My son is 33 months old, 32 pounds and 38 inches. He currently uses the Britax Roundabout, but it is a lower-weight convertible car seat, with the max height being 40 inches and the max weight limit at 40 pounds. So he is approaching being too tall for this seat. My question is, what is the next step car seat? I know he has many more years in a car seat of some sort and would like to make this next purchase one that is safe for him now, but also one that can get him through to the end. I have started looking and am interested in the convertible-boosters that go up to 80 or 100 pounds. Does anyone have any recommendations on seats as well as what I should be looking for? Five-point harnass? Do these use the latch system or do I need to use the seat belt now to attach the seat? Consumer Reports ranks many car seats well so I am thinking this time I would like to spend less than what Britax seats go for if I can find a safe, functional seat. Thank you!
I love the Graco Nautilus as well. The other posters have described it well, and my daughter loves the butterfly print on it. Good luck!
I bought a really nice convertible car seat for my daughter at BJ's. I can't remember what brand it is, but it is really nice and it was reasonably priced. She will be able to use it until she is 100lbs.
Check into the Britax Frontier. We recent got this for our 5 year old son. We did not like all the freedom in movement that he was getting a regular booster seat. Plus we wanted added safety for travel. It is only availalbe for purchase online I believe. It works with a 5 pt restraint. Later on you can use as a high back booster and then a just a booster. Good through 100 pounds and 21 1/2 inches bottom to shoulder height. All other seats were only up to 16 1/2 inches shoulder height even thought they said 65 lbs.
Check out the Graco Nautilus. I recently found there are very few seats out there that have a 5-pt harness beyond 40 pounds (although I think more will be coming out in the near future). This is less expensive than Britax and should serve your needs for the remainder of your son's carseat years (converts to high back booster, then seat only booster, etc).
My son (4 yrs old) loves his Nautilus seat . . .
My only concern with these convertible seats is that when your child gets over a certain weight (I think 50 lbs?) then you can NO LONGER USE the LATCH system! You can still use the carseat of course, but after that weight, you must attach the carseat using the regular seatbelt, the old-fashioned way. The LATCH system is just not as strong as your seatbelts over a certain amount of weight.
I love the Graco Nautilus - and so do my children! My older daughter just switched out from the harness to the backless booster (to be like her brother) and she's 4. My youngest daughter (turns 2 next month) has been using a Nautilus since she switch forward-facing a couple months ago. It's roomy but not overly-wide like many of the carseats. Built-in cupholder and 2 pockets for toys or snacks. Easy to install using seatbelt or LATCH. Harness goes to 65lbs, booster to 100lbs. With the booster, you have the option of leaving the back on or removing it for a backless booster (older, school age kids like this better since it's not visible from outside the car). It's much more affordable than Britax and has high safety ratings.
We got the best Consumer Reports rated 5-point harness booster. The Eddie Bauer high-back booster had the highest rating and I found a couple for pretty cheap new on ebay.
Here are a few links:
http://www.netkidswear.com/incarseatupt.html
http://www.babyage.com/products/22862bgl_eddie_bauer_eddi...
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204057500&l...
We have the Cosco Summit carseat/booster seat and we're very happy with it. It was only about $80 when we bought it, and it was rated close to #1 (at the time) by Consumer Reports.
Hi there. My almost 5 year is sitting in. Graco Nautilus. You can use the harness til the child reaches 65 pounds. It also becomes a booster with or without the back. I also have an almost 10 year old weighing in close to 70 pounds who can fit in it. Actually I am 5'2 1/2" and I can fit in it. The child that is in it right now is a close to the size of yours and fits great in it. He is only on the 2nd harness slot out of 4.
I hope this helps you some.
