? about Graco Comfortsport

coleslawcat · May 10, 2010

My in-laws live across the country. My MIL bought a Graco Comfortsport for us to use when we visit. She bought it new, although it is now about 3 years old. We used it with my daughter when she was 6 months and it worked fine. But we used it again when she was 18 months old and she had to FF in it based on fit. Plus the straps seemed very short, like we couldn't loosen them enough. I keep my kids very snug in their carseats and I felt like it was too tight.

We are planning to go back this summer and are only buying my daughter a seat on the plane. I know it's recommended to get all children their own seat and not fly with lap children, but I also know my husband will not be convinced to drop over $400 getting an additional seat for my son. We are bringing my daughter's Recaro Como, we have flown with it before and it fit great on the plane. My husband thinks we can use my in-laws Comfortsport for my son while we are there. I'm just not sure if he will fit. Is the short strap problem a normal problem with the Comfortsport? He will be 20 months old and he's quite a bit bigger than my daughter was at that age. I just wonder if perhaps we did something wrong last time. It just doesn't make sense to me that the straps can be too short for an 18 month old. Have others had this problem as well?

I want to bring our Radian XTSL for our son, but I'm so hesitant to check it. I don't want it to be damaged and I've seen how they just toss baggage around when it's checked.

wendytthomas · May 10, 2010

You're right, none of us would recommend a lap baby. Good luck convincing your husband. To me, $400 is well worth the peace of mind of my baby in her own seat. Babies are expensive, you know that going into it.

The Comfortsport is one of the shortest carseats out there. The shell is short, so it's not uncommon for kids to outgrow it rear facing around 18 months or before, and completely between two and three years old. What I'd probably do is get a Cosco Scenera. It rear faces to 35 pounds, not 30 like the Comfortsport, forward faces to 40 (same), with 15" top slots, about an inch taller than the Comfortsport. It has a much taller shell, is very lightweight, is narrow, is easy to install, and costs $45. I'd probably get that, bring it to the gate, and if there's an empty seat install it there. If there's not and you have to check it and it's damaged or lost, then at least it was a $45 seat and not a $300 one.

Wendy

jjordan · May 10, 2010

Depending on the airline, they *may* sell discounted infant fares, so check into that. Also, as Wendy said, most airlines will let you use an empty seat if the plane isn't full. And, there are more likely to be empty seats if you book an "unpopular" flight. The airline should be able to tell you which ones are less likely to fill up, but generally early morning ones are a good bet.

I second the idea to get a scenera. Even if you don't buy a seat for your son, you'll want a carseat in case he is able to use an empty seat on the plane.

cookie123 · May 10, 2010

Are you taking a seat on the plane for the 3 year old? If not, take a convertible for baby and use it on the plane for the 3 year old. What seat will the 3 year old be using there?

Also, the Avenue is a longer lasting seat than the Scenera and I saw on here it was on sale for $40ish at Kmart. That might be a good travel option for one of them.

As far as the Comfort Sport. Does anyone know, does it have the shorter harness position like the Graco infant seat harness does, and maybe that's the problem?

coleslawcat · May 10, 2010

cookie123 said:
Are you taking a seat on the plane for the 3 year old? If not, take a convertible for baby and use it on the plane for the 3 year old. What seat will the 3 year old be using there?

Also, the Avenue is a longer lasting seat than the Scenera and I saw on here it was on sale for $40ish at Kmart. That might be a good travel option for one of them.

As far as the Comfort Sport. Does anyone know, does it have the shorter harness position like the Graco infant seat harness does, and maybe that's the problem?

We'll be bringing my daughter's Recaro Como for the plane and her to use when we arrive. We also have a spare Britax Marathon, but I'm not sure how that helps us. My son is already past the RF limits on it which is why we got the Radian. He won't be able to RF in any of the seats mentioned since he's already 35 pounds. Folded up do you think the Radian could be brought on as a carry-on?

coleslawcat · May 10, 2010

jjordan said:
Depending on the airline, they *may* sell discounted infant fares, so check into that. Also, as Wendy said, most airlines will let you use an empty seat if the plane isn't full. And, there are more likely to be empty seats if you book an "unpopular" flight. The airline should be able to tell you which ones are less likely to fill up, but generally early morning ones are a good bet.

I second the idea to get a scenera. Even if you don't buy a seat for your son, you'll want a carseat in case he is able to use an empty seat on the plane.

That's a good idea, we will check with the airlines to see what flights are least likely to fill. When we book should we try booking 2 aisle seats and a window in hopes that the middle seat will stay open? If someone does buy it we could always offer to trade an aisle seat, I can't imagine anyone saying no to that.

jjordan · May 10, 2010

coleslawcat said:
That's a good idea, we will check with the airlines to see what flights are least likely to fill. When we book should we try booking 2 aisle seats and a window in hopes that the middle seat will stay open? If someone does buy it we could always offer to trade an aisle seat, I can't imagine anyone saying no to that.

Yes, definitely!

And, knowing that your son is too big to RF in the scenera, for me that would tip the scales in favor of bringing the radian so that he can RF at your destination. I doubt it is small enough to be a carry-on, but if you can't use it on the plane then gate-checking, while risky, is less risky than checking it with the baggage.

wendytthomas · May 10, 2010

If he's too big to rear face in the Scenera you can try an Evenflo Maestro, which has a 50 pound harness limit, 18" top slots, and is about $75.

Wendy

Pixels · May 10, 2010

The ComfortSport has two sets of loops in the harness at the splitter plate. If they were on the shorter loops, that would explain why the harness was too tight.

However, at 35 pounds, he's outgrown the ComfortSport rear facing (30 pound limit) and may have outgrown it forward facing by height. The forward facing limit is 40 pounds.

My own daughter is turning two this week and has plenty of growing room in the CS. I'm waiting to see if she will hit the RF weight limit or the height limit first. She has a couple of inches of growing room, and about 6 pounds to go. Plenty of harness strap left on the longer loops.

coleslawcat · May 10, 2010

This is interesting. It makes me want to try out the seat to see if my 3 year old would fit in it FF. Probably not. She's pretty tall. Oh well. At least I know why it was barely fitting my daughter. Does BRU carry the Comfortsport? I might make a trip just to see if it would work for her. If it does I could bring my son's Radian on the plane and not worry about it getting damaged.

mish · May 10, 2010

My niece is 3 years old and tiny. She has almost outgrown the comfortsport FF at 28 pounds. And in case you missed when Pixels pointed it out, the CS has two sets of loops. If you look at the back of the seat and can see webbing sort of hanging below the splitter plate, it is on the shorter set.

And good luck congincing your husband to buy a seat. It is worth it.

coleslawcat · May 10, 2010

Ok, my 3 year old won't fit. She's 37 pounds and very tall. It was a nice thought though.

Carrie_R · May 10, 2010

Another idea -- why don't you take the Radian on the plane, and use it for your daughter on the plane, and then have it at your destination for your son. Then have your in-laws pick up a Maestro, like Wendy suggested, for your daughter to use.

You could maybe look into a CARES to throw in the diaper bag, so that if you end up with that empty seat your son could use the RN on the plane and your daughter could use the CARES.

I think the RN (with backpack straps) would probably be easier to transport than the Como, as well.

coleslawcat · May 10, 2010

Thanks for all of the ideas, I appreciate it.

DahliaRW · May 10, 2010

FWIW, the only domestic airline that offers reduced fares for infants (last I checked) was Southwest. I've had children for over 5 years and no airline I have ever flown has offered an infant reduced fare. It is a thing of the past for domestic flights!

yetanotherjen · May 10, 2010

Carrie_R said:
Another idea -- why don't you take the Radian on the plane, and use it for your daughter on the plane, and then have it at your destination for your son. Then have your in-laws pick up a Maestro, like Wendy suggested, for your daughter to use.

You could maybe look into a CARES to throw in the diaper bag, so that if you end up with that empty seat your son could use the RN on the plane and your daughter could use the CARES.

I think the RN (with backpack straps) would probably be easier to transport than the Como, as well.

:yeahthat:

ketchupqueen · May 10, 2010

FWIW, my cousin's wife has taken the (folded) Radian on several flights (with backpack straps) and stowed it as a carryon, and not had anyone say a word to her. It's fit fine in the overhead bins, and I've heard it may be against some regulation, but she's never been told not to. :shrug-shoulders:

InternationalMama · May 13, 2010

I second (or third!) the person who suggested bringing your son's Radian on the plane and having your daughter sit in it. It's great for airplane travel because you can usually still use the tray table.

Then what about buying a Ride Safer Travel Vest for your daughter? You mentioned that she's 37 lbs and tall so she should fit well in it. Then you can practice using it at home and don't have to worry about installing something new (Maestro) or discovering the ComfortSport can't be used for your 20 month old at your destination. Plus your DS can be RF when you get there. Getting a cares harness as well in the hopes that there might be an extra seat on the plane could be good too.

InternationalMama · May 15, 2010

Me again. I just wanted to post and say that I have a ComfortSport and a child about your son's age and I used the CS for the first time in awhile recently and the harness did seem really short! I kind of like that though. He is getting very close to both the height (RF&FF) and weight (RF) limits of the seat. I like how the harness length is kind of outgrown at the same time. it seems like that would really stop people from using the seat beyond those other limits as they might otherwise be tempted to do. I think the harness will be long enough until he is no longer short enough and light enough, but not much longer.

InternationalMama · May 19, 2010

Okay, sorry to update for the third time, but I just want to add my experience in case someone with a ComfortSport finds this thread looking for answers. When we got back from our trip I found some time to really examine the CS and I flipped it over so I could see the harness adjuster while I was tugging on the strap that loosens the harness and I eventually figured out that it was stuck and managed to work it free. It actually had a lot more room in the harness, but somehow it was getting caught up (on nothing!) and woudn't release the extra slack. Seems to be working now so that's something to look into if it seems too short if/when you do decide to use it.

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