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Houston Babies
Poll: Convertible Car Seats
DS is only 2 months old, but I'm starting to keep an eye out for good deals on convertible car seats. I've heard good things about the Britax Marathon, but don't want to overlook other good options. TIA!
Which convertible car seat(s) do you have?
What do you like about your car seat?
What do you dislike about your car seat?
If you don't like your car seat, which do you WISH you had bought?
Other advice/things to look for?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Poll: Convertible Car Seats
We have 2 Britax Roundabouts, 1 in each car. I like that it is a smaller carseat, although that also means that it has lower limits too. DD is a very petite girl so she is not at risk of outgrowing it any time soon. She'll most likely be in it until she's in a booster, but if it looks like you may have a larger kid, I'd get the Marathon as opposed to the Roundabout.
We also have a Graco ComfortSport that we keep at my parents' house in Houston for when we visit, so we don't have to bring one with us when we fly. It seems that DD is pretty uncomfortable in it (the straps are at sort of a funny angle and rub on her shoulders/chest) and there is not nearly as much cushy padding as the Britax, but it was inexpensive and gets the job done for the month or so per year that it gets used. I wouldn't want it as a full-time carseat though.
Which convertible car seat(s) do you have? Evenflo Triumph
What do you like about your car seat? Good safety rating, affordable and will last her until she can ride in the car without a booster seat
What do you dislike about your car seat? a PITA to install and hard to clean/remove the cover
If you don't like your car seat, which do you WISH you had bought? My BFF has a Britax (not sure which "model") but Bella got to ride in it last Friday and it was such a breeze to get her in/out of, and was so easy to fasten. I wish I would have bought whatever carseat that was.
Other advice/things to look for?
Which convertible car seat(s) do you have? Both the Britax Marathon and Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL
What do you like about your car seat? I like that both seats can rf and ff for a long time. I want to put off the booster as long as possible.
What do you dislike about your car seat? The radian takes up a ton of room rfing so I switched back to the Marathon for C until she can ff. That way my knees aren't up to my chest while riding in the front passenger seat.
If you don't like your car seat, which do you WISH you had bought? N/A
Other advice/things to look for? Find a seat with high weight/height limits that also fits well in your car. I wanted seats that would last me at least until they were big enough for boosters, preferably longer.
We have The First Years True Fit Premier.
Things I like about it: It meets European side impact standards (which are higher than in the US). It has a rebound bar, only a few seats have rebound protection. It is rated for rear facing up to 35lbs and is a very roomy seat. I have heard from other moms that kids don't outgrow it early. The straps are also very easy to adjust and the cover comes off easily. It's comparable to the Britax Boulevard, but cheaper.
Things I dislike: The only thing I disliked about it is that it's not a common seat, no where in town carries it in store, so I had to order it without trying it out in our car first. (But it fits fine so all's well that ends well!)
We also have 2 Roundabouts. Sarah finally outgrew hers this summer and we ended up buying the Britax Frontier booster with a 5-point harness, which she loves. She turned 4 in June and is in the 95% for height, so the Roundabout did last a surprisingly long time for her.
I love how easy the Roundabouts are to install, and the Frontier booster is equally as easy. I like the fact you can velcro the straps out of the way in the Roundabout. The carseats and booster seem very well-made.
Britax Marathon
What do you like about your car seat?
It's very cushy and user friendly. We also got it on sale at allbeebaby.com when they had their big sale so it was pretty inexpensive.
What do you dislike about your car seat?
It's not very toddler friendly, no cup holders and I haven't been able to get an after market one to attach to it. I wish I had thought more about her using as a toddler instead of just as a baby. It's also effing huge.
If you don't like your car seat, which do you WISH you had bought?
I wish I had done some more research instead of just going with one. I think we could have found something equally as safe and easy to use but with a few nicer features.
Other advice/things to look for?
How easy is it to clean for sure
j+k+m+e | running with needles
Which convertible car seat(s) do you have? Recaro Signo (G2, i think?) and Combi Cocorro
What do you like about your car seat?
RS is very stable and very comfy - We just got done driving long trips (2 10-hour trips and 3 5-hour trips) and DS seemed very comfy. I like the head pads on the side - I don't feel like DS's head is slumped over - they kind of act as a pillow. It's super easy to adjust. We have not had a problem where we had to clean the cover, so not sure how hard that is to get off. The cover is very soft - kind of velvety.
The Combi is nice b/c it's small. It's easy to take with us in an airport, as opposed to lugging around the RS. Since it's small, I don't have to worry about it not fitting in a rental car, or other person's car when traveling. It's also easy to see over in the car (not as tall as the RS). (We originally got it for my sports car, but my bucket seats ended up not working with it - we ended up getting a different car, but kept the carseat for travel purposes, since it was so lightweight).
What do you dislike about your car seat?
RS - it's very large - so it's hard to see over when driving - I feel like I have to be extra cautious when changing lanes since I am short (but is that a bad thing?) We are still RFing, though - and will try to do so until DS is at least 2 - it might be easier to see over when it is FF.
CC - the limits are small, so DS will prob. grow out of it a lot faster than the RS - but we figure we would have another kiddo by that time, so we could continue to use it on #2 after using our infant carrier again.
If you don't like your car seat, which do you WISH you had bought?
I am glad we have both, for the different reasons listed . I haven't found a problem or a perk on another one that I had to have. The RS is in my car (Honda Pilot) and the CC is in DH's car (VW Jetta Wagon)
Other advice/things to look for? If you are going to RF for extended period of time, make sure you get one that will fit and still have the front seat with reasonable leg room. Even though the RS is super tall and I have to strain to see over it - I feel like it helps keep DS RF longer b/c he can see over the back of the seats through the back window of my SUV (instead of just staring at the back of the backseat). Since he has something to look at back there, he has not had a problem still riding RF - so I am glad I can keep him that way. If you want to extend RF - I would look for a taller seat for this purpose.
We have an Evenflo Triumph Advance in one car and a First Years True Fit in the other.
What I like:
Evenflo, good-sized seat, but fits well in my car; it should last her a while.
True Fit: very cushy, fits her VERY well. Great fit in DH's small car. It installs pretty easily.
Dislike: Evenflo is a PITA to install, we had to get the tech to do it for us. It's not super cushy, and I have car seat envy! I wish it had a higher overall weight limit
True Fit: No problems so far, although I worry we may have to swap car seats when we need to install the headrest back in DH's car, although moving it more upright may help. Hopefully miss 95th percentile won't outgrow the no-headrest stage too quickly
I wish we had two True Fits! I seriously love that seat more.
I was mostly looking for a seat that would fit an infant, so these two fit well. I haven't used many features yet!
Which convertible car seat(s) do you have?
Radian 65 by Sunshine kids
What do you like about your car seat?
Everything! It is super safe, it is slim and low so Noah can easily reach things on the seat next to him. It is 5-point until 65 pounds and 5'1 and was RF until about 32 pounds.
What do you dislike about your car seat?
I liked everything.
If you don't like your car seat, which do you WISH you had bought?
Other advice/things to look for?
I would make sure that it is 5-point harness until at least 65 pounds, more if you have a heavier child.
we have a britax roundabout in my car and an evenflo triumph in dh's. when we got the evenflo dh was still driving an suv and it fit just fine in his, but in my suv i couldn't see over the thing in my rear view. (i drive a rogue). dh is now in a fusion and the evenflow is still fine in his car.
dd is happy in both, and i like that i can see over the roundabout. it did sit a little higher when she was rear facing, but not really enough to block my view. the one thing i would say is that you might want to consider staying in an infant seat as long as you can. that will allow your LO to get as much a/c as possible in heat like this.
We have a Britax Roundabout, and I have boys with long torsos, so I really wish I had gotten a seat with higher harness slots. It is a nice seat, though, and easy to use. We had to move DS1 to a Graco Nautilus already (harnessed), as he outgrew the Roundabout by height. Thankfully there are good 5-point harness seats that convert to boosters now.
There are so many more alternatives now that have higher harnesses and higher rear facing weight limits than the Britax seats. The Britax seats are still really nice, but they need to catch up. I know the car seat message boards tend to recommend the True Fit and Radian, among others... but the most important thing is getting a good install.
We bought the Britax Roundabout 50. It fits really well in my car (Ford Edge) but I do worry that DS will outgrow it earlier than if I'd gone with the Marathon (up to 65lbs).
However, I have no idea how old he'll be when he's 51lbs so I'll worry about it then. We got a good price from Target and we had gift cards, so I went for it.