F90 vs. Performance Sport -- REAL, daily, down-and-dirty use (not blog reviews)?

tentoes

New member
Has anyone owned an F90 and Performance Sport and used them *extensively?* If you've used both a few times a week with a child older than 5 I'd love to hear your pros/cons list. I know all about the specs, the reviews and have installed both, but want hard-core, daily-use $.02. Please and thank you :)
 
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LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
It's our everyday seat for my 6-year-old and has been for...gosh, at least a year, probably longer. I love it extensively. She's about to graduate to a booster in that car and I'm really sad about it because I love that seat so much. (But my almost-4-year-old can use it soon.)

I have had no problems at all. The weird seatbelt routing hasn't been an issue. I can install it in 30 seconds. It still tightens and loosens like butter. My daughter has never once complained about it, and we take a lot of very long trips in the car. We've driven from Chicago to Florida and back, Chicago to California and back, and have made numerous 3-5 hour trips in addition to our regular everyday stuff. She's not much of a car sleeper, but when she does sleep, she props her head on the wings--no slump for us.

Obviously people's experiences will vary, but ours have been all positive.
 

thepote

New member
Yes, I've used both for a while now. I like the way she fits in the frontier better. The large spaces between harness positions on the PS make the headrest awkwardly high over her head. I like the harness better on the frontier, especially the buckle that stays folded forward so I don't have to dig it out from under her. She's always bringing little toys in the car so the cup holders are perfect.
 

bnsnyde

New member
Yes. Used them a ton!!!!

I did not like the Frontier90. Sold it.

I kept our Performance Sports (older model) for a long time, but replaced with the Performance booster now as the kids are older. I liked the Performance Sport booster mode BEST of all boosters, but figured since the dedicated Performance booster goes taller, to just get that. Even my 9-year-old who is a bit tall rides in it.

The Frontier90 was hard to tighten. It ate my seatbelt and left marks. The tether thing slipped off a lot. The kid could not reach the button (and he was 8 in harness mode). I did not like that seat.

With the Performance Sport, you can install in a minute! Open belt path is so easy. I LOOOOOVE that seat. Miss it. It's also deeper than any I saw. Recaro really makes quality stuff.
While I like some Britax products, I find their quality inconsistent. The flimsy boosters that are not super deep do not impress me. I like their convertibles and infant seats though, a lot!

The mere fact that the Recaro tightens and loosens like butter is reason enough to avoid the Frontier90, which would not tighten for me at all sometimes. Such a pain. It was always looking loose and my 8 YO could not get it tight enough so we switched to a booster. The Recaro? My kids at 5 were able to tighten by themselves, and do well. It's that much like butter!
 

Kel

Well-known member
I had the Fr90 and sold it. Hated the button to loosen the harness. I'm under 5' tall with small hands I had a terrible time trying to reach in the cover to find it. Some people don't readjust the harness a lot, but I do. The headrest rattled. Had trouble with the cover popping off. I also don't like the click tight. I think click tight has its place, it's just not for me.

I didn't like the way the Recaro looks with the headwings way above the child, so I've never tried it. But I would try it over the 90.

My 5.2 yrs old is in his Fr 85, and I love it. It took me about 1-2 mins to install using long belt path, it's rock solid.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
It's our everyday seat for my 6-year-old and has been for...gosh, at least a year, probably longer. I love it extensively. She's about to graduate to a booster in that car and I'm really sad about it because I love that seat so much. (But my almost-4-year-old can use it soon.)

I have had no problems at all. The weird seatbelt routing hasn't been an issue. I can install it in 30 seconds. It still tightens and loosens like butter. My daughter has never once complained about it, and we take a lot of very long trips in the car. We've driven from Chicago to Florida and back, Chicago to California and back, and have made numerous 3-5 hour trips in addition to our regular everyday stuff. She's not much of a car sleeper, but when she does sleep, she props her head on the wings--no slump for us.

Obviously people's experiences will vary, but ours have been all positive.

:doh: I should have specified I was talking about the Performance Sport.
 

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