Vent I can't find a carseat I REALLY like.

I know I am not going to find some that I like everything about but.....

I just want to find two somthings that I can be happy to use, I am tired of looking.

I think I like the radian the best for both kids as far as fit to each child, fit to my vehicle, etc but I hate hate hate the idea of that non-removable harness and that someday I might come accross a car that I can't install it in.

SInce using the radian, anything with a base drives me bonkers and frustrates my DS who isn't cordinated enough to climb up on his own. (Which gives me a pain in the back lifting 40 lbs)

I sincerely hate the regent for a bevy of reasons.

The EFTA (my mom's) I have had to flip the straps over in the buckle tongue several times this past weekend.

I hate hate the way the wings look on the Fronteir and have heard the TF has twisty straps as well.

I know, I know, I am whining, whining.

Maybe I should quit looking and just suck it up and keep what I have.

If the Frontier didn't have such silky straps, I'd grab your credit card and make you buy one... mine have only twisted once, but I think they are seriously going to regret using these instead of the nice thick Marathon style ones

If the RN's are at least not hateful now, keep using them... funny how the longer you own them, the easier they get to install in more cars (maybe the ones in August will be worth buying???). I love mine for RF... hate it for FF for a little kiddo... I wish the Tru Fit had terminal ends on the lapstraps...that strap running under the seat and making the harness change length is a drawback, to me.

I've heard the Orbit is lovely...???

Have you tried a Nautilus? I really like ours.

Out of curiosity, how come you hate the Regent?

Jools, shame on you! No fair tempting the arly to buy more carseats!

I do think car-seat.org needs to consider a factory, though. I mean, once we get the crash-test sled and facility, we might as well start making our own carseats, right?

a_js said:

Have you tried a Nautilus? I really like ours.

Out of curiosity, how come you hate the Regent?

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Forgot to mention the Nautilus, his head entirely flopped foward while sleeping.

The size, the stupid recline bar, The straps that twist (not in the bucle tongues but the entire strap), the all synthetic covers, the buckle tongues slid down under my DS. Well, thats about it. but others love theirs.

Defrost said:

Jools, shame on you! No fair tempting the arly to buy more carseats!

I do think car-seat.org needs to consider a factory, though. I mean, once we get the crash-test sled and facility, we might as well start making our own carseats, right?

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PLEASE, I want to be on that design team.

Arly, have you tried the Frontier or just looked at it? I wasn't crazy about the design pictures, either. BUT- the comfort level for my kids is amazing. The wings are WAAYY less wonky in actual use than they actually look.

And I seriously love the True Fit- we haven't had any twisty strap issues, but I'm just waiting for it to happen.

arly1983 said:

The size, the stupid recline bar, The straps that twist (not in the bucle tongues but the entire strap), the all synthetic covers, the buckle tongues slid down under my DS. Well, thats about it. but others love theirs.

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I love my HUSKY. I tend to forget sometimes that the Regent is an entirely different beast when I'm making suggestions, but I would never buy a Regent.

See, the Husky's like a large-breed dog that looks scary and formidable when you first see it, but then once you get to know it, you realize it's just a soft cuddly sweetheart that means you no harm. At worst, it might drool on you.

The Regent's a dog that's been mistreated and poorly fed, and in spite of getting to know it better, you never quite lose the suspicion that it will bite off your arm if given half the chance...

Defrost said:

I love my HUSKY. I tend to forget sometimes that the Regent is an entirely different beast when I'm making suggestions, but I would never buy a Regent.

See, the Husky's like a large-breed dog that looks scary and formidable when you first see it, but then once you get to know it, you realize it's just a soft cuddly sweetheart that means you no harm. At worst, it might drool on you.

The Regent's a dog that's been mistreated and poorly fed, and in spite of getting to know it better, you never quite lose the suspicion that it will bite off your arm if given half the chance...

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You crack me up!!:ROTFLMAO:

Defrost said:

The Regent's a dog that's been mistreated and poorly fed, and in spite of getting to know it better, you never quite lose the suspicion that it will bite off your arm if given half the chance...

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Great...I just bought a darn Regent.

Jacks said:

Great...I just bought a darn Regent.

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Treated with loving firmness and with respect, and it should be fine.

Just don't ever turn your back on it.

Debbie, you're hilarious!
I wonder if we could find Arly a nice Funky Denim Husky anywhere? Surely someone will one day have one for sale? (Not you, but surely there's one 'out there'...)

I'm LOL @ both Arly and Debbie.

Arly, I feel your pain. I've never been 100% perfectly happy with any seat, there's always a couple things I hate.

Debbie, I had a Husky two different times, sold/traded them away, and now have a Regent. I felt the same way about the Husky as many here feel about the Regent, back when Britax recalled the Husky's lapbelt-only/LBP installation. But I agree with you, the Regent's recline bar requirement and SBP for kids over 40# make it a more difficult beast to deal with than the Husky, in general. I want to adore my Madison Regent, but compared to the Husky, I just *like* it. It's the darn recline bar+SBP. It really limits installation.

See, I manage to be happy for a while with my seats, then you people start talking about something new and I start lusting.

patience, Arly. Remember the SSK chat? He talked about the radian redesigns to include a removable harness. If that is your only reservation (because I think we've figured out the tricks enough to get them ff in most vehicles), then it may suit you well. Stick it out for a few more months. Hopefully we'll be seeing the new model by the end of the year.

Holly -> Special Events - CEU Chat Session: Why does the Radian have the non removable harness? It would be nice to be able to get a new harness for our sseat at least 1/2 way through the lifespan. Will that design be changed in the future?

Carseatengr -> Special Events - CEU Chat Session: Yes we will be adding that to the newer version - it will be at ABC

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crunchierthanthou said:

patience, Arly. Remember the SSK chat? He talked about the radian redesigns to include a removable harness. Stick it out for a few more months. Hopefully we'll be seeing the new model by the end of the year.

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So So true.....please just let them make the harness removable and NOT SCREW SOMETHING UP

(Anybody else getting an uneasy feeling int he pit of your stomach when they were like: We can't tell you anything but the harness will be removable and that is going to be just great.)

I could certainly be tempted to give up my lovely blue denim husky for a frontier

And I thought you already ordered it anyways. Remember we had a plan, you try it out and if you like it then I can buy it

BTW, does bru you carry it yet?? I'm going with a friend this weekend to do her baby registry and would love to try it out. We're going to baby depot too so if anyone has any requests for pics with a 35lb 2yo let me know

Arly, I totally understand what you are saying. I just recently had to move our ds3 our of his BLVD which we loved BTW. THere are others who hate the BLVD and that really proves that it's all in what you are looking for.

As I shopped for the perfect seat I quickly realized that it only existed in my dreams. 1. I wanted a seat to harness as long as the regent and then some, since our son has a very tall torso.
2. I wanted it to have non twisty straps and buckles that I didn't have to fish out every single time he climed in.
3. I wanted the harness to be easy enough for a 4.8 year old to do himself as he had been buckling the Blvd himself! (of course I checked it every time)
4. I wnated a seat that wouldn't hang over the edge of the seat on which it was installed so that ds would have ample leg room as he always comlplains.
5. I wanted a Crotch strap that was long enough so it didn't hurt him.
6. I wanted a seat that turned into a booster that could be atched and tethered.
7. The fabric was really not that important but I am not fond of the mesh although I do think it's probably cooler since we live in Sunny FL
8. THis one was really at the top of my list but I just remembered it, I wanted a seat that ds could sleep comfortably in without having a bobbling head.
9. Since he was so high up in the Blvd, I prefered a seat with no base as he was already about 6 inches from the ceiling in the BLVD

My options were the Regent, Frontier, and the Nautilus. If you know about these seats and their pros and cons then you can see that there was no perfect seat for us. I had to get something as he was ourgrowning the BLVD. I ordered the Frontier and returned it as he said it hurt the backs of his legs because they were hit at just the wrong spot. This would have changed as he grew legs but he was certainly adamant that it was painful. The frontier also hung over the seat quite a bit and with tall DH not so much leg room for ds3.
We tried the Nautilus in the store and he complained about the crotch strap immediately. I checked and it was in the furthest postition. Plus looking back I am not so sure he could have slept that well in it.

We ended up purchasing the regent and have been pretty pleased with it so far. The only thing I don't love is when he sleeps his head occasionally falls comfortably to the side but more often it bobbles. I feel so bad for him. I went ahead and bought the Monterey for ds2 so he could move from a LBB to a high back for sleeping on trips since I will be needing a booster for ds3 down the road anyway now.

I think one has to way all of the options and then purchase the seat that is right for the time. This may mean having to buy something else later on.

I have to say that I really don't believe that there is the perfect seat for some kiddos but I am thankful that the carseat manufacturers are producing more HWH options and ERF options for us to choose from.

Well I love my Regent. But sometimes would like to own a few cars to have a Frontier, True Fit and a few others from across the sea in them and chose each day, but I live in the real world where that's not happening. The GN was nicer in person, but the booster kinda sucked in the lap area, hopefully due to size of dd. The True Fit was really nice, all around. And the Frontier did have too soft straps and the arm rests. I would say the True Fit, I didn't read it, but have you tried it IRL? It's real nice and now they have that new color.

I my Regent, but it is pre-advisory.

I say you wait until the new Radian comes out. That way you can buy two seats, one for the new baby and one for J.