toddler in need of new seat?

My just turned four year old is 38.5 lbs. and 38 inches tall and is just about out of her Britax Roundabout. I drive a Chevy Trailblazer and looking for the best all around car seat that will last at least 2 years. I am reading some post and notice to keep her in a five pt harness. Until when? You guys helped me a few years ago and now I need help again. I love Britax and I am willing to pay again there are just too many models now! Help!! Thank you!!

At that height and weight, if you want Britax, I wouldn't consider anything other than a Regent

I agree - the regent will definitely last you the longest and is probably the best choice for that height/weight.

do you think that will fit in my car?
Second choice? Should I do a The Britax Boulevard/The Britax Decathlon/ and then move her at 65 lbs to something better suited for her when she is older. Her weight gain is slow. I am willing to try some other brand if you suggest. She gets car sick and I need something easy to clean as well. I had thought originally of The Britax Parkway until I saw reviews on five pt harness. So confusing!! I really appreciate your help!

The issue you need to consider is not weight, it's height. Kids just don't make it to 65 lbs in those seats. Most kids outgrow them between 45 and 50 lbs. Once your child is too heavy to rearface, it just doesn't make sense to spend that much money on a seat that includes rearfacing and doesn't forward face as long. The Regent has a much taller top harness position that the Boulevard and its various cousins. A Regent will absolutely fit in your car.

What about the Radian 80 Car Seat? Or a RECARO seat? Just making sure with the amount spent I am getting the best. It is a huge purchase as you know...safety and money. My daughter is low on the growth chart as far as her ht goes.

rwm said:

What about the Radian 80 Car Seat? Or a RECARO seat? Just making sure with the amount spent I am getting the best. It is a huge purchase as you know...safety and money. My daughter is low on the growth chart as far as her ht goes.

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A Radian80 is no different than a Radian65 in harness height. The same applies for the Recaro Convertibles as does the Britax convertibles...why put money towards a feature you aren't to use (RF capability) when what you really need is longevity in harness height.

The Regent isn't as big as it looks - it's not on a base, so it actually sits about as high as the Marathon. It is wider, of course, but it really doesn't overwhelm vehicles the way it looks like it would when you see it in the store. I've had our Husky (older version of the Regent) in our little VW Golf and it's fine.

We are hoping to add to our family soon so I was thinking about that with an infant seat. I love my Trailblazer but it is not very wide. Not a lot of room in the back seat. So you think that it will alright? So pretty much hands down everyone agrees to go with the five pt. and not even give the Parkway Britax another look? I wish they could do a booster seat style with 5 pt! I guess you can't have everything! So Britax is THE BEST?! I have not heard anyone mention anything other than the Regent. Correct? Thanks again you guys!

You will be able to fit the regent and an infant seat (eventually a rear facing convertible) in the backseat of a trailblazer. We had one for awhile but didn't love it so we traded it in for a minivan! We had the extended trailblazer so we had more room, but we put two car seats in the middle row and they fit fine. We even managed to fit a carseat/child in seatbelt/booster in the middle row.

eta - another option would be the radian. It harnesses to 65 or 80 pounds depending on the model you get and has higher top slots. I don't know how it installs in a trailblazer, but I do know that some installs are difficult.

rwm said:

We are hoping to add to our family soon so I was thinking about that with an infant seat. I love my Trailblazer but it is not very wide. Not a lot of room in the back seat. So you think that it will alright? So pretty much hands down everyone agrees to go with the five pt. and not even give the Parkway Britax another look? I wish they could do a booster seat style with 5 pt! I guess you can't have everything! So Britax is THE BEST?! I have not heard anyone mention anything other than the Regent. Correct? Thanks again you guys!

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It's not a question of a particular company being the best

It's a question of what's appropriate for a specific car. The Britax Regent has the highest harnessing capability of any seat on the market right now. If another seat met or exceeded the Regent's specs, I'd recommend that

If I were in your shoes, I would hold out as long as possible and see how the soon-to-be-released Compass True Fit pans out. Amazon says it will begin shipping January 15th. I just completed my tech certification, and the instructor had seen it in person and was raving about it. She believes it is called the "True Fit" because it will truly fit to 65 pounds for most children (based on growth charts). The actual top slot height doesn't seem to be known with certainty yet, but it will be high.

The Recaro seats are narrow in the shoulders and may not fit your child as long as the slot height/weight limit would suggest. I was really shocked by how narrow the Como is, and I'm usually not particular about such things.

Elizasmom said:

If I were in your shoes, I would hold out as long as possible and see how the soon-to-be-released Compass True Fit pans out. Amazon says it will begin shipping January 15th. I just completed my tech certification, and the instructor had seen it in person and was raving about it. She believes it is called the "True Fit" because it will truly fit to 65 pounds for most children (based on growth charts). The actual top slot height doesn't seem to be known with certainty yet, but it will be high.

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I thought the slot height was 17-18 inches? If that's a fact, it's not holding an average 65 pound child.

Thanks everyone! I will look into the new car seat and will be purchasing it actuallin January so I will way it all out. I do know that I will go with the 5 pt...so this helps.

I just wanted to also add, that if your dd is just outgrowing her roundabout now and it's by weight and not height, then you're really not likely to actually need the height of the Regent and would probably be fine with an apex, radian, or high weight britax convertible, even the triumph advance or the fisher price safe voyage deluxe. The top harness height on all of those are 2 to 3" higher than on the roundabout, and at 4yrs old that's likely to be least another 2 or 3yrs of growing room.

If you're planning to keep her harnessed as absolutely long as possible, no matter her age, then the regent probably is your best bet. But if one of those other seats will get you to 6 or 7yrs old, I don't see the need to spend the money on the regent. :twocents:

The best seat is one that fits your child, fits your vehicle, and will be used correctly every time. Britax is often recommended because of the higher weight limits, and in the case of the convertible seats the built in lock-offs. They're not necessarily the "best" or "safest" though. We have no way of knowing that.

I would seriously consider the apex 65 or else the Radian (65 or 80, only difference is in weight limit & covers/cushions,) along with the new true fit when it comes out since they're all low profile seats and older kids tend to like the lower profile because they seem like less of a baby seat.

I also just wanted to add, that a seat is outgrown ff'ing when any one of the following happen:

• weight limit is reached
• tips of ears reach the top of the seat shell
• shoulders go over the top harness slots (measure at the shell by poking your finger through the cover since covers often slide up or down.)

Assuming that the roundabout hasn't been outgrown by height, I just really don't see the extra height of the regent being needed - the top slots on it are 4.5" higher than the roundabout, and that much growing room at 4yrs old seems a bit like overkill to me. :twocents:

FWIW, and just to give a comparison, my dd is over the 2nd from top slots on the MA at almost 3.5yrs old and they're .25" taller than the RA. She still has 3" growing room before her shoulders are even with the top slots in the Radian. Based on her growth curve though, I fully expect her to make it to 5yrs old in the MA and probably age 6 in the Radian. Being as your dd is already older and not quite as tall in the torso, I'd expect your dd to get to an even older age in any of the higher weight seats available.

I have a Regent and a Marathon in the second row of my Trailblazer and they fit fine (with space in between), I'm not sure that I could fit a carseat there, but there is a little bit of room.

If you can get a Radian properly installed in your vehicle, it could be a good fit, as I'm canadian, I don't know about the regent, and it seems that everyone thinks it's the be all and end all, but I personally love my radian, no other seat would fit side by side with the infant carrier in our car, and even in some other vehicles we've travelled in.

I would also suggest going with a Regent. Like many of the pp said there is really no reason to go with a convertible when your child has outgrown the RFing weight limit. You should go with the seat that will keep them harnessed the longest. Here are some threads that compare some of the seats you are considering so you can see the diffrence.
Radian vs Regent
BV vs Regent