pregodego2
New member
I am having a bit of a dilemma with which car seat to keep for my 5-year old. Now that i have figured out how to adjust the height, I am totally torn on which to keep. Here's what i have and what the pros and cons are for US personally.
SK Monterey
pros:
~width adjustment - the 5-year old is thin, but the 3 year old who might be going into it later is broad. This would be helpful, i guess.
~up to 120 pounds:
this is a pro AND a con, it's great we will use this until our 5 year old is in college, but then that means my first pro above doesn't matter, since the younger son will never really go into it, we will most likely get him his own seat so that the older son can stay in his as a backless booster until it expires.
~9 year expiration
~lightweight
~backless booster option
~packs flat, we travel a lot
~great side/head wing protection
~AMAZING $ deal - Brand new, i got it at wholesale price and spent WAY less than any car seat that compares to it.
cons: only 1
~NOT a 5-pt harness which we REALLY wanted for 2 reasons:
A. it keeps him safer
B. it's easier to get him in and out of a 5-pt than the seatbelt. DH gets SO frustrated with the seatbelt car seats.
Britax Frontier
pros:
~MAJOR pro is the 5-pt harness up to 80 pounds. safer and easier to manage
~great side/head wing protection
~up to 100 pounds
~pretty lightweight
~9 year expiration
Cons:
~does not fold up nicely
~does not go backless, therefore once our son outgrows the height for the head, it is finished. HOWEVER, then it could go to our younger son.
~Cost us a heck of a lot more $ buying it at retail price
~Our older son will definitely outgrow the harness by height before weight. So, is it really worth keeping it solely for the purpose of a more manageable and what we feel is safer car seat (5-pt harness) for only the next 6 months??
I just cannot decide...There are definitely more pros to the Monterey - key ones being the backless option and that it lasts longer (120 pounds). With a 9-year expiration on it, we will have it until ricky, our oldest, is 14! and our youngest is 12. We will DEFINITELY get use out of it. However, the 5-pt harness on the Frontier is such a huge help for easier in-and-out access and we feel safer.
I guess we could always sell the Frontier and buy the Nautilus, that way we aren't spending TOO much on an "extra" car seat to sit around in between kids if it happens AND we do get the 5-pt harness for 6 months on our older child. Then he could go to the Monterey. The younger child then can go into the Nautilus when his expires, if he meets the requirements and we feel it's safe for him at that point. Then they both end up being able to stay in backless boosters in the long run.
Make sense? WWYD?
SK Monterey
pros:
~width adjustment - the 5-year old is thin, but the 3 year old who might be going into it later is broad. This would be helpful, i guess.
~up to 120 pounds:
this is a pro AND a con, it's great we will use this until our 5 year old is in college, but then that means my first pro above doesn't matter, since the younger son will never really go into it, we will most likely get him his own seat so that the older son can stay in his as a backless booster until it expires.
~9 year expiration
~lightweight
~backless booster option
~packs flat, we travel a lot
~great side/head wing protection
~AMAZING $ deal - Brand new, i got it at wholesale price and spent WAY less than any car seat that compares to it.
cons: only 1
~NOT a 5-pt harness which we REALLY wanted for 2 reasons:
A. it keeps him safer
B. it's easier to get him in and out of a 5-pt than the seatbelt. DH gets SO frustrated with the seatbelt car seats.
Britax Frontier
pros:
~MAJOR pro is the 5-pt harness up to 80 pounds. safer and easier to manage
~great side/head wing protection
~up to 100 pounds
~pretty lightweight
~9 year expiration
Cons:
~does not fold up nicely
~does not go backless, therefore once our son outgrows the height for the head, it is finished. HOWEVER, then it could go to our younger son.
~Cost us a heck of a lot more $ buying it at retail price
~Our older son will definitely outgrow the harness by height before weight. So, is it really worth keeping it solely for the purpose of a more manageable and what we feel is safer car seat (5-pt harness) for only the next 6 months??
I just cannot decide...There are definitely more pros to the Monterey - key ones being the backless option and that it lasts longer (120 pounds). With a 9-year expiration on it, we will have it until ricky, our oldest, is 14! and our youngest is 12. We will DEFINITELY get use out of it. However, the 5-pt harness on the Frontier is such a huge help for easier in-and-out access and we feel safer.
I guess we could always sell the Frontier and buy the Nautilus, that way we aren't spending TOO much on an "extra" car seat to sit around in between kids if it happens AND we do get the 5-pt harness for 6 months on our older child. Then he could go to the Monterey. The younger child then can go into the Nautilus when his expires, if he meets the requirements and we feel it's safe for him at that point. Then they both end up being able to stay in backless boosters in the long run.
Make sense? WWYD?