Which car seat for a very tall 2-year-old?

lacondora · Feb 10, 2007

My son is 28 months old, approx. 39 inches tall and 38 pounds. He is very close to outgrowing the harness on his Graco Platinum Cargo seat, which we bought about 9months ago. I wish I had never bought it, even though we both really like it. I know he's way too young to go to a booster, but it kills me to think of paying upwards of $200-$250 on another seat.

Which car seat would you recommend I get for him? If I have to spend the $250 right now, I will, but it will be quite a stretch financially. On the other hand, I'd like one we'll be able to use until he can move onto the booster.

Thanks! I'm new to the boards and appreciate any help.
Karin

joolsplus3 · Feb 10, 2007

The Regent would be the longest lasting choice for him (too bad you didn't have a crystal ball on hand when you bought the Cargo, so you'd know how fast he'd grow!)
If your car has headrests in the back seats, then the Cosco Apex/Safety 1st Biltmore Signature (or whatever it's called, they are the same seat, different covers, harness to 65 pounds and a bit taller than the Cargo) is only $99 at www.albeebaby.com (and it becomes a pretty good booster when he's too tall for the harness)

LuvBug · Feb 10, 2007

Is he about to outgrow it by weight or by height or both? Where are his shoulders in relation to the top slots and how far is he from being even with the top slots?

lacondora · Feb 10, 2007

Thanks for the replies so far!

joolsplus3 - We do have headrests on the backseat, but they are removable. It's a '98 Honda CRV. Does that mean the Regent isn't an option?

LuvBug03 - I think the weight limit is 40 pounds, but I could be mistaken. If so, he's within a pound or two of that. He's got about an inch maybe to go with the harness height, also.

Any other ideas are still welcome.
Thanks again,
Karin

Jewels · Feb 10, 2007

If you went with the Regent, then you could always sell your Cargo to help pay for the new seat!

There is a checklist for selling and buying used seats, i'll see if I can find it or maybe someone else could post it for you!

wendytthomas · Feb 10, 2007

lacondora said:
Thanks for the replies so far!

joolsplus3 - We do have headrests on the backseat, but they are removable. It's a '98 Honda CRV. Does that mean the Regent isn't an option?

Not at all. The Apex 65 requires headrests. Other high back boosters and certainly all carseats do not require headrests. But the Apex 65 does.

If you have $250 max I'd look for a deal on a Regent. That will work for a long time for you guys, and you may or may not need a booster after it, and if you do it may just be a $15 low back booster. The Apex is a lovely alternative. BRU has an exclusive version and it has nice high slots, they have the 65 pound weight limit, and then they become a decent booster. You just need headrests behind the Apex.

Wendy

scatterbunny · Feb 10, 2007

Yes, on a budget, since you have headrests, the Apex/Biltmore (try to find the Biltmore, it has higher top slots; some of the other versions have top slots only about a half inch taller than the CarGo) would work well for your son to about age 5-6.

The Regent will last your son to age 7-8, at the minimum. If his torso slows down like my dd's did at around 3-4, he might make it even longer. She outgrew her convertible seats by height at age 2, but I think she'll last in a Regent until age 8+.

LuvBug · Feb 10, 2007

If you want to harness him past the minimum of 4y and 40lbs then Id go ahead and get a regent.
If you just want to harness him until the minimum, or slightly past then look at the Apex in biltmore(like the PP said it seems to have taller slots than the other cover options/versions).

lacondora · Feb 11, 2007

Thanks for all your input! You've all provided great information.

I was looking through some options and was wondering: What do you all think of the Sunshine Kids Radian? We do a lot of traveling by plane and I think it would be hard with the Regent, otherwise I think I would go with that. Also, what about the harness height on that one?

I measured his torso height this morning and it's just about 16 inches, as best I can tell with all his wiggling around.

Thanks again!
Karin

canadianmom2three · Feb 11, 2007

I have the Radian, and maybe am a little biased towards it having never seen a regent irl, and actually regent not even being an available option in Canada, but I do love the Radian. My DS is 4.5 and 45lbs, torso height around 17". I just moved him up to the top slots, but he still has a fair bit of room to grow. SK also has changed the manual to say that the top slots can be used even when shoulders are above, provided the ears are below the top of the seat, so that would mean even more height for those comfortable with doing that. I had the Radian and Apex home and installed in my van, and much preferred the Radian for its quality and sturdiness. The fabric on it was very nice, and I LOVE how narrow it is. See below for link to pic of my DS when he was still on the 2nd from top slot. HTH

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t120/canadianmom2three/strapheight.jpg

JaRylan · Feb 11, 2007

lacondora said:
Thanks for all your input! You've all provided great information.

I was looking through some options and was wondering: What do you all think of the Sunshine Kids Radian? We do a lot of traveling by plane and I think it would be hard with the Regent, otherwise I think I would go with that. Also, what about the harness height on that one?

I measured his torso height this morning and it's just about 16 inches, as best I can tell with all his wiggling around.

Thanks again!
Karin

Hi Karin,
The Radian (go with the 65, not the 80, they are the same harness heights) has some install issues in some vehicles and there are some vehicles that it just won't work in (countless techs have tried). The harness slots on the Radian are 18", 1" higher than the Marathon. I think everyone who has flown with the Radian has had good installs on the plane. Is the 98' Honda CRV the only vehicle you would be using the seat in? Hopefully someone can tell you if they have installed the Radian in that vehicle.

lacondora · Feb 11, 2007

Thanks again! I wonder how fast he would outgrow an 18" harness height. Hopefully not too fast....

I would primarily be using it in my '98 CRV at this point, although also in my mom's 2007 Honda Fit. We are also possibly looking at getting a used (probably 3-4 year old) mini-van later this year, but not sure what model.

Starlight · Feb 11, 2007

Are we certain the Biltmore has higher slots? I could potentially get this seat for use on our trip, but I won't be able to see it in person... the guy at BRU is looking on the box for the slot measurements. Well, I know they aren't on the box, LOL.

At this point, I'm leaning towards getting one of these, and hoping my Mom can install it properly!

scatterbunny · Feb 11, 2007

I don't know if ALL the Biltmores will be consistently tall-slotted, but the pics I have seen of the same kid in a Marathon and a Biltmore, the Biltmore's top slots were waaaayyy taller. Not so with the other Apexes I've seen.

The Radian65 is a good seat, has some installation issues, has top slots only about an inch higher than the CarGo your son is in now.

flipper68 · Feb 11, 2007

The Regent is not FAA approved, so it wouldn't be an option for use ON the plane and I don't think I'd want to check it either.

The concensus I've heard it that it's a good plan to put children in CRs on planes - in addition to the obvious safety factor, there's the behavioral one: kids are used to their car seats and "know what to expect" when they get buckled in it.

lacondora · Feb 12, 2007

Thanks again for all your help!

I think I'm kind of leaning toward the Biltmore seat, since it sounds like the harness height is highest (except for the Regent, of course). Can anyone confirm that this is the Biltmore seat with the highest harness slots?
http://tinyurl.com/2so24c

It's so frustrating that no sites list harness heights!

Thanks again!

LuvBug · Feb 12, 2007

that is indeed the biltmore, but we do not know for 100% that it consistantly has the higher slots.
The second highest slots to the regent in the safegaurd childseat, then the taller slotted apex, then the radian, then I think the lower slotted apex, then the MA, and so on...

scatterbunny · Feb 12, 2007

Yes, unfortunately there's no way to be 100% sure without trying a child in the seat.

The other one to look at is the Alpha Elite Apex at Babies R Us. It looks almost the same as the Biltmore.

Which car seat for a very tall 2-year-old?

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