Best convertible car seat for plane and rental car

Hi everyone. My husband, daughter, and I are traveling to Florida at the end of April. She will be 21 months and she's small for her age. I'm guessing she'll be around 22/23 lbs and 33 inches at that time. At home, she rides RF in a Maxi Cosi Pria 85 but we don't want to lug that thing around.

We'll be flying nonstop to Orlando. From there, we'll have a rental car (not sure what kind yet) that we'll take to the Sarasota area for part of the trip. So we need the seat to be good for both planes and rental cars, in terms of fit and ease of installation. What are some good options for her? It seems like the Cosco Scenera Next is frequently recommended, as is the Combi Coccoro. How easy or difficult is RF installation of either of those? Am I missing some other options? If she's used to the cushier feel of the Pria at home, do you think the Next will be an issue?

Thank you in advance for your wisdom!

I've heard the NEXT install is very easy, but I have not done one personally.

Another option might be the Britax Roundabout, or the Graco Contender.

The NEXT would be my top choice. My daughter has never complained about comfort in it.


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I would not get a Coccoro for a kid that age/size, unless maybe you're planning to pass it down to a younger kid. It'll be outgrown rear facing before you know it.

The Scenera NEXT really is super easy to install. I'll third it.

Thank you, everyone! Looks like the Next is the consensus. One more question – do any of you have an opinion on the Evenflo Tribute LX? A friend recommended it to me – she uses it as a travel seat for her LO who is similar in age.

You can read all about it here: http://carseatblog.com/30022/comparison-of-budget-priced-convertible-carseats-under-100/

It doesn't have much benefit compared with the NEXT. Higher price (a bit, anyway), shorter shell, lower height limit, heavier. It's a reasonable travel seat, the NEXT just does everything a little bit better.

lgenne said:

You can read all about it here: http://carseatblog.com/30022/comparison-of-budget-priced-convertible-carseats-under-100/

It doesn't have much benefit compared with the NEXT. Higher price (a bit, anyway), shorter shell, lower height limit, heavier. It's a reasonable travel seat, the NEXT just does everything a little bit better.

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Great info in that link. Thanks, Igenne!
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lgenne said:

You can read all about it here: http://carseatblog.com/30022/comparison-of-budget-priced-convertible-carseats-under-100/ It doesn't have much benefit compared with the NEXT. Higher price (a bit, anyway), shorter shell, lower height limit, heavier. It's a reasonable travel seat, the NEXT just does everything a little bit better.

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Great info on this link thanks so much for providing the link and thank you to the car seat goo Roos that put together such an amazing review/comparison!!

MalloryF welcome to the forum!! You will like it here I wanted to add that I recently bought a NEXT and had a hard time installing (rear facing) it with latch. The latch was as tight as the actual latch straps could tighten but the seat was still loose. I needed a rolled towel or pool noodle to get it tight but I didn't have one with me. I installed with the seat belt just fine but I would have liked it to still have a noodle or rolled towel to get it to have a rock solid install. It didn't move more than an inch though so that was good. It is very very light weight. After looking at the review link that Igenne posted I see that the seat that your friend uses for travel (evenflo something?) actually has styrofoam around the head under the cover where as the NEXT is all plastic so that's something to consider as well.

I am sure if I had more time to play with the NEXT I would have liked it more but I saw a 12 month old riding in the front seat on dad's lap and had to act fast.

Have a good trip!!

Thanks, seb3244. Do you mind sharing what kind of car it was that gave you a difficult time with the latch installation? Maybe I can avoid that one.

malloryf said:

Thanks, seb3244. Do you mind sharing what kind of car it was that gave you a difficult time with the latch installation? Maybe I can avoid that one.

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It was a small Kia SUV. It was like a 2004

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005P...236_SY340_QL65&keywords=diano+car+seat+noodle

This would have made the install work better. It's so cheap too. I have one and love it