Fits your car, fits your child, used correctly every time... right?

Splash

New member
That *is* a safe seat... right? Because I am really struggling with something I've known for a few months, since the "new" one came out...

That the "best seat" for us might be the new AO with the 50 pound limit. :eek:

If the Frontier won't work, can I really reconcile myself to put my kid in a cheapy Cosco?

It's low profile, a deap seat with adjustable crotch strap, high enough slots, 50 pound weight limit, lightweight for travel (for Sam). I'm nearly positive I'd get the "full" lifespan out of it. Target has it for ~$130...

But could I really live with myself? Could I see that label in my backseat every day and not cringe?
 
ADS

Lys

Senior Community Member
Right. You really have to go with what works best even though it may not be a "brand" you would normally choose.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Make the parental decision to remove the label or hot-glue something over it. :whistle:

Seriously, if it works for you, then it works for you.
 

LuvBug

New member
If it works, have at it! I've never considered them of cheap quality, wrongly deisnged, but not cheap quality lol!
 

mcomommy

New member
If that seat fits him best then it is safer than a Britax (or whatever name brand) that does not. IMO
 

Splash

New member
If that seat fits him best then it is safer than a Britax (or whatever name brand) that does not. IMO

Oh, lots of seats fit him, and lots fit my vehicle. This isn't a matter of it being the only seat I can safely install and use. It's just a matter of being one of the few that are low profile enough to easily use on a regular basis. If it was the only one that worked safely, by all means I would use it and not question. But this is just, in the end, a matter of convenience/ease for me (versus a high profile seat he needs to climb over and around and I bonk my head unloading him) and I wonder if that's a good enough excuse or if I will go MAD over it!
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
Well, yeah, it's perfectly fine to use if it fits your needs and you want it. Oh, who are you kidding, you're gonna buy one! It WILL drive you crazy though! ;)
 

Shaunam

New member
I've used a bunch of cosco seats and I don't feel they are cheap or flimsy or anything. We are about to get an apex actually. :D Honestly, if for any reason I had to put DD ffing, I'd get the new aoe simply because it reclines so much. I may be in the minority, but I'm actually impressed with cosco seats much of the time. Not the designs...I think all the seats can be improved, but with how well made they are for the money. I prefer the quality of britax, but really, the cosco seats aren't bad. :twocents:
 

mcomommy

New member
Oh, lots of seats fit him, and lots fit my vehicle. This isn't a matter of it being the only seat I can safely install and use. It's just a matter of being one of the few that are low profile enough to easily use on a regular basis. If it was the only one that worked safely, by all means I would use it and not question. But this is just, in the end, a matter of convenience/ease for me (versus a high profile seat he needs to climb over and around and I bonk my head unloading him) and I wonder if that's a good enough excuse or if I will go MAD over it!

I see what you are saying now. I would still do it. I bought a Scenera and my dd used it for a month while visiting family because I did not want to lug her Marathon on and off a plane and such. You can always return it or sell it if you can't bare to look at it ;):)
 

mominabigtruck

New member
If you get one I'm going to need some pics. I need an extra seat for my mom that can work for all of the kids and for some unknown reason she hates the efta:confused: She says it's too round and it sits up too high. And I for one loved the AOE that I had.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
Splash, I like you and I respect you, and I hope you know that, and I think you're the kind of person who can handle a bit of plain talk.

At a check a year or so ago, I had a parent with a 45-pound kid in an expired second- (or third- or fourth-!) hand Roundabout. She insisted that it was safer than a new booster or a new Apex (I don't think Nautis were out then), because it was a !!Britax!! seat. I thought she was silly, I actually thought she was worse than silly, but let's go with silly.

I think you might be a little bit the same kind of silly right now. If the seat works best for you, who cares what the label says?
 

Splash

New member
Estelle, have you ever had a radian?

Won't install, and Charlie hates it.

Splash, I like you and I respect you, and I hope you know that, and I think you're the kind of person who can handle a bit of plain talk.

At a check a year or so ago, I had a parent with a 45-pound kid in an expired second- (or third- or fourth-!) hand Roundabout. She insisted that it was safer than a new booster or a new Apex (I don't think Nautis were out then), because it was a !!Britax!! seat. I thought she was silly, I actually thought she was worse than silly, but let's go with silly.

I think you might be a little bit the same kind of silly right now. If the seat works best for you, who cares what the label says?

Now, that is silly. Of course I wouldn't go that far! And I don't think that Britax is the be all end all (heck, in their main ride, my kids are in a GN and SS1, despite a Regent and BV in the house). I'm just so used to Cosco being crap... poorly designed, overpriced, cheap quality, etc, that I'm having a hard time "letting go" of the past ;)

The first convertible seat I bought was the original AO (bought my house in 2002, owned the AO already... so 7-8 years ago maybe?) and I REALLY liked it. Then they went crazy with them, and now they're kinda bringing them back to basics. I might get one... I will say I was impressed with the Avenue and if Charlie fit the harness by height (probably not) I might have bought that for now, but he's already 37 pounds so it would be pretty pointless.

Heck, I had (and loved loved loved) the MCP, which is a Dorel company. I think it's more the AO that I am twitchy about than Dorel itself, because for so long the AO has been the antichrist of car seats...
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
It's a WONDERFUL seat...i really love it......just watch out..I knwo our target only carries the "safety 1st" version, not the actual AOE...and when I went to BRU to try out the seats, it migth have just been my imagination, but the top slots on the AOE seemed to be a bit higher than the slots on the safety 1st 3-in-1 /AO(no E) versions.
*shrug*
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
Have you played with one in the store? I was fairly impressed with the new ones when we did. Haven't installed one yet, but we put kids in the floor model and adjusted everything and just generally were pretty impressed.
 

henrietta

Well-known member
I feel the same way about Cosco, but the AOE we have from sil installs nicely rearfacing in the center of dh's Passat and it's low profile. It was really easy to get him in and out and he liked it. I would use it for those reasons, b/c if you are putting him in a seat that is difficult to get him in and out of, chances are, you are going to screw up and leave the harness too loose one day b/c he'll be sitting crooked or something dumb like that! The seat is only as safe as the user! So, yes, if it's the best fit all around and easy for you to use, I'd go for it. Now, if you don't have side airbags or a center install for it, I would strongly consider something else, but that's not a necessity, just my feelings.

henrietta
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
I don't think there's anything wrong with the new 50 lb version as long as you're not planning to use it as a booster. They fixed the top harness slot issue and it has a reasonable weight limit. :shrug-shoulders:
 

scatterbunny

New member
I don't think there's anything wrong with the new 50 lb version as long as you're not planning to use it as a booster. They fixed the top harness slot issue and it has a reasonable weight limit. :shrug-shoulders:

:yeahthat:

I loved our (baseless) AO, way back in 2002-2004. It installed well (YES, even RF) without the base, it was easy to use, comfortable, roomy without being huge. The only downfalls of the seat (back then) were the low top slot position, the 40# weight limit and the crappy booster mode.

Two of those three downfalls have been fixed, making it a serious contender, IMO, against the other HWH convertibles (just totally ignore booster mode).
 

mish

New member
I'm actually really impressed with the new AOE. It has tall slots and without the base, it should install just fine. I have given it a thought or two lately because I am in need of another convertible.
 

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