My Frontier is Here!

[joolsplus3]

I'm amazed it came so fast from Baby Catalog (I think I ordered on 5/30, figured they'd have to wait for some to be in stock? nope, here it is... :) )

Here's our first pictures... http://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/Frontier

I have to tackle the install... no flames for waiting an hour or two for it to cool down, it's 91 out there and I can't take any more heat :cool:

Oh, now that I know how tall it adjusts I'm kind of sad I have the Pink! My ds was a good sport and tried it out and he's got *loads* of growing room in it...(I'm sort of planning to use it as a booster before Leah's FF full time...)

[finleysmommy]

I LOVE it. Too bad it's my three year old boy who needs one and not my one month old girl... hahaha.

[all together ooky]

Woo hoo! I ordered on the 31st so hopefully I'll have mine tomorrow! Can't wait.

[joolsplus3]

More pictures (it cooled down to 90, so I just had to get out there! :whistle:)

[TerisBoys]

Awesome Jules!

(This is NOT helping my "must not buy a Frontier" urges)

[zactayaus]

Great pics. Did you try it out fully extended in booster mode? Just wanted to see if you got the same measurements that I did (23-24in?). Don't forget you have to unthread the harness to get the headrest to fully extend.:)

[joolsplus3]

Yup, I got that mega high 24ish inch measurement, too, and my 10 yo DS fits with just loads of room to grow (4+ inches... he's currently about 56 inches tall and 70 pounds and long legged)...I just didn't make him suffer the indignity of taking his picture in a pink seat, lol.

[singingpond]

Yup, I got that mega high 24ish inch measurement, too, and my 10 yo DS fits with just loads of room to grow (4+ inches... he's currently about 56 inches tall and 70 pounds and long legged)...I just didn't make him suffer the indignity of taking his picture in a pink seat, lol.

Wow on that booster height! I wonder why Britax isn't publicizing that, as it's a feature that clearly would distinguish the Frontier from the competition...

Katrin

[joolsplus3]

http://www.britaxusa.com/products/product_detail.aspx?ID=15 Yeah, they only say 21.5... I just don't understand why the top would go so high if it's not allowed (I've owned 6 of their other boosters, and they've never just gone up 'too high' to use...that's so Cosco-esque, lol). On the other hand, maybe they are expecting all cars to have headrests at this point.....my ds has a 19.5 inch torso at almost 11 and almost passes the five step test, two more inches of torso will be adequate in any car with a headrest...I dunno, I'm just rambling, it's so odd (especially since the Monterey is going 'too high' and SSK is refuting that it should go that high, it makes me question Britax!)

[all together ooky]

So excited! My Pink Sky Frontier came today. Installed easily with LATCH. LBP is rock solid too in the captains chair in my 2002 Grand Caravan. I'd have pics but I somehow pulled DD1's hair while I was getting her buckled and she was overly dramatic and started crying. :rolleyes:

I don't think I'd want to use it as a booster (not that I'm using it as a booster yet) if it wasn't LATCHed though. It's a heavy bugger!

[joolsplus3]

Cool!

Yeah, it's definitely solid in the seat area, isn't it? What's in there, a cinderblock? :p

[Heather98012]

I made an appt to go this Sat. to get my Frontier inspected at the hospital by a certified tech. But now I am wondering if I really need to.

Seat has a bit of wiggle by the belt path, but not more than 1". There is more wiggle up by the headrest or in the very front (like where my dd's legs go over the seat"), but at the beltpath it's definately less than 1" (I measured).

Do you think I need to have it checked, or am I being paranoid?!

[joolsplus3]

They might have fun looking at a new seat, if you're feeling generous with your time...but if it's really not moving at the belt path, I wouldn't bother getting it checked...

[Heather98012]

They might have fun looking at a new seat, if you're feeling generous with your time...but if it's really not moving at the belt path, I wouldn't bother getting it checked...


Well, it does move a bit at the belt path, but for sure it's less than 1".

[Heather98012]

They might have fun looking at a new seat, if you're feeling generous with your time...but if it's really not moving at the belt path, I wouldn't bother getting it checked...


Well, as soon as I told the tech today (she called to verify my appt. time tomorrow) she got excited about seeing the Frontier. So I'll go for sure.

But, she freaked me out a bit. She said it shouldn't be moving AT ALL at the belt path, & that we really needed to improve the install. Um....is this true?! I thought Britax said it was ok if it was less than 1" at the belt path. Plus, when I told her that it only moved more than 1" up at the headrest but of course it didn't now with the tether attached she said "Well, the tether does help a lot." I thought the tether didn't count towards movement with the installs....just extrusion.

What do you think of this info she gave me? I was feeling pretty confident since it was only 1/2" of wiggle at the belt path.

[scatterbunny]

We all really love what we call a "rock-solid" install :p , but seriously, our training curriculum says anything under one inch of movement is an acceptable installation. We can always try to do better, and shoot for rock-solid, but half an inch of wiggle at the belt path is really okay.

The tether should not be relied upon to eliminate wiggle room at the belt path, but it definitely helps stop that movement at the top of the seat. When I took the CPST course, we had a question on a test asking about what could be done for a wiggly install, and the answer was to attach the top tether. This question/answer implied a top tether could be used to "fix" a poor installation, and I didn't like that. I'm not sure if that question/answer is still in the new curriculum, but I can see why some techs might think an unacceptable install could be fixed by using the top tether. The actual purpose of the tether is to reduce head excursion (amount of space the head flies forward in a crash). It will help stabilize the carseat, but it shouldn't be relied upon to correct a loose installation.

Julie, the Frontier really looks like it will work okay in booster mode next to a Britax convertible. Since the Britax convertibles sit up high on the base, and the Frontier's armrests flip up, it seems like it wouldn't be bad to buckle. Hmm, do you think a Compass booster would work well next to a Britax convertible?

[joolsplus3]

Hmmmm... We might have to turn the Compass and Frontier over and measure their butts (tee hee)... the FR is really curved under and narrow at the back/bottom of the seat so you get that extra hand room for buckling, I thought the Compass is a tad more boxy? Definitely a good question and something to try, though!

Page 23 is very clear that up to 1 inch of movement side to side/front to back is acceptable, so a tech should be happy with a 'barely a little wiggle' install (my instructors were going to go crazy trying to tell us NOT to install seats rock solid..."Stop! It's Tight Enough!" lol)

[scatterbunny]

Yes, the Compass is very boxy, it doesn't get narrower at the back the way the Parkway does (and the way I'm assuming the Frontier does; I didn't even pay attention to that part of the seat when I saw it at Lifesavers). That might be a problem. IME, the B510 just doesn't play well with others. :(

[joolsplus3]

What a Prima Donna! (The Compass, lol)... I've been bummed by that seat before... a mom wanted to use her shoulderbelt in the middle of her Volvo or some other nice car, and had had a nice Marathon in the middle, and the Compass was SUCH a pain to buckle there! I left her that way, but I figured they probably moved outboard after about the first 2 trips.