Play, oogle, installation, the whole shebang. And the mom thought she was asking a favor of me. LOL
Her four year old (just three weeks younger than Piper) just moved from her Marathon to the Regent as of today. As of dinnertime. Her dad didn't think it would fit, so of course the mom was concerned that they'd bought this big black beast (onyx cover) and it wouldn't fit in their car, that come summer it'd be too hot, etc. So before it got dark while she was cooking dinner I took it out to her car and played. Tried it with the recline bar, took that out (she has a tether, but no LATCH). Tried it long belt path, didn't like it. Too much seatbelt to twist. Tried the short belt path, perfection! Felt like Goldilocks. hehe I just needed to make sure the seatbelt was nice and flat and man that thing went in easily. Tethered it tight, and of course it fit!!! It's a Passat sedan. Don't know what year. Post-tether pre-LATCH. I don't know what the dad was thinking, that it wouldn't fit in a big ole Passat (no other children of carseat age, she wanted it passenger outboard).
I showed the mom afterward how it had all worked out. She's a four year veteran of her Marathon, so a short belt path installation for her is old hat. She felt where the belt path was, how the seatbelt went through and how flat it was, and where it came out. She saw the tether, which of course she knows how to use. I made sure I mentioned she didn't have the recline bar in, it was in the box, and that she didn't need it in this car as she had the tether. Her son's car, a pre-tether Ford Explorer, will require the recline bar to be installed, she knows this. I suspect before that happens she might give me another call, though she's a bright lady, if I said the recline bar needs to go in she'll likely just plop it in and install it perfectly.
That thing went in so easily I just double checked the manual here at home to see what fatal error I had left out. LOL Still don't see any.
Two questions:
1) It requires a tether after 50 pounds, but the recline bar is to be used if there is no tether. So what if there is no tether after 50 pounds? The recline bar isn't enough? If you don't have tether this seat is good from 22-50 pounds only?
2) Why the difference between the short and long belt paths? I tried it both ways and the long would have made things unnecessarily complicated. The short got a beautiful solid installation with no movement whatsoever (on my second try, the first the belt wasn't perfectly flat and I only got an acceptable installation). Does one do something better than the other? LIke the short fit better but the long provide more side protection? Should the long be used more often in one instance, like if there is no tether? When the recline bar is used?
I double checked her daughter in the seat of course before we left. I had adjusted the straps and used a friend who had arrived as her body double (playgroup party, so a bunch of four year olds running around, he has about the same torso size as she does. You know when you're a carseat geek when..... He rides in an Apex, as per my recommendation, he had been in an expired cosco BPB piece of doo doo. His sister is in Piper's old Advantage) and she had about a half inch before the straps needed to be moved. The mom is used to that, so I didn't show her what to do, she knows how to adjust straps thanks to her Marathon probably better than I do. I tried Piper in it too. It was HUGE on her. It'd be a tempting seat to get for her next, I have to admit (pass down her Wizards to the next in line, the one who gets all her old clothes, and the one riding in the old Advantage). Both girls were only at the second to bottom slot, with of course Piper having more growing room than the user of the seat. Piper doesn't have a short torso, but she's overall smaller than the other kids.
I think I'd have an argument on my hands if I wanted a Regent. Especially as she fits wonderfully in her Wizards, is nearly 4.5 already, her Wizards don't expire until 2010, she's never going to hit the weight limit, she's got probably five or six torso inches left in the thing. Why would I need a Regent? Right? Talk me down here, people! LOL Plus if I got a Regent I'd just get one and I'd get a Parkway or Monarch or something for Nathan's car as her secondary seat. And I'm just not willing to make that jump yet. She'd do fine in one, and she finally clears the bottom weight limit, but she's so tiny. Five points are better than three!
Anyway, my excitement for the evening.
Wendy
Her four year old (just three weeks younger than Piper) just moved from her Marathon to the Regent as of today. As of dinnertime. Her dad didn't think it would fit, so of course the mom was concerned that they'd bought this big black beast (onyx cover) and it wouldn't fit in their car, that come summer it'd be too hot, etc. So before it got dark while she was cooking dinner I took it out to her car and played. Tried it with the recline bar, took that out (she has a tether, but no LATCH). Tried it long belt path, didn't like it. Too much seatbelt to twist. Tried the short belt path, perfection! Felt like Goldilocks. hehe I just needed to make sure the seatbelt was nice and flat and man that thing went in easily. Tethered it tight, and of course it fit!!! It's a Passat sedan. Don't know what year. Post-tether pre-LATCH. I don't know what the dad was thinking, that it wouldn't fit in a big ole Passat (no other children of carseat age, she wanted it passenger outboard).
I showed the mom afterward how it had all worked out. She's a four year veteran of her Marathon, so a short belt path installation for her is old hat. She felt where the belt path was, how the seatbelt went through and how flat it was, and where it came out. She saw the tether, which of course she knows how to use. I made sure I mentioned she didn't have the recline bar in, it was in the box, and that she didn't need it in this car as she had the tether. Her son's car, a pre-tether Ford Explorer, will require the recline bar to be installed, she knows this. I suspect before that happens she might give me another call, though she's a bright lady, if I said the recline bar needs to go in she'll likely just plop it in and install it perfectly.
That thing went in so easily I just double checked the manual here at home to see what fatal error I had left out. LOL Still don't see any.
Two questions:
1) It requires a tether after 50 pounds, but the recline bar is to be used if there is no tether. So what if there is no tether after 50 pounds? The recline bar isn't enough? If you don't have tether this seat is good from 22-50 pounds only?
2) Why the difference between the short and long belt paths? I tried it both ways and the long would have made things unnecessarily complicated. The short got a beautiful solid installation with no movement whatsoever (on my second try, the first the belt wasn't perfectly flat and I only got an acceptable installation). Does one do something better than the other? LIke the short fit better but the long provide more side protection? Should the long be used more often in one instance, like if there is no tether? When the recline bar is used?
I double checked her daughter in the seat of course before we left. I had adjusted the straps and used a friend who had arrived as her body double (playgroup party, so a bunch of four year olds running around, he has about the same torso size as she does. You know when you're a carseat geek when..... He rides in an Apex, as per my recommendation, he had been in an expired cosco BPB piece of doo doo. His sister is in Piper's old Advantage) and she had about a half inch before the straps needed to be moved. The mom is used to that, so I didn't show her what to do, she knows how to adjust straps thanks to her Marathon probably better than I do. I tried Piper in it too. It was HUGE on her. It'd be a tempting seat to get for her next, I have to admit (pass down her Wizards to the next in line, the one who gets all her old clothes, and the one riding in the old Advantage). Both girls were only at the second to bottom slot, with of course Piper having more growing room than the user of the seat. Piper doesn't have a short torso, but she's overall smaller than the other kids.
I think I'd have an argument on my hands if I wanted a Regent. Especially as she fits wonderfully in her Wizards, is nearly 4.5 already, her Wizards don't expire until 2010, she's never going to hit the weight limit, she's got probably five or six torso inches left in the thing. Why would I need a Regent? Right? Talk me down here, people! LOL Plus if I got a Regent I'd just get one and I'd get a Parkway or Monarch or something for Nathan's car as her secondary seat. And I'm just not willing to make that jump yet. She'd do fine in one, and she finally clears the bottom weight limit, but she's so tiny. Five points are better than three!
Anyway, my excitement for the evening.
Wendy