So disappointed

Unregistered · Jul 27, 2008

After reading so much good about the nautalis i went o see this on local BRU ,i was so disappointed to see the seat , iam surprised ppl like this so much, it looks so cheap and unimpressive, its so narrow that i doubt any 7 years old will fitin it should be too this to be comfy, the crotch strap has no area to fit a 5 years old comfertably rather thinking about 7-11 years .. iam gona see the frontier today hope it will help..
also want to mention not even the marathon was that impressive in front of all the new seats out nowadays.. however really liked the EFTA and reagent
the point is dont just get convinced by what ppl say here one should go and look for themselves the choices are really different.. however the suggestions and advices here arre really precious...

fyrfightermomma · Jul 27, 2008

I'm sorry you weren't thrilled with the Nautilus. It works excellent for some people, and not so much for others. It is a lower cost high weight seat that converts to a booster so that is why it tends to get recommended alot. It is in a lot of people's budget.

However I'm not sure what you mean by telling people to not be convinced of our recommendations on here. We recommend seats based on need, budget, and circumstances. We frequently recommend the EFTA, the Regent, the Scenera, the Uptown, the Marathon, the Trufit, and the Frontier, along with the GN. We recommend every seat from the $40 basic to the $500 top of the line.

We try to make recommendations on what people are looking for and need. If you have more specifics on price, your child's weight/height/age and your car we would be more than happy to help to give pros/cons of each seat.

We also always recommend people try their child in the seat and the seat in their car before purchasing it to ensure its a good fit for them.

sunnymw · Jul 27, 2008

I totally agree that everyone should go and try out the actual seats if at all possible

That being said, I've went to several places and "felt" seats that I was totally unimpressed with store-wise. However, I know that it's most likely that these seats were abused, since they were floor models. For instance, the Marathon floor model I "felt" at Target was practically falling apart, and it seemed much less sturdy than, say, the 3-in-1 seat that I felt (which aren't generally recommended). But upon closer inspection, the display model of the Marathon had a DOM of early 2005, where as the 3-in-1 was 2008... so the MA had been abused much longer than the 3-in-1

But I've felt a new MA, fresh out of box, and lemme tell you there IS a difference!

Also, if you can, go to different places to feel the different fabric choices, even store to store it can vary quite a bit. I don't know about the crotch buckle though

carseatcoach · Jul 27, 2008

Also, while many of us are cover connaisseurs, some of us don't hesitate to recommend an "unimpressive"-looking seat if it's a way to keep a child safer.

keri1292 · Jul 27, 2008

If someone has a $150 budget and a large/tall/long-torsoed child, the only choice is the Nautilus. The Regent is twice as much. The Radian is $50 more with lower top slots and doesn't convert to a booster. The Nautilus may not be the most luxurious seat available, but it will keep a child safe.

Patriot201 · Jul 27, 2008

I am sorry that you didn't like the Nautilus.

Like all seats, the Nautilus will have some fans and some people who don't like it at all. That is the way it will always be. The Evenflo Triumph Advance is a great seat, but I don't like it. Does that mean it is a bad seat? Of course not.

Like the others said, the Nautilus is a good seat for a family on a budget who needs a HWH seat that will convert to a booster.

I adore my Nautilus. Others may not like it. That's okay with me.

skiersnowboarder3 · Jul 27, 2008

I love my nautilus. I also loved my regent, and love my radians and my 3 in 1 (enspira). Different seats serve different purposes. No, the nautilus is not as wide as the regent. Heck, I could sit in the regent comfortably. I can also sit in the enspira comfortably. I think it's the armrests that make it narrow. I haven't had any complaints from the kids I've put in it so far though. Although the one kid only cared that there was a cupholder.

The best seat is the one that fits the child, the budget, the car, and will be used correctly every single time.

bobandjess99 · Jul 27, 2008

Yes to what everyoine else has said, but also...while *some* 7 yr olds might be too large to fit comfortably in the seat, if you search on here, you will find numerous threads with pictures of 7, 8, 9, even 10 year old children that fit and are quite happy and comfortable in theirs. I know that personally, my 8 yr old niece and 11 yr old stepson both fit in it in booster mode and say it is comfortable, and my nearly 4 yr old daughter, 4.5 yr old grandaughter, and 5.5 year old grandson fit in it harnessed with a LOT of room to spare in width, height, crotch room and pounds.

snowbird25ca · Jul 27, 2008

Unregistered said:
the point is dont just get convinced by what ppl say here one should go and look for themselves the choices are really different.. however the suggestions and advices here arre really precious...

I think that you'll find a common thread in pretty much every "help me pick a seat" thread is telling the poster to try the different seats in his/her vehicle, see how his/her child fits in the seat, and checking how they like using it.

It is only under very exceptional circumstances where there is truly only one seat that would meet a poster's needs that we would only recommend one seat - as in an older child with special needs who wouldn't fit most seats on the market kind of situation.

You're right that there are many different choices available and every parent has different things he/she is looking for in a seat. There is no right seat for everyone, or else there wouldn't be way over a dozen seats to choose from.

I'm glad that you tried the seat out yourself and are looking to see what meets your needs best. It's only through seeing how your child fits, how the seat installs in your vehicle, and how you like using the seat that you'll be able to pick the seat that is best for *you.*

scatterbunny · Jul 27, 2008

My 97th percentile 7yo is an inch over the top slots on the Nautilus, yet she doesn't find it too narrow in the shoulders, or too short to the crotch strap. :shrug-shoulders: Everybody's "perfect seat" is going to be different. The Nautilus is recommended often because not everyone can afford a Regent, and not everyone wants to harness to age 9-10, and not everyone has the space for the Regent. The only harnessed seats that will last longer than a Nautilus are the $400 Safeguard Child Seat and the $280 Regent. For $150, the Nautilus is well worth it, IMHO. It's a wonderful seat, but it won't be for everybody.

ETA: This is a photo of my daughter sitting in a Nautilus. The chest clip is too low, but we did not go anywhere with her in this seat. She has outgrown this seat by height, since her shoulders are an inch over the top slots. Her legs are very long, and she complains in some boosters about lack of leg support. Despite being way too big for harnessed mode on this seat, she loved it and would have happily used it.

No complaints about shoulder room, or lack of seat depth, or tight crotch strap.

mommyto4kiddos · Jul 27, 2008

I agree it doesn't look or feel impressive. The padding sucks. Saying all that right now it is my favorite since it buckles so easy and tightens super easy, way easier than any britax. This is all coming from a spoiled rotten carseat owner. I have a frontier and 2 regents in the garage.

scatterbunny · Jul 27, 2008

For those interested or wondering, the crotch position that's the furthest out is approximately 7 inches from the back of the seat, and it's about 10 inches wide at the narrowest part of the shoulder area (it widens out gradually). It's also about 12 inches wide in the seating area, and about 13 inches deep.

drlynne · Jul 27, 2008

Eviesmama said:
I'm sorry you weren't thrilled with the Nautilus. It works excellent for some people, and not so much for others. It is a lower cost high weight seat that converts to a booster so that is why it tends to get recommended alot. It is in a lot of people's budget.

However I'm not sure what you mean by telling people to not be convinced of our recommendations on here. We recommend seats based on need, budget, and circumstances. We frequently recommend the EFTA, the Regent, the Scenera, the Uptown, the Marathon, the Trufit, and the Frontier, along with the GN. We recommend every seat from the $40 basic to the $500 top of the line.

We try to make recommendations on what people are looking for and need. If you have more specifics on price, your child's weight/height/age and your car we would be more than happy to help to give pros/cons of each seat.

We also always recommend people try their child in the seat and the seat in their car before purchasing it to ensure its a good fit for them.

Which seat is in your signature pic?
Lynne

keri1292 · Jul 27, 2008

drlynne said:
Which seat is in your signature pic?
Lynne

It's a Compass True Fit (Monet cover).

An Aurora · Jul 27, 2008

mommyto4kiddos said:
I agree it doesn't look or feel impressive. The padding sucks. Saying all that right now it is my favorite since it buckles so easy and tightens super easy, way easier than any britax. This is all coming from a spoiled rotten carseat owner. I have a frontier and 2 regents in the garage.

I agree, it certainly isn't padded at all. I was disappointed when I bought it and read in the manual you can't use the padding unless in the bottom slots :thumbsdown:. But, we saved $100 which was great. The Regent didn't work for us because the crotch strap was too far away from her, and she would slide forward.

The Nautilus is an excellent seat for the price, and it will get more parents to extended harness since it's a trusted brand, cheap, and readily available. That gets mad props in my book :thumbsup:

Starlight · Jul 27, 2008

I believe that is a True Fit, in Monet.

kphil · Jul 28, 2008

As far as the Nautilus size issues, particularly width, I just wanted to post that looks can be deceiving. I posted here not long ago that I was disappointed to find that the Nautilus was narrow for my 8.5yo the first time she sat in it (her 5yo sister usually rides in it). A week later I ended up needing to switch my 8.5yo to the Nautilus because I couldn't get her Regent reinstalled, and she ended up loving the Nautilus and rode in it for a couple weeks. My 5yo complained bitterly the whole time because she wanted the Nautilus back and hated riding in the EFTA

. I've been really surprised how much I love the Nautilus--it installs and adjusts like a dream. On the other hand, if you don't like it, you don't like it and that's totally okay

.

Kat_Momof3 · Jul 28, 2008

I love my Nautilus. My 7yr old tried out his sister's Nautilus when we got it (when he was still 6.5yrs old) and he had no complaints. He thought it was GREAT and very comfy.

He had no problems with the crotch strap, either, and was just happy it had a belly pad (he's spoiled and does not like seats without "winky protectors")

On the other side, though, this thread reminded me I need to bring the GN in and move the crotch strap forward... I'd moved it back because Ruthie was slouching, but now she's OFFICIALLY on the closer position, I'm moving it, because there won't be that space that allowed her to slouch.

jamesmommy · Jul 28, 2008

Another positive review here. Both DS5 and I both like his Nautilus. He has had no issues with the crotch strap, and loves the cupholders

. He can help do some of the buckles too, something he couldn't do in his other seat, a Britax Husky. He definitely prefers the Nautilus when given the choice. I am not a huge fan of the fabric used on this seat, but don't see alot of difference in the padding . Sometime in the not so distant future (maybe after the new year), I will probably get a Frontier, but for the moment the Nautilus is working for us.

fyrfightermomma · Jul 28, 2008

drlynne said:
Which seat is in your signature pic?
Lynne

LOL...I think on every thread I've posted on in the past week someone has asked that

They are right, its the True Fit in Monet

So disappointed

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