Best Convertible Carseat up to 65 lbs..

july29bride · November 2012

Looking for a safe one to use at grandparents house... we have the britax marathons but wanted something cheaper (yet still safe) for my 3.5 year old. Thanks!

BabyKsMommy · November 2012

You could do an evenflo triumph I got mine at the trade in event for $105. Its supposed to have good reviews. I like it ok, it was def harder to instal then my Britax. I believe it goes up to 70lbs.

penguingrrl · November 2012

Is your child rear facing or forward facing? At 3.5 I would be comfortable forward facing for a secondary car even if you're still rear facing in the main car (my year old outgrew her radian RF at 2y9m so she's been FF sine then). I would suggest getting a combination seat, which is a forward facing harnessed seat (that meets the same standards as any forward facing convertible) then later becomes a belt positioning booster. They also generally have taller top harness slots than a convertible, so s/he will fit in it longer than a convertible (the vast majority of kids outgrow a carseat by height long before hitting the weight limit).

Depending on what you want to spend:
Evenflo Maestro: 18" top harness slots and a 50 lb weigh limit in harnessed mode, becomes a decent fitting booster, although it's outgrown in booster mode not long after you outgrow the harness for height, so you'll need to buy a dedicated booster later. Very inexpensive ($80?)

Evenflo Securekids series: based on the maestro, but has a headrest that rises as the child gets older, so it lasts longer as a booster. Some models have higher weight limits in harnessed mode than the maestro.

Graco Nautilus: very popular seat. 18" top harness slots and 65 lb weight limit in harnessed mode then becomes both a high back booster and later a backless booster, so lasts a very long time. I've heard that for slender children the seatbelt fit in booster mode is spotty, so sometimes people have had to use a different booster when the harness is outgrown.

Recaro ProSport: tall height and weight limits (not sure the numbers on this one) and reputed to give a good booster fit for many kids in many cars, but expensive

Britax Frontier: very popular seat and known for giving a great belt fit in booster mode. Has the tallest top harness slots of any seat on the market (20") and an 85 lb weight limit in harness mode. Also is the tallest high back booster available. Pretty expensive for a second vehicle but a great seat.

july29bride · November 2012

Thank you so much for that helpful information!!! Awesome! Going to check them out!

LittleApple · November 2012

They don't sell unsafe car seats. ::headdesk::

TMWarren85 · November 2012

I used the Graco MyRide65 ($130ish) as a convertible, but switched DD to the Graco Argos70 ($180ish) before she turned 3 because it was a hassle to get her into the convertible sitting up so high in the captain chairs, I kept hitting her head. Both have been great seats-