Question Best convertible car seat for 2013 subaru outback?

Any suggestions for the best convertible car seat for a 2013 subaru outback? We want to be able to keep our little one rear facing for as long as possible and we'd also like to use the center rear seat. Safety outweighs price.

Hi, and welcome to car-seat.org!

All seats on the market are safe, they've all passed the same testing. The differences in seats are largely comfort, ease of use and upgrades (aka 'bells and whistles').

I'm so happy to read you intend to rear-face as long as possible! :thumbsup:

Do you have any other children/seats in the back seat?

Can you give us a little more info on your child? Age, height, weight. That info could help us...sometimes a chunkier baby fits better into certain seats and a long, lanky baby fits better into others.

Thanks so much for responding! She's almost 13 and half months, about 19.5lbs. Don't have her current length handy but she's currently in a chicco keyfit 30 and she has about 1.5 inches of head room left so I know I have to move to a convertible ASAP. She's generally been in the 20-25% for weight and 40-50% for length. No other seats in the back. I know that subaru discourages seats in the middle but we've had our keyfit there with no issues, so we were hoping to find a convertible that would also work there.

Unregistered said:

Thanks so much for responding! She's almost 13 and half months, about 19.5lbs. Don't have her current length handy but she's currently in a chicco keyfit 30 and she has about 1.5 inches of head room left so I know I have to move to a convertible ASAP. She's generally been in the 20-25% for weight and 40-50% for length. No other seats in the back. I know that subaru discourages seats in the middle but we've had our keyfit there with no issues, so we were hoping to find a convertible that would also work there.

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No problem, happy to help!

Yeah, that mention in the Subaru manual is really odd. I saw that recently and questioned it. But the consensus seems to be that it's safe if using the seat belt for install, as Subaru IS clear that borrowing of the outboard inner lower anchors isn't allowed.

So going with that, you'll want a seat that installs well with the seat belt in the center. In that case, I always prefer a seat with built in lockoffs, like your KeyFit.

Some convertibles with built in lockoffs are:

Britax Convertibles (all of the ones on the market now I do believe)
First Years True Fit

My mind is drawing a blank right now, but hopefully someone will be along with others! LOL

You can also see our list of recommended seats here:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=39944

Any of these can be installed with the seat belt. And with LATCH, because you might find that moving to an outboard position is much easier with the convertible and if that happens then installing with LATCH, if you get a good install, can be great. (You stop using car seats after a while, but continue to use the seat belts for the life of the car, so I prefer to use LATCH whenever possible!)

I have a 2013 Outback, and I'm planning on getting the Chicco NextFit. It has seatbelt lock offs and a super easy latch system.

Thanks Shinook--I hadn't even heard of the Chicco NextFit. It looks promising, and we love our KeyFit. In looking at it, my only concern would be the weight limits Subaru has for the LATCH...I've read that unlike other cars, their weight limit includes both the seat and the weight of the child. I can't seem to find what the 2013 Subaru latch weight limit is--do you know?

Unregistered said:

Thanks Shinook--I hadn't even heard of the Chicco NextFit. It looks promising, and we love our KeyFit. In looking at it, my only concern would be the weight limits Subaru has for the LATCH...I've read that unlike other cars, their weight limit includes both the seat and the weight of the child. I can't seem to find what the 2013 Subaru latch weight limit is--do you know?

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Most cars as of this year have retroactively changed to 65 pounds combined weight, same as Subaru. Just so you know, you've got LATCH on the sides, but not the middle. You'll do a seatbelt install in the middle.

If you liked your Keyfit you'll likely like the NextFit.

Wendy

wendytthomas said:

Most cars as of this year have retroactively changed to 65 pounds combined weight, same as Subaru. Just so you know, you've got LATCH on the sides, but not the middle. You'll do a seatbelt install in the middle.

If you liked your Keyfit you'll likely like the NextFit.

Wendy

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Thanks Wendy--re: the LATCH, we were curious just in case we decided to put the seat on the sides rather than the middle. We saw the nextfit this weekend and it looks really promising. Our only concern is that it's a first generation seat...but we're really leaning toward getting it.

We have a 2013 Outback and a long, lanky guy (29.25", 18.75 lbs @ 6 months). We have a Graco SnugRide now.

I noticed the comment that some seats are better for long, lanky kids (particularly that work well in a 2013 Outback). I checked the review page, but didn't see information like that there, any tips would be appreciated.

We'll go with the side seat to be able to use the latch vs. seat belts (a family car that isn't designed for car seats in the middle? One of my only complaints about the 2013 but that's another topic).

Thanks for your help

Unregistered said:

We have a 2013 Outback and a long, lanky guy (29.25", 18.75 lbs @ 6 months). We have a Graco SnugRide now.

I noticed the comment that some seats are better for long, lanky kids (particularly that work well in a 2013 Outback). I checked the review page, but didn't see information like that there, any tips would be appreciated.

We'll go with the side seat to be able to use the latch vs. seat belts (a family car that isn't designed for car seats in the middle? One of my only complaints about the 2013 but that's another topic).

Thanks for your help

Click to expand...

You can put a carseat in the middle. Just not with LATCH. LATCH is not safer than the seatbelt.

For long and lanky I'd look at the Chicco NextFit, Clek Foonf, Diono Radians with angle adjuster, Graco Size4Me/Headwise/My Size 70, and maybe the First Years True Fit. They will all work in that car, though behind a front seat the First Years may be bigger front to back than the others.

Wendy