Advice Needed on Cars Seat

I bought the Britax Marathon for my little girl and absolutely love it and would highly recommend to anyone! I did tons of research before I bought and have been so pleased with it.

I would recomend a Britax. We love them. We also have the Evenflow triumph that is mentioned by others. Both are very safe. I was hit by a car running a red light, and I then struck a lightpost head on....both of my boys did not move even a half of inch and walked away with only bruises on their chest from the straps. Also, all car seats are only as good as you install them, and you have to make sure to strap them in properly everytime. Take it from me....if I would have not tightend the straps and moved the clicker part even with their armpits...who knows?

Good luck.
L.

We went with the Evenflo Triumph Advance and love it.

Britax, Britax, Britax!

Both my girls 10mos. and 8yrs. are in Britax!

Personally I would choose the TrueFit because it has a higher back. I concidered the MyRide65 but most children will FAR outgrow it by height before getting close to the weight. Weight is a big thing but not if it doesn't have the height to go with it. The TrueFit only rfs to 35lb but my 3.5 yr old is 30lbs even so I am sure weight wise he could rearface until at least 5 years old. The Complete air doesn't harness as long so I am not a fan because I fully intend on having my kids in a 5pt harness until they are age 8.

Britax Marathon! I can't say enough about how wonderful they are! I did so much research for carseats, and I wouldn't buy anything else.
Also, keep your baby rear facing as long as the seat allows it. A 1 yr old is still too small to face forward. My daughter stayed rear facing until she was 2 yrs old.
I hope this helps, and good luck with your carseat shopping!
N.

Hello,
my 4 month old boy weighs 20 lbs (eek! I know)so we recently bought him the Graco My Ride 65 and love it. It's very soft and has great ratings! The only thing that's tricky is tightening the straps (while in the car) because he's still rear-facing and the slot for the strap tightener thingy is right up against the back of the seat. Easy fix though, just make sure it's adjusted to fit her before putting the seat in the car! Hope this helps!

It sounds like you are already educated on extended rear facing, since you are lookin at the MR65 and the S1stCA. She should remain rear facing until at least 2yrs and 30lbs, per the new AAP recommendations, and the CPST community's agreement that children should remain rear facing until they outgrow the rear facing weight limits of their convertible car seat of 33, 35, or 40lbs.

A few good convertible car seats are-
Britax Marathon ($250) Rear face to 35lbs, forward face to 65lbs. Fits most kids to age 6/7 in the harness. My son rear faced until 35mos in this seat, and at 4yrs old is still in it with plenty of room to grow, at least another 2yrs.

Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE (Make sure its the ADVANCE model, $150). Rear face to 35lbs, forward to 50lbs. Easy to adjust (no rethreading he harenss, it has a dial to adjust) and will fit most kids in the harness to age 5.

First Years TrueFit65 ($150) will rear face to 35lbs and forward face to 65lbs. Fits most kids to age 6/7 in the harness. Has the tallest shell, great seat!

Graco MyRide 65 ($150) Will rear face to 40lbs and forward face to 65lbs. First most kids to age 6 in the harness. Great seat with extended rear facing and harnessing for the cost. I really liked this seat.

SunshineKids Radian65 ($250) wil lrear face to 40lbs, forward face to 65lbs. Nice narrow seat, but can be a pain to install in some vehicles, definently a 'try before you buy' seat in your car.

Safety 1st Complete Air ($200+) wil lrear face to 40lbs, forwad face to 50lbs. This seat isn't worth the money.. with a forward facing weight of only 50lbs... most kids will outgrow it pretty quickly once forward facing. It won't last as long as the other seats listed above. It also seems really thin and kind of 'flimsy' for lack of a better word. I didn't care for it when we tried it out.

Steer clear of the '3 in 1' seats like the Alpha Omega or the Eddie Bauer. THey are ok for rear facing... to 35lbs. But they are a jack of all trades, master of none. They are short shelled, and most kids outgrow the harness in height long before weight, and they make bad booster seats, as they hold the belt too far away from the child as they are a wide seat. They just aren't worth the money, as you want your child to be in a 5pt harness as long as possible, until at least age 5/6yrs old.

Good for you for knowing you want to rear face longer. Its 500% safer for your child!

Britax are good, but they aren't the only quality seat. We use the evenflo triumph. The seat rivals britax for safety according to consumer reports and costs about $160. Last year I was lucky enough to find them clearanced at target for $35! They RF to 35 lbs and will FF to 50 lbs. My 4 year old will likely be in hers until it expires so we'll definitely have gotten our money's worth!

Hello,

When I was having the installation of our new car seats checked, I was told by the car seat technician that the Britax brand far exceeds the safety, design, technology and durability that any other brand offers. She said that at her last car seat training seminar, the Britax Frontier (5 point harness, non-convertable for bigger kids) was introduced they were all very excited and pleased that Britax had listened to the safety technicians and implemented the safest, most durable design yet. They are more expensive, but worth the extra cash, IMHO. Britax has several models, so if you are interested in this brand I would check out their website and read about each seat. You will definitely find the right one for you.

Good luck! R.

Yes, the Britax are good, but the Recaro Child Seats are even better when it comes to safety and durability. Recaro knows about safety......they make the seats that go into the cars that NASCAR drivers drive! We just got one for our son and love it.