Will the Recaro Young Sport fit DD? Need advice

Hi everyone,

I've been doing my research and want to get a combination seat for DD. She'll be 4 in a few weeks. She's about 36 lbs, 40 1/2" tall and almost to the top of her top Roundabout harness height, so about a 15-15 1/2" torso height.

It seems like the Young Sport should work for her harnessed about another year or so, and then convert to a booster for quite a while. Am I missing anything ? I need to order a new seat ASAP!

We have a Jeep Cherokee now and might be getting a sedan in the fall. I don't want to get a super huge seat so that's why I'm looking at combo seats.

thanks! Kelly

First off, that seat requires that a top tether be used, so make sure your vehicle has a place to tether it or that one can be installed.
It only harnesses to 40 pounds, so you won't get that much time out of the harness. Depending on how quickly she grows, it might be okay. I would prefer a higher weight harness seat, but if you know tht you only want a combination seat, then the RYS will probably work well for you. But I don't think it's much smaller (if at all) than a Regent, so don't rule that out completely!

Here's a link to the RYS owner's manual: http://www.recarochildseats.com/instruct/youngSport.pdf

Page 10 - "Knowing your Vehicle" shows the various ways to install the seat in harness mode. The manual tells you to pick ONE of the following methods:
- Lower LATCH and top tether
- 3-point (lap and shoulder) belt and top tether
- 2-point (lap) belt and top tether
- Lower LATCH
- 3-point (lap and shoulder) belt
- 2-point (lap) belt

For booster mode, it says the following: "Always use your vehicle's lap and shoulder ("3-point") belt system when resatraining the child in booster mode. In booster mode, it is also possible to use the top tether for additional safety.

It is smaller than the Regent. Here's the website I got the information on the measurements. (http://www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html#forward)

Regent:
harness slot heights: 11.5 14.0 16.5 20.0
crotch depths: 7.5 9.5
back height: 28.0
width: 21.5


Recaro Young Sport
harness slot heights: 13.5 15.25 17.0
crotch depths 7.0
back height 29.5
width 18.0

I can tell you that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Recaro. HTH

You can also use this website to buy the seat. DOM on my seat was the day before I ordered it. http://www.recarodealer.com/ (use SHOW) as the dealer's code. It worked GREAT for us. The seat was 205.43 with 18.00 shipping. The website uses Paypal to pay for the orders also. I bought the Sand color since we have 100+ temps and it hasn't been hot yet. I'm going to be ordering another one in the next couple of weeks.

I have the Young Sport for my 7 yr old. He is 36lbs and approx. 45" tall (torso height approx. 15 1/4"). My ds is in the top harness position but still has a bit of harness growing room. We love the seat and it works for us as my ds is lightweight and I figure when he reaches 40lbs. hopefully both of us will be ready to make the move to booster full time. He is a slow gainer and seems to grow more heightwise.
I would take into consideration your DD's growth pattern and whether it seems she would be able to use the Young Sport harnessed until she's mature enough for a booster. In my case, my ds was 6 when I bought the Young Sport and my goal was to keep him harnessed in it until age 7. I had a Husky for him and absolutely loved it but it was more seat than he needed at his weight. I fell in love with the Young Sport very quickly.
The Young Sport should be tethered if you have anchors and the manual says this. But if you don't have anchors, there is a pouch designed to store the tether. The seat is a little heavy at 22.5lbs so I prefer that it's tethered. Here's a link to the manual. Tether usage is mentioned throughout the manual but you can check page 15 and 16 for some info about the tether. It is recommended to tether at all times if your vehicle has anchors.
http://www.recaro.com/fileadmin/extensions/rec_usa/pdf/Child_Safety_Manuals/Young_Sport.pdf
I also have some links to try and gauge the size of the Sport compared to the Husky (Regent).
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/threerugratz4me/detail?.dir=e6ea&.dnm=2d55.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/threerugratz4me/detail?.dir=6b95&.dnm=173e.jpg&.src=ph
I find that I have "felt" I would be ready for my ds to move to a booster when he hit a certain age. Yet often when he would get to that particular number I found I was still a little hesitant to make the move to a booster full time although he does rarely use a booster. In my case, since he's a lightweight, I've been able to keep him harnessed and I find I feel more secure with him harnessed. He likes being harnessed as well.
As Splash says, you may not get as much time as you'd like in the harness depending on how quickly your DD reaches 40lbs.
As far as combo type seats that only harness to 40lbs., the Young Sport would definitely be my pick.

Edited to add: Sorry for some repetitive info. When I started my post, Splash's reply was the only one there. A few distractions slowed me down midpost and I didn't refresh to see other replies.

Thanks for all the feedback. Yes, we have anchors in the car- They're on the roof in the trunk area.

This is the type of tethering you're referring to, right? I will have to read the manual, but DH does the car seat installations so I'm not completely familiar with the installation methods.

Keep the comments coming! thanks. I will probably use the recaro dealer site- thanks for reminding me.

oops, that was me posting above, not logged in.

So, do you all think a Regent is a better choice- Do you think they are in stores for DD to sit in, like Target? (They closed our Right Start last year where she got her Roundabouts). I'll have to look it up on the carseat database to see if it fits in the Jeep and the sedan we're considering.

Anyone hear of the Young Sport NOT fitting into a car because of size? We don't have a heck of a lot of room with the Roundabouts and the Jeep and it's not a tiny car.

is recarodealer wholesale only?

I think I'm going to order the Young Sport today.

Question: the recaro dealer website says "dealers only" and "wholesale only" all over it-- Does anyone have problems buying them from their site? What are the drawbacks? I'm just a little hesitant although they seem to have the best price. thanks!

I ordered my seat from them a few weeks ago. They sent it out as soon as they had the money. The DOM was the day before I bought it. Shipping was not a problem at all. It came in the Recaro box and had a plastic cover over it stating removed by dealer only (which in this instance is you). I'm going to order another one in a few weeks.

We ordered from recarodealer.com several weeks ago without any problems. VERY FAST shipping too!

I also have a RYS, use it as a booster for my 8 yo daughter. Before this she was in a turbo booster. She now gets very crabby when I have her RYS removed and have her using her turbo instead. She LOVES her seat and tells her friends who are no longer using any seats how much she likes it, how it keeps her safe, and how comfortable it is. It is a great seat. I am sure the regent is also, but don't have any experience with them, so I can only comment on the RYS. Good Luck with your decision!

Jen's RYSport was mine in a previous life My 4 year old also loved it! She was 43" tall & just even with the top slots, but had slightly more room to grow in the harness when I reclined it -- if your child does not have any cognitive or emotional development delays then this would be a great choice ... otherwise, I would suggest a Regent or Apex to keep her harnessedpast 40 pounds. Extended harnessing (according to the limits of the seat) is still safest, but if the child will use the booster correctly in a year or so then this is a GREAT choice