Question Which carseat for ERF?

H

hanners

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #1

So which carseat could an average sized child stay RF in for the longest?

 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

• May 30, 2011

• #2

Radian80SL or RadianXTSL.

 

B

bnsnyde

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #3

What's the second choice if Radian is not an option?

Would be good to know. Many posts list a bunch of options, but is there one with the highest shell (and 40RF obviously)? Thanks!

 

S

Stelvis

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #4

If you can get it in your car well with the seatbelt. I would not use their Superlatch until they find a real solution to their problems. If you buy, buy from somewhere with a good return policy like amazon or diapers.com.

 

gsdguenter

Well-known member

• May 30, 2011

• #5

Depending on the child, the second one would be either CA (40lb. but only 40 in. height limit which some choose to ignore and some don't) or TFP (35 lbs. but tall shell).

 

Last edited: May 30, 2011

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bnsnyde

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #6

Is the CA even taller than any of the Evenflos that go to 40 lbs RF?
Advance, Symphony?

 

bree

Car-Seat.Org Ambassador

• May 30, 2011

• #7

bnsnyde said:

Is the CA even taller than any of the Evenflos that go to 40 lbs RF?
Advance, Symphony?

Click to expand...

Yes, it is taller than the Evenflo seats.

After the Radians, the Complete Air, and the True Fit, the next tallest seat is the Evenflo Momentum. I think it's about an inch taller than the Graco My Ride and the Evenflo Triumph 65, which are the next tallest seats (but I think the Momentum's top harness height is shorter for FF). All of those seats still have caveats though, just like the Radians, the Complete Air, and the True Fit. The Momentum, in addition to having a shorter top harness height, also has its SureLATCH feature on some models that are too big to use with LATCH in some vehicles. The Triumph 65 has knobs to adjust the harness that some people love, but others hate. The My Ride is a great RF seat (my 3 year and 8 month old son with a giant noggin and long torso still has a little bit of RF room left), but as a FF seat, it installs very reclined and can even be incompatible in some cars.

I believe that the Symphony is the shortest of the 40 pound RF Evenflo seats. I think it is shorter than the next generation Britax convertibles, which are the next tallest seats after the the My Ride and the Triumph 65. The new Britaxes have 40 pound RF weight limits, but shorter shells than the old Britax models. Target still has the Classic Marathon and Roundabout 50, which are similar in height to the My Ride and Triumph 65, but only RF to 35 pounds.

 

Last edited: May 30, 2011

K

KaiLing

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #8

bnsnyde said:

Is the CA even taller than any of the Evenflos that go to 40 lbs RF?
Advance, Symphony?

Click to expand...

I believe so, but I'm basing it off of putting my kid in them at the store (he's clearly out of one of those Evenflos, clearly not out of the CA). Not that useful, I guess...

 

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bnsnyde

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #9

OK, what is the shell height for a Radian XT vs. the new Complete Air SE?
Trying to see the difference here for RF time. Thanks!
p.s. Weight is not an issue unless my daughter gains tons of weight. So,
I keep reading things that say the CA is taller. But then Radian comes up for RF longer. Huh?

And did I read the CA allows the head even with the shell? If so, how is this safe? And wouldn't that mean a longer RF time than the Radian XT for sure?

 

J

Jillybeans5

Active member

• May 30, 2011

• #10

I'll comment on the Momentum since not very many people seem to have them. Its shell is pretty tall at 24.5 inches, my 5 yr old fits in it RFing by height, just not by weight and I just moved him up to the top slots on his Maestro, he also fits in it FFing with a little room to grow. My 7 yr old who is almost to the max harness height for the Nauti is just a hair too tall for the harness in it FFing. My nearly 3 yr old has several inches of shell above his head RFing and is quite comfortable in it. As for the SureLATCH feature, I didn't even try it, I chose the LX version that has the quick connect LATCH hooks (like Britax ones) which are easy to use with no compatibility issues(plus it was cheaper).

 

gsdguenter

Well-known member

• May 30, 2011

• #11

bnsnyde said:

OK, what is the shell height for a Radian XT vs. the new Complete Air SE?
Trying to see the difference here for RF time. Thanks!
p.s. Weight is not an issue unless my daughter gains tons of weight. So,
I keep reading things that say the CA is taller. But then Radian comes up for RF longer. Huh?

And did I read the CA allows the head even with the shell? If so, how is this safe? And wouldn't that mean a longer RF time than the Radian XT for sure?

Click to expand...

The CA has the rule that your child can't be taller than 40 in. There are a bunch of threads on this now so I won't bore everyone with that. The RN does not have this rule. So, the RN you can use longer according to manufacturer guidelines even though the shell of the CA might be taller. Make sense?

Here is the link to one of those threads:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=173030

 

Last edited: May 30, 2011

rachelandtyke

Well-known member

• May 30, 2011

• #12

But if weight isn't a concern, than a True Fit is a great contender as well. My DD can still fit rfing by height at 43 in (she weighs too much to rf in it, but I tried her in it a couple of months ago). She said it was so comfy me and begged me to let her ride that way!

 

J

Jillybeans5

Active member

• May 30, 2011

• #13

If I didn't need the 40RF weight limit I probably would have gotten a True Fit to replace my 33lb limit MA when DS turned 2 instead of the Momentum.

 

S

Stelvis

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #14

SKJP is telling people 1.5 inches of shell above the head now though for RF, they had it on their FB page the other day. There's nothing in the manual so not sure what to believe....

 

A

armywife12

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #15

The True Fit shell is a tad bit taller than the Radian shell so, if weight isn't a concern, that will last the longest. The CA shell is taller than both of these seats but it has the 40 inch height max for RF that they are supposedly being really strict on so it won't last RF as long as it could, unless you make the parental decision to ignore the height limit

 

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bnsnyde

New member

• May 30, 2011

• #16

Weight is not a concern meaning I don't need 45 lbs. (well, b/c the Radian won't work for us anyway). But I do need 40 b/c my daughter is 34 lbs. Pointless to buy a 35 lb. seat. And she still has time in the BLVD anyway.

Looks like the CA (SE version is what looks good to me) might be an awesome option as long as it goes RF in a 2011 Odyssey 3rd row outboard. Then I can keep her RF until the standard 1 inch of shell rule, which I'm going by. And hand the seat down as needed...

Thanks!