Question Choosing a booster seat for 5yr old dd - Canada

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 6, 2013

Hello!

I am trying to decide which booster seat (preferably harnessed) would be best for my dd. she is 5 and about 44lbs and I think 46sh inches. I haven't measured her in a while!
I currently have her in The britax marathon I bought when she was a baby and he still fits comfortably in it. We are about to take a road trip and will not have the room for my baby's graco bucket and the marathon in the backseat with me as well. I'm looking for a recommendation for either one of these below or something different that would work well. We will be in a 2013 dodge ram 1500 crew cab that doesn't have a ton of leg room and unfortunately I'm 5'10 so wouldn't have room behind the driver either. After the trip it will more than likely end up in a 2007 equinox or 2005 envoy

It will need to be as narrow as possible without compromising safety obviously!

The Diono Monterey?

Parkway sgl britax?

Thank you so much in advance!! This was just realized today that the seats won't work and we leave Friday so I was in a bit of a panic!!

CMeMeC · Apr 6, 2013

I really like our parkway (in our 2005 envoy), but it does not have a harness. I also wouldn't pick a road trip to move her to a belt positioning booster. It is narrow, though. If you are going to need a convertible for the baby, you could maybe try a radian ff for your 5 year old for the trip and until the baby needs it and then get her a dedicated booster.

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 6, 2013

That's what I'm thinking too. I don't want a huge change for it either. I just realized the 2 I mentioned aren't harnessed too. Is there a radian that isn't $300+? I agree I will need it for the baby, absolutely, but didn't budget it now as she is only 20lbs and my graco goes to 32lbs. It was going to be my next "fund" after the "trip fund"

aept · Apr 6, 2013

Evenflo securekid 300 or 400 is fairly narrow - (not as narrow as the parkway booster but it does have a harness which the parkway does not.)

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 6, 2013

....and thank you! I hit send too soon

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 6, 2013

I'm a bit leery on the evenflo from what I've googled so far :s do you have experience with it? I've been a britax girl all along but I'm trying to branch out! The cheapest I can find the radian rxt is $369.99. Does that sound right?

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 6, 2013

My parents picked up this today http://t.toysrus.ca/skava/static/pr...oductId=11687086&domain=http://www.toysrus.ca
I don't feel comfortable with using it right now. Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other? It's the graco high back turbo booster.

Jan06twinmom · Apr 6, 2013

Re: Choosing a booster seat for 5yr old dd

cat&birdiesmum said:
My parents picked up this today http://t.toysrus.ca/skava/static/pr...oductId=11687086&domain=http://www.toysrus.ca
I don't feel comfortable with using it right now. Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other? It's the graco high back turbo booster.

The Turbobooster is a good seat that fits a lot of different sized children properly. It's also nice that it's more budget-friendly than some other seats. If you are planning to move your DD to a booster seat, this is a good option. If you want her to be in a harness seat, then it's not an option.

veggiegirl228 · Apr 7, 2013

Re: Choosing a booster seat for 5yr old dd

I agree the Turbobooster is a good seat. Fits many kids well and budget friendly.

Has she been in a booster before? Riding in a booster has different rules, some 5 yrs olds are good and others not so much.

CMeMeC · Apr 7, 2013

cat&birdiesmum said:
I'm a bit leery on the evenflo from what I've googled so far :s do you have experience with it? I've been a britax girl all along but I'm trying to branch out! The cheapest I can find the radian rxt is $369.99. Does that sound right?

That's a little high...amazon and kohls both have them for less than that and those are the only two places I checked. The r100 is a lot less, too. That's the one we have and even my 5 year old still fits rear facing.

CMeMeC · Apr 7, 2013

Just to clarify...MY 5 year old fits rear facing in the R100. Your 5 year old should be fine in it forward facing and it would last the baby a while rear facing too. If your 5 year old hadn't been in a booster before, I would not switch for the trip. She is more likely to get bored or tired and move out of position.

Pepse · Apr 7, 2013

CMeMeC said:
That's a little high...amazon and kohls both have them for less than that and those are the only two places I checked. The r100 is a lot less, too. That's the one we have and even my 5 year old still fits rear facing.

OP is in Canada

Are you looking for a seatbelt booster or a harness seat. I would get a Frontier that has a 9 year expiry and baby will be able to use eventually. Another option is the Graco Nautilus but has a 6 year expiry on the harness part

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 7, 2013

Thank you! I completely agree that it is not a good idea before the trip. She's always had a bit of a recline in the marathon and I think the change in position will be too much for a 19 hr drive! (Each way :s) I'm in Canada and our seats are always priced higher than the us market value it seems. I think ideally I need a very shallow depth seat in a convertible seat to buy me another 5 lbs or so, that then converts to a booster. I've checked the evenflo maestra, secure kid, nautilus and a few others that are escaping me a d they we all 19" + deep. I the marathon is 18.5" deep and doesn't have enough leg room. Is there a convertible seat that I am missing that isn't as deep from front to back in the seat?

oddduck · Apr 7, 2013

If you are interested in a radian, they do go on sale pretty frequently. 1-2 weeks ago the R100 was $201 on amazon.ca.

What vehicle will this be going in? For the most part when I car seat shop for my older I try and buy a deeper seat so her legs are better supported for those long trips.

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 7, 2013

Thanks, the vehicle is a 2013 dodge ram 1500. It's the leg room between the car seat and the front seat that's causing the problem.

I just need it for Friday now of course *shrug* so unfortunately I can't wait for the sales

mam521 · Apr 7, 2013

The Radian RXT is apparently on sale at Sears for $309 right now.

CMeMeC · Apr 7, 2013

Pepse said:
OP is in Canada

Are you looking for a seatbelt booster or a harness seat. I would get a Frontier that has a 9 year expiry and baby will be able to use eventually. Another option is the Graco Nautilus but has a 6 year expiry on the harness part

Oops, I didn't think about that!

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 7, 2013

I just can't afford the $300+ price tag, as much as I would like those options better, at this point. I'm looking at the Diono Monterey as a booster. Liking the latch and side impact ratings and reviews. Not positing it will fit as well for legroom but starting to feel a little desperate to find something!

Pixelated · Apr 7, 2013

Pepse said:
Graco Nautilus but has a 6 year expiry on the harness part

Current Nautilus seats have a ten year expiry on the whole seat. :thumbsup:

It would be worth trying a Nautilus in your vehicle -- even though the way you're measuring the numbers might appear to be similar, the way the Marathon sits up really high and tilted back you definitely lose leg room because of it. The Nautilus is available at Walmart, Sears, and Babies R Us so is readily available. The odd Walmart still has some clearance seats around for $150, and Babies R Us has them this week for $194ish.

When does the Marathon expire? The reason I ask is if it's not going to last your baby anyway through his/her rear facing time, then it might make more sense to get a Radian ($306 at Sears this week) now for your oldest. It's slim, low profile and is probably going to give her the most leg room.

Before doing that though - what is her seated torso height? Sitting down from floor to shoulder will tell us what seats she'll fit into.

cat&birdiesmum · Apr 7, 2013

I actually measured her this morning at just above 16"

from what I could find, the marathon was a 18.5" base (plus the tilt as you mentioned) and the nautilus is 22". I do like the idea of the nautilus though!

Question Choosing a booster seat for 5yr old dd - Canada

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