Convertible Carseat Recommendations

suzyq

Fri, Jul 06 2012, 1:26 pm

It's almost time to switch the infant seat for a convertible carseat. I know NOTHING about them, so any advice would be great. My one main issue is that we have a small car - a Honda Civic (and it's our only car), so it needs to be able to fit in the backseat of it. I'd like to stay rear-facing as long as possible, and I'd like this carseat to last my baby as long as it can (I've noticed there are some carseats that only fit to 40 pounds or so, I'd like one that will fit my baby longer than that). And of course, while I want quality, I also want to spend as little as I can (but I am willing to pay for a good, solid seat, I won't compromise on safety). Any suggestions?

SZH

Fri, Jul 06 2012, 3:58 pm

I have this car seat http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/.....1-13. We bought it so we wouldn't have to buy another, since it is good from birth till they do not need a car seat/booster anymore. The only down side, it's very heavy. If you are installing and leaving it in the car that's fine. We have a car but for done kind of reason we are always putting our car seats in and out of our (and other peoples) car

seeker

Fri, Jul 06 2012, 4:45 pm

I have the First Years True Fit, got it at great discount on a flash deal and chose it because of awesome online reviews. I have no major complaints with it but just wanted to input here because it is HUGE, I do NOT recommend it for you with a small car! We have it in the middle of the backseat, when #2 comes IY"H I think I will want to move it to the side to make it easier to fit 2 seats so we'll have to move the front seat forward and give that passenger less legroom. Also very wide, that's why I don't think it would be easy to put the next carseat right beside it.

IloveHashem613

Fri, Jul 06 2012, 6:04 pm

Do not get the Britax Roundabout 55! I happen to have it and I lucked out because my daughter is short. But the shell of the carseat is the one of the shortest car seats out there. If you have a tall (or even average kid) they will outgrow the car seat by height very quickly. Check out this website:
http://www.thecarseatlady.com, they also have a facebook page. You can email them asking for recommendations for your car and what type of kid you have and the fact that you want to rear face as long as possible (good choice!) and they are very helpful.

observer

Sat, Jul 07 2012, 10:56 pm

IloveHashem613 wrote:

I have the britax roundabout 55. my dc is 2 and is above average height and the height is not an issue for us. It's still rear facing btw.

IloveHashem613

Sat, Jul 07 2012, 11:05 pm

observer wrote:

IloveHashem613 wrote:

I have the britax roundabout 55. my dc is 2 and is above average height and the height is not an issue for us. It's still rear facing btw.

Ok. I got my info about the Britax Roundabout 55 from a certified car seat technician who is literally a bible on the everything to do with safety and car seats. Yes, they (certified car seat technicians) do exist! Your local fire house and cops are not trained in car seats and could be giving wrong info (for anyone reading this that wasn't aware). Anyways, she told me that she does not recommend people to get the Britax Roundabout 55 for the reason that they are short. Most toddlers outgrow their carseats by height before weight so a taller car seat is always a better choice. Also she gave me this link to tell when your child has outgrown their car seat rear facing. http://www.car-seat.org/showth.....ssage

Peanut2

Sun, Jul 08 2012, 12:19 am

Evenflo here. Just got it recently and so far so good. I kept looking for info online, and finally I just went to the store and picked one. It was not as easy to install the first time as it claims, but once you do it, it's not difficult to do it again. It seems comfy and will fit tall kids, which was really important to me. It also works as a booster.

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 10:40 am

suzyq wrote:

How big is your baby now, and what is your budget?

suzyq

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 10:49 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

suzyq wrote:

How big is your baby now, and what is your budget?

My baby is around 20 pounds now and about 27 inches, so we can hold off for a little while with his infant seat (we have a Graco 35) but I think he'd be more comfortable in a bigger seat. We will pay what we have to but I'd love to keep it under $200 if possible (but if it's not, then we'll live).

suzyq

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 11:41 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

And how old is he? (I'm trying to figure out if he's on the chubby or skinny or tall or short side to see what you will need down the line...)

Also, you have LATCH in all seats in the back?

He's about 7 months. He's right at 50th percentile on the charts for height and weight though he looks like a chubb (he hasn't started crawling yet). My guess is he'll be pretty average. I've been told you can only use LATCH in the side seats, but our car is fairly new, so wherever it's standard we have it (the infant seat was installed in the middle of the backseat, not using LATCH).

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 11:42 am

Here are my thoughts...just thinking this through.

In terms of front to back space, one of your best bets would be the Evenlfo Triumph 65 -- it has less padding than more expensive ones, which is not a safety issue, just a comfort, but most kids are not bothered by it. It goes RF till 40 lbs, FF till 65 which is pretty decent.

In terms of having a very narrow seat so you can allow for future car seats next to it, try the Radian R100 It's in a similar price range to the Britax seats, but with a LOT more room for growth and a lot less space that it takes up. There were some older models that were harder to install in certain Civics, but most Civics did not have a problem, and I have not heard of anything regarding the Diono change (from Sunshine Kids) -- Amazon does allow for free returns if it doesn't work out. It has the same weight range as the Evenflo but a much better height range, and it works as a booster if you want till 100 lbs. It's a bit over $200, but the Britaxes hover around there and the Roundabout doesn't have so much shell space. A Boulevard 70 would cost you the same amount, but take up more width space IIRC.

IloveHashem613

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 11:43 am

suzyq wrote:

I'm really sorry if I sound like a broken record. But just wanted to reiterate that while you want something that your child will last in past 40 lbs, even more important is getting something that will last your child a while height wise. Unless you have a very chubby kid, most kids will outgrow the height requirements on a car seat before the weight so get something that they will be able to sit in for a while height wise. The Diono (formerly Radian) is good, they rear face longest and fit newborns too.

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 11:45 am

suzyq wrote:

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

And how old is he? (I'm trying to figure out if he's on the chubby or skinny or tall or short side to see what you will need down the line...)

Also, you have LATCH in all seats in the back?

Ok, the reason I asked was because if you will be installing without LATCH, you may want to get a seat that has built-in lockoffs. The True Fit has that, but it is big. The Britax Boulevard is big too but I think takes less front to back space compared to the True Fit with the headrest (you can remove the headrest until your child is too tall RF, but it won't last you long that way).

BTW, I'm pretty sure the Radians go to 45 lbs RF, not sure why Amazon says 40. I have to double check that.

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 11:47 am

IloveHashem613 wrote:

suzyq wrote:

The Radians retained their name, just the company name changed.
So Diono Radian used to be called Sunshine Kids Radian Smile

seeker

Mon, Jul 09 2012, 2:35 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

suzyq wrote:

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

And how old is he? (I'm trying to figure out if he's on the chubby or skinny or tall or short side to see what you will need down the line...)

Also, you have LATCH in all seats in the back?

Just reiterating that where space is an issue I am pretty sure you DO NOT want the True Fit. It is a huge space hog in every direction. For some reason that wasn't one of my priorities when I was first looking, but now with #2 on the way it's going to be an issue... DD is petite and light but still needed the headrest by 18 months old (you need to put it on when the kid is 22lb iirc)