cosco scenera - pros/cons?

saturdaynightdoubletree

Looking to purchase a car seat for DD as DS has now outgrown the infant carrier. We have an Evenflo Symphony 65, love it, but don't really want to spend $200 again if we don't need to. Cosco scenera looks nice online, has a cheap price tag... I just don't want cheap quality. Any input?

ASmallWonder

We have this as our extra seat in DH's car because that's only used for daycare drop offs.  I like that the seat is deeper than our Britax and the strap adjustment is easier than the Britax, IMO.  We did have trouble installing it in DH's car but that may be the car and not the seat since we haven't tried it anyplace else.  Once we leveled it with a towel it's totally in tight but it just took a little effort.  It also doesn't have a lot of padding.  Aiden doesn't mind it but he's also only ever gone on short rides in it.

Ciarrai

We have two for DH's car and two in my mom's car.  They work great for us.  They seem to have less padding than our Britax Marathons (in my car) but for the odd trip around town they're great.  Double check the weight limit, though.  My kids are tiny so it's never been a problem for me, but I thought it only went up to like 40lbs or something.  That can affect if it's worth buying one depending on what your LO weighs now and what percentage they're in.

ETA - I just noticed you were thinking of it for your main carseat not a back-up one.  I don't know if I'd recommend that only because it isn't the most comfortable and it (probably) won't last until your LO is old enough and big enough for a booster.

LurkieLoo

After MONTHS and MONTHS of research we just purchased a Radian today.  The reason I went with it is because I want him rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.  Even though the current law is to turn forward facing at 1 and current recommendations are to turn forward facing at 2, we plan to rear face much longer because their spine is still not fully developed at that point.  If I am, God forbid, involved in a serious car accident I'd like to know that I did everything possible to keep my child safe and keeping him rear facing as long as possible is a big part of that. 

Blackvelvet

Pain the tush to install we have to use two noodle stack in my old car (chrysler pacifica) and use noodles in my sisters car honda accord and in our trucks.  It just plain wouldn't install in my husbands truck older F150.  I hate it it was cheap and it is cheap I have our other seats that are all easier to install.  My favorite is the britax roundabout 50 it was $130 at target and it is perfect for us it seems iddle priced but it is the best to use.

rainlily

Blackvelvet:

Pain the tush to install we have to use two noodle stack in my old car (chrysler pacifica) and use noodles in my sisters car honda accord and in our trucks.  It just plain wouldn't install in my husbands truck older F150.  I hate it it was cheap and it is cheap I have our other seats that are all easier to install.  My favorite is the britax roundabout 50 it was $130 at target and it is perfect for us it seems iddle priced but it is the best to use.

Oh no!  We just bought this as our travel carseat.  We are going on a trip next week and are going to have DD ride in it on the plane!  We will also need it for 2 cab rides (to the resort and back).  I hope we are able to install it on the plane and in the cab!  I'll have to make sure to pack towels in our bag and possibly even in the carryon.  OP- I did notice that it doesn't have much padding.  We use a Sunshine Kids Radian as our main carseat and love it.

huber22

It was our main car seat until we got an Evenflo this weekend.

I liked it. DS actually likes it better than the Evenflo. It is a little difficult to install, none of my ILs can figure it out, but I don't have a problem with it. I like that I can see him while he's in it. It takes some room rear-facing.

We do have to use noodles with it though.

It only goes to 40 pounds, but most kids I know are ready for a high-backed booster by that time.

Leap08

We have one as our back-up seat for when my husband does daycare pickup/drop-off. It's fine. It kind of lacks padding and I think it only goes up to 40 lbs rear-facing or forward-facing. My husband installed it, but I don't think he had any issues with it. He didn't mention any problems anyway. 

penguingrrl

From what I know it's a great budget seat and will keep a kid RF and harnessed longer than many other budget seats (especially graco comfortsport). One thing to keep in mind when choosing and using a carseat is that most kids will outgrow the harness for height long before they hit the weight limit, so while a high weight limit is nice, a high shell is likely to be the deciding factor on when to turn FF and when to move to a booster. From what I understand the scenera has a decent shell height, although you may need another seat before going to a booster.

kes3237

We have this and the Graco MyRide - I like the Cosco better and it was a lot cheaper!  The straps are easy to adjust and DD just seems to enjoy sitting in it more (I think she sits up a bit taller in it than the other).  It's also lightweight and easy to fly with.  One con would be that you can't RF as long as some others.

Bran_ham

Pros- cheap, lightweight

con- not very padded, a monster to install RF'ing and not nearly as easy as say a Britax

We use it in DH's car and DS doesn't seem to mind it much. It is also our travel car seat as I don't trust them with my Britax, I also don't want to lug the Britax around. We also keep a Scenera at my parent's home for when we visit them. 

piccolina09

We have a scenera in my mom's car. We  also have a britax and evenflo in our cars, and I like it better than the evenflo, straps are simple to adjust and my DH had no problems at all installing it.