Evenflo Traditions Car Seat Question

[cartuin]

I am looking for a car seat for my 2 year old. He is 33 pounds and 36 inches. I found a car seat at Sears ~ the Evenflo Traditions plus harness booster seat. Here is the link

The information for weight is:

- for toddlers 20 to 47 lb., use harness system
- for children weighing 40-80 lb., use as a booster seat with the vehicle's lap and shoulder belts

The question I have is does anyone have any idea what the height restrictions are? I went to the Evenflo website but I couldn't find any information on this car seat.

I want a car seat that uses a five point harness and as far as I know the highest weight I can get is 47 pounds.

[LuvBug03]

the britax marathon, sunshine kids radian, cosco/safety 1st apex, and graco cargo all go to 48lbs... its only 1 pound, but some times it takes a little while to gain that one extra.

What type of vehicle do you have?

[cartuin]

I drive a pontiac Montana and so far have lots of room!

[CDNTech]

Another factor is his torso height. You want a seat with both a high weight limit and tall top harness slots. The seat you've linked to is a nice seat, unless you have a very tall torsoed child, then my best recommendation would be the Sunshine Kids Radian (199 @ Canadian Tire).

Sit your son against a wall and mark the wall at the top of his shoulders. Then measure from the floor up to the mark on the wall. This is his torso height.

My very long torsoed 5 year old grew out of the Chase/Traditions (same seat) at 4 years old, went into a Marathon and outgrew that in January and is now in the Radian with about 2" of torso growth left.

Here he is... 5 years, 36lbs, 43in, 16in torso in the Radian
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/125/4...c9cb12.jpg?v=0

If you have a vehicle newer than 2002, you will have no problem installing a Radian as it goes in perfect with LATCH. If your vehicle is older than 2002, you *may* have some installation issues.

If you post what vehicle you have and your son's torso height, we can help you determine the best seat for your vehicle and your child.

It also helps to know what seat he is currently in, what harness slots he's using on that seat, and where his shoulders are in relation to those harness slots (at, above, below, by how much?).

What year is the Montana and which seating position do you have him in (bench, captains' chair)?

[tiger926]

My very tall torsoed daughter outgrew this seat in less than 5 months from initial install - she is only 3 years old! We spent $130.00 on this seat, and sold it for $65.00 as it was in pristine condition - hardly used. As you know, we don't have much selection here in Canada, so we are now so happy that the Radian is available. Love the Radian! I would recommend the Radian as it has the highest top slots on the market - we liked it better than the Marathon for this reason, but it is NOT a booster seat like the Traditions that you are looking at.

Good luck with your decision, Tiger

[canadianmom2three]

Tried that one with my son when he outgrew his ao and wasn't ready for a booster. He was just about even with the top slots, and I returned it for a radian, where he was just even with the 2nd from top slots...lots more room for growth. FWIW my son is a 4.5 yo 45lb 45"tall with about 16" torso (have since moved him up to the top slots of Radian, but still plenty of room to grow there). It was a great install in my montana with LATCH, but a NIGHTMARE with seatbelt!!! Added bonus of the Radian, if TC changes the law as hoped, Radian will be usable up to 65lbs...here's hoping!

[cartuin]

I have a 2004 montana van and I promise to measure my son the moment I find the darn measuring tape. After reading the replies here it sounds like the Radian is the one to go for.

My son is currently in a Alpha Omega carseat that we bought last year. We were borrowing a carseat from my sister and she needed it back. We had to buy a carseat that would go both ff and rf because we were pregnant at the time. Our 5 month old is now 19 pounds and 26 inches and I am ready to move him up to the bigger seat. This is why we need a new seat for our 2 year old.

Now that I have done more reading I am learning what some of the restrictions are for carseats the main one being about height.

[cartuin]

I measured my son this morning. Sitting on the floor the measurement to his shoulders is just over 13 inches.

In the montana van we have bench seats but in the first row the seats are removable and right now he is in the front row right beside his brother. His brother is in the middle in his infant seat still but will be moving up to the Alpha Omega.

[canadianmom2three]

The Radian will give you a ton of room then...attached is DS at 4.5 years 15" torso height in the radian in our Montana - it looks in the pic like the harness cuts into his neck, but really with the pads on it is fine, I had just taken them off for the pic, to illustrate how much growing room he had, because I had just moved him up from the 2nd to top slots...