What kind of car seat do I need? (3 1/2+yr old)

kriskars

Sorry, it's been forever since I've been on this board, but I was really hoping to get an opinion about car seats.  DS will be 4 at the end of April and is currently in the Britax Diplomat, which is a compact convertible.  DD is 10 months old and has decided to declare war every time I put her in her Chicco seat, so we're moving her into DS's and getting DS a new one since he'll outgrow it soon anyway.  I'm not sure if I should be looking at bigger convertible seats, like the Britax Marathon or if I should be looking at the harness-to-booster seats, like the Britax Frontier 85???  It doesn't necessarily have to be a Britax, that's just what I'm familiar with since we already have one.  I've also looked at the Recaro ProSport and Graco Nautilus for harness-to-boosters, but am completely open to any suggestion anyone might have.  We just have to do something ASAP and I'm not sure which type I should even be researching.  TIA!    

Abinormal

We have this car seat:

https://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Alpha-Convertible-Beaumont/dp/B00313JBGM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327037911&sr=8-2

I really like the seat, it's a reasonable price (we got it at Sam's Club for $99) and it'll grow with her up to 100 lbs. It's also really easy to adjust the level of the straps and reclines nicely in the car, so she's not sitting straight up the whole time she's in the car.

ec3under4

I love the britax frontier because of the true side impact protection and the fact that you can use the five point harness forever. I also like the fact that It is more compact and Double score that it has cupholders!! My son(4.5) loves it because it looks like a big boy seat compared to a marathon or boulevard. The other two are also great options and the recaro has great safety ratings as well. We used to had a recaro youngsport(older version) but I had to stop using it because the harness limit was 40lbs. so that's when I got the frontier. You could also look at the new sunshine kids carseat(I think they renamed it but can't remember the name) as it is a harness us to 85lbs too with great safety ratings as well!

Mrs.Talala

ec3under4:

r. You could also look at the new sunshine kids carseat(I think they renamed it but can't remember the name) as it is a harness us to 85lbs too with great safety ratings as well!

I think you are talking about the Diono Radian XRT. We just got one and love it. We picked it because it rear faces til 45 lbs, then you can use the five point harness til like 80lbs. Then it converts to a booster. Im still using it rear facing so i cant speak about it as a booster. It's pricey but I'm hoping it will last a long time! I bought it on diapers.com, they had the best price and free 2 day shipping.

A&Jmom

We have the Graco Nautilus and I have nothing but great things to say about it.  We moved my oldest into it when she was 3 (she is now 6).  We never converted it to a booster only, because even at 5 when we moved her out of it (to put DS, he was 2 at the time in it) she was still with in the weight limit of using it as a 5 point harness.  It goes to 65 pounds as a 5 point harness and she was way below that at 5.  It is very easy to install as well.

Emer

We have the britax frontier 85 and love it.  We want to use the 5pt harness for as long as possible, so that was our main goal.  We have always used Britax and have been very happy with them, so it just made sense for us to get the Frontier.

Ruby44

Mrs.Talala:

ec3under4:

r. You could also look at the new sunshine kids carseat(I think they renamed it but can't remember the name) as it is a harness us to 85lbs too with great safety ratings as well!

I think you are talking about the Diono Radian XRT. We just got one and love it. We picked it because it rear faces til 45 lbs, then you can use the five point harness til like 80lbs. Then it converts to a booster. Im still using it rear facing so i cant speak about it as a booster. It's pricey but I'm hoping it will last a long time! I bought it on diapers.com, they had the best price and free 2 day shipping.

Ditto this - I just got one for my 3.5 yo - just installed it rear-facing on Monday. I am very happy with it so far. The instructions were easy to follow. I bought this one from Amazon (in Rugby, which is $248.99). ETA: I too picked it because it can be used up to 45 lbs rear-facing and I want to keep my kids rear-facing as long as possible.

txbabs111

Just an FYI- Albee Baby has the Diono Radian XRT for 248.99 with free shipping. It's out of stock in Shadow and Storm right now, though.