Rear-facing in Canada - options and ideas please!

Hi! We have our 17 month old rear-facing in her Eddie-Bauer 3-in-1 Deluxe. We've had fairly good luck with it. She is around 32" (not having much luck measuring her accurately!) and on the second set of slots (I have to double check the manual, but from memory you can use up to the 3rd set rear-facing). Now, the seat says it is rated rear-facing up to 32" in height. Most guidelines seem to go with where their head is on the seat, she has more than 1" left in head room.

So, I'm a little uneasy that she is likely over 32" in a seat that say maximum 32", eventhough I'm comfortable where her head is. How does that work??

Second, eventhough is is around 26lbs, she looks like she'll outgrow it height-wise before weight-wise. I'm going back and forth but I think I'd like to keep her rear-facing (I had a quick look, but if anyone knows where the links to studies on extended rear-facing are, that would be really helpful!) So what are my options? I think it is the Radian (we wouldn't be able to use the front seat of our car! I tried on when the old model was on sale at Canadian Tire, since it didn't have the higher weight limit and we got one with the short straps and Sunshine Kids are a pain in the bum to deal with, it went back) or the Britax Boulevard, maybe the Marathon? I can't find a Britax website with the Canadian limits on them and I know there are differences between the US and Canada.

Anyways, ideas for rear-facing seats beyond 32" would be lovely!

Thanks!
Lauren

Hi,

Good job for wanting to keep your child rf for as long as possible! :thumbsup:

The Compass TrueFit ($199 at zellers, toys r us) has no stated rf length limit. It uses the 1" of hard seat shell above head rule instead. It' also rf's to 35lbs which is awesome, then ff's to 65lbs.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance ($130 at wal-mart, sears) also has no stated length limit. It uses the 1" of hard seat shell above head rule. It rf's to 30lbs, then ff to 47lbs.


hope that helps,

canadiancarseatqueen said:

The Compass TrueFit ($199 at zellers, toys r us) has no stated rf length limit. It uses the 1" of hard seat shell above head rule instead. It' also rf's to 35lbs which is awesome, then ff's to 65lbs.

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It's actually sold under The First Years name, so the box will say "The First Years True Fit".

At BRU it's sold under the Learning Curve name... since we're getting specific here.

canadiancarseatqueen said:

At BRU it's sold under the Learning Curve name... since we're getting specific here.

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Well, the brand it is sold under is "The First Years" at both Zellers and TRU/BRU. The seat has "The First Years" embroidered on the headrest and on the seat. The box says "The First Years". "The First Years" is a "Learning Curve" brand and the box also has "Learning Curve" on it, with the address. But, "The First Years" is what you see in big, huge writing on the box.

I wasn't specific to pick on your wording; but rather because I didn't want anyone going into stores looking for a "Compass" branded seat and end up not finding it. The BRU web site is where it gets a bit confusing, as their picture is NOT of the seat that is sold in Canada. They also list the branding as the "Learning Curve" which is the parent company, but NOT the brand the seat is being sold under.

:thumbsup: Good to have that sorted out. It is confusing.

Very Dorel if you kwim?

canadiancarseatqueen said:

Very Dorel if you kwim?

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"I don't have a Cosco carseat, I have an EDDIE BAUER..."

-Nicole. (Remember me? The one who decided it would be *FUN* to completely renovate a townhouse with a 15 day timeframe??)

canadiancarseatqueen said:

:thumbsup: Good to have that sorted out. It is confusing.

Very Dorel if you kwim?

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At least in this situation the product name stayed the same.

What happened was a brand merger mid-marketing and production of the TF, hence the confusion.

As for the EFTA, it's $150 regular price at both Sears and TRU/BRU, but Sears does put it on sale for $134.99 every time their carseats are on sale. And once fairly recently it was $124.99. But regular price is $150 and not $130. :thumbsup: (And apparently, wal-mart isn't carrying it anymore? Our wal-mart ran out months ago after the first 3 or 4 shipments and has never gotten more in. )

(And apparently, wal-mart isn't carrying it anymore? Our wal-mart ran out months ago after the first 3 or 4 shipments and has never gotten more in. )

That stinks. :thumbsdown:

snowbird25ca said:

(And apparently, wal-mart isn't carrying it anymore? Our wal-mart ran out months ago after the first 3 or 4 shipments and has never gotten more in. )

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I was at Wal-Mart a few days ago for the first time in about a year (I dislike shopping at Wal-Mart!) and they had the brown EFTA. Maybe once they run out though, they won't get anymore? What was totally silly is the hanging label they have on the shelves says it is a CONVERTIBLE BOOSTER SEAT.

TechnoGranola said:

I was at Wal-Mart a few days ago for the first time in about a year (I dislike shopping at Wal-Mart!) and they had the brown EFTA. Maybe once they run out though, they won't get anymore? What was totally silly is the hanging label they have on the shelves says it is a CONVERTIBLE BOOSTER SEAT.

Click to expand...

Ugh.

I keep hoping to see more show up, but after the last shipment ran out, even the display model disappeared. That was long enough ago now that I've lost hope of it coming back - although I haven't seen the lady in the baby dept that I've spoke with in the past about carseats to ask what she knows. (She'd been so excited to have someone who could answer questions and tell her how to talk to parents when they were trying to choose a seat. )

Thanks for the suggestions

I even managed to start a debate on a post I wasn't sure was posted yet!

My other hitch is that we're likely moving and likely to the states later in the year, so I'd have to get a different carseat once we moved! Always interesting

Good to hear there are a couple options for more weight and height rear-facing! I like the idea of the Compass as it goes to 65lbs forward facing (though, again, if we aren't in Canada we'd need a new carseat...) she has slowed down her growth a lot (she was 20lbs between 5 and 6 months!) which is good because I was afraid she'd outgrow everything by weight early, but even so, I don't think she'll be old enough for a booster at 40lbs! Yikes!