Hi, I have a 3.5 year old and I am beginning to think about the next car seat I will need. Right now he is in Maxicosi Priorifix with 5 point harness, which is still fine for him (he is 15kg now). I love (and he does too) the Maxicosi, as it is comfy, very safe and has an easy recline mechanism that I can do with one hand from the front of the car. He does fall asleep on long journeys, as I suspect most children of this age.
I have done extensive research into the next group of car seats (group 2-3) and struggle to find one, that ticks all the boxes (safety, comfort, recline feature). I also looked into buying the group 1, 2, 3 combination seat, which I wish I bought 2 years ago, but hey, you learn...
Question is: What in your opinion is the best (safest, comfiest, most reclining) seat for my boy? I need one that can be secured to the car by an Isofix and one with the best reclining function.
Also, I wouldnt mind keeping him in the 5 point harness for much longer. Are there any group 2 and 3 seats that secure the child into the seat with a 5 point harness, whilst the seat is fixed to the car with Isofix? Any feedback hugely appreciated. Many thanks.
Thank you so much for your answers, the Britax Frontier 85 sounds great, had many great reviews and I was very excited that I may have finally found the seat I need...until I found out that there had been a Safety Product Recall on this model (I believe it only applied to certain sub-models and dates of manufacture, so those mums who do have one, don´t panic, just google the Britax Frontier 85 product recall and it will give you the details). Basically, the long and short of it, Britax no longer make them and no retailers here in Europe sell them. Graco Nautilus is on my shortlist too, has anyone got an experience of Recaro? That´s another one on my shortlist. RE: why do I want a 5 point harness beyond the recommended age: It is by far the safest way, as the child really cannot move. If a child secured with a seatbelt moves forward to pick up a toy or something and then the car has a crash at that time, the child is more vulnerable to neck/head injury. The child in a 5 point harness cannot bend forward, as the harness doesn´t have a ¨give¨ like a seatbelt does. Re: Isofix, no, it is not the same as the latch or hooks system, it is a system where the child seat´s Isofit system clicks completely securelly into the inbuild Isofit hooks that are the integral part of the car seat (found in between the seat and back rest of the passenger seats) It is meant to be the safest way of installing the seat into the car, as it eliminates any errors in fitting the child or baby seat. The Isofix is now standard on all cars (and has been for the past 4 or 5 years), so if you have a car that is only a few years old, the likelihood is it will have the Isofix.
Once again, thank you for your replies, any other suggestions appreciated.
Britax now makes the Frontier 85 that will go 5 point harness to 85 lbs then will convert to a high back booster till 120 lbs.
Check on that reclining feature. I'm not sure that is safe for a forward facing child to be in a reclining position. I'm going to have to look that up now that you mention it.
I googled ISOFIX it looks like it is the same thing as a latch like in new cars in the US. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isofix
If you are in Europe, I would buy a seat there, they are great! USA seats do not have ISOFIX, they have LATCH.
Look around there in Europe!
I do NOT recommend the Graco Nautilus..... it is a great seat, but the recline is barely there. you'd think it was great since it has that recline positioner at the bottom... but even fully reclined, my 3yr old falls asleep and his head plops forward, waking him up.... I have younger kids too .. all the same issue. I only use if for daytime and awake travel. The only thing I do like is the built in cup holder.
by comparison, my Britax Marathon and Britax Boulevard carseats go to around 65 lbs and all my kids sleep like a baby in them. Very safe, 5-point harness, and good recline for sleeping.
To make a best pick, I would say the Britax Boulevard !
My 3.5 yr old is in a Graco Nautilus. It has a slight recline (I don't think many seats recline that are 5pt harness/booster) It will harness up to 65 lbs then a booster up to 100 lbs. He is able to sleep in it comfortably. His head doesn't flop forward and he loves the seat because it looks so much like his older brother's booster.
The britax marathon reclines and has a five point harness to 65 lbs (not sure on the conversion there!), but at age four our daughter went to the britax frontier 85, they have European safety standards, a 5 point to 85 lbs, booster to 100lbs. It doesn't recline though. I'm not sure I see the need for that at this age? And not sure about isofit, but it does use the latch system if that's the same thing. They have new in box ones on eBay with great deals in shipping, also babies r us will let you try them in store, or order on www.albeebaby.com. The britax website lets you compare features and weights, etc
