Question Need advice on a carseat!

Hi everyone. New here!

I have a son that will be two on December 28th. He is currently 38 pounds and I am in need of a new seat. I have a Cosco Scenera. It is a five-point harness that has a range up to 40 pounds. So my son is going to have out-grown this seat soon, probably by his birthday. I also have an extra Cosco Regal Ride that I just found out had a recall on it last year. Hrmph. It's a good thing I haven't used that one in a while.

Well I the thing is I want to keep my son in a five-point harness system until he can understand a little bit better, 'cause I do not see him being ready for a regular booster seat. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on any good carseats out there that won't cost an arm and a leg, but one that will be durable for my son.

If anyone has any information that would be spectacular. I have never bought a carseat, all of the ones I have had were given to us, or I found on Freecycle (that would be the Regal Ride - I guess I won't be Freecycling that back out there).

My son in his Scenera seat.




I don't think I have any of him in the Regal Ride -- I didn't use that one very much, thank goodness. Does anyone know of where to get rid of recalled carseats? Haha.

There may be a recycling program in your area. Otherwise, beat the heck out of it and throw it away deap in your garbage can.

Also, if you don't know the background of the seats you are using, you shouldn't use them. Car seat should never have their straps washed in the washer, they expire after 6 years and shouldn't be used after a crash.

The Graco Nautilus would be a good choice. It is about $150, harnesses to 65 lbs and makes into a good booster.

Oh, by the way, his strap is twisted on the left side, and should be tighter. You shouldn't be able to pinch any webbing over the shoulder.

And, Welcome!

He's a yummy squishy lil guy

Good on you for keeping him in an appropriate car seat. You should be proud, so few people make the effort :thumbsup:

He's nearly 40 pounds so you definitely need a HWH seat. The cheapest you are going to find is the Cosco Apex (100-130). It goes to 65 pounds with a harness and 100 pounds as a high back booster, but it only works though if you have high seat backs or head rests. What sort of car does he ride in?

Another fairly inexpensive choice might be the Evenflo Triumph Advance. It only goes to 50 pounds though and my worry is he'd outgrow it by weight again anywhere before being near ready for a belt positioning booster. 130-180 depending on where and which features you want.

Another good option would be the Graco Nautilus. Like the Apex it goes to 65 pounds harnessed, but it has higher top slots, and it converts to a backless booster as well as a high back. The backless booster portion has an expiration of 9 years so it would be the last seat you need to buy :thumbsup:


It's hard to tell from your pictures, but it looks like the harness on the Scenera is twisted and a little loose, maybe? It might just be the picture. You want the harness to lie flat with no twists, and it should be tight enough that you can't pinch a fold at the shoulder.

:thumbsup:

Good for you for knowing that he is not booster ready yet!

I think that either the Graco Nautilus or the Britax Frontier may suit your needs. I don't know much about the Frontier, but I'm sure someone will be along to tell you about it.

The Nautilus harnesses to 65 lbs, and then converts into a high back and then a no back booster. It has 18.5" top slots IIRC. It runs around $150. It fits my (50 lb, 46") 6 year old very well and he has lots of room to grow. It is easy for me to install, and it is easy to use. You can see a photo of my son in it in my siggy.

Hello, and welcome!

lilwetduckie said:

I also have an extra Cosco Regal Ride that I just found out had a recall on it last year.

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The good news about the Regal Ride recall is that it was only for the elastic on the cover; it was not for a structural/crash protection issue. However, since you obtained the seat through Freecycle, it's absolutely best to destroy that seat, for reasons previous posters listed.

lilwetduckie said:

I want to keep my son in a five-point harness system until he can understand a little bit better, 'cause I do not see him being ready for a regular booster seat.

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Good for you! :thumbsup: Many parents assume as soon as a child is 40 pounds, they move up to the booster, and they don't even consider the child's age or overall maturity (I also see the opposite: parents who assume as soon as a child is a certain age, they can/should move up to a booster, regardless of weight or size or maturity).

I also had a big-for-her-age child (though mine didn't hit 40 pounds until 3, she outgrew seats like the Scenera by height-shoulders over top slots-at 2). We went with a Britax Regent because we wanted to keep her harnessed as long as possible, and the Regent has the highest top harness slots and highest weight limit on the market. However, she still fit in the Regent at 6/7yo when we decided to move her to a booster seat full-time. She's plenty big enough, and now has the maturity to sit properly at all times in the booster.

Looking at all the higher weight limit harness choices on the market now, for a child your son's age and size, I would look at the Britax Regent, Britax Frontier, Graco Nautilus, and Cosco/Safety 1st Apex (Cosco/Safety 1st are manufactured by the same company, Dorel, and market many seats with the word "Apex" in the model name; pay close attention when researching that you are looking at the 65# harness weight limit Apex, not a 40# harness weight limit seat). I listed those seats mostly in order of how long they will keep him harnessed, and by price (Regent has highest top slots, but is actually slightly cheaper than the Frontier, because the Frontier becomes a booster, and the Regent does not).

lilwetduckie said:

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on any good carseats out there that won't cost an arm and a leg, but one that will be durable for my son.

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Since price is a factor (and I totally understand), the cheapest option is the Apex, however it will also be outgrown the soonest because it has the lowest top slot height (and again, a seat is outgrown by height when shoulders go over top slots, regardless of weight), and the Apex requires vehicle head support at least up to the tops of the child's ears at all times (carseat shell is flimsy enough that it will bend back in a crash, not providing adequate whiplash protection, so it follows the backless booster rule of needing vehicle head support for the child).

The next cheapest option is the Graco Nautilus, which is really a fabulous seat, in my opinion. For not much more than the Apex, you get higher top slots, a seat that not only converts to a highback booster once the harness is outgrown, but also a backless booster (Apex does highback booster mode, not backless, but again, Apex has the head support issue). In my experience, the Nautilus is also easier to install.

If you can, try to find these seats in stores to try your son in them; you might find he looks/seems more comfortable in one or the other. If you need a wider seating area, but don't really need taller top slots (and you have the necessary vehicle head support), the Apex might be the better choice; otherwise, I'd lean toward the Nautilus, myself.

The advantages of the Britax Frontier over the Nautilus (though it's more expensive) are that it has a higher weight limit (but the top slot height is about the same for both; however, if your son tends to outgrow seats by weight before height, the extra 15 pounds harnessed that the Frontier offers might be worth it), it has a roomier seating area, and it adjusts much taller as a booster (the tallest of any booster on the market). For some, those extras are well worth the price difference. For others, the Nautilus (or Apex) are plenty seat, and all they need.

The advantages of the Regent over any of the others is that it's the roomiest seat of them all and has the tallest top slots (and 80 pound weight limit like the Frontier), but it's also the bulkiest/widest seat and does not convert to any kind of booster once the harness is outgrown. So, it will last the longest harnessed and be the roomiest, but you'll need another seat later.

Oh, so much to consider, eh? Don't stress out, just take your time reading and researching, and ask any other questions you might have!

What vehicle (year/make/model) do you drive? Do you have any other children/do any other children ride with you? Does your son ride with others often (will you be uninstalling/reinstalling often)? These things (and many more) can all factor into the decision-making process.

Wow! Thanks everyone for the warm welcoms and yes I did notice after the photos were taken that the straps were a little messed up. Hehe. Silly me! I have to loosen the straps up when I put him in 'cause he is such a big guy and sometimes I'll tighten 'em back up and then there are the very few occasions that (like in that photo, go figure!) I don't check back and make sure everything is all secure.

scatterbunny said:

What vehicle (year/make/model) do you drive? Do you have any other children/do any other children ride with you? Does your son ride with others often (will you be uninstalling/reinstalling often)? These things (and many more) can all factor into the decision-making process.

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As for vehicles, I currently drive a 2000 Cavalier, but it is a rental/loaner car until I get my 1996 Eclipse GS-T (I'm a youngin' and a car girl!). My husband is still trying to find him a car, but it is going to be a 4th generation Firebird (the last years they had). He is trying to get him a 2000 TransAm. We may or may not be moving the carseat between those two vehicle, but I know if I ever go anywhere with my mother, I will be using her '99 GMC Yukon. But the main vehicle it would be staying in would be my Eclipse. Until we can afford a newer/nicer family car.

As for children, no other children to speak. Hopefully he'll be the only one as well. I RARELY have any other children ride with me, and the ones that do, if they ever end up ridiing with me do not have booster seats (even thought they are still probably in the age/weight limit of being in one, my sister-in-law just doesn't put them in 'em).

I am about to go look up those seats you recommended on the BabiesRUs site and might go window shopping this weekend to see which ones he fits into best as well. I like that idea. I never thought about doing that... I did it with our stroller 'cause we just had to purchase a newer stroller 'cause the cheapy $50 one we bought was too tiny for him. Haha. I invested into a nice one and hopefully we'll get quite a bit of use out of it (zoo trips and so on and so forth).

Thanks again everyone for the advice!

I just wanted to mention that if you decide on the graco nautilus, there are some online deals to make it less expensive. There's some deal on Amazon to get it down to $115ish and it is also less expensive at walmart.com (but not in the stores). If you are interested in the deals, please ask for someone more knowledgeable than I. (I'm not shopping, so haven't looked into it much.)

With moving back and forth between vehicles (some smaller sports cars), I'd look closely at the Nautilus. :thumbsup: It seems to fit well in very contoured seats (works well in a new Mustang).

Also, I just wanted to throw this out there: even though your neices/nephews are not in boosters in their parents' vehicles, just think how you would feel if you had a crash and they were hurt, and it could have been prevented if they were properly restrained. Boosters are pretty darn cheap (a great one for tight seating situations is the Fisher Price Safe Voyage booster, only $40 at Albee Baby online, with $5 shipping).

scatterbunny said:

With moving back and forth between vehicles (some smaller sports cars), I'd look closely at the Nautilus. :thumbsup: It seems to fit well in very contoured seats (works well in a new Mustang).

Also, I just wanted to throw this out there: even though your neices/nephews are not in boosters in their parents' vehicles, just think how you would feel if you had a crash and they were hurt, and it could have been prevented if they were properly restrained. Boosters are pretty darn cheap (a great one for tight seating situations is the Fisher Price Safe Voyage booster, only $40 at Albee Baby online, with $5 shipping).

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Thanks. Yeah I am looking up the Nautilus now. I looked at the Frontier and I just don't think it would work too well in my car. Whew, and what a price tag! Lol.

My neices and nephew don't ride with me much anymore 'cause I used to pick them up from school last year but since we moved, I haven't done that. I doubt I'll be having them in my car much anymore. They are 8 & 9 and then the little one is 3 -- she is in a booster seat right now. She is very well-behaved and sits very still in the car. I have never had her in the car, if I did, I would DEFINITELY have a booster for her, but the other two... *shrug* I'm not even sure what their size & weights are.

Thanks again everyeone.

Btw, I was reading in another post something about the tethering. I have never used the one on my Scenera 'cause none of my cars have come with it (I've driven mostly older Escorts until recently getting my Eclipse).

I can tell you that the average kiddo needs a booster until age 10-12; the biggest kid I've ever seen personally who does not need a booster was about 8yo, but again, very big for his age. My own child is 7 and at the top of the growth charts for both height and weight at about 4 feet 5 inches tall and 62 pounds, but even she does not fit seatbelts properly without a booster (even in my tiny Ford Focus). She's huge for her age, and will still be in a booster until at least 9, probably more like 10-11. Seatbelts are designed for adult males about 5'8" and weighing approximately 160 pounds, so it's no wonder they don't fit right on folks bigger or smaller than that.

Most vehicles can have top tether anchors retrofitted, in some cases for free, in many cases, very cheap (and sometimes it's a do-it-yourself job). I installed ours in a 1991 Honda Accord, parts cost about $20 for two anchor kits and the job took only a few minutes.