Carseat ?

SraRox

Hi, All,

I'm sneaking over because I would like some opinions on convertible carseats.  I've asked my friends and every single one said to get a Britax.  I'd love to hear from moms who have been using convertible carseats for more than just a few months like my friends to make sure I get a full review.  I'm especially interested in those who have opinions on the Graco MyRide and Britax (any model).  Thank you for your input.

 

Tabby2727

I have 2 of the Evenflo Syphony 65's. It goes from 5lbs-100lbs so I'll never have to buy another seat again. THe straps are VERY easy to adjust and it's very soft and padded.  Hannah seams to like it.

Gabe&Dana

I have the Britax Advocate and love it. My only complaint would be that when traveling this particular car seat is a beast to lug through the airport. 

monkeyqueen

Britax Marathon:  Love it.  We've been using it for over 3 years - it's still like new.   Olivia likes and now Natalie likes hers.    Very easy to use.  Plus..the new ones are now out and they have some fancy new technology:)

*Caress*

We have a Britax Marathon and DD loves riding in it. I recommend looking into it.

CelticWife

We got a different car seat altogether; the Maxi Cosi Priori. I love that car seat. My favorite feature is that you can recline it while LO is sitting in it; you don't have to take it out and reinstall it. So when DS got tired, you would just reach back, pull the handle, and recline the seat. It RF to 35lbs/36" and FF 40lbs/44". It comes in great colors. And it sits higher then most car seats; DS can see out the window in it.

It's footprint is also smaller then some of the other seats. The Britax would not fit in my car.

It is a newer offering by Dorel that has been popular for years in Europe. https://www.maxi-cosi.com/us-en/carseats/toddler/priori

jamie.renee

CelticWife:

We got a different car seat altogether; the Maxi Cosi Priori. I love that car seat. My favorite feature is that you can recline it while LO is sitting in it; you don't have to take it out and reinstall it. So when DS got tired, you would just reach back, pull the handle, and recline the seat. It RF to 35lbs/36" and FF 40lbs/44". It comes in great colors. And it sits higher then most car seats; DS can see out the window in it.

It's footprint is also smaller then some of the other seats. The Britax would not fit in my car.

It is a newer offering by Dorel that has been popular for years in Europe. https://www.maxi-cosi.com/us-en/carseats/toddler/priori

This is what I have.  I know she may outgrow it by height quicker than seats with higher shells but I needed a somewhat slim seat since i have 3 kids that need to fit across.  The Radian is slimmer but I was living in Germany at the time and could not see if it would fit in my car RF before I bought it.  I was able to look at the Maxi Cosi in person since it was sold at the German stores then I ordered it online to have all the paperwork in English and to be sure it would fit with US regulations.  The only thing I don't like is that it is a little difficult to move the straps to other positions but many car seats are like that other than the no thread ones.

ohfour

CelticWife:

We got a different car seat altogether; the Maxi Cosi Priori. I love that car seat. My favorite feature is that you can recline it while LO is sitting in it; you don't have to take it out and reinstall it. So when DS got tired, you would just reach back, pull the handle, and recline the seat. It RF to 35lbs/36" and FF 40lbs/44". It comes in great colors. And it sits higher then most car seats; DS can see out the window in it.

It's footprint is also smaller then some of the other seats. The Britax would not fit in my car.

It is a newer offering by Dorel that has been popular for years in Europe. https://www.maxi-cosi.com/us-en/carseats/toddler/priori

Will you booster when LO reaches 40lbs then?

 

I have the Sunshine Kids Radian 65SL, and we are very happy with it so far. I got mine for like, $185 I think on hipmonkey.com when they were having a sale. It RF to 40lbs and FF to 65. It tethers RF which I like, and is not very wide which was important for us. 

Soon2BMrsN

We have 2 of the Graco MyRide 65s and absolutely love them.  No complaints whatsoever.  They are comfy, padded, easy to install and adjust, and, with BRU coupons, they were only around $120 each.  Best of all, they rear-face to 40 lbs. and forward to 65. 

DarcyLongfellow

I just bought DD a First Years True Fit Premier. She's very tall (but skinny), and it has one of the tallest shells on the market. A lot of carseat techs no longer recommend Britax -- not that they aren't good seats, just that there are better seats which cost less. Check out www.carseat.org (I think that's the right address). The forums on there have tons of information!!

jnk062602

DarcyLongfellow:

I just bought DD a First Years True Fit Premier. She's very tall (but skinny), and it has one of the tallest shells on the market. A lot of carseat techs no longer recommend Britax -- not that they aren't good seats, just that there are better seats which cost less. Check out www.carseat.org (I think that's the right address). The forums on there have tons of information!!

This exactly!  I have no complaints with it and dd likes it just fine.

penguingrrl

I would avoid a graco comfortsport as that particular seat has a very short shell.  My older daughter had to turn FF at 14 months because she outgrew the RF harness height limit at that point, then we had to replace the seat entirely at 17 months because she was too tall for it.  I've heard fantastic things about the graco myride 65, though.

Both of my kids are in sunshine kids radians (one is in an 80, the other in a 65) and I love them.  The younger one will definitely be able to RF for a very long time and the older one is very tall and has plenty of room. It also has a narrow footprint.  I drive a VW Beetle and the radian fits better RF than the comfortsport did because it doesn't have a huge base on the bottom that many convertible carseats has.  You also can fit three of these in a standard backseat (which will likely be an issue in our future).  I've tested that in my mom' volvo S40 and MILs civic and it fit comfortably in both.  We've even fit both kids and DH in the backseat of my aunt's corolla with the radians.  This is definitely my favorite seat I've ever had since it has high height and weight limits and still is not a larger seat.

I also have a Fisher Price Safe Voyage for my aunt's car, which is a Britax Marathon sold under the Fisher Price name with slightly downgraded features.  We got two years ago that figuring it would last a very long time and should get my older daughter to booster age without a problem.  She just turned 3 a week ago and is just about to outgrow that seat for height (has about 1/2 an inch left), although I've met very few people with that issue.  I've generally liked the seat, but am disappointed it will not even last my daughter until she's 4.  We will be replacing it with an evenflo maestro, which is a FF/high back booster seat and passing the old one down to her sister.

I will also say that every seat on the market passes the same safety tests, so don't think that a less expensive seat means you're compromising safety.  A less expensive seat has fewer features and less padding, but provided it's installed and used correctly it is equally safe.

mollymurphy

CelticWife:

We got a different car seat altogether; the Maxi Cosi Priori. I love that car seat. My favorite feature is that you can recline it while LO is sitting in it; you don't have to take it out and reinstall it. So when DS got tired, you would just reach back, pull the handle, and recline the seat. It RF to 35lbs/36" and FF 40lbs/44". It comes in great colors. And it sits higher then most car seats; DS can see out the window in it.

It's footprint is also smaller then some of the other seats. The Britax would not fit in my car.

It is a newer offering by Dorel that has been popular for years in Europe. https://www.maxi-cosi.com/us-en/carseats/toddler/priori

We have the MC Priori, too.

ETA: I bought from a US-retailer, though, as the Maxi Cosi Priori sold locally was only FF (which I found odd...)

bethCT

LOVE my Britax Boulevard!  We got an Evenflo free from BIL/SIL and it is ok, safe, fine, whatever, but I like the Britax better   The Evenflo is in Dh's car so DD rarely sits in it and the straps are not as easy to adjust (to me) and it is not as intuitive.  But really, as soon as you find a car seat and get used to it, nothing else is as easy.

PregoCC

Tabby2727:

I have 2 of the Evenflo Syphony 65's. It goes from 5lbs-100lbs so I'll never have to buy another seat again. THe straps are VERY easy to adjust and it's very soft and padded.  Hannah seams to like it.

This. We have a Britax in my FI's car, and I had an Evenflo Triumph LX, but we were rear ended the other week so I grabbed the Evenflo 65. I LOVE it and so does DS. I love both of the Evenflos better than the Britax. They are more roomy and DS doesn't seem so squished in either one! I love that the 65 goes to 100 lbs!

Coleslawcat

I'd get the MyRide over any Britax. It RF to 40 pounds, which is more than all but the newest line of Britax seats, plus it has more leg room RF for your child. It has a comparable shell height to the Marathon and is taller than some of the Britax seats. Plus, you could buy 2 for the cost of 1 Britax. Most people don't even use the one feature Britax has that the MyRide doesn't, which is the ability to tether RF, so I can't figure out why they pay twice as much for a seat that doesn't do any more.

I have a Britax Marathon and it's fine, but I honestly do prefer the MyRide I helped my brother pick out for my nephew.