Looking for a car seat for plane travel (long post)

Hi everyone. I was wondering if someone could direct me towards a seat for travel. I am not in a rush, but just like keeping my eyes out for sales.

I have an almost 8 month old currently in a Britax Marathon 65 G3 and I love love love this seat. However I am completely aware of its rear-facing limitations with regards to height and will probably upgrade to a Radian at some point. (so far my boy is tall and thin) He also still fits in his Chicco Keyfit. I love both these seats since they are extremely easy to install and uninstall and they fit in the back of my Ford Focus and DH's Nissan Juke.

So what I am looking for is a small seat for plane travel. It will eventually be our third seat for grandma's car. It does not have to be for ERF at all especially if it ends up being a budget model. I don't plan on getting on a plane with my son until he is about 2 so I would likely be installing it forward facing (on the plane, which is in my opinion better than no car seat at all on a plane)

Ideally this car seat would be relatively easy to install, especially with a belt and small and compact for airplane travel. (smaller than a Marathon) We will likely not need a car seat at our destination (Disney World and/or Disney Cruise) LOL if my boy would still fit in his KeyFit at 2 that would be an ideal scenario

I was thinking maybe the Scenera would work, but if anyone has any other suggestions I would appreciate them.

Thanks for reading

Re: Looking for car seat for travel (long post)

Bumping to also ask about the Apt, which appears to RF for longer if I am reading correctly.

Re: Looking for car seat for travel (long post)

Well I've heard good things about using a radian for travel because it folds up and has a shoulder strap for you to carry it with. A couple of people also recommend an Evenflo Sureride as travel/spare seat as is fairly cheap ($70 on sale) and has high shell and harness height so it will last a long time.

Re: Looking for car seat for travel (long post)

I just realized your Canadian, sorry! The Sureride isn't out yet in Canada but should be soon if that helps. Sorry again for missing that key fact of location.

Re: Looking for car seat for travel (long post)

1mommy said:

Well I've heard good things about using a radian for travel because it folds up and has a shoulder strap for you to carry it with. A couple of people also recommend an Evenflo Sureride as travel/spare seat as is fairly cheap ($70 on sale) and has high shell and harness height so it will last a long time.

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Hi - the radian might fold up but the thing is a beast! Very heavy and since I will be responsible for carrying and installing the seat I was looking for something a little smaller/compact/lighter.

Since we are not in a hurry I will wait for the Sureride to hit stores here in Canada and gauge the size/bulk and go from there.

Like I said, it will eventually be a third seat for grandma's car - just don't want to miss out on any super hot deals if they come up

Even with the radians weight, I still loved it for a plane travel seat. Nothing beats still having the use of the airplane tray with a FF seat. The Radian also positions kids legs down out of kicking range on the seat back in front of them. It would never RF on the plane but for me FF on a plane at 1yr old for at most 6-14 hrs (my regular flying times) was ok with me.

Between installing the Radian or my Britax MA Classic on an airplane I would take the Radian everytime!

What about an evenflo tribute? It has a 37 inch height cap for rearfacing which my son at age 3.5 was maxed.

I have mixed feelings on the Radian as a travel seat. The folding and carry straps did make it convenient to travel with, but it was far from easy. I am a small person, and between carrying my 27-pound kid and a 27-pound carseat, I was completely exhausted. I don't like to fly with strollers. The folding feature was definitely nice when I wasn't allowed to use it on a shorter connection (airline's mistake). They wanted me to check it, but I refused and they allowed it to be put in the overhead. The tray table was still not able to be flat when FF, but this depends on the plane. It was fine on 2 of 4 planes (American), not used on 1, and didn't work on my Delta flight. It was easy to install on the plane FF, but would probably not fit RF on most planes. Also, I will not ever travel with a Radian again if it is still used RF in a vehicle. The boot and angle adjuster are just more things to keep track of while traveling, and take up a lot of room in luggage.

All that to say, that I would definitely consider a Scenera for flying just for its affordability and slimness. A Sureride would also be good since it is more padded, and probably longer lasting as a backup seat for Grandma's car. It might be a tight fit in smaller airplanes though, especially if the armrests don't move.

My very favorite travel seat is the Coccoro, but that one doesn't last long and isn't always easy to install in vehicles.

I adore traveling with the Radian IF you have two carry straps and can wear it as a backpack. I'm fairly short (5'3" if I stretch it) and wore it as a backpack while 8 months pregnant and had no issues at all.

The Sureride is a fantastic option if you wait until it comes out. Super light and easy to install. Inexpensive(at least here in the US, hopefully it will be there too) but still comfortable. It worked great FF on smaller planes for us. We strapped it to a luggage cart from WalMart and just wheeled it right through the airport and down the plane aisle.

Doh! The Coccoro is out for Canadians, too. Sorry about that.

kaharris83 said:

The Sureride is a fantastic option if you wait until it comes out. Super light and easy to install. Inexpensive(at least here in the US, hopefully it will be there too) but still comfortable. It worked great FF on smaller planes for us. We strapped it to a luggage cart from WalMart and just wheeled it right through the airport and down the plane aisle.

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Thanks you everyone for your input, I will wait for this seat to come out and check it out right away - it sounds like it will be a good addition to our Canadian seats. I hope we get decent pricing on it when it arrives.