Second Convertible Seat or Booster Combo?

nycweddinggal

Our son is about to outgrow his infant car seat. His older sister (almost 3 yrs old, but very slender & tall) is in a Britax Boulevard, we like it, it works in our car and she seems content. We had initially just planned to make life easy and order the same model for DS. Well, it never works that way...

 DH was in a coworkers car last night who has twins a year older then our DD.

He noticed that the car seats were similar, but not identical to ours anyway it turns out that they were the Britax Combo Harness Booster and the twins have been in them for about a year.

I just looked these up and am now thinking that getting this for DD (and putting DS in the convertible seat) might fit the bill. That said, DD is probably just hitting the lower end of the weight limit (25lbs) so not sure if we should stick to our original plans. Essentially, my question is are the combo booster seats (when used with the top piece) as "safe" as the true car seats? 

Any specific tips or recos?

Angela814

A combo 5pt harness booster seat is just as safe as a forward facing convertible seat. If you already have your DD forward facing, then I think the Britax Frontier is a great choice.

cast920

Angela814:

A combo 5pt harness booster seat is just as safe as a forward facing convertible seat. If you already have your DD forward facing, then I think the Britax Frontier is a great choice.

This. Also, the Frontier 90 just came out and has a super simple seatbelt install. The Frontier 85 is the older version and is probably discounted everywhere.

nycweddinggal

Thanks Ladies! Any chance you know what the main differences (between 85 and 90 are)?

Katie829

nycweddinggal:

Thanks Ladies! Any chance you know what the main differences (between 85 and 90 are)?

This spring they changed the laws regarding the LATCH and you can hold have the weight of the child plus the car seat equal something like 65lbs or less. Once your over the LATCH weight limit you must install with the seat belt (for the harness use). The Frontier 85 is kind of pain to install with the seat belt. The new Frontier 90 is probably the easiest seat to install. There is a video on the Britax website to see. Also it goes up to 90lbs. These weights are great because they can last the child until it doesn't need a booster anymore (8+ years old)

gimmietimmies

Yes, go watch the video. I have the older Frontiers and I really like them, especially compared to other seats I've owned. Combo seats like the Frontier are good when you no longer need to rf (about 3-4). They have a minimum age to use, but your dd meets that.