Question Thinking about picking up a Recaro Signo G2 and Britax Boulevard.

Dave88LX · Feb 8, 2010

I have pretty much narrowed down my daughter's new seat to either of these seats. I loved the Recaro the minute I saw it, mainly because I drag race, and well, you know.

I have done research and found that they are good seats, but, potentially more quickly outgrown? Britax Boulevard has also received great reviews from you people on this site.

My wife and I both work full-time and then some, and never know who is going to be picking up/dropping off our daughter on any given day until we work it out. Therefore, we must each have our own seat. I'm not playing seat-swap every day.

So, I was thinking of picking up the Recaro for my truck ('07 Ram 2500 Mega Cab) and the Britax for her car ('08 Mazda 5).

Then I can check them both out and see which one we truly like better.

Any reason not to?

I found good prices on Albee Baby and Baby Catalog. Any preference to either?

Thanks!:twocents:

- Dave

wendytthomas · Feb 8, 2010

Preference to neither.

The Recaro will be outgrown too soon because of either shoulder or leg issues, and the Boulevard is just very expensive for the little seat you get.

I'd look at the Sunshine Kids Radians, the Safety 1st Complete Air, the Graco My Ride, the Learning Curve True Fit and the Evenflo Triumph Advance over either the Boulevard or Signo.

Wendy

Dave88LX · Feb 8, 2010

Thanks for getting me more confused Wendy.

Is that list "in no particular order", or, preferred order?

When you say "little seat", are you talking about features or what? Where do they rate in safety? From what I gather, are they all pretty much a pass/fail, as far as testing goes?

Thank you...

Cryssy Jane · Feb 8, 2010

Dave88LX said:
Thanks for getting me more confused Wendy.

Is that list "in no particular order", or, preferred order?

When you say "little seat", are you talking about features or what? Where do they rate in safety? From what I gather, are they all pretty much a pass/fail, as far as testing goes?

Thank you...

'little seat' is typically in regards to the shorter overall harness height, smaller shell and lack of leg room for a rear facing kiddo. In terms of safety, every carseat on the market has passed testing which is why they are on the market. I do believe sunshine kids is one of the only companies that actually releases their crash test data, but I don't know of a link off the top of my head.

Personally, I've owned all of the above except the signo. I loved my boulevard, but my god son out grew it rear facing by a little over 18 months due to lack of leg room, he was squished beyond belief and was starting to complain. I do love britax for ease of use and install but the seats that were listed above by wendy will either last longer via total life or are more cost efficient.

steph_s · Feb 8, 2010

Any of the seats Wendy listed are "better" than the Recaro or Britax convertible seats! I say "better" because both of these seats have some real life concerns about the longevity of them and their weight limits not lasting as long as other seats. When there are other seats on the market that will last longer they just aren't top picks around here.

Ditto on the Recaro being outgrown quickly! I don't know a child yet that actually can make it to the top slots of that seat, their shoulders get squished out of the seat before they reach that top setting!

As for the Britax convertibles I'm assuming Wendy means that you don't get much in the way of a seat when you get one of those. (Not getting your money's worth). They have much lower rear facing limits than other seats that are cheaper and just as safe. Children run out of leg room far too quickly while rear facing when compared to other seats (and we recommend kids rear face until the limits of their seats which is typically around 3 or 4 years old).

You won't find any of those seats on most peoples "top 5" or even people's "top 10" list anymore as for as convertible seats go! The reviews you saw on this site are likely dated and much "better" seats with higher limits that will last longer have come out since then. Britax and Recaro are a tad behind the times when it comes to how long their seats last! While the seats are all pass fail (except Sunshine kids seats you actually get the crash data from the company) and they are perfectly safe they are not the best bang for your buck and you will be needing to purchase new seats long before you would if you went with another option.

wendytthomas · Feb 8, 2010

Right, they're all pass/fail.

Those were in no particular order. The Radians will last longest by weight rear facing, the True Fit is tallest by a hair, the Complete Air is very easy to get upright, the My Ride has the shortest shell (Boulevard sized), but has a 40 pound weight limit rear facing and a nice pricetag. The Triumph Advance has the nicest price, and for it you get a fairly tall shell (just taller than the My Ride), nice weight limits, and an easy to use and install seat.

So, each has something going for it. The Radians can tether rear facing, the True Fit Premier has an antirebound bar. The Complete Air and Radians are nice and narrow. The My Ride offers a lot of recline forward facing. The True Fit is tiny without the headrest on so it fits well at a 45 degree angle for newborns. The Radian has an eight year lifespan, the True Fit seven, the rest of all of these seats we're talking about have six.

The Boulevard has a shorter shell than any of the others I've mentioned, top slots that are fairly low (about the same as the My Ride, but at twice the price), less leg room than the other seats. It's a very comfortable seat, very easy to install and use, but at its price it's hardly cost effective.

The Signo has 19" top slots, the tallest of any of these, but my petite five year old would have been complaining about shoulder and leg space with a 15" torso and around 35 pounds. And she is narrow with very narrow shoulders. It also sits very tall with deep sides, so many people have complained about getting kids in and out without banging heads on the top door frame.

Does that help clear it up, or make it even more muddy? LOL

It's funny, I got into carseats first, then started to watch racing. So I told my husband, "My goodness, Recaro makes adult seats too!" hehe He thought I was crazy.

Wendy

Dave88LX · Feb 8, 2010

Appreciate the information ladies. I'm a member on quite a few forums, so I hate to ask questions that have been answered many times over; typically you hear "ZOMG DO A SEARCH NOOB!", so I figured I would do some searching before making a decision. I guess in this case, doing a search only returned me out-dated data...I'm glad that I asked.

Right now she is in a Chicco Keyfit 22, and weighs approx 20 lbs, and is 13 months old. I still want to keep her rear-facing, as you had mentioned. She's getting close to that point where she needs a bigger seat, if she's not there already.

EDIT: Just saw your last post Wendy...clear as mud!

I will read it a couple times and digest it all...and go check out their websites.

Here's the little rascal.

TnT's Mom · Feb 8, 2010

Ok, I am just jumping in to say...oh my gosh, your daughter is a cutie!

abigaylebelle · Feb 8, 2010

Have you played with the signo G2 and boulevard in person? I feel like the G2 is noticeably wider than the original signo, but that's just based on how my child looked in them. Both are very easy to install, the signo definitely needs a wider door opening if it is in an outboard position due to the closed in wings. There are a lot of other seats that will fit larger children rf, so unless your dd is very small I would go with something larger with a higher rf weight limit.

ETA She is so incredibly cute!

Dave88LX · Feb 8, 2010

Thank you so much.

I have not had the chance to play with either one of them in person yet. Door opening won't be an issue whatsoever with my truck. Seat size is not really a consideration, a bigger one is fine with me.

wendytthomas · Feb 8, 2010

ZOMG SHE'S SO CUTE! hehe

She'll outgrow the Keyfit at 22 pounds or when she has less than 1" of hard shell above her head.

Guessing you're in the eastern part of the country? LOL

Check at a baby boutique like Buy Buy Baby or USA Baby or a mom and pop store for the Radians, Signo, and True Fit. The EFTA, CA, Boulevard, and MR are at BRU. You can play with them all together there.

Wendy

ntrenary · Feb 8, 2010

wendytthomas said:
Those were in no particular order. The Radians will last longest by weight rear facing, the True Fit is tallest by a hair, the Complete Air is very easy to get upright, the My Ride has the shortest shell (Boulevard sized), but has a 40 pound weight limit rear facing and a nice pricetag. The Triumph Advance has the nicest price, and for it you get a fairly tall shell (just taller than the My Ride), nice weight limits, and an easy to use and install seat.

Wendy, this is great info! I've been wondering how all these seats measure up. I bought a RA50 a few months ago thinking it was the tallest seat I'd be able to fit RFing in my car. But, now I wish I bought the My Ride because it has more leg room.

Dave88LX · Feb 10, 2010

Yep you got it...Maryland. Another 14-22" coming down on us before all is said and done!

Nearest Buy Buy Baby is ~50 miles away.
USA Baby's website is down for maintenance right now. Not seeing any on Google Maps though.

I'm starting to fill up the top of my Firefox browser with tabs all over the place.

This is going to burn me out quick!

I <3 Excel. Anyone have a spreadsheet already created comparing the different models?

wendytthomas · Feb 10, 2010

Has anyone pointed out that you're a geek yet? LOL Love it.

Spreadsheets are in the works. http://sites.google.com/site/carseatmeasurements/

Wendy

joolsplus3 · Feb 10, 2010

Yep, one of our regulars here has gotten a spreadsheet together for your comparing pleasure... http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Agz99-M7a5EedEd2ZjVzRHdxTkdzLVpzek5YOVVsdVE&hl=en

Edit...well, Wendy beat me to it, and with a better url <adds to favorites for next time>.

kszabo · Feb 10, 2010

We have a Signo G2 and my wife hates it since it's so big. Rear-facing, there's no leg room in any type of vehicle. Our son is old/big enough to turn him fwd-facing, but since this seat sits so high, it's still hard to get him over the hump of the armrest without bumping his head on the ceiling. We mainly use it in our '07 Frontier, but also in my mother's '10 Murano. Relatively high rooflines, but not high enough for the Signo G2. We also have a Sunshine Kids Radian 65SL. Much better fit, but difficult to adjust all the belts, which dangle all over the place. What a mess. Plus, the Sunshine Kids doesn't get as tight into the car's seat as the Recaro. A friend really wanted a Recaro, but based on threads on this site, and months of research, he ended up going with the First Years True Fit.

Dave88LX · Feb 10, 2010

Geek...what...who...me?

That is a heckuva spreadsheet you have there.

Well, it is official. I need to go paint the downstairs, and assemble the new desk so I can put this laptop on it. I can't handle this touchpad any longer...I NEED MY MOUSE!:thumbsup:

wendytthomas · Feb 10, 2010

Geek geek. LOL Soon you'll be a carseat geek! Come to the dark side, we have cookies!

The spreadsheet is not mine, just so you know. It's MomToEliEm's. But yes, it is impressive.

Wendy

JerseyGirl'sMama · Feb 10, 2010

I just wanted to share my experience with the Signo. My DH picked out the seat for our DD when she was 8 months old (this was before I got into CPS and became a technician) and she still fits comfortably at 3 years rear-facing. Her current stats are below in my siggy, but she was 34 months and 27lbs in these pictures:

So while the seat may not fit the average kid quite this long, it does for my DD. I recently got a Radian XTSL for my DS, who is quite chunkier than my DD, because I don't think he would fit the Signo comfortably more than 2 years.

Louisa · Feb 10, 2010

Cute kid!

I have a Signo G2 and would just like to share that it is quite abit different than the original recaros. my 48lb 46 in 4yo who is very big for his age, fits well in the signo g2 although he is way to wide for the original como. I actualy like the signo G2 quite a bit.
now that said, a Radian XTSL, or any of the radian family really, would be my first choice because of the leg room

Question Thinking about picking up a Recaro Signo G2 and Britax Boulevard.

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