Question Need help choosing a seat please

Hi everyone, I'm very new and need some help!

My DS will be 3 in January and is currently 31 lbs and 38 inches tall. He just started riding FF in a Britax Advocate as it was getting difficult to get him in RF through the door opening of the Mazda3 he rides in. I'm looking to get a new seat for the Mazda3 after I move the Advocate to our secondary vehicle, a Syundai Santa Fe. What seat would you recommend? I think it needs to be installed FF or else I cannot get him in.

So far I've looked at the Evenflo Symphony 65.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome!!!

Would you want to RF him if you could? Nearly every seat out there would be easier to get into than the Advocate. The Radian with angle adjuster would be very easy to get into, although I can't speak for how it installs in your vehicle.

If you're happy with him FF, then you don't need a convertible. He sounds tall. You might want to look at the Evenflo Securekid, Graco Nautilus, Graco Argos, or Britax Frontier because they have taller top harness slots than any convertible. They're combination seats which are FF-only harness-to-booster seats.

If you do prefer convertible seats, you will want to make sure it has tall harness slots so you're not forced to buy yet another harnessed seat down the road. You want to harness until he's big enough, old enough, AND mature enough to always have the seatbelt positioned properly while in a booster. That could be age 7 for some kids so you need to make sure he has room to grow! The Pria, Truefit, Complete Air, and Radian have tall slots. The Radian allows use a little bit over the top slots. Here's a chart that might help: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvfUm4x64h3AdFZ0c0pkbkRlV1hfeklSWmpZY0kweEE&hl=en#gid=0

Do you have any other children? If so, how old and what are they riding in?

Keeanh said:

Welcome!!!

You might want to look at the Evenflo Securekid, Graco Nautilus, Graco Argos, or Britax Frontier because they have taller top harness slots than any convertible. They're combination seats which are FF-only harness-to-booster seats.

The Pria, Truefit, Complete Air, and Radian have tall slots. The Radian allows use a little bit over the top slots. Here's a chart that might help: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvfUm4x64h3AdFZ0c0pkbkRlV1hfeklSWmpZY0kweEE&hl=en#gid=0

Click to expand...

This is in the Canadian forum - I don't believe the Argos and Pria are available here? Pria was delayed indefinitely last I looked and I've heard nothing of the Argos.

The Radian in Canada does NOT allow a child's shoulders to go above the top slots. It is outgrown ff'ing in Canada when the child's shoulders go above the top slots.

Of the True Fit, Complete Air, and Radian, the Complete Air will last the longest by harness height, followed by the Radian, followed by the True Fit. A complete Air will last *almost* as long as a Nautilus - only about 1/2" difference.

Engineer - 38" at 3yrs old isn't very tall, so unless your kiddo carries all his height in his torso, you should be fine with any of the seats mentioned. Mazda 3's are pretty snug in the backseat so you're unlikely to fit a radian back there even with an angle adjuster. The True Fit does fit back there quite well if you're considering still rf'ing. I don't know about the Complete Air as I've never tried it. The True Fit is low enough profile that it should be ok so far as loading goes, but at 3yrs old your kiddo is also past the most at risk period and it is fine to ff him if that's what works best for your family.

Thank you both for replying! I only have the one son, with no more on the way for the foreseeable future. I'm not insistent on him being RF still, I know it's safer, but as Snowbird mentioned, I know he's past the most vulnerable stage.

I moved him FF because it just got impossible to get him in and out of the door, and he's unable to climb in himself from the other side. I looked at the Radian (Diono?) and it's low profile looked like it would be easier to get him in and out of, and at 6ft tall I find it next to impossible to get him in an out of the Advocate even FF!

I have not looked at the True Fit or the Complete Air - are they fairly low profile? I definitely want to keep him harnessed as long as possible, despite the flak I took from family and friends for keeping him RFing past 2 and a half!

Money isn't a huge concern, but obviously I don't want to have to buy more seats than necessary

snowbird25ca said:

This is in the Canadian forum - I don't believe the Argos and Pria are available here? Pria was delayed indefinitely last I looked and I've heard nothing of the Argos.

The Radian in Canada does NOT allow a child's shoulders to go above the top slots. It is outgrown ff'ing in Canada when the child's shoulders go above the top slots.

Click to expand...

Oops, got here through the "New Posts" button & missed that it was a Canadian post. Thanks Trudy.

And I didn't know that about the Radian US vs Canada. Interesting...

Thank you again for your help!

I bought a Complete Air last night after trying it, the Radian and the Frontier. The Frontier and the Complete air both installed securely, while the Radian I had trouble with. In the end I went with the Complete Air because the harness adjustment was smoother and seemed easier to use.