Do you only buy certain brands of seats?

Do you only buy certain brands of seats? And if so why?

I have only ever had Britax and Graco and I just feel that Britax is better made and I feel more comfortable having the tether.

Is the tether something that makes the carseat safer?

DD is really close to the 35lb weight limit and I would like her to rf longer, but I just dont feel as good about her being in the 2 40lb seat options we have now.
Is this crazy? I can't decide if I am doing the wrong thing turning her vs going with another brand that I don't feel as comfortable with.

And the new Safety first/ cosco seat I am having a really hard time with. I thought I remember reading an article about Cosco not fixing some seat that had a little piece of plastic sticking out that when some people got in accidents it went through kids heads and hurt/killed them. Does anyone remember reading this?

So do you only use certain seats?

No, of course not. I purchase the seat which best fits my child, my budget and my car.

The rearfacing tether is a nice feature, but rearfacing in general is much safer than forward facing, rearfacing tether or not.

Cosco and Evenflo both had issues with notches (there has NEVER been an instance like you described, ever) in the shell of the seat, which may have been complicit in the injury/death of a child. Furthermore, paperwork was exposed showing they were aware of the potential dangers. The problem has since been fixed and there are no seats like that anymore. Furthermore, BOTH companies have since come heads and shoulders in offering innovation and safety features, in many ways above and beyond what Britax offers.

So no, I use the BEST seat, not brand specific, and I would never tell a parent to use a specific brand and not another, it would be incredibly irresponsible and unethical.

Maezde wrote it better than I could have.

I don't think one brand of seat is better than any other. I find that throughout my carseat-buying career Sunshine Kids seats often fit my child and meet my needs well, but that is really a very personal preference and not a "they're the BEST" rah-rah.

I don't stick with 1 (or even 2) carseat brands either. My loyalty lies in what is safest for my child. There is a specific company that I have some personal issues with, but I do still use their seats. I have Britax, Graco, Evenflo, First Years, Recaro, Dorel, and I almost had a Sunshine Kids (but it didn't fit where I wanted it).

Piper came home in a Britax Advantage. We had two of them. Then we replaced them with Britax Wizards. Then when she needed a booster she got a Britax Parkway. In 2002 when she was born if you wanted a seat that went beyond 40 pounds you had limited options, and two years later when I was shopping again Britax still stood loud and clear above the rest.

Now? Nah. She rides in a Graco, I've got a RSTV for her, we've got a Radian in the basement, the baby will be going into a Learning Curve with a Safety 1st for travel. They're what suit us best. There is no one company anymore that is head and shoulders above the rest. Britax is falling short recently, IMO. They're making the same seats with slight changes they were making in 2002. Time to make BIG changes, not just little ones. They're making seats that look cool and don't do much more than others and charging an arm and a leg for them. I can get True Fits for both my cars with the money I could buy one Boulevard. And the True Fit will last longer both with timespan and with slot height and shell height. And the True Fit really does go from birth, unlike a Britax. The My Ride, once it works out its kinks, I think will be a fantastic seat to recommend. Britax height and weight, plus some rear facing, for half the cost? Excellent.

And I'm even planning on a Dorel product for travel. I'm not a huge Dorel fan, but I recommend them often. They fill a space, and they were some of the first on the market with 35 pound rear facing seats. I dislike a lot of their seats, but I also see why people like them. I'm intrigued by their new 40 pound rear facing seat.

Evenflo has had some bumps, very few have as smooth histories as Britax, but they are starting to make much better seats now, at least in the convertible range. I love that my nephew rides in an EFTA. Great seat. If they'd turn him rear facing, even better, but hey, that's my SIL (hopefully now with her new baby and the new press it's gotten I won't have to mention anything and they'll just admit I was right a year ago).

On my top five seats I recommend the first is Learning Curve, the second is Evenflo, the third is Graco, and the fourth and fifth are Britax. They've unfortunately earned their way to the bottom of the list. I'm waiting for Britax to do something outstanding. Otherwise they may fall off my list completely as others step up.

Wendy

:yeahthat:


In early 2005, when I was moving Bean the First from an infant carrier to a convertible, I truly believed (and still believe) that the Britax Wizard was the best seat money could buy.


Britax sort of got used to floating heads and shoulders above other companies and have slacked quite a bit. They realized it about 18 months ago and are frantically throwing some gimmicks with big price tags out there to compete, but what they're offering doesn't have that clear quality over other products any longer.

what is your take of britax's new chaperone and advocate? just curious, i kinda felt like i should have had the money to spend on the advocate just didnt. i have always purchased britax for our convertible seats and we also have a booster by them too. i wonder now if i made the right decision to buy our 20 mo old a decathlon vs the graco nautilus that i hear so much great things about, or the radian80. what are the pros and cons of each do ya think? odviously my decathlon doesnt go into booster mode or for that matter have as high of a harness weight but we have a regent for him to go into when the time is right.

I would never tell someone what brands to buy, but for *MY* family, I only buy Britax convertibles. I will buy Graco infant seats and the Nautilus and Turbo are very nice. Some of the newer seats out hold absolutely no appeal to me. I will stick with what I know.

momof3monkeys said:

what is your take of britax's new chaperone and advocate? just curious, i kinda felt like i should have had the money to spend on the advocate just didnt. i have always purchased britax for our convertible seats and we also have a booster by them too. i wonder now if i made the right decision to buy our 20 mo old a decathlon vs the graco nautilus that i hear so much great things about, or the radian80. what are the pros and cons of each do ya think? odviously my decathlon doesnt go into booster mode or for that matter have as high of a harness weight but we have a regent for him to go into when the time is right.

Click to expand...

You're comparing apples to oranges. The Nautilus is a wonderful seat...for an older child. Your child is 20 months old and needs to be rearfacing. The Nautilus isn't really an option.

The Chaperone is a nice infant seat. The Advocate is a gimmick. Britax has some nice products, but they are by no means 'the best'.

I totally agree with wendy and maedze. Britax used to be the top of the line, both in quality, as well as usability in terms of limits, shells, etc. you wanted to harness over 40 lbs? Britax. Period.
however, within the last couple years, a LOT of other manugfactures have tstepped up and offered some really GREAT seats, that last as long or longer than britax seats, for much less cost.
I'd recommend a truefit, radian, 50-lb aoe, or EFTA to anyone looking for a convertible before a britax convertible seat. I'd recommend a nautilus over a frontier in almost all situstions. I'd never recommend a roundabout to anyone, ever. If they really MUST have a tiny seat, I'd recommend a combi.

Simply put..Britax no longer does anything better than the others anymore. And what they do do, they do with a much higher pricetag. Uh...no thanks. i'll take my seat that lasts longer for less money, thanks.

momof3monkeys said:

what is your take of britax's new chaperone and advocate? just curious, i kinda felt like i should have had the money to spend on the advocate just didnt. i have always purchased britax for our convertible seats and we also have a booster by them too. i wonder now if i made the right decision to buy our 20 mo old a decathlon vs the graco nautilus that i hear so much great things about, or the radian80. what are the pros and cons of each do ya think? odviously my decathlon doesnt go into booster mode or for that matter have as high of a harness weight but we have a regent for him to go into when the time is right.

Click to expand...

I would not buy a Britax convertible for a child who is already forward-facing (the straps are shorter than many other HWH convertibles), and if the child is RFing, I would not choose the Decathlon because it only RFs to 33#. Sorry!

didnt know nautilus was ff only, have not looked one yet personally just hear great things on here. i am trying rf my stupid lol decathlon but if that does not work i will be buying something else. its soooo hard for me just not to buy a britax. back in the day they were the only ones doing the better testing and were the first to have so many great things. rf tethers, heck tethers, built in lock offs,higher harness weights,
i was on a waiting list for 6 mo to get my super elite back then.

just seem to be better built to me than so many ive seen, sound and sturdy.

i think i can, i think i can i think i can......still hard

I do love my Britax seats, but I have bought an EFTA (I did hate that one but it was the knobs/seat back issue). I have a True Fit, Scenera, and a Safety First 3 in 1. I am intrigued by the new seats. However, with the seats I have owned, and those I have played with at friends houses Britax is still the easiest install. I wish the TF was an easier install. It would then beat the MA as my fave seat.

in the past i have bought different brands, but recently it has only been britax, i have 8 britax seats in all, but i do still have a costco scenera, i might give it away, even though all the seats i use are only one brand, i would definately buy other brands as well, there are actually a few other brands i have been drooling over lately

I've owned cosco, evenflo, britax, graco, and sunshine kids. I wasn't a huge fan of the scenera, but I didn't hate it either. I'd probably like one of the higher-end dorel products, like one of the newer AOE's or the new convertible coming out. I didn't care too much for the evenflo combo seats, but they did the job for my longer torsoed kid. I LOVE our EFTA. I've owned a britax marathon, diplomat, and regent. All 3 were very nice quality. DD did well in the diplomat until her spine started to curve. The marathon was nice too, but DS was going to outgrow it early (his head was 2" from the top at 16 months). The regent is a beast, but a good seat. I really don't like my radian. Nothing wrong with it, I just can't like it for some reason. We had a snugride for DS. Meh. We have a turbobooster now. It's nice and fits him well.

It's easy to like the "sturdier" seats better until you really start to know seats. Britax seats are wonderful, but not "better" than other seats IMO. Yeah, they have nicer covers and some nicer features. But the marathon, specifically, is not all it's cracked up to be. I probably won't buy another britax anytime in the future unless they really step it up a notch to compete with the other companies that are throwing out higher weight limits and taller shells. A slightly easier install isn't worth the 1-2 years we'd lose rf'ing in a marathon. :twocents:

I only buy the "best" for my kiddos... that is, the seat that fits my child, my vehicle, and my budget the best.

I don't stick to one brand. I have/had Evenflo, Dorel, First Years and Graco. Britax just doesn't do it for me. I like the Frontier, but I'm not impressed with their convertibles, since there are others that will last longer.

I am an equal opportunity shopper!

I have bought

britax 9
century 2
cosco/ eddie bauer/ dorel 3
evenflo-1
graco 4
fisher price 3
sunshine kids 3

Yes, I have bought more britax seats than the others but like others said for a long time there were the brand to buy if you wanted quality or the ability to keep a child rear-facing or in a harness longer but now there are other choices which are really good as well! As much as I love my marathons there is no doubting that the radian, true fit offer more leg room.

I do not feel at all bad for having my daughter in a my ride and having the radian and marathons sitting in my garage. She is over 35 lbs and would have to be forward facing in those seats.

I've had many brands of seats. I just bought my first Britax and to be honest, I'm not sure I'll like it. I'm not too fond of the Britax seats I've used before.

Everyone has different tastes and different kids and cars have different needs; that's why there are so many different seats.

Until a couple of weeks ago, my daughter was riding in seats made by 3 different companies in 3 different vehicles. (Now she's outgrown one of the seats.) She's still RFing, and will be for quite a while, but if was buying a forward facing seat for her today, the one that I would pick is made by yet a different company.

There are certain companies I prefer to avoid for one reason or another, unless there's no other reasonable choice. Some companies, it's just a portion of their lineup (infant seat vs convertible, for instance). But there's no company that I would say my child is never allowed to ride in one of their seats.

how do u like radian 80 for rfing? i havent really played with one.