Best Car Seats for 13 Month-Old Twins (Canada)

My wife and I don't own a car but travel enough in them to require car seats. We're trying not to make money an issue if the seat meets what we want, and we've seen that the ones people tend to recommend most (like the Marathon) are around the $300 mark.

So, safety first, of course. Beyond that, we're hoping to find ones that we can put side by side in the back of a car and still hopefully have room to seat one adult. Also, since we don't have a car, we will be putting the seats in other people's cars, so we'd like seats that are easy to move in and out and don't require a tonne of setting up. If that's not a possibility, then we'll deal, but I'm just wanting to make sure.

Thanks!

Hi,

Welcome to the board. Can you tell what weight the twins are? Do they have any current carseats at all? What are those, if they do?

Marathon is usually recommended because of the relatively high top harness slots and higher weight limit which are enabling a child to use it longer than one with lower high top harness slots and/or lower weight limit. And because the Marathon can be installed and used correctly and easily. It also fits in many vehicles well.

But if $300/ea is not in your budget and if you can tell what their weight and height now, that would help to suggest other alternatives.

Thanks for the welcome.

Our girls are right around 20 pounds and have been using Graco Snugrides: http://www.graco.net/e/item.asp?code=6443&s=077HHA

Height I'm not sure, but they're definitely around the max for the Snugrides (29 inches).

We will pay for the Marathons if they are the best of what we're looking for.

I'm thinking maybe the Cosco Scenera which is a basic seat w/o frills and thrills but good for travel as it is light, fairly easy to install. rf to 30 lbs and ff to 40 lbs. Top harness slots are alright for a seat with 40 lbs limit. It retails for about $70.

I was wondering if trading in the Snugrides for 2 Graco SafeSeat infant carseats might also be an option so you can still carry them around in infant seat but with higher limit (30 lbs). I mean it's very rare for any baby to fit a Snugride to 13 months, so the SafeSeat would get them another 10 lbs rf and maybe more than 1/2 yr. Then we'll worry about a ff carseat at that time since more will be available and ff seats are generally easier to fit in cars than rf. Not sure what the price is but I'm thinking around $130

Of course, if you can afford the Marathon, as I mentioned earlier, it is a great seat that would last the twins for a long time (given their small stature and weight to fit in the Snugride this long), can fit in many vehicles compatibly, can be used and installed correctly and easily. $300 or on sale until May 4 at http://www.dearbornbaby.com/product.php?productid=68&cat=0&page=1 for $270 and free shipping.

The other option is the Britax Roundabout which is smaller, lighter and rf to 30 lbs and ff 40 lbs. Nice seat and $250 or on sale until May 4 at http://www.dearbornbaby.com/product.php?productid=69&cat=0&page=1 for $240.

Btw, they have now about outgrow the Snugride by weight. Heightwise, make sure the top of their head is still at least 1" from the top of the carseat. If there is less than 1", then they have already outgrew the Snugride.

Yep, we have small but quite healthy girls. It's allowed us to get more time out of clothes, and still easy to sling them around, among other things. I'm a pretty small guy and they take after me.

Thanks for the info, it's helpful in making a decision.

If you have a ToysRUs/BabiesRUs near you, and they carry the Britax seats, they are also on sale there until May 4 (which is why I think Dear Born has theirs on sale, to compete with TRU/BRU).

The one thing about the Marathon that I'd like to reiterate, is how easy it is to install. I've recently installed the SafeSeat, Radian, EFTA and Marathon in 2 different vehicles, and the Marathon is the only one that I enjoyed installing and it took the least time by far. The only slow part to the Marathon is a place to put the connector strap IF you are tethering it rear-facing. You end up having to slide a front seat forward, and find a spot for the trap so you can connect the tether. But rear tethering is not mandatory and you may want to skip it if you're not using the seats regularly.

After reading that the Marathon tends to be bigger, I'm afraid of being able to fit two of those plus one adult in the back of most cars.

Does anyone know if you can do this with the Scenera?

The Radian would be the best bet to fit 2 seats and an adult in all vehicles (especially in small ones), but it's more difficult to install than other seats and won't fit RF in some vehicles very well because it's so tall.

I've never seen the Scenera installed in a vehicle, so I'm not sure how it would fit with 2 and an adult.

Quite honestly, if I was in your situation, I would get two SafeSeat1's. Easy to use, easy to move and will fit in any vehicle.

My second outgrew the 29" snugride by 10 months and fit into the SS1 until 22 months old (outgrew both by height). If your girls are just outgrowing the Snugride now at 13 months, I think you'd easily make it to 2 years old in the SS1.

A Radian (while being one of my favourite seats) does not install well in a lot of cars when rear facing because it takes up so much front to back space.

A Marathon is really pricey and won't always fit two side by side nicely in smaller cars.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance is nice and short (front to back), but it's really wide and has knobs on the side that sometimes get stuck in the vehicle seatbacks and makes it difficult to impossible to adjust.

A Scenera (while being fairly cheap) has little padding and can be irritating to install in some vehicles rear facing because it generally requires pool noodles to adjust the recline properly. Also, at $80, I just don't find the Scenera worth the money in Canada.

I would really get two SS1's to last through the rear facing years and then concentrate on forward facing only seats in a year or so... we should have some really nice (new) ones on the market then.

not a car seat tech but owner of a Safe Seat. My dd is 8 months old and 21.8lbs. I have a nephew who was a premie at 31 weeks and will be 3 in July. TEchnically, he will still fit into the Safe Seat.

The safe seat is also wider than the snug ride and might not fit as nicely as the snug rides do. I know the safe seat doesn't fit into the shopping carts or the upside down wooden highchairs. The safe seat alone is 9.2 lbs so it is very HEAVY to carry around. I find now that the nice weather is here, i take dd out of the seat and leave it in the car. I do find i have to unclip it from the base every time to unbuckle and buckle her in.

If i was the parents of the twins, i am not sure i would want to invest in 2 more infant seats at $180 each and the money would be better spend on a Roundabout or Marathon that will last longer.

If you call your local Canadian tires, some of them still have the 45lbs Radian for $129. Mine was able to tell me which stores around were selling it for $129 where theirs was $199 but they didn't have any in stock.

I think the Radians would last them longest, but honestly those things are HEAVY as heck, and he already said he's a pretty small guy. I'm a pretty average sized mommy and I hated moving my Radians between cars, especially rear facing. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Radians, and if they were being installed and staying in the same car that would definitely be my first choice, but because they're using them in other people's cars, and we all know that its not always easy to get a good install with them, in this situation I don't think it's ideal. :twocents:

And am I wrong in thinking that RF tethering is mandatory in Canada if a tether is available???

If it were me personally, I'd probably go for the SS1, sell the snugrides, and then sell the SS1's when they outgrow them. Those re-sell oin CL for a pretty good price.

OR I'd go for the Marathons, but then I'd be concerned about fitting another person back there with them.

Tough call, but plenty of options, just none of them seem "perfect", kwim?

Do you usually use the same vehicle on the way somewhere as on the way back? If so, then you could always leave the infant seats in the vehicle as the twins get heavier - you mentioned that you sling them, so I'm guessing this might be something you're doing already?

Pepse is right that the SS1 would be heavy to cart with the twins in it at their weight, so either way you'd be most likely looking at carrying the kid and carseat separate.

If most installs are going to be done at home, then the need for pool noodles likely isn't a big deal - I'd actually just use a rolled towel, probably quicker to adjust for the variation in vehicles seats that you encounter and would be easier to move around. If you had to change between different #'s of noodles, it could get to be quite a pain.

I wouldn't go with the Radian for the same reasons others have mentioned. With not having the same car, it would be unpredictable as to whether or not the seats would install every time, which is a stress you wouldn't want. They also would be a tight fit rf'ing.

I'm inclined to agree with the recommendation for scenera's. The EFTA and the Marathon are both fairly wide seats, and it would be unlikely that you'd be able to fit 2 next to each other and an adult outboard in many if not most vehicles. While I don't think the $70 price tag on the Scenera makes it as good a value here as it is in the US, it does fit the need for narrow and lightweight - making it easy to travel with. 2 Scenera's would also be cheaper than 2 SS1's, and either way you'd end up with having to buy new seats for the twins before they were ready for a booster. Overall you'd get more use from a Scenera.

With a little bit of practice I think you'd find the Scenera's relatively easy to install too. Aside from needing a towel or pool noodle in most vehicles, they're not too hard to install most of the time.

Ideas for if you go with a seat that needs help with recline, would be an extra backpack to store the towels or pool noodles in if you do end up having to carry the seats with you between your arrival and departure. Then it would all be contained easily enough. :thumbsup:

If you did decide to go with a Britax convertible or the Radian seat, I don't see it as being feasible to rf tether with moving the seat around so much, so I don't think in this particular instance that being able to rf tether a seat is much of a benefit.

I'd go less expensive seeing as how you'll have to buy new seats when the twins are older unless you end up with a MA, EFTA, or Radian. And I don't think any of those options are particularly good for your situation - due to width for the first 2, and tricky installation/front to back space for the radian.

Pepse said:

If you call your local Canadian tires, some of them still have the 45lbs Radian for $129. Mine was able to tell me which stores around were selling it for $129 where theirs was $199 but they didn't have any in stock.

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The CDN tire Radians had 48lb weight limits. :thumbsup:

Awesome that your CT was able to tell you where to get a discounted seat, thanks for sharing!

proudmomofriley said:

And am I wrong in thinking that RF tethering is mandatory in Canada if a tether is available???

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FF tethering is mandatory in Canada, but rf tethering, when available, is not mandatory. There's actually 2 completely opposite schools of thought in Canada as to what techs are taught in regards to rf tethering.

But aside from that, rf tethering isn't part of the CMVSS 213 requirements, so they can't require it. Seats pass standards both with and without the rf'ing tether. The difference between that and a ff'ing seat, is that a ff'ing seat will not meet CMVSS 213 standards without the top tether.

proudmomofriley said:

And am I wrong in thinking that RF tethering is mandatory in Canada if a tether is available???

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Yes, you are wrong. Only FF tethering is mandatory. :thumbsup:

Oops... Trudy beat me to it. Sorry!

It's hard to say what seats would work bet without knowing all of the vehicles that you'll be doing your installs in. Ideally, I'd choose two Britax Marathons since you can be sure that they'll install in a variety of vehicles without any hassles. If all of the vehicles in question have LATCH, the Radian might be a good option. The Scenera is a great option if you don't have a lot of money to spend, and it installs well in the vehicles you'll be using...but it's a cheap seat, and not the most comfortable on the market. Both the Radian and the Scenera can be difficult to install in some vehicles, but both are the most portable of the three seats I've mentioned.

Is there a way you can borrow the vehicle you'll be using seats in primarily, and test the seats out at the store? Or post back with the vehicles you'll be using the most so we can research rear seat width? BTW--if we're talking taxis here, and seat weight isn't an issue.. I don't think I would use anything but Marathons. The Radian and Scenera will run you the risk of taking 10 minutes to install the seats when the taxi arrives--seriously not worth the frustration.

-Nicole.

Nicole and I were just brainstorming, and one other possibility would be to get 2 different seats. A combo like the EFTA and a 3in1 seat might puzzle well together, plus it would have the added bonus of giving you a HWH seat.

You could also consider going with 1 radian if you usually have vehicles with LATCH. I wouldn't recommend counting on LATCH with 2 of them because most vehicles don't have dedicated center LATCH anchors, so you'd only be able to install outboard with LATCH.

if most vehicles you use have latch a radian and an EFTA would be a nice combo

snowbird25ca said:

The CDN tire Radians had 48lb weight limits. :thumbsup:

Awesome that your CT was able to tell you where to get a discounted seat, thanks for sharing!

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yes they can tell you where the surronding CTs have them and what price they are listed for.


YOu mean close only counts in horse shoes and handgranades not in car seat lbs

I would go for the Radians. If you are able to tether rf, it is much easier to get a good install. Plus, its so much easier to reach over a radian to put a child in the center seat. We had a '89 Honda Accord, and we were able to fit the Radian rf on the side. Your twins are a little older, so the seat can be more upright. It will give you the most space for another passenger.

featherhead said:

I would go for the Radians. If you are able to tether rf, it is much easier to get a good install. Plus, its so much easier to reach over a radian to put a child in the center seat. We had a '89 Honda Accord, and we were able to fit the Radian rf on the side. Your twins are a little older, so the seat can be more upright. It will give you the most space for another passenger.

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Rf tethering is useful in terms of lateral stability at the back of the child restraint, and getting a greater degree of recline when needed, but cannot be used to tighten up a seat that is loose. If the seat is too loose at the belt path before the rf tether is attached, then it's not installed properly.

In a case where the seats are going to be moved between vehicles every time a trip is made out of the house, I wouldn't factor rf tethering into the equation. It's just not something I would take the time to do with switching vehicles all the time. :twocents:

Getting the Radian more upright can be tricky with some vehicles, and in general it is more of a space hog than the other convertible seats that have been recommended, just because it's difficult to get it more upright, and because it has a tall shell. In some vehicles it's easy enough, but again, with switching vehicles constantly, that's not something that could be counted on. And that unpredictability just really isn't a good thing when you have multiple vehicles that you need to be able to install the seat in consistently and easily.