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August 2013 Moms
ScarletOflaherty
member
BTDT's, tell me about your convertible carseats!
ScarletOflaherty
member
BTDT's...What is the best convertible carseat for under $200?(Preferably closer to $150!) Currently looking at the Evenflo Triumph, Evenflo Symphony, Britax Roundabout and others similar. What do you have and love, and specifically WHY? ("Britax is great because Britax is great!" is not helpful if ykwim.) Tell me about features. I have a minivan if that makes any difference.
Due with #5 April 22, 2015. It's a girl!!!!!
Yes it was planned, yes we know what causes that, no we are not on public assistance, and yes we will be getting cable after this. 
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Re: BTDT's, tell me about your convertible carseats!
I love the Britax seat we have. It's got a deep seat and deep side wells by his head. It's plush and comfy and easy to install and adjust. We started using it at 9 months I want to say. The fabrics have shown no wear at all in about a year and a half.
ours was slightly over $200 I think, or maybe it was $180? We got the Britax Boulevard 70 CS (now retired per their website) for both of our cars.
We bought the Evenflo Symphony 3 in 1 when we moved DS to a convertible seat. I really like this seat. It has a nice deep seat which cradles him nicely. The recline option for rear facing is nice because it has them at a similar angle to the infant seat. There is really nice head support when he falls asleep in the vehicle, so he doesn't end up with his neck kinked to one side or the other. The headrest is easily adjustable, as are the straps. There's no need to rethread the straps when they hit a growth spurt (I realize a lot of seats have this feature, but not in our price range).
I also like the quick connect options for using your vehicle's LATCH system. I can move the seat from one vehicle to another in less than a few minutes. DS is still rear facing, so I don't have an opinion on the forward facing options, but I have no worries. For what we paid for the seat (on sale at BRU for around $180 I think), I am very happy with it. I will purchase a second one when the time come for a convertible seat for this LO.
All of these things. The wells by the head have always made me feel more comfortable in case of an accident and things go flying. Not sure if it actually makes a difference, but i take comfort. We have the Britax Marathon. We have used ours for almost a year and it looks like we just took it out of the box. The latch system works like seat belts so it is an easy click and tighten to get it in and with a click of a button it comes back out. I am a former nanny and have had loads of experience with car seat installation. This is by FAR the easiest I have found and the safety ratings with Britax are almost always excellent. Thankfully we bought two and no longer have a second car. The spare was hardly used and it will be for this baby.
Add. This carseat fits fine in a minivan. I have never had an issue with any seat in a van though because the seats are large and typically vans are made with toting children in mind right?
I'm impressed with how well it's held up and how nice the cover washes up. I'm hoping to keep new baby in the infant seat as long as possible so new baby can get the marathon and DS moves to a britax frontier.
I've just had really good luck with the brand. I also have the b agile stroller and am happy with it.
I think the britax seat had a really long expiration date as well. Not sure if I'm making that up or not though.
Plus I'm a country girl at heart. The cow print sold me.
I second all of this. I just love this seat and will definitely purchase another when the time comes. : )
IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/qpqv84.jpg[/IMG]
Patiently waiting for little brother!
We're having baby 2 and have bought a coccorro sp? and I don't remember the brand off the top if my head because its much smaller and we have small cars and DH is tall. DD rides in it in DH car and we really like it too. It's around 170. The downside is that it won't be useable for as long because it is so small 40 lb weight limit and a short back. It was also recommended by lucieslist.com. I've had great success with the recommendations from her site.
The graco smart seat has a base (it's a 3 in 1 seat) , but most convertibles do not have a base. You can always buy a second base for the infant seat for your MIL's car (usually about $50) and get a convertible later. I lot of convertible seats turn into booster seats (which I would recommend buying so you don't need to get another seat later) and car seats have an expiration date. Kids stay in boosters until 7 + years old, if you buy a convertible now, it will expire and you will need to buy another seat.
ETA: our latest purchase was the graco smart seat (to keep DD2 RFing longer). I have had britax advocates in the past an have loved them (they just don't turn into boosters). With the Graco I like that DD2 will be in the same seat until she is big enough to sit in a regular seat. It is over your $200 budget, but it will be the last seat you buy, and you can get it on sale at albee baby often (I got mine for $230 tax ans shipping included).
We have a Britax roundabout in my car and I love it! The reason I chose that one, besides the safety features and crash test ratings was the ease of install. Some, as I learned from the infant carseat base, are SO difficult to latch and unlatch. The britax is super easy. My husbands car has an Evenflo (I don't remember which one...) and the seat itself is fine, but its definitely harder to latch and unlatch, oh and the straps on that one are always getting twisted up which is annoying. My britax never has that problem
We definitely paid $150 or less for each of the seats.