Question Carseat Suggestions Needed for 3yr

Briden

New member
Hi, I am grateful to have found this site :) Lots of great info. I have a three year old (3yrs 7m) who is very close to the weight limit of his carseats. I am a single mom so I am looking to buy two carseats (one for his dad's car and one for mine). I plan to take my Evenflo Triumph Advance and put it in my mom's car since she has him while I am at work.
Here's the details on my son-
41inches tall
14.25 inches to shoulder
39.6lbs

I need a carseat for a 1999 Camry (I currently have the EFTA in my car- but I will be placing that in my mom's 2006 Accord.)
I also need a carseat for a 1996-7ish Camry for his father's car.

I just bought a Nautilus but haven't taken it out of the box as I am not sure if I should keep it or decide on something else. I got a relatively good deal on it at 115 dollars (using a gift card ;) ).. but now I don't know what else I should get. I was either thinking another GN on amazon for 144 or getting a ETA for 105 and then putting him in a booster at 50lbs?

What do you think.. I don't really want to spend too much more than 300 altogether for two if possible. I am not sure if I should give the GN to his father and get something else for me. However I do think that the Evenflo might be a better bet since it doesnt have to be rethreaded for height and I am nervous of his father being responsible for judging when to rethread it.


Also- is the nautilus easy to loosen the straps as we loosen and tighten straps a lot in the spring since New England weather is very unpredictable.

PS- My son is very sensitive and has severe SPD.. He truly hates the car and even more so his carseat (all the buckles and stuff) so he tends to try to unlatch himself at the chest. I was hoping to get one that seems tougher to pull down.. he pushes the chest clip down and that puts his arms out.. (I wish I could word that better..)

So what carseats would you suggest? I am really at a loss what to do :) I hope I wasn't too confusing in this post.. :)
 
ADS

MomToEliEm

Moderator
The Nautilus is a nice seat and you got yours for a great price, so if it were me, I would probably keep it.

Another seat you may want to check out is the Evenflo Maestro ([ame="http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Maestro-Harness-Booster-Seat/dp/B002VUCB7M"]Amazon.com: Evenflo Maestro Harness Booster Seat, Oahu: Baby[/ame]). It has top slots of around 18" so it is just a little shorter then the nautilus. It is a lot less expensive then most of the other high weight/height harnessed seats. The Maestro does not work well as a booster though due to the very low seatbelt guide (basically outgrown as a booster the same time as the harness is outgrown). As a harnessed seat though, it seems nice, and much less expensive then the other seats.

If you have headrests in your car, you may want to look at the Apex 65. It probably has similar top harness slots to the evenflo triumph advance. Due to needing headrest support though, it doesn't work in all vehicles.

As for your son trying to escape the carseat, have you tried putting velcro along the top or bottom of the chestclip to see if that might stop him? Sometimes the rough velcro bothers kids and they stop playing with it.
 

Briden

New member
Thanks!!
I do have headrests, would I be better off with an Apex or Maestro or should I put out the money and just purchase another Nautilus. I saw them on AMazon at 144. How does the Nautilus do for being a booster when he reaches 65lbs?

Thanks so much :)
 

swtgi1982

New member
Go to target this week and you can get two nautlius for under 300 (if you figure after gift cards) It is 154.99 but you get a $20 gift card back with purchase. It is in store only and not online

Or if you have K-Mart Local to you they have buy one get one half off thru the 23rd.
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
Thanks!!
I do have headrests, would I be better off with an Apex or Maestro or should I put out the money and just purchase another Nautilus. I saw them on AMazon at 144. How does the Nautilus do for being a booster when he reaches 65lbs?

Thanks so much :)


The nautilus turns into an ok booster seat, though not as great a booster as some others (I think it doesn't position the seatbelt well on some child and doesn't extend very tall as a booster). What might be your best bet is to try out the nautilus you already have and see how your son deals with it. If he really likes it, then it might be good to get some more nautilus seats. If he keeps trying to escape from it, see if you can find the Maestro or Apex and hopefully one of those seats might be a good fit for him.

Probably it would be best to focus on getting him a good harnessed seat right now and not worry too much about the booster use as that is still a few years ago. Once the time comes, you can evaluate booster fit and buy him a dedicated booster if needed.
 

jujumum

Well-known member
I'd recommend at least one Nauti, so I'd recommend that you open, install, and play with the one you have. If you and your son like it, I'd recommend another one. My dd loves her Nauti, and her dad does too as it is super easy for her to get in and out of and easy for him to adjust/buckle.
 

Briden

New member
Thanks for the advice so far... :)

I opened, adjusted and played with the Nauti. I then put it in my car. I buckled him in it as well. We'll see. :)

I was looking at the Evenflo 65 Symphony tonight while I was at BRU. He was with his dad so I did not have him to try that out.
How is that in comparison to the APEX, Evenflo and Nauti? How are they different?
What makes the Nauti a more popular carseat as oppose to other 65 lbs carseats... Are they safer? Thanks! :)
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
I was looking at the Evenflo 65 Symphony tonight while I was at BRU. He was with his dad so I did not have him to try that out.
How is that in comparison to the APEX, Evenflo and Nauti? How are they different?
What makes the Nauti a more popular carseat as oppose to other 65 lbs carseats... Are they safer? Thanks! :)

The symphony is a nice seat, but it has a shorter top harness slot then the other seats. Each seat will be outgrown by height when the child's shoulders go above the top slot, so it is important to look at that slot height to see how long the seat might last.

Here is a listing of some of the top slot heights on the seats mentioned in this thread:

Evenflo Symphony: 16.5"
Evenflo Triumph Advance: 17"
Cosco Apex: 17.5"
Evenflo Maestro: 18"
Graco Nautilus: 18.5"


Using the above as a guide, the nautilus will last the longest. The Maestro is next in line (provided the child doesn't reach the 50lb limit on the seat).

All the seats are nice seats though and equally safe. It just depends which one might work well with your son and also install well in your vehicle.
 

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