GHM: another carseat question

acppa

DS is almost 3.5 years old.  He weighs 39 lbs and is 41.5 inches tall. He's at the weight limit for his current seat.   

I'd like to find something that he'll be comfortable in for a while.  What seat would you recommend.  

Thanks! 

goodheartedmommy

What is your budget?

Evenflo maestro: $80, harnesses to 50 lbs/18 inches harness height. It does convert to a booster, and usually fits decent as a booster, though I'm not crazy about the side impact protection it offers. 

Graco nautilus: $150+, harnesses to 65 lbs/18 inches harness height. It rarely fits a child in booster mode (positions lap belt too high), especially a smaller child. 

Britax frontier: $250+ (sometimes on sale a little cheaper). Harnesses to 85 lbs, 20 inch harness height, fits almost all children in booster mode (also is a taller booster than the other 2).

 

Remember that you won't have a guarantee of any harness/booster combo working as a booster; that's just something you'll have to see about when you get there. The only plus to the nautilus over the maestro in my opinion is that it has better side impact protection, but I don't think it's worth the extra $70. For $40, you can get a decent booster if the maestro doesn't work, and for $70-100, you can get a really nice booster. The frontier is a great seat if it's in your budget, but it's not worth stressing yourself about if it's not what you want to pay for a seat.

The sunshine kids radian and first years true fit are good convertible seats that will harness about as long as the nautilus and maestro (about .5 inch-1 inch shorter), and then you can buy a booster later, if you want to go that route. The radian is $180+, and the true fit is about $150+.