moving out of Graco snugride 35 and into ????

My 11 month old is somewhere between 25-30 lbs, and will soon becoming out of his snugride 35 ( mainly because he is getting squishy in it) and with the warmer weather coming.. we dont really need the bonus of getting him snugged in .. in the house. I have an Evenflo titan ( i think) that is about four years old.. so would i be right in assuming it only rear faces to 30 lbs or so?? i have to get it from my moms house to see for sure.. I am wondering what my best bet for rear facing to 40 lbs is.. I looked up a few seats and i have alist that i think is in my price range and has the weight limits i want.. I am not owrried atm about belt positioning booster aspect of a seat, becasue i have an alpha omega elite and an eddie bauer that are 3 in ones.. but no one will be using atm because of out growing the harness weight limit.. but still needing to be harnessed.. wow this is getting long..

my list of options are

Safety 1st guide 65

Safety1st enspira

Safety 1st Cruiseair LX 65

Safety !st complete air


I wasnt actually trying to pick all safety 1st.. but on BRU website.. these all were the closest in my price range ( under $200) that had the newest weight restricitons..

any other options i am missing?? what would you go with?

Forgot to add that it will be rf'ing beside a Nauitlus,, so far.. unless i find a better option for my 4 year old

and the myride 65 could be an option as well, if i can find it on sale

I would narrow it down to these guys:

My Ride 65
Safety 1st Guide 65
Safety 1st Complete Air.

The Enspira doesn't last as long by height as the other ones, and the Guide Air is a Guide 65 that is more expensive because it has the Complete Air technology instead of the energy absorbing foam. For the size of the headrest and shape of it in the Guide 65, I'm not sure if the complete air version is worth paying for or not...

The Complete Air will last the longest of the seats on your short list since it has the tallest harness height. It's also a narrow seat and I know it puzzles well next to the Nautilus because I had one installed next to a Nautilus in my car. The my ride didn't puzzle as well as the Complete Air when it came to being beside the Nautilus.

Hope this helps some. Your little one is heavy enough and old enough that you'll be able to use the more upright recline angle on the Safety 1st seats, so there shouldn't be an issue fitting a Safety 1st seat rf'ing in most vehicles.

Trudy has some great advice I just want to comment on another part of your post. You mentioned the 3-in-1s as boosters. The 3-in-1s actually for the most part (for most children) do not make good boosters. They often position the lap belt too high, on the child's stomach. Also, the shoulder belt is often held away from the child's body. It is usually a better idea to go with a dedicated booster, such as the Graco TurboBooster.

Thanks featherhead.. i have seen on the net the list from the states of 3 in 1's that are on the good bet, best bet, bad bet list.. and i know that the ones i have are on the not so hot list.. the alpha omega is going to be an extra seat for my moms car.. and i will likely end up buying another nauti for my older son for her car too.. I am pretty sure its going to happen that i need to buy two of whatever i buy,.. since my mom is my primary caregiver when i am at work, so she needs her own set of seats.. and he wont be long in the alpha omega rear facing.. when he already weighs close to 30 lbs..

Thanks for all the help Trudy.. i hope to get one this week,, and i drive a hyundai elantra.. so puzzling in is definatly a must.. small back seat.. i dont care about much leg room for the adults.. i am the primary driver,, and this seat will be in the middle.. so my husband wil just live with less leg room if he has to..