Graco Nautilus - Crotch Strap question

My DS is 3 years old and 31lbs and about 37.5 inches. He still fits into his Roundabout but I would like to move him into a bigger seat in the next month or so to give him more room (how I wish we had bought the Marathon but it didn't fit in our car RF at the time of purcahse !)

I am trying to decide between the Nautilus and the Frontier. I have been to BRU twice to try him in each seat and I just can't decide! He likes the Nautilus - says it is more comfortable but my one concern is the croch strap. I have read on here that some people feel it is too short so i looked at that specifically the last time we were at BRS and it Does seem short!

He is a small kid and in the Roundabout the crotch strap is definatley not under him but then I wonder if that is becasue it is a more reclined seat.

I am worried he will grow out of the Nautilus as a 5-pt harness before he is ready and i would like to keep him strapped in for as long as I can. I know MUCH bigger kiddos use this seat and it fits great so what I am doing wrong?

The Frontier seems much more roomy and somethign that will grow with him better and if that is the case I am all for the extra $$...

I hear they are coming out iwth a new Nautilus version in the May time-frame and wonder if this issue is addressed in the new seat - anyone know?

Did you take out the insert that is only suppose to be used on the first slot? That might help the look of the crotch strap. My 4.5 year old 46.5 pound DS rides in the nautilus as his primary seat and does not complain about the crotch strap.

The Frontier definitely has more room in that regard. The crotch strap on the GN is pretty shallow for the weight/height range that seat is supposed to cover. My son is 3.5 and is okay in it now, but I am unsure if he'll be comfortable in it in a few years. As is, if I don't recline it, he's already over it.

My son is nearly 8 and has never complained about the crotch strap in his Nautilus.

I tried my 39 pound, 42 inch, 4 year old daughter in the Nautilus, with the crotch strap on the further out position and without the padding, and the strap definitely had to come forward from the slot to fit her. I was not comfortable with that, particularly since the manual specifically says the slot isn't supposed to be under the child.

I have no idea what Graco was thinking when they designed it this way, and I hope they fix it by the time my son outgrows his current seat.

For those of you who have had problems with the crotch strap, have you contacted Graco to let them know? Not that they'll be able to help you now, but the more people who complain about it, the more likely they are to consider a slight redesign. :twocents:

skueppers said:

I tried my 39 pound, 42 inch, 4 year old daughter in the Nautilus, with the crotch strap on the further out position and without the padding, and the strap definitely had to come forward from the slot to fit her. I was not comfortable with that, particularly since the manual specifically says the slot isn't supposed to be under the child.

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I happened to be in Babies R Us today with her, and we tried the seat again just because I have trouble believing that it wouldn't work for a child her size.

Today it was fine. I have no idea why it seemed so wrong last time -- I was in a hurry then, and I wonder if the strap was in the outer slot of the cover, but the inner slot of the shell. Today I moved it myself, so I'm 100% sure that it was on the outer slot. Anyway, based on today's experience, I wouldn't have had a problem buying it if I were in the market for that type of seat.

Sorry to have been negative about it previously!

I often put my 7 year old 42lb god son in the Nauti and the crotch strap is fine on him...he is small. My 3.5 yr old(still RF) was still on the closest position when i put him in it

I'm worried about this issue as well. We stopped at BRU last week and my DD 3.5 yrs, 40", 33# really liked the Nauti. The crotch strap seemed even with her crotch, pretty much straight up when buckled not angled in at all. She is a tall skinny thing and it if it just fitting, it really didn't look like it would be much long before it would be under her. Yes, I did remove the infant padding before we tried the seat. No, I did not check under the cover however, so as a pp mentioned, I guess it could have been in the first slot of the shell and the outer slot of the cover only.

I'm not understanding the requirements on this. Are they staying that it can't angle around the pelvic bone at all? What exactly do they mean by "it can't be under the child"?

I'm feeling a bit stressed with the Britax sale ending tonight. I think our next seat will be the Nauti because I'm pretty sure it will install easily where I need it to (unlike the Radian I purchased last year!) but I'm wondering if I'm making a bad decision not purchasing the Frontier while it is on sale. Our MA expires in July.