advice needed: car seat for a 3yr old

[svirena]

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this is very likely a repeat topic, but I wold appreciate any hints, leads, recommendations...We currently use Britax Marathon car seat for our almost 3 yr old (34lb, not sure how tall she is now). This Britax car seat will expire in September, so I'm now looking to find a replacement seat. Safety is of course most important, but I'm also looking to find a seat that we could use longer and that/or converts and is easy to install. Any ideas and recommendations are welcome!!

[gsdguenter]

What's your budget? Any other LOs to pass the seat down to?

I'd be inclined to recommend a FR85 since she is already 43lbs. Or, prosport. Or, if you're looking for less expensive I'd go with the nauti or Argos 70.

ETA: ooops, 34 lbs not 43 lol. Okay so any of those seats still work, but the FR85 might be overkill, depending on her height. It is the tallest of them all. And, all of the seats I listed are combination seats (ff harness to booster).

[henrietta]

Originally Posted by svirena

this is very likely a repeat topic, but I wold appreciate any hints, leads, recommendations...We currently use Britax Marathon car seat for our almost 3 yr old (34lb, not sure how tall she is now). This Britax car seat will expire in September, so I'm now looking to find a replacement seat. Safety is of course most important, but I'm also looking to find a seat that we could use longer and that/or converts and is easy to install. Any ideas and recommendations are welcome!!

Hi!

The Britax Frontier will last the longest and it can be found on sale for $220 and up. It converts to the tallest booster out there, plus you can order and use Britax's slide guard clip w/the booster. Has a life span of 9 yrs!

Then there's the Recaro Prosport--it will probably cost more than the Frontier (not on sale nearly as often), but it's a comfy seat and will last most children like you dd a good long time. It makes a nice booster, too.

The Graco Nautilus and Argos cost b/t $120 on a great sale (Nauti) up to $200. They are clones, w/the Argos having some extra features (like a no rethread harness, huge bonus w/this seat, b/c the Nauti can be tough to rethread, although you don't do it often). The top harness slots are the same height as the Prosport and it converts to a tall high back booster and then later to a low back booster. The booster portion's lifespan is longer than average, too--can't remember how long exactly. This seat also has a steel frame.

All of these seats can be bought in a pink/girly pattern.

Evenflo also has a few combo seats--the Secure Kid 300 and SK 400 will last as long as the Nautilus and Argos harnessed and the booster portion is nearly as tall. They range from $105-150, depending on sales. The 400 has the nicer/easier LATCH connectors. The Maestro is a super budget friendly seat, the top harness slots are the same as the SK 300/400, but it doesn't last long as a booster b/c it doesn't have a moveable headrest and shoulder belt guide. Price range is $68 (on-line sales) up to $85 in store. It's $71.99 at Target right now--great budget seat for grandma's car or babysitter.

All of these seats will give your dd a minimum of 2 more inches harnessed (which will likely translate to 2-4 more yrs in the harness, depending on how long her torso is and how fast she grows)

hths

henrietta