please recommend backup carseats

U

Unregistered

Guest
I need advice on which backup carseats to buy for my children. My 4 yo daughter is still comfortable in her Britax Marathon, as she weighs 35 lbs and is fairly short. I will probably put my 6month old son in another Britax Marathon when he outgrows his Snugride. (When will I know he is ready to rf in the Marathon??)
QUESTION:
What is a more moderately priced but SAFE seat for each child to put in my husband's Ford F150 truck as well as one for my mother's car? Thanks!
 
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Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
A cheap way to go would be to buy Cosco Sceneras for the children. They are $35-$50 and are good back-up seats. If you want higher-weight seats that will store easily for times you are not using them, I would look into getting Sunshine Kids Radians. Of course, you will need to determine if these seats will work in your car and with your children. :)

You will know your son is ready for the Marathon when his shoulders are above or at the bottom harness slots. At six months of age, depending on his size, of course, I would guess he is close to being ready. He may already fit. I would try it out and see if it works for you. :)

Good luck!
 

skipspin

New member
Your son CAN rear-face in the Marathon now. But, he can stay in his Snugride till he outgrows it: 20 or 22 lb, and less than 1" of seat shell above his head. Check the stickers on your seat or the manual for the weight limit of your model. Usually it is outgrown be height, not weight.

I would second the recommendation for a Scenera for the baby. It will last a long time, and is reasonably priced. If you want something a little nicer than the Scenera 5-point, you can look at the Safety First Uptown.

For your daughter I would recommend a different backup seat. If you think your daughter will be mature enough for a booster seat (in the backup seat, anyway) when she hits 40 lb, then the Evenflo Bolero/Generations would be a good backup seat. It is harnessed to 40 lb, then converts into a booster seat and is pretty good for both, unlike many other combo seats that don't make good boosters. If you don't think she will be ready, or you want to harness her longer, your options are more limited: The Cosco Apex65, Radian, and Fisher Price seat will all harness past 40 lb, but the least expensive one usualy $130, where the Bolero/Generations is usually around $80 depending on the color/store.

Hope that helps.
 

Splash

New member
I'm with Joy. Safety 1st Uptown for the baby ($100, currently only at Wal-Mart) and Evenflo Bolero/Generations for your daughter ($80-110, depending on where you buy and which model, the Generations is more plush and has a recline bar, but they are identical in all other ways).
If you know you would like to buy a dedicated booster for her later, a Graco CarGo might be a bit better choice for your daughter. The top slots are a smidge taller, and it has deeper sides and EPS foam. These run from $60-$120, just make sure you get one with a front adjuster.

OR, to confuse you even more, the Graco SafeSeat2 is awesome, and the new ones harness to 50 pounds (make sure to check the weight limit on them). They are about $120ish. They don't convert to a booster (and are FF only, so no good for your son) but they are completely awesome for what they are, with super deep EPS lined sides, super easy install, recline on the fly mechanism, and high top slots with a 50 pounds weight limit. That might last your daughter 2-3 more years.
 

kbeard

New member
I am having trouble finding the Graco SafeSeat2 that harness to 50 lbs. It seems that all I see are still the 40 lbs.
Are the new ones available yet?
 

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