ROFL here..You'll never guess what I bought for DS's new seat......

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
An Alpha Omega Elite 3-in-1.

Oh, the irony. The sheer, crisp irony.

But anyway, it was the best seat for what I need right now. I needed the seat that will keep ds RFing for the longest amount of time mixxed with the need for it to be lower cost. As far as i can tell, this seat will last RFing as long as anything out there, except maybe a britax or recaro convertible or radian, and those were weighed down on the negative side by the cost...

the AOE fits my 11.5 pound 21 inch long, rather small 2 month old ds like a GLOVE, and (adjusted to the right level, of course) also fits my 35 pound, 39 inch tall/15.25 inch torso, 3.5 yr old dd nicely as well, with just under an inch to go before the harness is outgrown by height, and 5 pounds by weight.

I feel like this is the right seat for us right now, ds will be able to use it for probably 3+ years RFing and then maybe a little more FFing, and then it will be followed up by a nauti/frontier/other HWH seat.

Anyway...
here's a pic, please excuse him, he'd actually been happy as a clam most of the day, but he has his limits, LOL!

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arly1983

New member
I recently had a piece of that irony.

I tried Camille in one at BRU and it fit her wide behind better than anything else there. Too bad its a 40 lb seat and she is already 31 lbs.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
It is a decent rf seat. Did the EFTA not work for you?

The efta was in the running, but even on sale, was at least $50 more than the AOE. The red strap adjusters dug into ds's neck when he sat in it, which really turned me off. Plus, it's really wide, and the adjuster knobs annoy dh. and, the shell isn't any taller than the AOE shell, so realistically, ds wouldn't get any more time RFing in it than in the AOE......All in all, the AOE won out.
 

TXAggieTech

Active member
I actually like the AOs if they are priced correctly! I got mine on clearance for ~$60 (it has been 4 years) and felt I got my money's worth.

He's a cutie!
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
I actually like the AOs if they are priced correctly! I got mine on clearance for ~$60 (it has been 4 years) and felt I got my money's worth.

He's a cutie!

thanks, I think he's pretty cute myself!

and it was on sale for $80. Not a super-bargain, but decently priced, IMO.

I just went and installed it. Rock solid in 3 minutes. Not bad.
 

mommy_quigg

New member
I'm curious, why not get a scenera?

I had that exact AOE. I did love it until the day I learned that I had my 2.5 yo on the TOP slots which were for booster mode and had to take an emergency trip to a baby store I swore I would never shop at to buy him a Radian. *sigh*
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
I'm curious, why not get a scenera?

I had that exact AOE. I did love it until the day I learned that I had my 2.5 yo on the TOP slots which were for booster mode and had to take an emergency trip to a baby store I swore I would never shop at to buy him a Radian. *sigh*

The AOE has top slots that are a good inch, inch and a half higher than the scenera, and the shell is also. This means more time RFing, which was my purpose in buying the seat. And mainly, the AOE is a lot more plush and padded, comfortable, and it will be his everyday seat.
 

chasingboys

New member
Have you ever had an AO? THe straps get way twisty...I'm super anal about twistiness too and they were BAD! Just FYI. I'd have paid a little more for the ETA. Just my opinion.
 

tarynsmum

Senior Community Member
Have you ever had an AO? THe straps get way twisty...I'm super anal about twistiness too and they were BAD! Just FYI. I'd have paid a little more for the ETA. Just my opinion.

Oh man, you don't SAY! I never knew how annoying they were until today. I had a guy come into a seat check this afternoon with matching AOEs for his twin boys - I had to re-thread the entire harness because there was a twist in one (and he swears, and I believe him, that they have NEVER been unthreaded - darn Dorel :mad:). They were less than a year old seats, too!
 

Mama!

New member
Remember my ordeal? I bought one of those and discovered my ds at age 2 and some change was too tall to RF in it, and he wasn't NEAR 35 lbs.

I actually bought a Scenera and used it for a day or two. He fit ok, but his head was close to the shell.

Why not an Uptown> Can you find one?
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
lol...you guys really wanna know my decision making process?

Scenera - not plush enough, low harness slots, decent shell
Uptown..no way to play with it IRL. I was just too uncomfortable with that.
EFTA. Hate it. hate the adjustable straps, the knob things, the width, and it was $50 more, for no more time RFing, possibly less.
Titan..I was going to get this, decent shell, decent slots, good value for price..but the hip straps are way out, over the legs/by the knees! It was weird..I had not noticed it before, but when i tried the kids out, I was astounded it send the harness over the leg, not up over the hips/upper thigh.
comfortsport..cheap, but super short shell and harness slots, 30 lb limit.
Intera..actually liked this one, it was fine, but $20 more than the AOE, and I wasn't getting anything more out of it.
Ra...way too overpriced for such a short shell and slots.
large britax convertibles, recaro convertibles, radian..just way more money, and realistically, not much or any extra time RFing, since I really think the AOE will get ds to 3+/35 pounds.

I checked the straps..they seem okay, he fits in it SO WELL - way better than anything else....somehow, it cradles him, and yet my largish 35 pound 3.5 year old also has plenty of room in it? Not sure how that works, but it does....

I like the headrest thing and the little side wings on it..it doesn't claim any SIP, but having those little wings has to help a little, I think.

It installs nicely in my van. The harness adjusts easily with no problems. The straps aren't twisty to me, but I'm used to really cheap seats, not like Britaxes or whatever, so maybe that makes my perception different....

It looks nice and matches our car and dd's new seat. shallow, non-reasons, but a nice bonus. Plus, the fabric is nice, soft, plush, etc.

Basixally, the harness slot height and shell height were outmatched only by much more expensive seats (Ma, etc), I think it is a great value, and since I never intend to use it as a booster, tha fact that it is a crappy booster is moot.

I have to assume that the different versions of this seat have different measurements, in fact, I see on the measurements page, there are different measurements listed for this seat..I definitely have one of the bigger ones..I tried my 3.5 yr old dd in it, my 4 year old grandaughter, and 4.5 year old grandson, and all would fit in it harnessed by height, and my dd and grandson by weight..thegrandaughter is a chunk and straddling 40 pounds, so she would be out by weight very soon if not now. But still, 4 years is more than enough for me. I'll be following this with a nautilus or frontier, or similar seat that might become available in the next 3-4 years, so lack of extended harnessing FFing is moot.....and as I've explained, this seat will allow RFing for as long as or longer than anything else in the price range. I think the next closest is the radian at $199, and $80 is a lot less than $200, and I need $150 to get dd her nautilus soon, so i cant spend $200 on ds right now.....
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I'm giggling here about so many trying to talk you out of a seat you've already bought. :p

It's not really a bad seat to install if you're familiar with it or know the tricks. For parents who aren't experienced installing seats, it's a real bugger to install, but obviously that isn't the case for you. ;)

I know the newer ones definitely have higher harness slots. The harnesses aren't *as* twisty as they were at one time, but it will still twist up at the hips where it comes out of the straps as well as the buckle tongues with regular use - the harness just starts folding over on itself and then starts twisting if you're not super duper anal about making sure they're flat everywhere when you tighten it. :thumbsup:

I've seen harnesses get twisted on these seats amazingly in the period of just a few weeks from when the parent bought it until when it came into the seatcheck.. it's just the harness - but that being said, my 04 AO made it through 18mos of use with the straps just slightly starting to twist.. I knew that twisting was an issue with the straps, so was careful that they never truly got twisted... (Darn I hated that seat though...but they have gotten nicer in the last few years. Front harness height adjustment and now even the regular AO's have EPP foam in them... Add in a bucket full of experience installing them and they don't bother me as much anymore... but I hated mine.)

It's really not an awful seat, just not a favorite... you bought it knowing it would meet your needs though, and that means there's nothing wrong with that - despite how much so many of us despise them. LOL.


(FWIW, I've never found the red tabs on our EFTA to dig into my ds at all, but it might've been more of a problem when he was younger and still had a shorter neck. The SS1 straps were troublesome for us - we were constantly tugging his shirt up so that the straps didn't pinch him - although it didn't stop me from loving my sS1. ;) Or maybe those red tabs are tougher on some models than others? Dd never complained about them either when I tried her in the seat... But not everyone likes the same seats. That's why as techs we can't recommend one specific seat as the best, or tell parents to never consider a certain seat. ;))
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to justify it.

Like I said, it's a decent rf seat. It's not like you went into it uninformed and didn't know what you were getting. I hope you have a long and happy 3-ish years together. ;)
 

Mama!

New member
Sure. If he fits into it til 35 lbs, then kudos for you! I just felt so dismayed to discover that my ds's torso was too long at 2 to RF in that seat.
 

mommy_quigg

New member
You don't have to justify it, but I always find people's decision making process interesting :)

For $60 wow! Ours was on sale for around $150 CAD. Does yours have the EPS foam? Ours didn't (it's nearly 3 years old now though and the foam is a new thing).

My son is a tank and outgrew his at only 2.5 yo and 32 lbs. I did like that anyone that needed to install it, could. My Radian, I'm the only one that installs it because there's just too much to remember that I don't trust anyone else to do it right.
 

sb518

New member
I don't get the "twisty straps" argument. I actually perfer the cosco harnesses over the britax, they are so much easier to adjust!! Is it really that big of a deal to have to twist a strap once or twice to make sure it fits right?? I figure those two seconds are a great trade for the time you spend yanking on the harness adjuster of the other type. I love how your ds fits in that seat! I'm tempted.... especially with the 35lb rf'ing limit.
 

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