Lots of car seat questions - Britax vs Recaro

sapphirebride06

DS will be 4 next month and is outgrowing his Britax convertible seats in length so I need at least one new seat now for H's truck and then one for mine as well and one for grandma's car (willing to spend less on her seat because he will rarely be in it - and likely not falling asleep in it because it won't be long trips.  Just from school to home maybe once a week). 

I've done research and our friend has a nautilus that they let us try out and DS immediately complained about the crotch buckle - and after doing research apparently that is often an issue.  So I have narrowed it down to these 2 seats - Recaro ProSPORT or the Britax Frontier 85.

Do you have one of these and if so do you like it?  We've always been a Britax family but I'm not against switching to Recaro if it will fit our needs. 

If I go with either of these will I need another seat at all or can it get us to when DS would be ready for just a seat belt?  He is on the taller side if that helps.  Also, ideally the seat will be passed down to DS #2 as well so it would be great if these are the last seats we would need!  DS #2 is 3 months old. 

And for grandma's car - she picks him up maybe once a week or so, sometimes more, sometimes less - but often enough that I don't want to have to wiggle around carseats and install/reinstall constantly.  I'd like something that would work for her car that doesn't cost a ton but would also possibly be the last seat I would need. 

Thanks for your time and help! 

CD+AL

When DS outgrew his Britax Boulevard (height), we went with the Britax Frontier b/c it has the highest height limit that I could find.  It is very similar to the other Britax seat.  The one thing that is different that I've noticed is that the Frontier is harder to cinch down with the latch straps than the Boulevard, and I've noticed that a few others have said the same thing.  It's not a huge deal to me b/c we don't switch it from car to car very often, but I wish it was as easy to cinch down as the Boulevard.  Overall, we are very happy with it, and I'd buy it again if I had to do it over.

Paigeo

DH and I both now have Britax Frontiers and are extremely happy with them.  Before we were using Britax Roundabouts.  Our experience with all of our Britax seats has been good.  I feel the fabric is very nice and holds up well and the straps have always been easy to use.  We have always bought our carseats from albeebaby.com and have gotten good sale prices with free shipping.

rcbuko

My almost 4 year old is in a Britax Frontier.  I let her pick out the print and she loves it.  My husband installed it and said it was easy.  We have mainly used Britax seats so it was familiar to us though we did do our research of other seats.  I like that the Frontier allows for a child to be in a 5 point harness until 85 pounds and that the child can use the seat until 120 pounds.  It will definitely be the last seat we have to buy.  We are going to get another one for DD2 once she outgrows her Roundabout 40.  The Frontier is in a Honda Odyssey which has room for three Britax side by side next to each other.  

We also have Sunshine Radians which go by the name Diono now.  We have them in our Subaru Outback side by side because they are so skinny and allow for an adult to sit in the seat next to them.  The new model of that seat now accommodates babies from 5 pounds to children of 120 pounds.  We will buy the new model of that seat once baby number 3 is ready for a convertible seat.  The model we have goes from 5-80 pounds in a 5 point harness and I am happy with that.   

webMistress0609

I was between these 2 seats as well & we picked the Britax. We had a Recaro convertible prior which moved to DH's car. 

I picked the Britax b/c the expiration date was longer (9 years as opposed to 6 if I remember correctly), and we plan on keeping DS in a 5 pt harness as long as possible then passing this seat down to the next LO if the timing works out correctly.  Also, there was something weird about the Recaro seat belt install blocking one of the should belt slots that I saw on reviews. We need the option of a seat belt install & LATCH only is good till 40 lbs or so anyway. I think the seat belt issue is only on certain cars though, so YMMV. 

bim38106

CD+AL:

When DS outgrew his Britax Boulevard (height), we went with the Britax Frontier b/c it has the highest height limit that I could find.  It is very similar to the other Britax seat.  The one thing that is different that I've noticed is that the Frontier is harder to cinch down with the latch straps than the Boulevard, and I've noticed that a few others have said the same thing.  It's not a huge deal to me b/c we don't switch it from car to car very often, but I wish it was as easy to cinch down as the Boulevard.  Overall, we are very happy with it, and I'd buy it again if I had to do it over.

 

you have to pull the latch belt through the inside of the seat and then it's super easy to install. took me 2 years to figure this out  just move the fabric over and pull the belt by reaching your hand in the seat. i coulnt believe how much easier it was to tighten this way and now i feel like the frontier is the easiest to install of all our britax seats!

 

oo, for all the reasins already listed, we love our frontier. 

PhilsWife07

Try posting at the forums at car-seat.org. There are lots of people there (including CPSTs) who own the Prosport and Frontier85 and could give you a good comparison of both. The Frontier is more commonplace than the Prosport so you may not hear from many people who own one here.

MommyToCheyenne

I love our Recaro ProSport.  The 5 point harness limits is on the higher end which is great since I plan on using it past 4 years.  The weight and height limits are good as well.  Best thing is that it will eventually convert to a booster when she outgrows the harness.  It has held up great and still looks new.

bim38106

I already replied, but I just need to add this We had a problem w/ our 2y/o Frontier (random seat issue shredding the belt where you tighten it). Even though we're a year past warranty, I just called up Britax last week and they immediately offered up a brand new car seat for free. I am crazy impressed w/ their customer service! We need a 2nd seat for DD2 soon, and I was thinking about buying something different just to try it out, but Britax has sold me and I will be going with them again and getting a 2nd Frontier.