Buy a plane bag or a new seat

U

Unregistered

Guest
I was going to buy a bag for my son's seat (britax frontier) for the plane and noticed I could buy a Cosco highback booster for the same price (and have it shipped there so I don't have to carry it around the airport). Does this sound like a good plan? Will it be easy to install?
 
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jnamommy

New member
Welcome!

How old and how heavy is your son? Will he need it on the plane? If you are planning on taking a seat with you, using it on the plane is the best option. Gate checking or checking a seat means you have no idea how it was handled/dropped/thrown...you have no idea what damage the seat may have sustained.

If you do not need the seat on the plane because your son is big enough to fit the airplane seatbelt, having a new shipped shipped to your destination is a great choice.
 
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lourdes

Well-known member
I have read here that car seat are abuse when you check them in the plane by the people that is handling the baggage so if you can jut buy another seat so you can protect your frontier
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Hi! My son is 4 and 33 lbs. I'd love him to ride in his Frontier seat, but it's just the two of us and I have trouble carrying it. If I do have to take it, I'd gate check it in the Britax bag. The idea of ordering a new seat and just having it delivered just sounds so much easier for traveling.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
How old is your son? What does he weigh? What vehicles will you be riding in?

The cosco boosters requires head support, so it might not work.

Also, no one on here will recommend a booster for a kid under 4y or under 40#.

I would never check your frontier. It would be to much of a chance of it getting damaged or lost. I would use it on the plane if you take it.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
How old is your son? What does he weigh? What vehicles will you be riding in?

The cosco boosters requires head support, so it might not work.

Also, no one on here will recommend a booster for a kid under 4y or under 40#.

I would never check your frontier. It would be to much of a chance of it getting damaged or lost. I would use it on the plane if you take it.

He's 4, 34lbs and he'll be in an Acura (I posted another question about spacing in the forum too). The booster has a five point harness (at least the one I'm looking at online does). He was RFing up until a month ago so I would never do anything that wasn't recommended. I'd have to gate check the Frontier if I took it.
 

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Hi! If you want an inexpensive combination seat shipped to your destination, I'd look at the Evenflo Maestro. Chances are that your ds has already outgrown the Cosco combo seat because the top harness slots are so low on it.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
I agree with Murphy. Check out the evenflo maestro. Its around $80. It will be a great seat for friends cars and other family cars. It is light enough you could carry it on. Will you have rolling luggage? If so check out the travelling toddler.
 

Yibis

Member
Hi,

We've lived in 5 countries in the last 6 years. Needless to say, we travel a LOT. While checking your seat may not be ideal, sometimes it's necessary. Here's a few things I learned:

If you use a bag (we have 3 kinds for our 2 Britax Marathons), they are all pretty much junk. I have often used heavy duty trash bags to the same effect just ripping a small hole in the bag where I want them to attach the flight check strap. If you use a professional bag, you can stuff lots of junk in there. My favs are coats, blankets, extra shoes, whatever. I usually put them in a plastic bag, tie it up and "buckle it in". That way if anything happens to the other bag, my stuff makes it clean and in one piece.

There are some devices to help you get through the airport with your seat AND your hands free. One is the Monkey Pac [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cheeky-Monkey-Designs-9277-Back/dp/B000GIBYQ and the other is the Toddler Travelling Accessory http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Accessory/dp/B000JHN3AS/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1317150827&sr=1-1"]404 Looking for Something?[/ame]. Britax tends to get heavy after a half mile hike through the airport so I like the rollar board option myself.

Putting your seat on the plane is ideal but with a big kid and a big Britax, I'd be suprised if they both fit. Not sure how long your ride is, but after my son was about 2-3 it was torture to put him in his seat cause there is NO leg room. Usually the "thoughtful" people in front of him would recline and pinch whatever room was left and pinch his legs which you can't undo. I would actually sit there with my hand on my seat and keep them from hurting him and explain. On a long-haul flight, this makes for grumpy kids and grumpier neighbors! Plus, if the flight has individual screens or those kind that flip up out of the armrest, the kid is at an angle where they can't use them which is no fun to explain to a bigger kid either.

That's my travel 2 cents. I hope some of it helps!
 

Yibis

Member
For some reason, part of my message got cut out... I was going to say that the other travel accessory is this one (which I prefer cause those Britax get heavy!) [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Accessory/dp/B000JHN3AS/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1317150827&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Traveling Toddler Car Seat Travel Accessory: Baby[/ame]
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
At 33 pounds it's unlikely the plane's seatbelt will fit him. I'd get a Maestro, use a Traveling Toddler or a wheeled luggage cart, and put him in it on the airplane.

Wendy
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I agree with Murphy. Check out the evenflo maestro. Its around $80. It will be a great seat for friends cars and other family cars. It is light enough you could carry it on. Will you have rolling luggage? If so check out the travelling toddler.

My hope was to buy a cheap seat and have it delivered to my cousin and then donate it after our trip so I could avoid taking it through the airport all together. Would you still recommend the maestro? It's not something I'm looking to use long term.

I do understand he'd be safer in the seat on the plane and I did take him in his Britax Blvd last year, but I won't be doing that this trip.
 

Mommy0608

New member
What is your son's torso height? Have him sit on the floor up against a wall and measure from the floor to the top of his shoulders. The issue with the Cosco Highback is that it has really, really low top harness slots. With a forward-facing seat, the straps must be at or above the child's shoulders. It's likely that at age 4, your son has already outgrown this seat. The next cheapest option with higher slots is a Maestro. It is a very lightweight, low-profile and narrow seat. I know you said you aren't planning to use it on the plane but I just wanted to point that out.

The idea of donating the seat is an honorable one. However, many places are starting to refuse donations of used seats for liability purposes (which is actually a good thing). Not that your seat would be abused, crashed, etc. but it does protect them (the place accepting donations) from liability and protects future owners of the seat from using a potentially dangerous seat with an unknown history.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
I highly doubt he will fit well in an airplane seat well at 33#. I would strongly recommend getting a maestro and using it on the plane.
 

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