Car Seat ??? - Surprise,AZ

We had to do the same thing. I din't think my son was ready for a booster seat yet. We got the Graco Nautilus, and he loves it. I like the fact that the 5 point harness goes up to 65 lbs. He is tall, 45.5", but only 4 1/2. He is very comfortable in the seat. One thing I know he likes is having his own cup holder! LOL

The police officer that installed my daughter's infant seat told me that ALL car seats sold are safe. They all meet the same federal requirements. The difference in price is the bells and whistles...i.e. the padding and extras. He gave me the following analogy...The Ford escort gets you from point A to B as well as the top of the line Mercedes, but the Mercedes will be more of an experience in comfort and luxury.

That said...weigh the pros and cons of what you can afford. The Britax seats are beautiful and pricey and comfy and can be seen as a status symbol. The other brands are just as safe. Pick what YOU like AND can afford!

Good luck!
D.

The Frontier85 is very well regarded by child passenger safety technicians for several reasons: its high top harness slots and harnessed weight limit will fit the majority of kids until they have the size and maturity to sit properly in a belt-positioning booster seat, and it works very well as a booster seat (positions the lap belt low across tops of thighs, positions shoulder belt mid-shoulder) and adjusts tall enough as a booster to fit practically all kids until they can fit the adult seatbelt properly (see this carseatblog review: http://carseatblog.com/5751/britax-frontier-85-review-its... )
The Graco Nautilus is also well regarded by techs for working well as a harnessed seat and as a booster, although it doesn't adjust as tall as the Frontier, it can also convert to a backless booster when it's outgrown as a high-back booster. http://carseatblog.com/6840/graco-nautilus-elite-first-lo...
The Evenflo Maestro is a good budget choice for a forward facing seat with a 50 lb. harnessed weight limit. It positions the belt well as a booster but does not adjust very tall so it *will* be outgrown as a booster before the child is ready for the adult seat belt, but at around $80 retail (Nautilus retails for around $180, Frontier around $280), you can set aside some $ for a good high back booster later on. http://carseatblog.com/5923/evenflo-maestro-as-booster-re...

Most other forward facing combination seats are not recommended because they have low harnessed height/weight limits and/or they position the seat belt poorly as boosters.

LOVE our Britax Frontier. We actually have 2 (one for each car). We also have 2 Britax Marathons (one for each car). They are easy to install, safe, and made in the USA (Charlotte, NC). Yes, they are expensive, but I bought ours with a 20% coupon from Babies R Us. I think it's weight rated to 85lbs, so you son will be able to use it for a while! Great investment!!! (My husband's argument was why would someone buy a $40,000 car and try to save $100 bucks on a car seat???)

I love our grace nautilus. It harnesses to 65 lbs or 52 in then goes to a booster then backless booster to 100 lbs. My youngest is 3 is skinny but tall and he still has more then enough room in it. It is easy to install, it is heavy though but we generally only take my car. All seats pass the same safety tests and I know lots of people that bought britax and returned them it's like buying coach purse instead of something generic you pay for the name.

All car seats meet the same safety requirements. You pay for the extra
padding, etc. etc. So it depends on your budget. Spending mor does not
make it safer. I had long discussion with NYS trooper about this.

We purchased 3 of the Frontier85 car seats. The kids LOVE them! (5 1/2 and 3 1/2.) We feel it's worth every cent because they will be harnessed till 85# and then still have it as a booster.

We love the fact that it has side-impact protection. And a NO THREAD harness! So easy to move the straps! We couldn't be happier. We ordered ours from Diapers.com. They were running an extra 20% or 25% off at the time and FREE shipping. And FREE returns if you are unhappy! But we were very happy.

We tried the Graco Nautilus at Walmart and were not impressed...... My husband didn't like the seat at all. I felt it was "okay".

I would try the Graco Nautilus. We have this seat and my daughter loves it. It have a 5-point up to 65 lbs. It also goes into a high back booster and a regular booster. It is however a bulky seat, but like I said we love it.

We have two Britax Frontier 85s. LOVE that seat and so does our 5-year-old. Roomy, comfortable, 5 pt harness ... we'll have this seat for many years to come. Well worth the investment in my eyes.

I got my daughter the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 last month. It's great & she loves it! Her last seat's max for the 5-pt harness was 40lbs, which she is pretty close to. She'll be 5 next month. The Nautilus will hold them in the 5-pt harness until 65 lbs, and then as a belt positioning booster & then a backless booster until 100lbs. It's $138 on Amazon, tho prices of colors vary.

We had to do the same thing in Spring... I chose the nautalis, by graco... I love it!! You can use the 5 pt harness i think up till 65 pounds... It wasn't near as much as the britax....

Everyone is right that all car seats pass the same inspection for safety. When you have to really be concerned with safety and the type of booster seat is when you switch to using the shoulder strap seat belt instead of the 5 point harness. The seat belt has to lay a certain way across your child's chest and lap in order for it to be effective and not cause unnecessary damage to your child. A few months ago Yahoo posted an article that ranked booster seats and which ones failed. I can't remember which one's failed, but it maybe something you want to google and find out.