Regent vs. Nautilus musings

I just got home with our new Nautilus! Put it together and installed it- I have to say, it wasn't easy to get it rock-solid with either LATCH or seatbelt in the captain's chair of my 05 Grand Caravan SXT, but I think that the problem was the recline foot. I was trying to install it w.the recline set as far as possible for DS and it was pushing the seat away from the vehicle seat back.

Overall, I really like the seat. I think it's a great value for the price. That said, I do wish there was more comfort padding- it's much less padded than the Regent, and the only place on the seat w/EPS foam is the headrest. The body of the Regent has much more EPS foam on the sides than the GN. I had my 7.5yo sit in the GN in harness mode (she's only 45lbs w/clothes) and she said it was a cool seat, but not as comfy as her Regent. (Which she has been complaining about lately, and why I sold the Regent to pay for the GN ) She said the seat was "harder" and less squishy than the Regent, and that the cover wasn't as nice. I agree on all points.

We both LOVE the cupholder! I think that's going to be DS's favorite part about this seat, too. And the little cubbyholes on the sides of the armrests are neat, too. Perfect for snacks and little toys.

My DD is a very petite, small-boned child and she doesn't have tons of shoulder room in the GN, but she's not squished like in the Radian, either. She has about 3/4" left before her shoulders are even with the top slots, which is WAY less room than she had in her Regent, where she was in the second-to-top slots. So I can't say, in our case, that this seat is as good as a Regent for length of harness time. BUT since, we're transitioning her into a booster full-time by May when she turns 8 (and when we will hopefully have a SK Monterey), I'm not too concerned about her torso height in the GN.

I would love love love this seat with some Graco Pedic comfort foam or more EPS foam in the seat shell itself, not just the headrest. For kids with long car rides who are used to the Regent's cushiness, I'm not sure they'd be as comfortable- BUT my DD has no extra "padding" anywhere on her body, so that doesn't help, LOL!

If anyone wants more pics of a 7.5yo, almost 5yo and 2.5yo (stats are in my sig), LMK.

Great, sounds great (for a Graco...)
Remember, the EPS is only down the sides of the Regent so it can protect a short baby's head...if the headrest moves up and down with the kid in the Graco, that's all that's needed (if it doesn't protect little kids' heads, then I'm complaining with you...)
Any non-regent than harnesses any 7 yo is pretty good, in my book

Pics of all the kids sounds great!!

What is the width like compared to the regent? We are trying for baby #3 and I know right now there is no way I can get three seats across my car with the husky and I absolutely won't buy a radian.

I would love to see some pics! I am still trying to decide whether to get two Regents or one Regent and one GN for Avi, so I appreciate any pic help I can get because I can not find a GN right now.

Definintely...more pics would really help! Does anyone know if there will be a difference in the shells (padding, foam...) of the GN that will be released to some of the other stores? We really need a second seat but would rather wait in case it comes out with more padding.

I'll take pics of all the kids in the GN today after church and post them here

Any pics? I am hoping to put mine together tomorrow and take pics because Avi had a major meltdown today so I didn't do it.

Thanks

Sorry it's taken so long- camera battery was dead on Sunday.

Here's pics of my 7.5yo (16.5" torso), 5yo (14.5" torso) and 2.5yo (14" torso)

My 7.5yo has more room than I thought; after sitting in the seat for a few minutes, she "settled" in and her shoulders are dead even with the 2nd from top slots.

http://img5.ranchoweb.com/images/balessingo/kayleenauti.jpg

http://img5.ranchoweb.com/images/balessingo/lexinauti.jpg

http://img5.ranchoweb.com/images/balessingo/ajnauti.jpg

GREAT PICS!!

I am so getting this carseat.

ps. your children are beautiful

Eve

:happy-wavehello: Your kiddos are looking gorgeous

Thanks for the pics. I'm consdering this seat, also. Their shoulders look kind of squashed to me, for all three of them--is that an optical illusion, or are they?

Kirsten

Cute kids, and great pics. I am thinking about getting this seat now as I was wondering how it would look for an older child. I agree with the previous posting, their shoulders look a little squished- true or is it just the picture? Thank you so much.

Great pics! It is great to see an older, taller child in the seat too. I would like to see some bigger kids (over 65lbs) sitting in it in booster mode so I can judge how long this seat would really last.

Their shoulders aren't squished at all- the shoulder area of the GN angles out, so they have plenty of room, but when I looked a the pics, I can totally see how it would look like the shoulder area is narrow. There is a lot more shoulder room than in the Radian, that's for sure.

:happy-wavehello: Kirsten

Thanks for the pics!