Excited! New seat... what do I choose?

My DS has almost outgrown his Grandma's Scenara (in height) so he needs a new seat. He is going to be 3 in Nov, 30lbs (skinny thing) and average height.

We were planning on moving his crummy 3 in 1 Cosco Alpha Omega Elite into Grandma's car (since he doesn't use it often at all).

So that means I get to buy a NEW seat! Which is thrilling because DH told me (NO MORE SEATS). We have a Radian65 in our Xterra, but now need another seat for our Cavalier.

Mostly I'm planning on putting the Radian into the Cavalier, then putting our new seat into the Xterra.

SO I was thinking that I'd really LIKE another Radian, but... I also have seen the Britax Marathon and Boulevard, as well as the True Fit in stores... and well.. they seem pretty nice too.

Ack! What do I do? Do I get another Radian so that if we have another baby they will take up the least amount of room?

I'm torn!! I think DS and I might go to TRU and check out some of the Britax seats... but what do you think?

We love our Radian... but Cowmooflage?? swwoooon

That really all depends on what you want in a seat.

You have a Radian, so you know all about that one.

The Marathon's top slots are not as high as the TruFit or the Radian's. You can check out this thread for a comparison of all of them (including the EFTA and Frontier).

Most older kids prefer a baseless seat (Radian, Frontier, TruFit - in that order for closest to the vehicle seat to furthest from it) for easier climbing in/out of the seat.

Do you want the seat to turn into a booster or do you intend to get a new booster later on and pass this seat down to the new baby? If you intend to pass it down, you'll want to stick with a convertible (so no Frontier).

For the price and the fact that you are basically using this as a forward facing only seat, I'd skip the Marathon.

I also find the Trufit to be fairly reclined when forward facing and the geometry of the seat seems to raise the child's knees above the hips even if you can get a more upright install, which I don't really like either. I like it as a rear facing seat for older toddlers that can handle and want an upright angle, but I'm not sold on it's forward facing mode at this moment.

Do you do any airline travel? The Radian wins hands down in my book for airline travel... but you already have one and you really only need one for the airplane, so you could have a different second seat.

At three years old, I'd be concentrating on another Radian or the Frontier, depending on your needs/wants.

Well, depending on your definition of "almost outgrown" re his Scenara, I'd try holding out for the Nautilus.

Are you sure he's not outgrown the 3in1 as well? Don't they have lower usable top slots than the Scenara?

Yeah, I would check out a combination seat, so it will last him a lot longer. If you can wait for the Nautilus, then I would do that, or you could check out the Frontier.

bubbaray said:

Well, depending on your definition of "almost outgrown" re his Scenara, I'd try holding out for the Nautilus.

Are you sure he's not outgrown the 3in1 as well? Don't they have lower usable top slots than the Scenara?

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No, funnily enough. He still has one more slot up to go, and then the highest for the booster positioning. We'll still keep the Scenara, we plan on having another kiddo soon-ish and that one is still good for a while.

In almost outgrown, I mean that the top slots are less than one inch above his shoulders.. maybe 1/2 and inch. I know that thats okay but I really want a new seat...

Frontier you say.... hmm..

Oh the choices. I love the narrow-ness of the Radian, I checked out the True Fit today and it seems SO wide. The 3in 1 already seems soooo wide compared to the Radian. But it seems SO boring to get another one... LOL
I do like the thought that I MAY be able to put three across if I really needed to.

So torn. I think I will have to check out the Frontier in person. The Nautilus sounds good, but when is it coming? I've been out of touch for a little while.

Isn't it the 3in1 seats that you can't use the top harness slot for FF? Sorry, I don't have one and I'm not a tech, but I seem to remember an issue about the use of the top harness slot. Maybe double check your manual?

The Nautilus is rumored to be in Canada around Christmas or early 2009. I'm hoping the Great Pumpkin brings me one earlier!

Caseylaine said:

So torn. I think I will have to check out the Frontier in person. The Nautilus sounds good, but when is it coming? I've been out of touch for a little while.

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1/2" should last him a few months pretty easy unless he has a torso growth spurt - which will most likely be enough for the Nautilus to get here & then you can compare it with the other seats.

The info Transport Canada was given by Graco at the ABC Kids Show is that they're expecting it to be in warehouses by the end of November and in store by the end of December. It will be widely carried by all the major retailers. As for if anyone will get it first, I really don't know.

I think the 3in1 seats are about 1.5" more harness room than the Scenera, so him having one usable setting to go would seem about right if he still has 1/2" left in the Scenera. :thumbsup:

CDNTech said:

I also find the Trufit to be fairly reclined when forward facing and the geometry of the seat seems to raise the child's knees above the hips even if you can get a more upright install, which I don't really like either. I like it as a rear facing seat for older toddlers that can handle and want an upright angle, but I'm not sold on it's forward facing mode at this moment.

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What is wrong with FF with the True Fit? Is it not safe to be fairly reclined when FF? Is it also not safe to have the knees raised above the hips?

I thought this is a good seat for RF and FF. If not then I'll return it.

All right, I have been convinced to wait until the Nautilus shows up. LOL

However, it kills me inside because I haven't been able to buy a new seat in ages and ages... and the waiting... its agony!!

SafeRide said:

What is wrong with FF with the True Fit? Is it not safe to be fairly reclined when FF? Is it also not safe to have the knees raised above the hips?

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There's nothing unsafe about knees above hips... I just think it looks slightly uncomfortable and I can see my kids legs falling asleep on long trips. Since we do quite a few 6+ hour drives several times per year, this is important to me.

As for the Forward Facing Recline, I'm just going to C & P what I wrote on another thread...

It's not that it's unsafe... I just prefer it to be more upright as that is safe(r).

In a typical lap/shoulder seatbelt...
When a forward facing seat is reclined the child runs the risk of submarining underneath the lap portion of the seatbelt. This in turn can cause internal injuries (to the stomach area) and even death.

A 5pt harness works similarly but *definitely* not to the same extent. I would rather the child/seat be more upright so that the force of the collision is spread over all 5 points more equally rather than the lower three points (crotch buckle, and two hip points).

These seats are tested in their reclined state (according to their manuals), but I do wonder just what the difference is between a test sled bench (fairly upright) and a vehicle with sloped backseats or a reclined vehicle seat. There is no data to support or refute this, so until there is I will err on the side of caution and if that seat is forward facing then I want it sitting fairly upright. Just my personal preference.

SafeRide said:

What is wrong with FF with the True Fit? Is it not safe to be fairly reclined when FF? Is it also not safe to have the knees raised above the hips?

I thought this is a good seat for RF and FF. If not then I'll return it.

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There is nothing wrong with the TF - rf or ff. Just make sure you have the back of the TF flush with the vehicle seat when ff.

As for the knees above the hips - Jen can explain why she mind/worry about it. I don't see any reason to caution about it. It might just be a personal thing.

If anything, I think it is even more comfy for the child to sit with knees above bum. A child sitting with the knees higher up than the bums might be more of a natural seating, imo (well, copying a page out of 'baby wearing' positioning to create a natural seating in a carrier is to have a baby's knees raised up higher than the bum vs. the crotch-dangly positioning in some carriers on the market). This is of course, me conjecturing

Imagine, yourself sitting in a chair with the chair bottom angled backward vs. a chair with flat bottom. I think angled-bottom chair would be more comfy for the legs when pressure points are in the bums (w/ more 'cushion') vs. along the legs and back of knees (w/ less 'cushion').

CDNTech said:

There's nothing unsafe about knees above hips... I just think it looks slightly uncomfortable and I can see my kids legs falling asleep on long trips. Since we do quite a few 6+ hour drives several times per year, this is important to me.

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Posted my reply before I saw this post

Jen, it might look uncomfortable to us but this is sorta like how leg-bending, ankle-crossing, feet-touching for old kids sitting rf looking uncomfortable to adults but not babies/kids :thumbsup:

Casey - I just wanted to follow up about the slot heights of the Scenera and AOE. I had my dd sit in the regular AO and the Scenera at walmart last night. She's pretty much even with the top slots of the Scenera in store - so I expect would have outgrown it once installed, and has definitely outgrown the regular AO by about .25 to 1/2" meaning she's pretty close to outgrowing the AOE if she hasn't already. (There's a 1/2" difference in harness height between the AO and the AOE.)

So I'm thinking the top slots are more like 15" on the scenera and I know the AOE is 15.5". My dd's torso measures between 15 & 15.5" depending on how she squirms, so that seems pretty much right on.

Anyways, all that to say I'd check that you're not already using the top usable position on the AOE. Unless the Scenera has undergone a redesign - which as far as I know it hasn't, then your ds may be much closer to outgrowing the 3in1 than it seems. I would expect him to be within 1" if he has 1/2" left in the scenera... Although it's possible he's losing room in the Scenera in grandma's car depending on the angle of the seats... fit of a seat can vary between vehicle. I just thought I'd mention it anyways as I was quite surprised to see the result. :thumbsup:

eta: Carseatdata.org lists the scenera at 14.5", so I now that I'm sitting here thinking about it, I really don't know how it is that she's even with the top slots on the scenera but definitely outgrown the AO. That should make about 1" difference between the top slots of the Scenera and AOE anyways, so I'd still double check which harness height he's using.

hipmaman said:

Posted my reply before I saw this post

Jen, it might look uncomfortable to us but this is sorta like how leg-bending, ankle-crossing, feet-touching for old kids sitting rf looking uncomfortable to adults but not babies/kids :thumbsup:

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I realize it works for baby wearing (I have a Beco that M loves)... but the 6+ hour road trips don't work so well with their legs at this angle. Their legs fall asleep right above the knee and all I hear is complaining. So, yes it is a personal thing for us because of those long trips.

snowbird25ca said:

So I'm thinking the top slots are more like 15" on the scenera and I know the AOE is 15.5". My dd's torso measures between 15 & 15.5" depending on how she squirms, so that seems pretty much right on.

eta: Carseatdata.org lists the scenera at 14.5", so I now that I'm sitting here thinking about it, I really don't know how it is that she's even with the top slots on the scenera but definitely outgrown the AO. That should make about 1" difference between the top slots of the Scenera and AOE anyways, so I'd still double check which harness height he's using.

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Yes. I measured the current Scenera and the top slot height is 15".