travelling in a few months..seat advice please

Hi there,

We're going to be travelling by plane to BC from Manitoba at Christmas this year. Our kids will be 22 months and just over 4. Currently my 14 month old is rfing in his marathon and my 3.5 yo is in a husky (tsk tsk, I know..US seat) We chose to put him in a husky since he lost a kidney to cancer and we want him to be the safest he can be in our small car. I like him in the biggest seat available to protect his kidney etc. They are both outboard as we can't have a seat in the center position of our car per manual instructions.

Since we won't be bringing our Husky on the plane (I've done this once before and I don't care to do it again LOL) I checked it through, but they had a hard time bagging it properly etc. What would you suggest we get? I'd like to keep my older son harnessed, so I could get a less expensive convertible for the little one and put my big boy in the marathon, or I could keep the baby in the marathon and get a booster for my son who will be four by then. It almost feels like a waste to get a convertible seat for a week's use. If we had $40 scenera's her that would be a good choice but they cost $90 here. And, if I choose to get a booster for ds1 which one? He'd be able to use it in grandpa's car which would be nice as they take him on outings once in a while.
ds1 is 40 inches and 40 lbs at 3.5.
ds is 26 lbs and I have no idea how tall

[scatterbunny]

I think I'd go with an Evenflo Chase, Bolero or Generations, or a Graco CarGo. These seats harness to 47/48 pounds respectively in Canada and have top slots comparable to the Marathon's top slots. The Bolero and Generations even make good long-term boosters once the harness is outgrown.

The Sunshine Kids Radian might be worthy of consideration as well. It harnesses to 48 pounds and does not convert to a booster (it is a convertible that rear-faces also) but has taller top slots than the other seats, and it folds for travel.

[thrillhouse]

Thank you for your reply. I had a graco platinum cargo for about 2 weeks and I hated it. It felt very flimsy to me, so I don't think I'll go that route again. My son was about 1/4" away from outgrowing the highest harness setting and he was only 2.5 years old. He has a freakishly long torso or something I'll have a look at the other seats you recommended, thank you. Maybe since I've got some time still, something great will hit the market before we need to buy another seat.

[Jewels]

DITTO Scatterbunny

How long is his torso? Does he still fit in the MA?

The new Cargos have a top harness height of 17" so if he has a really tall torso he might only fit in this or the Radian

I don't know where in BC you are (and this is likely not a popular sugestion) but have you looked into renting a seat from Babies World (or maybe TJ's if they rent)? My mom worked at Babies World and I borrowed a seat from them when I flew from MB to BC last October until they had a MA in stock for me to buy. Also if you buy a seat at TJ's I think they will buy the seat back from you when you are done with it, at least this way you could re-coup some of your investment!? It might be something worth looking into.

FYI:The Bolero can be found at Walmart for $120 and converts to a decent booster.

[thrillhouse]

I'm in Winnipeg going to BC. The cargo seat we had was one with the gracopedic foam which is bulky and he wears cloth diapers (still) so he loses room there. I'll measure his torso height in the morning, but I'm quite sure he'd still fit the MA. He's on the second lowest harness slot on the husky. I have a feeling it'll be easier to sell DH on a parkway, but there is still time for other options.

[Jewels]

Originally Posted by thrillhouse

I'm in Winnipeg going to BC.

Yes, I knew this I just worded it backwards! It's late! I meant to say I don't know where in BC you are going or if someone would be picking you up at the airport might be able to bring a seat for you (if you wanted to look into TJ kids or Babies World).

Totally other but I was in Winnipeg tonight I just got home!

[Kashi]

My son is about the same size as yours, and he uses an Evenflo Generations seat, and we quite like it. It's a nice fit, easy to install and adjust.

[Jewels]

I would feel okay using a Parkway at that age for a holiday if you thought he would be able to sit properly in it. My only concern would be that you would check it on the plane and who knows what would/could happen to it. If you wanted to go with the booster it would be great if you could just have it waiting for you once you land in BC.

[thrillhouse]

he'll have his own seat on the plane so we could either install the marathon for him, so we know it is handled properly, or let him sit in a booster on the plane. Do you think the Compass booster would be acceptable as carry-on? then we could use it for ds1 if there is an extra seat so ds2 could use the marathon.
I'm leaning towards a booster as he will eventually need one anyway. I went to Zellers today and had a look at their compass booster. I think he might like it. He sits perfectly still in the car so I'm pretty sure he would be fine, but he's only ever been in a 5 pt.

[scatterbunny]

Boosters aren't approved for aircraft because planes only have lapbelts, and a booster must use a lap AND shoulderbelt. So you'd have to put him in the lapbelt on the plane and use the booster at your destination.

[CDNTech]

Originally Posted by thrillhouse

he'll have his own seat on the plane so we could either install the marathon for him, so we know it is handled properly, or let him sit in a booster on the plane. Do you think the Compass booster would be acceptable as carry-on? then we could use it for ds1 if there is an extra seat so ds2 could use the marathon.
I'm leaning towards a booster as he will eventually need one anyway. I went to Zellers today and had a look at their compass booster. I think he might like it. He sits perfectly still in the car so I'm pretty sure he would be fine, but he's only ever been in a 5 pt.

The Compass booster here in Canada has a fairly low top position. If you are going to go with any booster, I would be going for the Parkway because of the extra side impact protection (and the tallest top position - good for long torsoed kids). The wings would hug your DS1 all the way down his torso, thus protecting the kidney area better than other boosters out there.

On a side note... you will NOT be allowed to use your booster on the plane. Airplanes have lap belts only and boosters are not allowed to be used with lapbelts. The booster will need to be gatechecked.

My DS1 has a long torso as well (16+") and currently only fits in the Radian in my van. (The Marathon's top slots are right at his shoulders to just over them, depending on what day I check him in them). The Marathon does sit extremely upright on the plane and DS1's shoulders are right at the top slots - so he has used his brother's MA on the plane before.

If your DS1 is too tall for the Evenflo Bolero/Generations harness and the Radian is out of your price range, than I would suggest getting someone on the other end (B.C.) to pick you up a Parkway so you don't have to cart it on the plane.

The other bonus to getting the Radian is that it can be folded and qualifies (in sizing) as a carry-on item. DS1 could use his brother's MA on the plane and the Radian can go in the overhead bin as carry-on... no worries about what the airline has done to your seat in the cargo hold.

[scatterbunny]

Jen, the B510 is not available in Canada?

[thrillhouse]

ah that's right, I forgot there are no shoulder belts on the plane. I think we'll bring the marathon aboard for him and try him out in a parkway before we go.

[CDNTech]

Originally Posted by scatterbunny

Jen, the B510 is not available in Canada?

I haven't seen it... just the 505.