My son will be 1 year old tomorrow. My husband and I were looking at new car seats over the weekend. I'm hoping for recommendations. We've looked at the Graco Nautilus, which appears to be the best for your money because you never have to buy another carseat, it converts to a booster. We also looked at the Evenflo Symphony convertible seat which was my first choice because I like the idea of having him face rear for as long as possible and it goes to 100 lbs, but of course it costs a little more than the Nautilus and we'll have to buy a booster down the road. Right now he's still very content facing rear, but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see buying the convertible, but in two weeks he starts getting bored. He about 24 lbs and just about 1 year old. I drive a Chevy Tahoe. Any recommendations on these two car seats or others?
I convinced my husband to buy the Britax Marathon. I received such an overwhelming response in favor of this seat that I wasn't comfortable with any other. So far we love it. Thank you to all for the responses.
we have the Recaro. We went back and forth between this and the Britax. we ultimately went with the Recaro b/c we liked the fact that it has better side-impact protection.
I know I'm a little late but about 2 months ago I spent 8 hours researching car seats and their reviews. Consumer Reports completely failed me on this one as their reviews are sparse and outdated.
The Nautilus is rated fairly highly by users and car seat websites. HOWEVER, many many more people say Britax is the best. I know it is a chunk of change but for safety, ease and my baby's comfort I think it ends up being worth it. I obviously went with the Britax. The Marathon and I found it on sale at Babies R Us when they had one of their car seat sales. I think they have one right now that is 15% off any seat. I LOVE the Britax seat and it will accommodate your baby until he is 65 pounds. It also can be installed front facing.
We love our Nautilus....if you look at reviews for the Nautilus, many Britax lovers also love this seat. My daughter was closer to 3 when we moved her to it (it wasn't around earlier than that) but she is comfortable in it and it is a nice seat. We are going to purchase another one for our daughter who just turned 3 (our oldest just turned 4). At one, we used the Evenflow Triumph but I wish we had the option of the Nautilus at that time, but Graco had not come out with it yet. The Triumph actually got better safety marks than the Britax at the time we purchased it. We are happy with the Graco seat and are excited that it will be our last as well. Do your research---I don't believe you have to buy Britax to have a safe seat.
I second the Britax! I won't buy anything else!
D.-
The only brand that I will buy is the "Britax" carseats. Yes they are pretty expensive but I could not put a price tag on my child's life after we were both in a head-on accident when he was only 7 1/2 months old. This carseat is top of the line and after you install it into you car/Suv it doesn't budge. Another friend of ours also was in a serious accident and her kids had the same seats and they came out without a scratch and the Quadcab 250 truck was totaled by the insurance company. It is always to be safe then sorry. Good Luck in your search.
My husband is out installing our new car seat right now. :)
I researched new car seats for our three year old & 5 month old for several days. The following site was super helpful in my decision making:
What I found is that you need to keep a child rear facing, in a five point harness, for as long as possible. We hear that 1 year and 20 pounds is okay for turning them around, but it's simply not nearly as safe as rear-facing. Plenty of seats allow for rear facing up to 35 pounds. The Graco Nautilus is forward facing only, so I wouldn't choose that one.
Look at the site I suggested. There are car seat technicians who post regularly & can help you make an informed decision. Tell them your child's age, height & weight and your car's make & they'll suggest appropriate seats. Like I said, it was SO helpful to me when I was trying to decide which seats to purchase.
Good luck!
I love Britax. I have had other's as secondary car seats but Britax is the best.
I have 4 Britax Blvd's .
