nautilus vs maestro

ds has a nautilus as a spare seat, yesterday he was in it and fell asleep and the head slump was awful. his head was pushed forward and dangling from his neck. I was hoping to use this as his ff harnessed seat when he outgrows the radian rf so I can pass it to his little sister but that doesn't work for us. how does the maestro compare as a harnessed seat/booster?

Did he complain of being uncomfortable? Can you try it in other seating positions? Can you remind him to lean his head back as he's falling asleep?

The Maestro has a lower weight limit than the Nautilus and won't last long as a booster once it's outgrown in harness mode, and the close shoulder straps may be uncomfortable for him.

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ah... I knew about the harness weight but not height. I even pulled over and pushed his head back but it wouldn't stay up, he has a large head I would try it in the middle but he pinches his baby sister or kicks her seat so they are as far apart as I can get them. little bugger...

You have the SecureKid up there, right? The straps are as close together as they are on the Maestro but the headrest adjusts so it lasts longer as a booster. Same top harness height as the Maestro which is very close to the Nautilus. I don't recall the harness weight limit of the SecureKid up there.

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My son's head slumps in all 3 HWH seats that I own: FR85, Nautilus and Maestro. :\ He fell asleep in the Maestro for the first time on Friday and trying to get his head back up was like rolling a bowling ball. lol It flopped right back forward. The car seat's recline angle nor the location in my vehicle seems to make a difference. He just has a heavy noggin and there's nothing I can do about it. At least he doesn't complain, but I wouldn't want him (he's almost 5.5) in a booster for a longer ride because he'd likely fall right out of the seat belt when asleep.

Other than that, yes, the Maestro has a lower weight limit and the harness is close to the neck. It bothered my son at first but he got over it. I try to be careful when I'm loosening the harness to take him out. You could try the SK if it's available but I doubt it would solve your head slump issue. However, as Brianna said, it'll last longer as a booster.

ETA:

Maestro (installed rear center):


Nautilus (installed rear passenger outboard, bucket seats):


Frontier 85 (installed rear center) :

I have both the Maestro and GN.

ODS prefers the old style buckles of the GN b/c he can do and undo them himself. I like the higher weight on the GN (never know if you'll need it). I like the padding. I like the cubbies (under the cup holders). I like the width and sturdiness of it.

I like the Maestro little crotch buckle and the fact that it's easier to pull out from under YDS's butt--the same as the new style GN ones. ODS pulls them out himself. I LOVE the Sears fabric w/ the Onyx/Shadow mix on it. I like the price. AND, you caught the sale at Sears this week, right $80?

I don't like that the Maestro is so light weight and flimsy, it makes me wonder even though I've been told we don't know how they'll react in an accident. I don't like how close together the Maestro straps are by the neck and the fact that they don't have official harness covers.

For a spare seat, I *love* how light/flimsy the Maestro is. It makes it easy to carry, move, install and remove.

Think that's it! I'd say use the GN in your car and grab a Maestro for a spare. Or, demote the GN for for your spare and get a Frontier for your regular seat. I was planning on doing that and still kind of wish I had, but I'm a sucker for a sale and Onyx/Shadow! LOL

tam

those pictures cracked me up!! maybe it's just a head size issue for us then hehe...

I'll see where everyone is at when the two kiddos grow some more, I would love a frontier but he may not grow enough to need one. Both kids started off HUGE off the charts so it's really hard to predict, especially since 1 kid is all torso and the other is all legs, and DS was a scrawny 2 year old.