Opinions greatly wanted

champatlife

New member
It's that time. My husband is soon due home from his deployment (yay!) so I need to start thinking about a second car seat.

We bought her the radian xtsl for my 2005 ford freestyle, and it simpy was just not the right fit. It ate up a ton of front to back room. Installing it has not been the easiest task. So, I decided to install in my husbnads impala and just use his car because it seemed to fit so much better in there.

(honest to goodness I probably should have listened to my husband and returned it when we first realized the extreme headache the seat was giving me to install in my car, but I couldn't part with it. It's a great seat, just not for us.)

So, now I'm asking for seats that are highly recommended, but seem to be fool proof to install. I don't have a price range persay. My husband would appreciate me being economical as him and I both know we only seem to keep a car seat for about 2-3 years.

Also an extreme want, I want a cute girly fabric.

Rearfacing to 40lbs would be optimal, but 35 would pass.

oh daughter is currently 6.5 months 16lbs and 27 inches.
 
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ADS

champatlife

New member
Here's the brands I've been shuffling through

Britax (I can't decide which one)
Graco My ride
True Fit (but I don't like the prints)

-only concern with the britax is my oldest daughter is 5, and we went on vacation she rode in the radian on the plane, then once we got there. LO went in that and she rode in a borrowed britax, and she got in it and said it was really uncomfortable for her. I don't think she has ever complained about a car seat before.
 

cookie123

New member
I might go with the Britax if you don't plan on it lasting forever. While I haven't used a new one myself, the older version was great for installing and comfort. The only thing I didn't like was the harness adjuster, which is smooth now. I also don't like a car seat that's high on a base for an older kiddo, but if you don't plan to keep it forever, that wouldn't be an issue for you.
 

TiaxMarie

New member
Honestly, I hate the new Britax seats. I love the classics, but they won't last very long rear-facing. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Roundabout-50-Classic-Kathryn/dp/B004DNUDZW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299427669&sr=8-3"]Roundabout50.[/ame]

I'd look at the True Fit, Myride65, Complete Air 65.

We are using a Combi Coccoro, and love it, but it will likely only last us another rear rear-facing, but we switch up carseats so often, it doesn't matter.
 
M

Mrs.Lee

Guest
I LOVE the truefit. I have one for each of my LOs. I got the auroa covers, and orderesd a monet for DS. They have them in stock new, and I have seen them on swap. Do you like the monet, or butterfly? The fit for your DD would be great! My DS is 11mo 18lbs and 29in.
 

cpsaddict

New member
I love my new style Britax. They truly are NOT that much shorter than the older version. My DD is very tall(36" @ not quite 2) and she still fits rf by height. They are beyond easy to install and they take up less front to back room than almost anything. I also have an older style Marathon and love it, too. The Marathon 70 I have is the Alison print, which is brown/pink dots. So cute! The Boulevard 70 comes in several super cute girly prints.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Another vote for a new Britax. They won't last quite as long as some other convertibles, but since you don't expect to use the seat more than a few years, that shouldn't be a factor really. The most economical is the roundabout55 (about $150 on sale), and they go up in price from there (marathon70, boulevard70, advocate70).
 

laudymama

New member
I would recommend a Britax or True Fit, and possibly a My Ride 65 and here's why:
Britax-take up very little room front to back, the new generation ones RF to 40lbs and FF to 70 and the height is decent especially if you dont plan to keep it long term, they come in cute prints/patterns, fairly easy to install although the built in lock-offs can be a bit tricky to engage. We recently got the Advocate and are absolutely in love with the amount of room we have to move our seats back and forth now!

True Fit-super easy to install, great height limit, RF weight is only to 35 but you said that would be ok, FF to 65lbs, cute prints

My Ride 65- 40lb RF, 65 FF, decent height limit as well, cute, very comfy, cannot comment on install but may not fit as I could not even fit it FF in my Honda Pilot without moving the front seat too far forward.

I would not recommend the Complete Air 65 only because if you had trouble fitting the XTSL RF and thought it took up too much space front to back and was a pain to install then you will most likely feel the same way about the CA. It takes up a ton of room and is rather difficult not just to install but to adjust when RF. It does come in cute girly prints and love the fabric they use but IMO not worth the hassle of the seat itself.

Bottom line.....TF will last you the longest of these height-wise, the Britax & MR65 will last you longer weight-wise RF, FF weight Britax is highest of all 3. If you can, try a few in your car and try your DD in them....you may find she fits better or looks more comfortable in one of them over the other if the fit in your car is good on all.
Hope that helps some - let us know what you decide :)
 

champatlife

New member
I LOVE the truefit. I have one for each of my LOs. I got the auroa covers, and orderesd a monet for DS. They have them in stock new, and I have seen them on swap. Do you like the monet, or butterfly? The fit for your DD would be great! My DS is 11mo 18lbs and 29in.

Maybe, my google skills have gone downhill or could be I was looking for it extremely late at night, but I couldn't find the monet brand new last night.
 

BeautifulChaos

New member
If you are considering something like the MyRide I would also suggest looking at the Momentum65. We chose it over the MR mostly for ease of use. We got a model with surelatch and it is to date the easiest seat we've ever installed. RF to 40lbs and FF to 65 or the height limit. The no-rethread harness was a big deal for us.
 

Citrine

New member
I have no recommendations, I just wanted to say Congrats on your husbands soon to be done deployment! I know how it feels, my husband is on a submarine.
 

Rebelnicky04

Active member
Another vote for Britax MAs :love: I've had TONS of seats... MAs and CCOs are the easiest ones to install and take up the least amount of room in our 2 smaller sedans.
 

monstah

New member
I have a Freestyle too, great car! Just not with ERF car seats. ;)

Of all the seats I have owned, the classic MA/BLVD is hands down the easiest and most user friendly car seat I have ever installed in there rear facing. It takes up the least amount of room, goes in rock solid and the harness adjuster is still easily accessible.
The Radian takes up way too much room. The MyRide can be installed nice & upright so it doesn't eat up a ton of space but the harness adjuster gets buried unless you recline it. Hence, it becomes a space hog. The TrueFit Premiere is OK, it definitely places third behind the MA or RA. It just takes up more room and the adjuster gets a bit buried. Plus I hate the harness on it but that's a personal opinion.
If you go with Britax, splurge for the MA if possible because the seatbelt or latch belt lays *right across* the crotch strap opening of the RA. So you will want the separate latch bars.
FTR, I own a RN, TFP, MR & RA55. Even though the LATCH strap goes over the crotch strap opening, I still happily use the RA55 as her primary seat.

I have never tried an Evenflo.

I would not recommend the Complete Air 65 only because if you had trouble fitting the XTSL RF and thought it took up too much space front to back and was a pain to install then you will most likely feel the same way about the CA. It takes up a ton of room and is rather difficult not just to install but to adjust when RF. It does come in cute girly prints and love the fabric they use but IMO not worth the hassle of the seat itself.

In comparison to the Radian, the Complete Air takes up way less room and isn't nearly as difficult to install in the Freestyle. The difference is that the Radian has it's recline and there is just no way to adjust it. It is what it is, a space hog. :p But the Complete Air is easy to install as upright as you want. I had a Complete Air for about a week but I hate continuous harness's. It's my own personal vendetta against them. ;) I would tie the Complete Air at #3 with the TFP on my RF-Freestyle compatible list.

Edited: To tie the TFP & CA in 3rd place, not second. Just because Britax seems to be made for that car. ;)

HTH! :D
 
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abbi_n_nadia

New member
Another Army wife here! :) Congrats on your hubby coming home!!

I would go either with a Britax or a True fit (although I haven't had a MyRide or complete air so I can't comment on those, I do have a Radian and agree that it is a pain). The True Fit is pretty nice and I like it ok. I don't think its as easy to install as the Britax seats and it took me some getting used to at first but once I got the hang of it its not hard to install. My older dd did not like it and said she was uncomfortable in it (she said her Britax seats were more comfy) but younger dd seems super comfy in the True fit and always falls asleep. So it might be helpful if you can try them out in a store and see which one your LO seems more comfortable in.

Britax are just the easiest carseats I have tried and I love them. I haven't had one of the new convertables yet but hope to get one soon for my younger dd (and hope I like it as much as I did the old version!).
 

champatlife

New member
Thanks for all the recommendations as well as the congrats on my husband coming back (just hope I havn't jinxed myself into it extending.)

So, I think I have decided on Britax, I want the cowmooflage and I want to get my oldest daughter a frontier85 in cowmooflage too!

Question- What is the expiration date on the new britaxes 5 or 6 years or longer? So if I have another wee one I can pass on the seat, if not I will probably just go with a roundabout. Even though I did find a good price on a new marathon70.

I'll probably go back and forth trying to decide which one until I click "pay now".

Also- my 5 year old is quite petite weighing in on a heavy day 34lbs and aprox 41 inches, is investing in a fronteir85 a good one? (iguess either way I could pass it on to dd2) or should I just get the booster?
 

jjordan

Moderator
The new Britax convertibles have a 7 year life. (The frontier is 9 years in case you were curious.)

The 5 year old is too light for the Parkway SG/SGL if that's the booster you're asking about; it has a 40# minimum. I'd probably keep her harnessed a bit longer if it were my kid; any number of seats (that cost than the Frontier) will do that, but if you want a Frontier85, then go for it.
 

champatlife

New member
Thanks! Because chances are she will still be under 40Lbs for a very long time. She only gained 2lbs in the last year. Horray! and yes I really just want the fronteir because it will match the baby's seat.

And then you reminded me of another reason I need to buy her a seat, one of hers only goes to 40# (actually both only go to 40 harnessed). Yay, things to use as my a million and one excuses/ reasons to buy her a new seat.
 

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