Please recommend a convertible car seat

[heythere]

I'm in the market for a convertible seat for DS. He's 6.5 mths, ~18.5 lbs and ~28 inches so will outgrow his chicco keyfit 30 by height soon. I'm just starting to research and would love thoughts.

Seats I have my eye on, but I'm open to others:
Diono radian (r100 or rxt)
Chicco next fit
Britax marathon

Other possibly relevant details
- primary car is a subaru forester. Other car is a honda accord. We plan to buy 2 seats. Could be 2 of the same, or may choose a primary seat for subaru and less expensive seat for Honda because he doesn't ride in that car very often
- DD (4 yrs old, ~41" and 40lbs) is in a britax marathon 70 that she's been using since she was about 8 months old. We have two of these, and plan to keep her in them. They would expire before DS had outgrown a convertible anyway so we don't plan to use them for him.
- we travel maybe 2x/ year and bring the seats with us either on the plane or checked and then use in a rental car.

If you read all that, thanks! Any suggestions or reviews are welcomed.

[Brie]

I'm a big fan of my Nextfit.

It's heavy to travel with but the install is really fast and solid which I appreciate when I'm trying to quickly wrangle it info a rental car.

[yellowbrkrd]

We have the Diono Radian R100 and the Chicco NexFit. I like the Radian so much more than the Nextfit. I find it very hard to tighten the straps on the Nextfit.

That said, the Radian seems a lot heavier than other carseats, so I would not want to lug it on a plane.

[Jalapeñomel]

What is the max length for the infant seat? I wonder if D is getting too big for his, even though the straps aren't at the highest height.

[heythere]

Jul 27, 2014 19:57:57 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

What is the max length for the infant seat? I wonder if D is getting too big for his, even though the straps aren't at the highest height.

The keyfit 30 manual lists the height range as 30" max, but in the warnings, explicitly states that the child's head needs to be at least 1" or more away from the top of the seat shell, so really a kid shorter than 30" could outgrow it by that limit if they have a long torso.

Eta: I think DS's head is currently about 1.75" from top. I was hoping to keep him in this seat for a few more months!!

[heythere]

Good points about ease of installation and weight to lug through the airport.

[cricketwife]

Jul 27, 2014 20:03:44 GMT -5 heythere said:

Jul 27, 2014 19:57:57 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

What is the max length for the infant seat? I wonder if D is getting too big for his, even though the straps aren't at the highest height.

The keyfit 30 manual lists the height range as 30" max, but in the warnings, explicitly states that the child's head needs to be at least 1" or more away from the top of the seat shell, so really a kid shorter than 30" could outgrow it by that limit if they have a long torso.

Eta: I think DS's head is currently about 1.75" from top. I was hoping to keep him in this seat for a few more months!!

Jalapeñomel check the manual for the seat you have.  Keyfit 22 is also one inch from top. 

[Velar Fricative]

We have the Nextfit and it's great. It came with the old shoulder pads that made it difficult to tighten the harness straps; Chicco recently sent us the new shoulder pads after I called them, so now tightening is so much easier so I officially love everything about the seat. We have a compact SUV (Chevy Equinox). I recently installed it in my mother's Honda Civic and there were no problems there either.

I wanted a seat that was idiotproof so I could install it easily and confidently, and the Nextfit gives me that.

[erbear]

I have a Britax Marathon. Love it, but it's heavy and a little hard to install!

[huskymom]

When do your DDs seats expire? I'd still look into buying her something like a nautilus or frontier and giving DS her marathons. Maybe when those expire she'll be moving to a backless booster?

[carolinagirl831]

we have 3 next fits. I started with a radian and returned it. I liked the slim profile but that was about it.

The next fit is so easy to install. We love that because we do take it out of the car in order to haul stuff, ect. We have traveled with it, and it was a snap to install in the rental car. DD is very comfy in it, and we have the new harness holders, I don't think its is difficult to adjust. I love the no thread shoulder height adjustment.

[ladygrey]

We have the Nextfit and love it. Installation is a breeze and it feels so secure and safe.

[Jalapeñomel]

Jul 27, 2014 20:10:52 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

Jul 27, 2014 20:03:44 GMT -5 heythere said:

The keyfit 30 manual lists the height range as 30" max, but in the warnings, explicitly states that the child's head needs to be at least 1" or more away from the top of the seat shell, so really a kid shorter than 30" could outgrow it by that limit if they have a long torso.

Eta: I think DS's head is currently about 1.75" from top. I was hoping to keep him in this seat for a few more months!!

Jalapeñomel check the manual for the seat you have.  Keyfit 22 is also one inch from top. 

Mine says 32 inches, but I don't feel like D is even close to the top at 30 inches.  Le sigh, I guess we need to shop for a new seat already. 

[heythere]

Jul 27, 2014 20:16:28 GMT -5 huskymom said:

When do your DDs seats expire? I'd still look into buying her something like a nautilus or frontier and giving DS her marathons. Maybe when those expire she'll be moving to a backless booster?

Her seats expire in 2017, I think (I need to double check).

Hmmmm. That's a thought. I'd kind of figured that since she was still comfortable in them and well within the weight limit, it would be easier to just leave her, but that's not a given.

Thanks

[ilikedonuts]

Jul 27, 2014 20:49:03 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

My new favorite is the Graco 4Ever - I just bought it for $195 ($299.99 at BRU, used a 20% off coupon plus 15% off for opening a credit card). (We had a minor car accident and had to replace a Radian and a Truefit, so those were my basis for comparison.)  It is now the tallest seat as well as one of the most compact seats (better than the Headwise and Radian), has a 10 year expiration, and is RFing/FFing/highback booster/backless booster (one of the very few seats that does all stages well). It has a nice flat bottom, easy to install (has a level and an adjustable base with multiple reclines like the Nextfit), and a no-rethread harness that adjusts really smoothly. It does have higher sides than a Radian, but a little lower than a Nextfit. A clone should be in Target at a lower price point within a few months, I think.

I'm going to get one tomorrow with the coupon too!

[stephm0188]

I loved our TrueFit, but I agree with the PP who suggested getting a booster with a 5pt harness for your daughter instead. You'll need it at some point anyhow. Harnessed boosters tend to be a little more affordable as well.

[Deleted]

I just wanted to put a plug in for a 5 pt booster for your daughter. DD isn't quite 4 and we switched her to the Frontier and I really like it. DD and DS are both super tall, so that was part of the motivation. But DD likes the seat more too/

[heythere]

Thanks so much everyone-- this is all very helpful.

@fivedogs -- those links are awesome, thank you! Where did you get a 20% coupon for bru? I like the idea of the graco 4ever.

BirdGirl or others -- possibly dumb question-- what is the benefit of a 5 pt harness booster for my DD rather than keeping her in the marathon? Or would it mostly be to use the marathon for the baby?

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2014 22:12:03 GMT -5 heythere said:

Thanks so much everyone-- this is all very helpful.

@fivedogs -- those links are awesome, thank you! Where did you get a 20% coupon for bru? I like the idea of the graco 4ever.

BirdGirl or others -- possibly dumb question-- what is the benefit of a 5 pt harness booster for my DD rather than keeping her in the marathon? Or would it mostly be to use the marathon for the baby?

Use the Marathon for the baby and then use the booster for both of them as they get bigger (can also eventually be used as a high backed booster with a seatbelt). I think it's easier for DD to get in on her own. Given how tall our kids are, I knew a 5 pt booster was inevitable, so we bought them instead of new convertibles (DS is in the convertibles now).

[heythere]

Thank you all SO MUCH for all of the opinions and feedback.  I'm so glad I posted this here because it helped me think through things in a way I wouldn't have otherwise.  Now I'm not really sure why I hadn't considered putting DS in the Marathons, so thanks huskymom, stephm0188, BirdGirl and others for suggesting that, and thank you so much @fivedogs for the links and detailed advice.  The comparisons on that website were really helpful.

Last night I took a closer look at DD in the Marathon and realized that she is actually really close to outgrowing the harness due to torso height.  So-- I've ordered one Evenflo Surefit (had a Costco giftcard and they had them for $90).  I think we'll put that one in DH's car, and also have it for travel, etc.  I'm eyeing the Britax Frontier for my car (currently $264 at Target, then $30 off select Britax seats and 5% off with RedCard, bringing it to ~$223).  Haven't pulled the trigger on that yet, but the $30 extra ends 7/31.  (On a side note, if you haven't ordered from Diapers.com before, they have the same deal bringing it from $264 to 234 with code 30BRITAX, and you can combine with code THOUSANDS for an additional 15% off, but only if you have never ordered from them before, which I have so it wouldn't work.  BUT both codes together bring it down under $200).  My backup plan would be a Nautilus, but since both of my kids seem to have most of their height concentrated in the torso, I feel ok spending a bit more on the Frontier.  

So the longer term plan would be to put DS in the Marathons RF in both cars, put DD in the Frontier & Surefit, then once DS is ready to FF (stay RF as long as possible and at least until 2), if DD is ready for a backless booster, then we'll move him to the bigger seats, or he can go FF in the Marathons for a bit.

If any of that sounds crazy/misguided, feel free to let me know. 

Again -- THANK YOU all!

Edited b/c I hit post too soon so now included the coupon codes for diapers.com

[heythere]

Jul 29, 2014 16:18:19 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Jul 29, 2014 14:30:40 GMT -5 heythere said:

Last night I took a closer look at DD in the Marathon and realized that she is actually really close to outgrowing the harness due to torso height.  So-- I've ordered one Evenflo Surefit (had a Costco giftcard and they had them for $90).  I think we'll put that one in DH's car, and also have it for travel, etc.  I'm eyeing the Britax Frontier for my car (currently $264 at Target, then $30 off select Britax seats and 5% off with RedCard, bringing it to ~$223).  Haven't pulled the trigger on that yet, but the $30 extra ends 7/31.  (On a side note, if you haven't ordered from Diapers.com before, they have the same deal bringing it from $264 to 234 with code 30BRITAX, and you can combine with code THOUSANDS for an additional 15% off, but only if you have never ordered from them before, which I have so it wouldn't work.  BUT both codes together bring it down under $200).  My backup plan would be a Nautilus, but since both of my kids seem to have most of their height concentrated in the torso, I feel ok spending a bit more on the Frontier.  

Awesome!  A Frontier sounds like a good plan.  

You can also get it in-store at BRU (two colors) with a 20% coupon (BBB/BBBaby or I have a BRU one) plus 15% from opening their CC, which would be $180ish. Or if you already have their CC, it's 10% off on Thursdays, which would be about $191 (pre-tax).


If you have a Kohls card, you can get it down to $213.74 plus tax ($12.82 for me), and then 6% from ebates.  All colors in their stock.  

Discounts Applied

BRITAX30

Expires 7/31/14.

-$30.00

LUCKYU

$15 off your purchase of $50 or more

Expires 8/02/14.

-$15.00

BOAT25

25% Off with your Kohl's Charge card

Expires 8/04/14.

-$71.25


Or have a family member order it through a new account at diapers.  

You are awesome, thanks!