Question Help with combination booster that can really be used as a booster

My daughter is 4-1/2, 38" tall, 31 lbs. We want to buy a combination booster (5pt harness) for her. I searched the postings & the suggestions were for Frontier 85 & Graco Nautilus. I'm sure there are more out there- we were overwhelmed with the options. I also saw that someone was having trouble using the Frontier as a backless booster.

My question: Which combination booster would you recommend that will work well as a booster also (considering my daughter is on the small side)?

Thanks!

Unregistered said:

My daughter is 4-1/2, 38" tall, 31 lbs. We want to buy a combination booster (5pt harness) for her. I searched the postings & the suggestions were for Frontier 85 & Graco Nautilus. I'm sure there are more out there- we were overwhelmed with the options. I also saw that someone was having trouble using the Frontier as a backless booster.

My question: Which combination booster would you recommend that will work well as a booster also (considering my daughter is on the small side)?

Thanks!

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Hi, welcome to CSO!

That's hard to say. I can tell you the fit of the Graco Nautilus was great for my slim little boy, but he was not able to buckle this as a booster himself. This was the main reason we moved on to a dedicated booster at that point, because not being able to buckle himself was frustrating for both of us.

What seat is your dd in now? Is there a reason you won't be continuing to use this seat?

That's a good question. (I'm the op & decided to register!)

I have 2 girls- my TWO yr old is still in an infant seat so we're moving her up to my 4 year old's car seat. Instead of getting another car seat, we'd like to get a high back, 5 pt harnessed booster for the 4 yr old.

Does everyone end up getting a dedicated booster instead of using the convertible booster? Seems to be what I'm hearing so far...

mjhom said:

That's a good question. (I'm the op & decided to register!)

I have 2 girls- my TWO yr old is still in an infant seat so we're moving her up to my 4 year old's car seat. Instead of getting another car seat, we'd like to get a high back, 5 pt harnessed booster for the 4 yr old.

Does everyone end up getting a dedicated booster instead of using the convertible booster? Seems to be what I'm hearing so far...

Click to expand...

Great!

Well, I moved to a dedicated booster AFTER using the combination seat (harness/booster, in harness mode) until ds was ready to be boostered. At 4.5 and 31lbs your dd is definitely not there yet. But I do agree it makes a lot of sense to pass down your convertible.

I'd like to suggest that you can choose a less expensive harness for her and then a booster later and still spend the same amount.

i.e. Rather than a Graco Nautilus (about $150), maybe look for one of the Target SureRide's on clearance ($40-60 right now if you can find one). That harnesses to 65lbs like the Nautilus and has tall top slots but doesn't convert to a booster. Then buy a booster (let's say a $100-120 Monterey) when she's really ready to move into one.

Of course, if you really like the Nautilus (or any of the others) you could also view it as an investment in your 2nd child as well. In, say, 2 years when your younger one is ready to forward face and your older one is ready to booster...pass down again and buy a dedicated booster at that time. Lots of options.

There's certainly no *need* to buy a dedicated booster if you have a combination seat (so long as the booster portion fits properly on your child in your vehicle of course). But the dedicated boosters are generally lighter and smaller than the combo seats, because the booster portion does not have to actually restrain the child. And may be easier to use.... we found the same thing, my 6 yr old could not buckle the Nautilus either because of the big arm rests. And in the truck, it was a huge pain, because I couldn't reach to buckle either (too high up) w/out climbing half-way into the back of the seat...and then I'm half-suffocating the poor kid trying to stand in front of / lean over him and buckle him. In the car that wasn't such a big deal, I could easily reach over and buckle him up myself....but ended up needing to get a regular booster to be able to fit 3-across when #3 came.
For smaller kids, Maestro is good and cheap. The booster portion doesn't last much longer than the harness from what I've seen, so you may need another booster after that.
Frontier (85 or 90) are good seats, but expensive, and the high harness limits are probably overkill for such a small child. (although there's no harm in keeping her harnessed as long as you both are comfortable with it). Probably easier to use as a booster than the Nautilus since the arm rests aren't so big - it'd depend where your seatbelt fits and how long the stalks (female end) are though, since it's a very wide seat. Some seatbelts come out from behind the Frontier and that makes buckling (in booster mode) more difficult.
Instead of the Frontier, you could consider a Britax Pioneer 70 - ($170 on amazon now) - very similiar to the frontier but a bit smaller, lower weight limit, with a better price tag. (it's about 2" shorter than the Frontier, both for harness mode and booster mode, and 20 lower weight limit). Still very respectable top slots at 18.5". Your DD would be well into booster age by the time she outgrew that.
There are the Kid's Embrace combination seats, with characters on them. They don't have as high top slots for harnessing as other combination seats, so harnessed mode will be outgrown sooner, but would work fine for a kiddo on the smaller side like your DD. Probably similiar issues to the Nautilus in booster mode - substantial arm rests that get in the way. (Note - I have not seen one of these seats in person, so could be mistaken). $100 - $150 on amazon, depending on style.
There's also Evenflo SecureKid 300 ($95) or 400 ($115). Again, less height than the Frontier or Nautilus, but better price.

I absolutely LOVE the Recaro ProSport for a combination seat. My almost 5 yr old is on the small side at 36 pounds and about 41 inches. He is using the ProSport as a harnessed seat now and it makes a great booster too. It is not a super tall booster but because he is on the small side like your daughter, it will most likely last him until he is old enough/ready for a backless booster. Then we will decide from what's available at that point in the backless booster market. The side impact protection is amazing as well.

Here is a picture of him in the ProSport at about 34-35 pounds and 40 inches:


And here was me just trying him out to see how it fit as a booster (he won't use it as a booster until at least next spring when he is 5 1/2.) The booster fit is amazing. The lap belt is nice and low, under his hips and touching his thighs, the shoulder belt is centered between his neck and the edge of his shoulder and his legs bend at the end of the seat so he won't slouch down.


He is in a Frontier 85 (FR85 is the abbreviation you will see used) in my van and it is great as a harnessed seat but he won't be using it as a booster because his legs are no where near bent at the edge of the seat so he would end up slouching down and be out of position in order to stay comfortable. I love the FR85 for harnessing with him but if I had to replace it I would get another ProSport because it makes a better booster for a smaller kid.

Neither the FR85 or ProSport becomes a backless booster. That is not a big deal as there are many backless boosters available for under $20.