Please help - Britax Parkway or Husky?

Pics? Password??

Did I miss how to view the above pics. I keep getting asked for apassword that I must have missed somewhere.

Thanks
Mark

I used "darren"--I do recall that part of it from when he posted it, just didn't

remember that he was posting pics of the Apex!

Doh! Sorry about the missing password.

Here's a bit of info on top tethers.

It is designed to prevent the forward movement of the top of a forward-facing carseat in a frontal crash. This reduces the head excursion of the child, and can reduce the chances of injury. Almost all current carseats can only meet the tougher new federal safety standards when the tether is used, even though they must still meet the minimum safety standards without a tether.
http://www.car-safety.org/latch.html

Click to expand...

Even if a carseat "won't budge", during an accident it most definitely will budge. Think about the belt path of a carseat. There is not much to hold the BACK of the carseat against the vehicle seat. Yes, the lapbelt holds the carseatdown fairly well, but a top tether helps hold the seat back, reducing head excursion. Some carseats in Canada can harness to 47/48 pounds, and speculation is that they can certify them to the higher weight because Canada requires the use of top tethers.

Check out this crash test video of a properly installed harnessed carseat, and you'll see what I mean about a carseat moving during an accident, even a properly installed carseat.

http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_...videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg

Wow-I had never seen that before.

Interestingly, did you notice the RF seat in the car as well? Even though that wasn't the focus of the video, I was amazed and intrigued at the lack of violent motion for the RF dummy. And totally freaked out by the FF dummy! My kids will be in a 5pt. harness forever....LOL! Is there a similar example for a RF seat?
Thanks!
Beth

Hey Mark...
I'm checking my big tether book here...There's kind of hard-to-decipher stuff here, because there are so many varieties of Ford F-series trucks... However, there is a bullet that says,

"For 1989 and later models, Ford will pay their dealers to install tether anchors (Program R7C). Tether anchor hardware can be obtained free of charge from any Ford or Lincoln/Mercury dealer"

So remind him politely of a policy he may not know, and you should get your tether anchors for free. Try calling 1-800-392-3673 (Ford Corporate) if you need to deal with people "higher up"

If you happen to be using a lap/shoulderbelt for seat installation, with a Britax with the shoulderbelt lockoff engaged, the crash tests are very good, almost as good as a seat being tethered...but still not *quite* as good as tethered (that crash test of the maxi cosi posted earlier, has those lockoffs too...).

Good luck!

Groovymom...you can poke around on this site
http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?h...ndow=1&safe=off&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-05,GGLD:en
The child seat test archives from 2001/2002 have heaps of frontal and side impact crashtests. Not so many convertibles RF, if any, because that is a rare type of seat in Austria, but still fun to look at .

The seats are all European, not top tethered FF, and not built to US standards, so take the reviews with a grain of salt, as they won't translate perfectly to our US seats (which must past slightly more rigorous testing than European seats, actually...but don't have as many cute covers...<wistful sigh>...)

I have an 03 sonata and i am in the market to for a new seat. I went looking for the husky at babies r us today and they did not have it. my son is 15 mo and about 25lbs. my husband wants to spend less that $250 on a seat, i want the britax....help!!! what is my next choice? I did not like any that i saw at the store

Thanks jools

For the info on Ford. Now I'm getting angry. Last year when we had to go FF I went by the local Ford Dealership to buy a tether anchor. They wanted this ungodly amount of Money for the bolt and anchor and to now find out they should have even installed it for free(even though installing it would be no big deal.) It was no big deal for my wifes car. toyota sold me the kit for @$10-15 and it was easy to install.
The guy at the parts counter (Ford) looked at me like I had three heads when I asked for the tether anchor like they had never had a request for that before. I have found that living in a rural area hardly anyone installs carseats correctly, not for lack wanting to but a severe lack of knowledge.

Back to the maturity of a 2.5 YO in a booster....Sam is right now in the thick of those "terrific twos" (I personally hate that other term) and he has mangaed to unbuckle the chest clip and the buckle on the Advantage, but what has really suprised me is that he can buckle himself back in when we correct him. He can put that "puzzle clip" together and in the buckle quicker than I can. Just this week this has been a major issue with him and my wife during their commute. We will be really glad to get past these little "tests"

Can anyone tell me if the Husky has the "puzzle buckle" like the RA?

Mark

Mark-it doesn't have the puzzle buckle.

At least, mine doesn't, and neither does my Marathon. I believe that Britax d/c the puzzle buckles on all of thier seats?
Beth

Yeah, the puzzle buckles are long gone...the new buckles are quite a bit harder to undo, and the new chest clips require you to pinch with 2 fingers to undo (of course the result would be that a determined kid still just pushes the chest clip down and wrangles his arms out of the harness...but that's where loving discipline comes in handy )
If he's good about re-buckling and beginning to understand that he just *can't* unbuckle, then you may not want to spend the $20 on a new harness...but if you want a regular buckle, then go for it.

Rural, Urban...it's all the same...I work at a spendy city baby store, and see kids pushed around in $750 strollers with $175 infant seats, with the harness completely loose. And kids in Marathons installed loosely, harness in the wrong position, top tethers unused.... so sad....