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Nurseries and Baby Gear
summergirl79
member
Convertible Car Seat Recs?
summergirl79
member
Hoping we can buy just one more after DS outgrows the infant seat...considering Evenflow Symphony, Britax Marathon, others recommended? TIA!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Convertible Car Seat Recs?
Sorry to break it to you.... but you will likely have to buy a booster after a convertible seat as well.
Check out www.carseatblog.com.
They have a list of recommended seats, pros, cons, etc. We have all Britax seats, but there are many good convertibles out there.
ETA: Stay away from the Alpha Omega Elite, Eddie Bauer and Graco Comfortsport.
Just curious why- I haven't found anything about the Alpha Omega and just bought it- why should I return it?
There are just much better seats for the money. The AOE is normally outgrown early one, hard to install correctly, the manufacturer is notorious for tons of recalls, and it makes a terrible booster seat (which is why most people buy it, because they think they won't need another seat). The new 50lb seat is better than the 40lb edition, but like I said, there are still better seats.
https://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr090810.html
You can see it listed above under the "Not Recommended".
Here are a couple more posts on carseat.org where they discuss the seat...
https://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=137208
https://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=178708
med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
My BFP Chart
That seat is awesome for later, but it does not rear-face, so it is not a good choice as a convertible seat.
I'm in Canada and got the Alpha Omega (not Elite, it looks like the Safety 1st All-in-One in the US) for $92 at Walmart. There was nothing else that worked as a booster and rear-facing car seat for under $190. For $100 less than the other seats (and I can't buy a US one online- it's illegal as the safety standards are different), it seemed like risking him outgrowing it and needing to buy a plain booster.
Maybe I'm naive, but it has to meet the safety standards to be sold. Our standards in Canada are pretty high, so it must be safe.
lwclec072, I hope you saw this. You can't go from an infant seat to a forward facing only seat like the Graco Nautilus.
med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
My BFP Chart
DD #2: BFP: 8-19-18 EDD: 4-30-19
It is safe as a harness seat, but I am just telling you that it is VERY likely that you will still need another seat before you even get to booster age. I have seen many kids outgrown that seat by 3, which is obviously not a safe age for a booster. I am just saying that I would think it is wiser to spend more money on a better seat rather than end up buying to convertibles and a booster.
Here is a post from the Canadian carseat.org page......
https://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=158656
Diono (formerlly Sunshine Kids) is coming out with a brand new three in one seat sometime is October. It should last kids from 5-120 lbs. It goes from RF, to FF, to a booster.
https://us.diono.com/en/car-seats
We have minimum standards for car seats, and Transport Canada sets the standards, but the manufacturer is responsible for testing to meet the compliance (love the disconnect, there is no one ensuring they comply, really). You'll know when you get a recall that there was a failure, and other than the now defunct Century and Fisher Price (car seat division), Dorel has an extremely high recall on their seats.
From a tech perspective, there are easier seats to install and use properly (a lot easier). My biggest concern is that it's upper harness height limits are so low. K no longer fit her AOE Elite at her 3rd birthday. The harness at it's highest was below her shoulders, and at 32 lbs was too light for her to be in harness mode (booster mode is minimum 40lbs in Canada). The minimum age they allow for boosters here is 4 (but I highly don't recommended boostering a 4 year old). K is still not 40 lbs, and judging by her sisters, will be 5 when that happens.
I don't like this seat for a lot more reasons, including the straps that eventually curl on themselves, and for other reasons outlined in my response here. If budget was an issue, you would be better off with a Cosco Scenera.
FWIW, we have the Radian as our convertible (rf past age 2 for S), and would have considered the Marathon if space width wise wasn't an issue. K (34lb 3 1/2yo) and E (42lb 5 1/2yo) use Britax Frontiers harnessed. And don't forget that most provinces they must be in an appropriate seat at age 8 (until 9th birthday). AB is still stuck in the stone ages, it's until their 6th birthday.
E does as well. And she won't sit properly in her low back in Grandma's car, so she's not ready 100% of the time, especially tired.
It will be available in Canada around the same time too.
Totally fine as a convertible. Just be aware that you'll likely have to replace it before your lo is ready for a booster. And the Alpha Omega, the Eddie Bauer, and the Elite are all built on the same platform/shell (there are about 11 versions in Canada). They only have minor differences. As a car seat, yes it is fine, as a booster, it is not.
I hope the officer that checked your seat is a Children?s Restraint Systems Technician (CRST), otherwise they may not have current info or know what they missed on checking the install. The only reason I say this is because my brother is an officer, dh is a firefighter certified as a CRST. Bro installed his ds' seat, DH checked it. It was no where near tight enough, and he had the LATCH (UAS) through the wrong belt path. The guys in traffic don't always know what to look out for. I can find you a certified tech in your area if you need.
I'm glad you like your seat and hope it works out, just keep an eye out on the harness for twisting. If it keeps curling, you can contact Dorel to purchase a replacement, or when you are washing the cover, wipe it down with warm water and lay it flat to dry (it will work for a little while).