

We've been really happy with our Nautilus. I don't think latch is recommended after 40 lbs (or 48 lbs?) anyway. DH always installs the seats since he can get them so much tighter than me, so I'll have to check to see which he used. Either way, latch just makes installation easier, not safer.

We don't have any trouble with the straps. DD gets into the seat herself and buckles the top. I actually find it easier to unbuckle than the Marathon. If you pull down on the crotch strap while unbuckling, it comes apart easily.

We are considering getting a Britax Frontier 85 when baby outgrows the infant seat. At that point DD will be close to outgrowing the Marathon, and we'll need to use it rear facing for baby. I like that the Frontier 85 has a higher harness height since DD is really tall, and I like that it has a 9 year expiration date. We should be able to use it for DD#2 also. If you'll be able to use it for multiple children, it might be worth the higher price.