Canadian Tech Help

dingohate · Jan 4, 2011

My DD is currently in her Chicco Keyfit (she's 1, 29" and 18#)

I need to switch her to a convertible seat (or so I thought) when she is 30" tall since she'll hit that before 22lbs for sure. On page 24 of the manual it states that she has to meet ALL of these requirements:

weight between 4-22lbs
be less than 76cm(30")
have 1" or more of shell height above her head

Did something change? I chat on a parenting board and in the car seat safety section I was told by another member that they just legally HAVE to put a height. I know that my Radian only goes by the 1" rule and not a maximum height (for RFing anyway) and so I wasn't sure if something had changed.

I know sometimes the Canadian and US standards can differ but she seemed pretty sure. I have heard of parents ignoring the RFing height limits in favor of the 1" rule but that is a parental decision and not manufacturer's recommendation. I'm not interested in going against manufacturer's instruction as I already have a seat she can move into when the time comes.

Thoughts?

Pepse · Jan 4, 2011

I believe that means that in order to use the seat she has to weigh between 4-22lbs. U can move her to a rearfacing convertible seat at any time now

dingohate · Jan 4, 2011

Pepse said:
I believe that means that in order to use the seat she has to weigh between 4-22lbs. U can move her to a rearfacing convertible seat at any time now

I know that she could go any time before 22lbs but if I can do another winter in the bucket I would be pretty happy with that! I was wondering if something changed and that the 30" rule is trumped by the 1" rule now. I know that some people make the PARENTAL DECISION to ignore the height limit as long as there is 1" of shell height above the child's head. As I stated in my previous post I am NOT interested in using the seat against manufacturer's instructions.

PurpleCat · Jan 4, 2011

Legally they do have to put a height but some manufacturers are chosing to go with the 1" rule instead of a set height. If you're not interested in going against the manufacturer's instructions then you'll need to switch her once she's get to 30".

mommycat · Jan 4, 2011

:yeahthat: Does she have lots of room in terms of inches over the head? I seem to remember some opinions after either the TC videos or the Consumer Reports that it is better not to push too close on the 1" rule, especially in a bucket seat. That being an *opinion* stated by one or two people (I don't recall clearly) but if she is quite close to the 1" I would switch sooner rather than later, even if she still has another inch to go in overall height. If you have good clearance, then you have that extra inch to go.

Did the Radian really switch to 1" of shell for RF? I've been MIA for a few months but at the time the new Cdn Radians were stating a 40" height limit. Did this get revamped?

The only seats I know of, again unless something has changed, that go by the 1" rule and not a stated height limit are the TrueFit and the MyRide. ETA: I left out the EFTA (and the EF Momentum if this one is available in Canada-?).

dingohate · Jan 4, 2011

mommycat said:
Did the Radian really switch to 1" of shell for RF? I've been MIA for a few months but at the time the new Cdn Radians were stating a 40" height limit. Did this get revamped?

The only seats I know of, again unless something has changed, that go by the 1" rule and not a stated height limit are the TrueFit and the MyRide.

I'm not sure... could be confusing it with my Britax MA65 or my TF. I have so many inches above his head I didn't bother to double check that hehehehe.

ETA: Just checked the Radian XT manual online and it DOES have a RFing height limit of 44"! my bad!

Shanora · Jan 4, 2011

Another one that doesn't have the Rfing limit is the Complete Air.

April · Jan 4, 2011

Did Dorel change their 40" limit on the CA? I hadn't heard that.

OP, nothing has changed in terms of law. You are correct that we consider it a parental decision to disregard the overall stated height limit. The reason being that you can have a 30 inch child who is all torso and doesn't have much room above their head, or a 30 inch child who is all legs and has 4 inches above their head. There is nothing that magically happens at 30 inches to make a child unsafe in the seat (unless they have less than an inch of shell above them. The manufacturers choose a conservative overall height so that those long torsoed kids don"t go above the shell of the seat. This is why many people are okay disregarding it in favor of the 1 inch rule. Ultimately, it is your decision as a parent. If you are uncomfortable using the KF beyond 30 inches and want a bucket for a while longer, you could always look at something like the Sungride 32 or 35.
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