Safeguard in the 5
(Sorry, no pics, I use my SLR over my digital *where's the "old school" smilie?*)
And remember, I'm NOT A CPST.
I bought (with return shipping) a Safeguard to try for my 5yo in the 3rd row, because she was complaining about her new Regent. We will be keeping the Regent and returning the Safeguard because:
-- dd now
her Regent because I threatened to exchange it for the SG
-- it doesn't install as tightly as the Regent (LBP, recline bar) in the 3rd row
-- it extends past the bottom seat cushion in the 3rd row, which SG says is a no-no
-- it is difficult to reach the harness loosening mechanism when the 2nd row is pushed all the way back
But all in all, I LOVE the SG. It is everything a carseat should be... I loved the instructional DVD-- why don't they all come with that??? It was easy to fit to any child. Pop in my 5yo, good to go. Pop in my 3yo, good to go. But for a seat made to keep a child harnessed as long as possible, it would be nice if it were a bigger seat. It took up almost as much room in the 3rd row as the Regent, but with a much smaller seating area for the child. I'll put it this way: My childbearing hips fit in the Regent- they do not in the SG. While it was easy to install with a seatbelt in the 3rd row, it took more wrestling to get it tight than the Regent did. In the 2nd row, it was fun to use the retracting latch function, but it didn't give as tight an install as I like. I managed to get a tighter install with the seatbelt (the SG did not extend over the seat cushion in the 2nd row). The harness function is fun to use too, if you can access it easily. And it's just A REALLY COOL SEAT. I wish Britax and Safeguard would mate...