Evenflo Triumph Advance DXL Sandbox

[arly1983]

Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX Sandbox
DOM 09 Oct 07

I ordered this seat as I was having problems finding a seat the both fit my broad, round daughter and fit in a variety of cars.

My first impression was of how soft the cover was and how nice and neutral the sandbox print was. My second impression was how wide it was.

Installation:
So far I have installed it in a 04 Ford Freestar, 97 Ford f-150, and 05 Ford 500 both FFing and RFing. Latch in the Ford 500, Both in the Freestar, and belt only in F-150. The installs were all really nice and all rock solid.
I learned a few tricks that worked nicely with the EFTA. When installing FFing, you can open up the cover and thread the latch strap back through the FFIng belt path and tighten it there easily. This also works well for a good place to pull on the shoulder belt with seatbelt installs. If you are having difficulty with just getting the FFing install tight enough, try reclining the EFTA into RFing mode. This brings the FFing belt path much closer to the seat bight. Install using the FFing method (latch or belt) you prefer. Then unrecline the seat (see recline mechanism below) and it awesomely rock solid.
RFing the latch strap could be difficult to tighten unless you thread it back through RFing belt path and open up the cover and pull from there. I only had to use the pressure of my hands to achieve a good install. This works well for belt installs as well.
One really cool thing was that the latch strap is attached the seat under the cover. To move the latch strap from RFing to FFing, you need open the cover up and pull the strap anchors through the belt path and push it back through the belt path you need. I really liked this.


Recline Mechanism:
There is a trick to this so I decided it needs its own heading. I cursed the recline and pushed and shoved until I realized that if I apply a little counter pressure before pulling forward it works like a charm. So I push the front of the EFTA down, then pull the recline lever upwards and it slides right into RFing mode. After some practice it becomes effortless.

Harness:
-Infinite adjust: this is effective. It slides easily and east to adjust correctly but is not so easy to adjust that it falls out of place. I was neither crazy about nor disliked this. The straps are really thin and silky and twist very easily in the buckle tongs.

-Harness adjustment knobs: these take some getting used to and are completely different from any other adjustment method I have ever come across. Tightening is super easy and smooth. The loosening, however takes some practice.

Cover:
The sandbox cover is really nice and plush. I love how it opens up so that you can access all the belts without having to completely take the cover off.

Closed cover:


Open access:


Crotch strap:
The crotch strap is super roomy and has two positions. You can change the positions without rethreading the crotch strap.


I loved how big the shell was. Both my kids fit very well with no shoulder scrunching. Also the wings of the shell are deep and lined with EPP foam.

This is my RFing 34 months old, he is 33 lbs clothed, and is within the RFing limits of this seat. He has approximately 1.5 in of hard shell above his head so could technically RF for .5 in more and 2 more lbs. He had plenty of room RFing.



Here is my 34 Month old, 33 lb, 40 in DS FFing and I was really impressed. He had quite a bit of room to grow in the torso. He was also on the inner most setting of the crotch strap and had LOADS of leg support.


Growing room:


Then my 15 month old, 26 lb, 29.5 in long DD. I couldn’t be happier will the fit on her. Her head has lots of support and is lying back and well with in the sides of the seat. She has lots of leg room and lots of shoulder room.



Rfing this seat did not take up as much room as I expected. Even when not touching the seat in front of it.


The EFTA has some drawbacks:
-the wideness of this seat makes it bad for 3 across situation.
-some people will dislike the sliding harness
-some people will dislike the harness adjustment knobs
-the straps are thin and twisty
-the straps are non-removable

I paid $162 including tax at Babies R Us.

[suesy]

Thanks for all the info - is the rf install, shown in your picture above, with full recline?

[arly1983]

Yes, it is the full recline. To get a full infant recline, a pool noodle would probably be needed.

[jsmom]

Thanks for the info! Im considering this as a second seat for my DD.

[toni]

Great info and picts arly1983.

A question for you:

What is the harness measurement set at it's highest? Elitecarseats.com is great for specs but I can't find them anywhere for this seat. Not even at the Evenflo website. I'm thinking about buying 2 of the DLX's for our cars. My daughter is 3 yrs, 32 # and 39 inches. I think she has room to grow in this seat but I just wanted to compare the harness meas. with other seats.

THANKS!

[arly1983]

It is exactly 17 ins high and unlike most seats with 17 in top slots, it fits most kids with a 17 in torso.

Usually kids outgrow 17 in top slots before there torsos measure 17 ins for some really odd reason.

[BABYGIRLLYNDSEY]

Hey Arly, Can you tell me the seating are measurements of the ETA? I am wondering how wide the shoulder area is at the highest harness setting as well as how tall the seat back is. How does the seat back height compare to the Marathon? Thanks!!!

[arly1983]

11.25 ins across at the highest harness setting.

24 in high seat back.

MA is also 24 ins, somehow she looks like she has more room in the EFTA, might be an illusion, might be the bowl shape.

Seat depth: 13.25 EFTA and MA is 9.25 ins

[lauralou]

We have the durango version of this seat for my 13 month old he was preemie but at 21lbs he is 31 inches tall.It is perfect for him.Thank you for the pics ,I am now going to get the sandbox color for my car and give the durang to my husband lol.thank you again.