Opinions on carseats?

[Stormynights]

My 1 year old daughter (20 pounds, ~27 inches) has just reached the limits of her current infant seat. My 3 year old son (35 pounds, ~37 inches) is in an Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 Deluxe seat. I don't know the exact model of the Eddie Bauer, but suppose I could look it up. I like the seat a lot, my son seems comfortable and other than last years recall I have not had any 'issues' with the seat. My original intention was to purchase the same model again (or something similar since I'm sure the seat cover has changed in the last three years), but I wanted to double check with the 'public' that there isn't a significantly better/safer seat out there that I could readily find. I drive a 2005 Montanna Van with bucket passenger seats.
I read on another thread about the First Years True Fit Convertable Carseat and it seemed to me that everyone was raving about it. I did check one out and it certainly looked lovely and very comfy (and seemed HUGE)! Is it a "better" seat than the Eddie Bauer and, if so, why? :confused:
Oh, and even though she'll be a year old on the 8th, I have NO intention of putting her forward facing yet, so the seat must have rear-facing capabilities.

Cheers,
Kim

[canadiangie]

Welcome to the board.

No, you do Not want to purchase any of the 3-in-1 seats currently on our market as your next seat.

Instead, you'll want to pass your 3 yr old's seat down to your 1 yr old, and get your 3 yr old a new seat.

There are a few reasons for this...

1) the harness of your current 3in1 seat maxes out at 40lbs. With your 3y/o already being 35lbs, it's important you find a seat that harnesses past 40lbs.

2) the top bar position on your seat cannot be used in conjunction with the 5 point harness. The 2nd from top position is the highest you can raise the bar located on the back of the seat. You need to look on the back of the seat [asap] and make sure you are not using the upper most harness slot. The upper most bar position is used for booster mode only. For more info on this, go here: http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=39120



At the moment I'd look at the Sunshine Kids Radian as a top pick for your 3y/o. It has 18 inch top slots and harnesses to a max of 65lbs.

I have to bath the kids... or I'd type more. :o

HTH's

[QuassEE]

There's a list of higher weight seats available in Canada, at the top of the forum here as a sticky. That'll be a great start for you, and will give you some additional options beyond the Radian.

-N.

[Jewels]

There's a list of higher weight seats available in Canada, at the top of the forum here as a sticky. That'll be a great start for you, and will give you some additional options beyond the Radian.

-N.

List of High Weight seats in Canada : (http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=36056)
For booster combo seats in Canada that harness past 40lbs are:
*Britax Frontier (65lbs) (THS 18.25")
*Graco Cargo with upfront adjust(48lbs) makes a ok booster (17" THS)
*Evenflo Chase(16.8" THS)/Vision/Tradition (16" THS) (47lb limit) makes a ok booster
*Evenflo Bolero/Generations (47lb) makes a decent booster (Bolero is $120 at Walmart) (16.5" THS)
*Cosco Apex (65lb) makes a decent booster ~ (17" THS)

For Higher Weight seats:
*Britax Boulevard (65lbs) (THS 17")
*Britax Marathon (65lbs) (17" THS)
*Sunshine Kids Radian (65lbs) (18" THS)
*Evenflo EFTA (47lbs) (17" THS)
*Evenflo Titan (47lbs) (15.5" THS)
*Compass/First Years True Fit (65lbs) (18"THS) ~ limited availability at Zeller's, arriving at BRU/TRU near future (june 08)

THS=Top Harness Slots


Here is a list of Carseats Available in Canada (http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=39989)