Question MA, BLVD or Tru fit??

I am agonizing over which of these is the safest and easiest choice for my 6 month old son who is already 20lbs and 28inches long and about to be forced out of his infant seat. Since we will have to buy at least 2 seats price may be somewhat of a factor but if the tru fit is not as good as the MA or BLVD then I will bite the bullet and cough up the $. Just wanted some advice since I am having such a hard time deciding, despite all the on line research I have done so far. Any benefits, negatives of one or another? I have a small car - Nissan Versa if this factors in, plus I have heard some concerns about the britax crotch strap fitting to tight or being under the child as they get big, any truth to this?
Any input would be appreciated
Thanks
Amanda - AB Canada

i have all three and love all three I never used the TF with an infant ( i just got it 2 months ago) but the BLVD and MA both work great - I have one BLVD FF and one RF. I also have 1 MA RF and 1 FF. The TF I use FF. DD2 is already 31lbs but she isn't really tall so she still has height room in the 2 Britax. The TF has a taller shell the then BLVD/MA if it looks your baby will need the extra room to meet the 1" below top of the shell rule. I haven't had any problems with crotch strap on the BLVD except when you put them in you usually have to dig it out from under them - FF and RF - its not really a huge deal - my oldest holds her bottom up while i grab it - for the baby i have to dig it out

hey i am waiting for my registration to go through - my username will be Nick'smom. I am wondering if snowbird from Edmonton AB is out there? I live in Edmonton too and understand you work at BRU?? and give expert advice about carseats, safety, fit etc. I am wondering if you can help me out in person when you are at work. If you wouldn't mind letting me know which location you work at and when I can come by and get some much needed help/advice.
Thanks so much

Unregistered said:

hey i am waiting for my registration to go through - my username will be Nick'smom. I am wondering if snowbird from Edmonton AB is out there? I live in Edmonton too and understand you work at BRU?? and give expert advice about carseats, safety, fit etc. I am wondering if you can help me out in person when you are at work. If you wouldn't mind letting me know which location you work at and when I can come by and get some much needed help/advice.
Thanks so much

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Hi to another Edmontonian.

Yes, I work at BRU on the west end. Email me at snowbird25ca @ car-seat.org and I'll tell you the hours I work. They're the same every week. :thumbsup:

Right now the TF is the only seat with the option to rf to 35lbs. With children that are in the 20lb range or higher at 6mos, I really think that going for a 35lb rf'ing limit seat in at least one vehicle is important. Weight gain typically does slow around this age, but not for all kids, and that extra 5lbs could make the difference between ff'ing at 13mos and ff'ing at 18 or 20mos.

All 3 are nice seats. I can tell you that we only have the display model of the blvd left right now - although it's only been out on the floor for either 1 or 2wks as of today. (I don't recall which, but I was the one who put it out. )

I've done a seat check for a family that drove a Versa - do you have a hatchback? I know that the back seat in the hatch back is actually very spacious so you shouldn't have a problem with any of those seats in there - I'm not sure if the sedan has a different backseat or not as I've never seen one IRL.

Assuming that you find the TF installs well in your vehicle, then I'd go with a TF just for that extra 5lbs rf'ing. It's on sale right now too although today might be the last day - I'm not 100% positive on that, but it's what I've heard. I am at work tonight and tomorrow night, I start at 5:30.

The leg room is listed as the same for both the sedan and the hatchback. Seriously when we looked at it, I think I could have fit a Radian back there and still had nice room up front.

I agree with Trudy that I'd be leaning toward a Trufit for the 35lbs limit. You shouldn't have any issues installing that in the Versa.

Thanks all for the advice. My Versa is a hatchback and we did pick it b/c of the side curtain airbags and the roomy interior for a car it's size.
Trudy - I'll try and come see you tonight. Thanks so much for all the info. I agree about wanting him rearfacing as long as possible and he is definately at the top of the percentile for his age. Do the britax seats not rearface to 35 lbs too?

Nick'smom said:

Thanks all for the advice. My Versa is a hatchback and we did pick it b/c of the side curtain airbags and the roomy interior for a car it's size.
Trudy - I'll try and come see you tonight. Thanks so much for all the info. I agree about wanting him rearfacing as long as possible and he is definately at the top of the percentile for his age. Do the britax seats not rearface to 35 lbs too?

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Unfortunately the Britax seats only rf to 30lbs in Canada.

At present, the TF is alone in being able to rf to 35lbs, although that will hopefully be changing in the next few months.. a reliable source has said that the 3in1 seats will be returning with higher rf'ing limits in the not too distant future - although even once they have the 35lb rf'ing limit, they're not really a deal when you take into consideration they already cost just as much or more than the TF - for the most part, and don't harness as long.