Is there a good quality/reasonably priced car seat out there? We have britax for our car seat and I dont expect grandparents to spend that much if it will only be used 2-3 times per year when we fly there to visit. We really want to avoid taking our car seat with us, as we now have a new born and already have to take that car seat with us when we travel to grandma's house. I'd like something they can keep for years, that might double as a booster seat for when my toddler is older.
Just want to add that we have the go go kidz travel thing for the car seat and we use that a lot. But at some point my younger one will need the convertible car seat and we definitely wont want to buy another go go kidz and lug two car seats through the airport. so we want my in-laws to get one car seat to keep at their house. My older son is 2 year 9 months. 31 lbs. And we use the CARES harness for him on flights now. So we really do just need a car seat for him at our destination. Thanks!
Do they have any friends they could borrow one from?.. My mom and her friends had 2 that they used to share, when the gandkids visited.. Also a wonderful portable crib..
My mom got the Cosco Scenera - it was right around $50 and is highly rated.
Here is a link for the 8 top rated convertible car seats. Among them is the Cosco 5 point harness seat, which is $50 or so. We have an Evenflo Triumph for my daughter's grandparents' car. It's also on the list and not as spendy as a Britax. Good luck!
http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/tp/topconvcarse...
You do not say how old the child is. My boys have boosters at grandmas, but they are 4 and 6. For a younger child there are some options for ones that go from 5 point harness to booster for around $40-50 at Walmart and the like.
what is the age and height/weight of your older child?
many child passenger safety techs strongly recommend using the car seat on board the airline - see http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/airplanetravel.aspx . Perhaps you could invest in something like the GoGo Kidz travel mate to easily wheel your older child's car seat through the air port (some parents find that a luggage cart and bungee cord can also be an effective way to transport the car seat through the air port) - since you have a younger child you could use it for later it could prove to be a worthwhile investment.
I found a convertible carseat at Toys R Us that was on model clearance for $30 that I bought and gave to my parents.
I think the Graco Comfort Sport is one of the best-for-the-price carseats around. Its not real heavy or bulky, its a convertible and goes up to 60 lbs front facing I think, but I think is only 35 lbs rearfacing. They run about $75 I think at Walmart. They are tough and SOOO easy to instal, its my favorite carseat because it comes in and out of my moms car all the time and it is so easy to cinch tight and adjust and have it be installed correctly. I LOVE it.
I really like the Evenflo car seats for convertibles- we have 2. The one goes up to 50 in and 50 lbs so it will last a while. My son is almost 4 and 36# 41 in and still fits great. We are going to buy a newer one can't think of the name. It is $100 at toys r us and is evenflo 65 or something. It goes up to 65# harness then converts to a booster to 100#. Haven't bought it yet but tried it in the store. We will then give the smaller of our convertibles to our girl who is almost outgrowing the infant seat.
You might want to look into the Britax Frontier, especially if you like the Britax, but just don't want the cost. The cost will be up there, but my understanding is that it goes up to 100 lbs, and goes from a 5 point harness to a booster seat. It might still cost alot, but could be used for many years to come. Just an option.
If you want a convertible seat, I HIGHLY recommend this:
The First Years – True Fit: the RRing harness limit is a high 35 lbs and the FFing harness limits are 65 lbs & 50”, so it can be used for a very long time, and by either child (my 2yr10mo daughter still likes to sit in it even though it is RFing for her little sister!). I think it has good side impact protection, it is very comfortable, and no rethreading harness so it would be easy for grandparents (esp if you needed to switch from one kid to the other). The seat belt lockoffs are great too. Reasonably priced I think. I'd buy online for the best color selection and best price. Once they outgrow this, a booster seat (can you say cheap!) will be all that's needed.
If you just want a FFing that converts to booster, the Graco Nautilus will do it all. It goes up to 65lb harness and 100 lb as high back booster. I wouldn't want to travel with this one as the steel reinforced bars make it heavy, but if you're leaving it at the grand's, then it should be fine. ~$150-$180.
I personally own and like how safe these two seats are, and you don't have to pay Britax prices to be safe.
**EDIT** I got the Graco Comfort Sport for Gma's car and my 2.5 yr old will outgrow it in height by the time she is 3 (and of ave 50%ile height)--I'm already looking into a new seat for her to replace it. It IS a good seat, the lightest weight on the market (only 12lbs), and easy to install with the latch, but just be forewarned on the height issue.
we have the graco myride 65 and i love it. bought it for my daughter when she turned one but you can use it earlier. they can ride backwards up to 40 lbs in it i think. people complained it was hard to intsall but it wasnt. i made appmnt at the hospital to have them help me put it in and then i was able to install the 2nd one all alone in the other car with no problems and those suckers are in there tight - that seat isnt going anywhere.
