Question Advice needed. Evenflo Securekid DLX or Evenflo Maestro?

Spriggz

New member
The wifey and I can't really make up our minds so we thought we would get the input of the fine folks here at car-seat.org. First, a little background. We have two and a half year old twins and the car seats are going into the back of Jeep Wrangler. We were at ToyRUs yesterday and was debating between the "Evenflo SecureKid DLX Combination Booster" and the "Maestro Combination Booster Car Seat." We ended up going with the Securekid DLX based on the "SureLatch" latching mechanism and the upgraded side padding near the head. We test fit the carseats today in the Jeep and while I can get them in safely, it was by no means easy due to the bulkiness of the "SureLatch" and the Jeep Wranglers backseat anchor points being so close together. Also, I don't really like the idea of me not being able to tighten the belts to the anchor points myself now that I've had the opportunity to test fit them. So now we're debating whether or not to take back the Securekid DLX and swap them out for the Maestros. What do you guys and gals think?

IMO, here are the pros and cons of the two seats we are debating between.

Securekid Pros: enhanced padding on the side of the head, five point harness can be used up to 65lbs.
SecureKid Cons: not fond of the "SureLatch" latching mechanism, more expensive than the Maestro, not easy to get in and out of the Jeep(which is something that will be happening often)

Maestro Pros: cheaper than the SecureKid, being able to tighten the anchor belts myself, will be easier to get in and out of the Jeep due to the bulkiness of the "SureLatch" mechanism not being in the way.
Maestro Cons: Side head padding not has good as the Securekid. Can only be used has a five point harness to 50 pounds.

There you have it. Sorry for the lengthy post to such a small question. Thanks in advance!
 
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Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Hello and welcome to car-seat.org!

May I ask how tall your twins are and how much they weigh? Generally, at age 2.5, we recommend children being rear-facing (unless they are over 40-45 pounds, that is! :p).

If you are wanting to keep them forward-facing, either the SecureKid or the Maestro are fine combination seats. It sounds as though the SecureKid is not a great fit in your vehicle, though. Have you tried installing the seats using the seatbelt instead of LATCH? That might make the "bulkiness" of the SureLATCH easier to deal with.
 

Spriggz

New member
Hello and welcome to car-seat.org!

May I ask how tall your twins are and how much they weigh? Generally, at age 2.5, we recommend children being rear-facing (unless they are over 40-45 pounds, that is! :p).

If you are wanting to keep them forward-facing, either the SecureKid or the Maestro are fine combination seats. It sounds as though the SecureKid is not a great fit in your vehicle, though. Have you tried installing the seats using the seatbelt instead of LATCH? That might make the "bulkiness" of the SureLATCH easier to deal with.

They are both around 33 inches tall and weigh in around 27 pounds. Due to leg space, they have to be forward facing. We haven't tried the seatbelt but we don't really want to secure the car seat that way. At least not yet. We much prefer latching on to the anchor points.
Looking over the SecureKid models, specifically, the 300 and 400 models, it appears the only difference is the latching mechanism and the E3 impact stuff at the side head padding. What is the E3 impact stuff and how is it any different than whats in the Maestro and the 300?
 

creideamh

Well-known member
Are they on the heavier side? Both seats have about equal top harness heights, so the maximum harness weight may not make much of a difference (for instance, my DD is slightly lower than average in weight and will be too tall for the Maestro waaaaay before she hits 50lbs.)
I prefer the SecureKid 400/DLX over the Maestro due to the extra side impact and the adjustable headrest, which means both more protection for the smaller kids as well as making it a better booster. The Maestro will be virtually outgrown as both a harnessed seat and as a booster at the same time since the headrest isn't adjustable.
And for what it's worth, I prefer seatbelt installs for both. The SureLATCH doesn't work well in any of our cars, but I hate the "hooks" on the Maestro... and they both install SO easily with seatbelts.

Finally, I agree with the rear-facing suggestion. If you're looking for a similar price-point, the Evenflo SureRide rear-faces to 40lbs, forward-faces to 65lbs, has a deep shell for side impact protection, and the shell is super tall with as tall/taller top harness slots than either the Maestro/SK.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
The E3 was the designation they gave to seats with deeper headwings, I think they have ditched that in the current line of seat names (now it's just LX and DLX for 'more padding' and 'better LATCH', basically).
The 300 would be your best choice, since it has the better headwings and is a taller booster later than the Maestro, but it also has small, regular push-on LATCH connectors. If the 400's are too bulky, this would be an improvement. While the hook-on connectors of the Maestro will be a wicked pain to deal with if you are moving the seats frequently (digging, pushing, twisting, pulling the hooks out after loosening the straps, versus just pushing a button to release the LATCH, and you probably wouldn't even have to adjust the LATCH straps since they will snap on and off easily every time).

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Securekid-300-Seat-Booster/dp/B006PB2CR2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364950997&sr=8-1&keywords=securekid+300"]Amazon.com: Evenflo Securekid 300 Loy Car Seat Booster: Baby[/ame]
 

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