Convertible Confusion!

Brianna

New member

• Mar 25, 2016

• #1

I feel like I should be able to figure this out by now! My BFF's 14 month old twins are about 25 pounds each and are still in their OnBoard 35s with room to grow but mom is ready for convertibles. They're in captain's chairs 2nd row of a 2003 or 2004 Chevy Venture. Big brother is 3rd row in an Argos in booster mode. Mom wants to keep the twins 2nd row so she has easier access to them.

I'm trying to help her pick between MySize/clones, 4Ever, Milestone, and Extend2Fit. Big brother was 97th+ percentile for height/weight and hit 40 pounds just after 3, outgrew his MyRide by torso height by 2.5 and EFTA by torso height at 3. They're not far behind and seem to keep creeping up in percentiles.

My main concern is losing front-to-back room as the headrest is extended. 2nd concern is price. Dad frequently drives when they take the van, he's 6' tall and likes to recline his seat while driving. No amount of persuading gets him more upright. Which seat do you think would take up the least room fully extended, at the cheapest price? There's pretty much zero chance of trying before buying as its darn near impossible to get a sitter, especially for me to go with them given the time I'm spending caring for my mom.

 

Brianna

New member

• Mar 25, 2016

• #2

Also, pictures for cuteness! I had big brother's FR85 and Argos in the house to convert to booster mode (he's 6.5 and finally ready!) and the twinkies were curious, so I plopped them in for pictures. They won't be forward facing for years to come, don't worry! He was excited, but she looks scared! "But Bri, I'm too little for a forward facing seat, why am I in here?"

 

L

lgenne

New member

• Mar 25, 2016

• #3

I suspect that an E2F as upright as possible with the tray all the way in (under 40 pounds) or one click out (over 40 pounds) will be the most compact, but that's a suspicion. Also, if you want to RF them past 3, and they follow big brother's growth curve, that's the only option.

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2016

L

lgenne

New member

• Mar 25, 2016

• #4

Deleted--technical difficulties.

 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador

• Mar 26, 2016

• #5

OMG. The cuteness. [emoji7]

Ok, back to the matter at hand. I agree that E2F's are probably a good bet. What are her RF goals? If a 40"/40 lbs RF seat seems sufficient, the NEXT and the Grow and Go can both be installed as upright as you like for an older child, which might make them good lower-cost bets for this situation.

If it's in the budget and they want to ERF, I would probably go with the E2F for kids of that size.


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Brianna

New member

• Mar 26, 2016

• #6

I'm sure she'll end with with a pair of Nexts for spare seats, but she wants something a bit nicer for daily use. RF goal is probably somewhere in the range of 3. Now to start shopping for patterns and good deals... Looks like Target has the best prices but they're sold out now.

 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador

• Mar 26, 2016

• #7

Walmart has the E2F for $181ish and I think they have the cutest pattern.


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Brianna

New member

• Mar 26, 2016

• #8

I'm seeing this one which would be ok for the boy http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-Extend2Fit-Convertible-Car-Seat-Valor/46928001 but I'm thinking she wants another print- either neutral or girly so dad knows which seat to use for which kid. It won't be long before they need different headrest adjustments and dad needs it as simple as possible- just buckle and go.

 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador

• Mar 26, 2016

• #9

Brianna said:

I'm seeing this one which would be ok for the boy http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-Extend2Fit-Convertible-Car-Seat-Valor/46928001 but I'm thinking she wants another print- either neutral or girly so dad knows which seat to use for which kid. It won't be long before they need different headrest adjustments and dad needs it as simple as possible- just buckle and go.

Click to expand...

Since they are thinking of getting NEXTS fir use as back-ups/travel anyway, why not get one NEXT and one Valor E2F from Walmart right now? Put a kid in each and make sure that they like both of them before getting a second of either seat. That way, they can also keep looking out for good deals on other colors of the E2F elsewhere.

 

Brianna

New member

• Mar 26, 2016

• #10

I like your thinking! I'll definitely suggest that to her!

 

Brianna

New member

• Mar 30, 2016

• #11

Thanks again Nedra! She took your advice and that's exactly what she ordered, and she warned dad that there were more car seat purchases still coming. They should be in some time late next week, can't wait to play with them! It also works out perfectly to have a spare Next- she often babysits my cousin's baby who is 7 weeks younger than the twins and now that he's in a convertible she was worried what she would do if she ever had to leave with all the kids while she's babysitting.

 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador

• Mar 30, 2016

• #12

Happy to help!


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Brianna

New member

• Apr 8, 2016

• #13

The seats came in and I had time to play with them! Sorry for the large pics!

OnBoard 35 installed at most upright angle

E2F foot all the way in, 3+ month angle with headrest adjusted where it needs to be now at 14 months

Headrest fully extended

It didn't look like it would fit with the footrest all the way out

But once I installed it, it did fit

Recline 4 FF, required for children under 40 pounds

Recline 6 FF

He likes it!

She's not so sure

Next with line level to ground

More upright

 

Brianna

New member

• Apr 8, 2016

• #14

Both installed- E2F near me, Next on far side more upright angle

Goodbye OnBoard 35s, it's been good!

 

J

jjordan

Moderator

• Apr 8, 2016

• #15

Those kids are way too adorable!

 

aept

New member

• Apr 8, 2016

• #16

Love those cute faces!
The NEXT when more upright was pretty impressive, on the room it would give the parents up front, I thought.

 

Brianna

New member

• Apr 8, 2016

• #17

jjordan said:

Those kids are way too adorable!

Click to expand...

They're hilarious too! They both want to be picked up as soon as I walk in the door and picking up 50+ pounds of toddler is getting harder every time I try it! I can't believe how much J is like his big brother and how different A is from both of them.

 

Brianna

New member

• Apr 8, 2016

• #18

aept said:

Love those cute faces!
The NEXT when more upright was pretty impressive, on the room it would give the parents up front, I thought.

Click to expand...

I was impressed by both of them! There was plenty of room for tall dad to drive. I'm glad that the E2F will still leave lots of room for mom and dad as the headrests extend

 

Cnidaria

New member

• Apr 12, 2016

• #19

Is the headrest on the E2F easy to adjust for height when RF, while it's installed? I don't see why it wouldn't be, just wanted to double-check...

 

Brianna

New member

• Apr 12, 2016

• #20

The headrest adjusts easily. The harness is a little hard to tighten but it's easy to pull them snug from behind the seat.