Affordable RFing seat with high height limit-Canada

guest1 · Jun 19, 2012

Currently we have a Safety 1st Complete Air in our car as well as my mother-in-laws car (she watches her every day while we are at work so she has to have a car seat). My daughter isn't at the rear facing height limit quite yet but is getting close. We will be going with the Britax Boulevard 65CS for our car (which I'm happy about as that's the one I initially had my eye on anyway) but we will also need to buy one for Grandma's car. Issue being we really cannot afford both - for ONE after taxes it's costing $418.00, so it's just not doable. We need something with a high height limit (she's not even close in weight) but that's affordable. Keeping in mind I am in Canada.

Any suggestions??

Kaitsmom · Jun 19, 2012

Whats her height, weight and, torso? The Complete Air 65 will last much longer rfing then the Britax seat.

guest1 · Jun 19, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

Kaitsmom said:
Whats her height, weight and, torso? The Complete Air 65 will last much longer rfing then the Britax seat.

Okay now I'm confused. The CA says 36" RFing and the Boulevard says 49" so I thought that meant the Blvd was best for longer RFing.

She is 13 months, approx 33" and I'm honestly not sure of the torso.. she's asleep at the moment so I can't check. And her weight is 22lbs (that's the last time it was taken, but that's not super recent)

StillThankful · Jun 19, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

l1i2v3 said:
Okay now I'm confused. The CA says 36" RFing and the Boulevard says 49" so I thought that meant the Blvd was best for longer RFing.

She is 13 months, approx 33" and I'm honestly not sure of the torso.. she's asleep at the moment so I can't check. And her weight is 22lbs (that's the last time it was taken, but that's not super recent)

It really can be confusing with all those stats. However, just remember that torso length is more important than overall length of the child. Your child can rearface by height until his/her head is 1" from the top of the shell.

The evenflo triumph advance 65 rear faces to 40#, graco my ride rear faces to 40#. All those are affordable to me and served my kids well but they have short torsos.

A lot of mamas on here get the complete air for their little ones who have long torsos. That seat should work for you for a long time rear facing.

mdsvc89 · Jun 19, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

Another plug for the Evenflo Triumph Advance! Jonah is pretty average for a 5 year old, and still fits in it FF, as does his friend who is a good deal taller (and who no longer fits harnessed in the Maestro I have as my backup seat.)

In the US, it's $130. You don't have to uninstall to adjust harness height, and can take off the whole seat cover without removing the straps. I personally like the dials for adjusting the harness (some don't like this feature...). The only downside is that it's pretty heavy, and pretty wide. We were able to fit DD (11) and one of her friends in the back of the Prius next to it, but the person in the middle was definitely squished.

Not an issue if you don't normally carry that many people in your car

Michelle

guest1 · Jun 20, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

Thanks for the opinions! So glad to know that I probably don't need to replace either of them. That's a relief.

I just measured her torso. She was sitting on her bum so I measured from just under her bum to the top of her shoulders (is that right?) and it was approx 13". Hard to get an exact as she's a squirmy worm but it was right around 13.

The head wings aren't even as high as they can go yet. Is it 1 inch from the top of the head wings when they're as high as they can go - or 1 inch from the top of the shell itself not including the head wings?

Sorry for so many questions - thought I had this figured out, guess not!

StillThankful · Jun 20, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

l1i2v3 said:
I just measured her torso. She was sitting on her bum so I measured from just under her bum to the top of her shoulders (is that right?) and it was approx 13". Hard to get an exact as she's a squirmy worm but it was right around 13.

Sounds right. If she is sitting down criss cross applesauce against the wall, just measure from the floor (next to her bottom) to the top of her shoulder (where her harness strap would come across or where your purse would hang).

l1i2v3 said:
The head wings aren't even as high as they can go yet. Is it 1 inch from the top of the head wings when they're as high as they can go - or 1 inch from the top of the shell itself not including the head wings?

1" from top of the shell for rear facing.

guest1 · Jun 20, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

StillThankful said:
Sounds right. If she is sitting down criss cross applesauce against the wall, just measure from the floor (next to her bottom) to the top of her shoulder (where her harness strap would come across or where your purse would hang).

1" from top of the shell for rear facing.

Thank you! She wasn't sitting against the wall but she was sitting perfectly flat so I just went floor to shoulders

tiggercat · Jun 20, 2012

Manufacturers have recently become more strict about adhering to the listed numerical heights for rearfacing on their child restraints. While it is true that we want their head contained within the shell for rearfacing (thus the 1 inch rule), I am becoming less comfortable going over the stated numerical height limits.
So, when your daughter hits 36 inches, I would replace the seat in your vehicle with a Diono Radian (44 inch RF limit, very tall shell, 40/45lb RF weight limit) and in the other vehicle I would get a True Fit (1 inch rule only for RF, tall shell, 35lb RF weight limit).

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tiggercat · Jun 20, 2012

StillThankful said:
It really can be confusing with all those stats. However, just remember that torso length is more important than overall length of the child. Your child can rearface by height until his/her head is 1" from the top of the shell.

The evenflo triumph advance 65 rear faces to 40#, graco my ride rear faces to 40#. All those are affordable to me and served my kids well but they have short torsos.

A lot of mamas on here get the complete air for their little ones who have long torsos. That seat should work for you for a long time rear facing.

The EFTA goes to 30lb rearfacing in Canada. The CA has a 36 inch height limit here, and Dorel is strict about their height limits these days.

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guest1 · Jun 20, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

So am I correct in saying that the Radian (RXT?) has the highest RFing height limit? I want to buy a seat that will keep her RFing as long as absolutely possible, just don't want to have to keep buying a new seat every year if I can help it. Don't really care about weight limits as she's not big that way, but she's tall

Kaitsmom · Jun 20, 2012

The R120 (without the headwings) will last slightly longer rfing as the headwings get in the way of the shoulders. I think the Complete Air has a taller shell, but you would have to be okay with disreguarding the 40" max rfing height limit. The First Years True fit is very tall, might be the tallest acutually, but only has a 35lb rfing limit.

guest1 · Jun 20, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

Kaitsmom said:
The R120 (without the headwings) will last slightly longer rfing as the headwings get in the way of the shoulders. I think the Complete Air has a taller shell, but you would have to be okay with disreguarding the 40" max rfing height limit. The First Years True fit is very tall, might be the tallest acutually, but only has a 35lb rfing limit.

In Canada the Complete Air only has a 36" rfing limit, and I don't think that I am comfortable disregarding the height limit.
I think the Radian is our next car seat. Thanks & sorry for all my questions!

StillThankful · Jun 21, 2012

Re: Affordable RFing seat with high height limit

Totally didn't read your last sentence indicating that you were in Canada!

I stay far away from International safety question threads b/c the differences are too vast! I would never have even replied to your question.

As you can see, the US and Canada have different RF limits, height limits, weight limits for seats that appear to be the same in the US but are often structurally different!

That being said, sorry OP. Spending all that extra $$ on another seat (especially an RXT) isn't the best fun but at least you'll have peace of mind with your little one.

Here is the sub forum Canadian and International Issues thread which will help you w/ stat limits and so forth specific to your jurisdiction:

http://www.car-seat.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Also, you can add a location in your profile, which will pop for all to see.

tiggercat · Jun 21, 2012

l1i2v3 said:
So am I correct in saying that the Radian (RXT?) has the highest RFing height limit? I want to buy a seat that will keep her RFing as long as absolutely possible, just don't want to have to keep buying a new seat every year if I can help it. Don't really care about weight limits as she's not big that way, but she's tall

At this moment, I believe the Radians are the longest lasting rearfacing seats on the market. I have an RXT for my little guy, but I think the other poster is right that the r120 will last a bit longer due to the lack if headwings. I like the SIP and head support and have a small kiddo (29lb and 38 inches at almost 3) and he fits nicely in the RXT on the second from top harness slot.

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