Question Britax Boulevard 70 vs Recaro ProRide??

Hello I'm new to posting here and thankful I stumbled upon this great site in my endless carseat research! I am hoping someone can shed some light onto my decision….
I *think* I have it narrowed down to the Britax Boulevard 70 & Recaro ProRide (my others that I'm pretty sure-unless someone convinces me otherwise-I eliminated were Safety 1st Complete Air 65, Graco MyRide 65)…..my DS is 16mo, 25 lbs, 31in and he is more torso than leg. The more I read about the different carseats the more I get confused as there is just so much information out there!! We currently have a Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite that even the carseat tech had trouble installing into our 2006 Honda Pilot in the center of 2nd row. DS never looks comfortable, his head constantly flops forward, and I'm really not comfortable w/ the way the whole seat looks. It is a complete pain to adjust the harness every time I put him in or out and they constantly twist. If anyone has any experience w/ the 2 seats I'm considering I would love to hear the input! Also open to suggestions. I narrowed it to the Boulevard & ProRide because of the side wings and all of the padding/safety features.…..a few side notes if it helps-want to RF him as long as possible and do plan on having more children in the future (thus need to be able to fit more seats at some point). Thanks!!

I have a blvd70 and a recaro signo g2 (precursor to the proride but i believe they have the same shell). My 4 year old can still rf in both seats, although he's on the smaller end and has a short torso. His stats are 32lbs/38"/12"torso
So here would be my comparison between them
More leg room rf-blvd70
Higher shell and top slots-recaro
Higher base-recaro this is good for us since ds can see out the windows well
More upright ff install-blvd70
Easier seatbelt install-recaro
Latch installs-same
Fun cover!-blvd70 we have cowmoo

I have the pro ride and the signo g2, and the advocate70 cs(which I have concluded is the same as the blvd 70,but with dumb 'pilloes' on the outside ,what can I say I bought it for the cover) For my ds(2.5, 26lbs and ff) I use the signo, I do not like the signo for ds (11mo and 18lbs) It dosent recline as well for him...and the proride I got and put back in the box --I just didn't like it over all.

The BLVD 70 has a shorter shell and a lower top slot than the Proride but it will offer a tad more leg room. It is probably an easier install overall and more user friendly. The BLVD 70 will fit most RF to around 2.5-3 yrs old and FF to about 4.5-6 yrs old. It has a shorter shell, lower top slots, and less leg room than many other seats

The ProRide offers very little leg room, sits on a very high base, and gets pretty narrow towards the top of the shell so many children outgrow it because of lack of shoulder room before they technically outgrow the seat. The shell is very high and top slots are around 19 inches BUT, like I said before, many children will become uncomfortable in this seat WAY before reaching the top slots and many children will outgrow RF before they actually outgrow it because of the little leg room. We had the Como and hated it!!!

For a tall torsoed child, the Safety first Complete Air, Sunshine Kids Radians, and Compass True Fit make the best seats. The CA will last longer both RF and FF than any other convertible car seat because of the very tall shell and high top slots. It has ample leg room but can be a pain to instal sometimes. We love this seat though. My tall torsoed (16 inches) 3.5 yr old would still have plenty of RF room left to grow. The True Fit and Radian have similar shell heights but the TF has top slots slightly higher, it is more user friendly overall, and is usually easier to install in most vehicles. It only has a 35lb RF weight limit though.

The Evenflo Momentum is also a great seat with a tall shell, high top slots, and a 40lb RF weight limit. It will RF and FF a little longer than the Britax convertibles and has a ton of leg room. It is also an easy install, IIRC.

What didn't you like about the Complete Air and the MyRide?

On your current seat, is it the 50# version or 40# version? Do you have the base on or off? Do you have pool noodles to help with recline? It sounds like the seat is not reclined enough for him.

I would look at the complete air again. Our kids are very long torsoed, so I know what its like. Ds2 still fits the CA ff if he was under 50#. He would even fit rf. It is made to long torso kids.

Stefanie, cpst in iowa - mom to 4 great kids

pippi2077 said:

On your current seat, is it the 50# version or 40# version? Do you have the base on or off? Do you have pool noodles to help with recline? It sounds like the seat is not reclined enough for him.

I would look at the complete air again. Our kids are very long torsoed, so I know what its like. Ds2 still fits the CA ff if he was under 50#. He would even fit rf. It is made to long torso kids.

Stefanie, cpst in iowa - mom to 4 great kids

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This, definitely.

My kids are long torsoed. If you want to rearface as long as possible, you aren't going to be able to do it in a Blvd. My 2.5 yr old is a bit over 36" tall, 33lbs, and long torsoed. He wears size 3 shirts. He outgrew the Blvd months ago (rearfacing)...and that is the Blvd 65, which is taller than the Blvd 70. I know what you mean about the "side impact" and the head wings...but rearfacing is so much safer that isn't as much of an issue.

I wouldn't do the ProRide...I see how narrow it is in the shoulders, plus it really does sit up quite high and have very little leg room. It's a lot of money for less use than the CA.

Honestly, the Safety First Complete Air probably can be installed properly in your car w/a few tricks, such as a pyramid of pool noodles. The same fixes will work w/the AOE, too. It still may be bit more difficult to install than the Britax, but then again, most things are and have a learning curve of their own. We've had an older AOE installed in lots of vehicles--it is more difficult to get it right, and it definitely does not install rearfacing in the captain's chairs of my van, but many times it can be installed properly.

hths

henrietta

henrietta said:

Honestly, the Safety First Complete Air probably can be installed properly in your car w/a few tricks, such as a pyramid of pool noodles. The same fixes will work w/the AOE, too. It still may be bit more difficult to install than the Britax, but then again, most things are and have a learning curve of their own.

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For what it's worth, the Complete Air installed extremely easily in my Pilot with no noodles. It's outboard, though, not in the center. The center of the Pilot can be tricky because of the long belt stalks on both sides, though I don't know if that's an issue with the CA. They can be twisted down some if necessary, too. I should also point out that I have the regular version of the CA, not the deluxe or whatever. I specifically did not want to deal with the AOE-type base.

I agree that for long-torso'd kids, your best bets will be the Complete Air, Radian, or True Fit.

Thank you ALL for the input, it has been very helpful. The comparisons -even the fabrics ;0)-were great to see. It's good to know that Recaro gets narrow toward the top, my son does have broad shoulders (he outgrew the Chicco stroller because of this). He looked fine in the Recaro for now, but if it narrows eventually he won't be! It seems to have the least legroom as well and the high base did look a bit difficult to deal w/ getting him in and out of the car on a daily basis.
I was worried about the CA fitting into our car the same way our current AOE does-which is not well- because they are the same company. All the buckles, etc. are identical and have been very difficult to adjust-I literally get up on one knee, put my palm on the strap and push down w/ all my body weight just to tighten the harness EVERY time I put him in it! Neither my husband nor I could install ourselves after an hour so I took it to the fire station-which where we live practically NOWHERE installs the seats and had to drive 40min away and even then they only did it because I had gone 4 other places previously where I had been told it was done only to find out it wasn't and I was in tears by then, lol. We live in Ft Lauderdale-you would think it would be EASY to find a cpst but no! Our AOE is installed w/ a pool noodle but something that has been concerning me after doing so much research now is that the guy tethered something hanging off the back of the seat to a lever near the floorboard-which I think may be the lever to move the seats forward and backward (06 Pilot-2nd row). Am I correct in that this is not allowed by seat or car manufacturer? At any rate, w/o doing that, the entire seat would move completely forward-the back of the carseat would flip toward the back of the car. Sorry this is getting long already but I want to be as thorough as possible and answer everyone so as to get the most help! ……

I was also worried that the CA would take up as much room as our AOE. It's installed in center and if it reclined anymore we would have to move the driver & passenger seats up too close to the dash. I was also future thinking in that eventually the CA would need to go behind one of the front seats so I could put an infant carrier in the center (that would be safest right?) I do believe that the CA would offer the most leg room just judging by how he looks in the one we have now, although I have read on many sites that the leg room doesn't seem to bother children much so was just kind of ignoring the leg room thing.
As for the MyRide-I love the looks and cupholders and he looks super comfy in it but just decided I wanted the side wings which left me limited choices--I also tried to put the MyRide in the car and it wouldn't even fit FF w/o moving the seat up more. That thing is gigantic! As for the True Fit, I haven't seen one anywhere so am not familiar w/ it at all and as for the Radian-w/ it's tall shell figured it would be the same issue of getting it installed RF w/o moving the front seats up too far. Maybe I am wrong!
Our AOE is the 40# and has the base on-which I thought it had to be unless you were using it as booster? I really wish one of you that hasn't had issues installing an AOE or are using a CA w/o noodles lived here so you could put it in my car! LOL

Oh gosh. Whoever helped you was a helpful fireman. If he was certified he needs it revoked.

The ONLY seats that allow for rear facing tethering are Britax and the Radians. That's it. You need to undo the tether immediately. Before you drive with it again. Anything from nothing, to catastrophic failure and serious injury or death to your baby can happen. We don't know, but we do know that they don't allow rear facing tethering. So my guess is that it's not on the nothing side of the spectrum.

Also, you only check for movement at the belt path. Not at the head of the seat. The head of the seat WILL move. That's fine. Only at the belt path. If he was certified he would have known that. It's rather drilled into our heads.

Here are the board techs from Florida.


Florida FL

Indialantic/Beachside/Melbourne/Vierra (and I'll travel as far as Orlando)
Leigh-Ann
(leighi123)
Technician since 2008

Greater Tampa Bay Area
Joy
(skipspin)
Technician since 2006

Tampa Bay area
Estelle
(Splash)
Technician since 2009

Duval, Clay, Nassau, St. John's County
Daniella
(Sum1Else)
Technician since 2003
Sr. Checker and soon to apply for Instructor Candidacy

Pasco County, FL
Carla
(KirasMommy)
Technician since 2008

If one is near you, register and send them a PM to ask about meeting up.

Wendy

We have the Advocate CS 70, which I think is the Boulevard without the side-impact wings?
I bought it for my 18-month-old who is 34 inches and 28 lbs. I bought it because of the side wings. Not saying I have any idea if they really work. But he is not in a middle seat, so that's what I wanted---side impact to the greatest degree.
He's only 18 months and his legs are scrunched. I am surprised. I solemnly sear to keep him RF until 24 months (and well beyond if it works out, but man, his long fat legs have nowhere to go right now and it makes it hard to get the harness safely adjusted around his thighs!). This car seat is at 45 angle recline and rock solid install with latch. I could not tether it RF in my car, but that's not required anyway.
I just ordered a second one of these seats for my 3-year-old for the second car. She sits FF.
So I guess I liked the seat enough to get two.
I have never tried a Recaro yet.

wendytthomas said:

Oh gosh. Whoever helped you was a helpful fireman. If he was certified he needs it revoked.

The ONLY seats that allow for rear facing tethering are Britax and the Radians. That's it. You need to undo the tether immediately. Before you drive with it again. Anything from nothing, to catastrophic failure and serious injury or death to your baby can happen. We don't know, but we do know that they don't allow rear facing tethering. So my guess is that it's not on the nothing side of the spectrum.

Also, you only check for movement at the belt path. Not at the head of the seat. The head of the seat WILL move. That's fine. Only at the belt path. If he was certified he would have known that. It's rather drilled into our heads.

Here are the board techs from Florida.


Florida FL

Indialantic/Beachside/Melbourne/Vierra (and I'll travel as far as Orlando)
Leigh-Ann
(leighi123)
Technician since 2008

Greater Tampa Bay Area
Joy
(skipspin)
Technician since 2006

Tampa Bay area
Estelle
(Splash)
Technician since 2009

Duval, Clay, Nassau, St. John's County
Daniella
(Sum1Else)
Technician since 2003
Sr. Checker and soon to apply for Instructor Candidacy

Pasco County, FL
Carla
(KirasMommy)
Technician since 2008

If one is near you, register and send them a PM to ask about meeting up.

Wendy

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Thank you for verifying what I was thinking-I had no way to find out for sure. It scares me to think what could have happened. I am worried about driving anywhere w/ him now until I can either get another seat that we can install ourselves or get ours installed properly. I am pretty sure he was certified because I had to fill out & sign some paperwork regarding the install, who did it, etc. Unfortunately none of those locations you listed are near me. The closest one is a little over an hour and a half away I have found lists for places that SAY they do installs but upon calling come to find out that they have no idea when they'll do another event and you can't schedule an appt due to lack of funding. (this is just what I was told). I am about ready to just figure out where and how to do the classes myself since there is NO ONE in this area to do it and there must be a ton of kids riding around in incorrectly installed seats down here which is a shame. Every place I called I ended up telling them it was crazy that I needed my son's carseat to be SAFE TO RIDE IN and no one could help me-I even offered to pay!!
Just to make sure I understand…..it is normal & safe for the entire seat to tip forward completely??

Absolutely normal.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seXPRj8UuR4"]YouTube - H091128 OVERHEAD.wmv[/ame]

Look at the infant seat. It rebounds into the padded backseat. The child stays in a fairly neutral position within the carseat, and the entire carseat moves. There are those who are very anti-anti-rebound. They want the cocooning to happen. Others love seats that tether rear facing. We have no data that say one is better than the other. But both are safe.

Another sign the tech you saw was lousy. Their job is to teach YOU to install it, not just plunk it in for you. It's not our job to install seats, it's our job to make sure that at 2 a.m. when your car breaks down you can move the seat around and reinstall it yourself.

Wendy