Evenflo symphony

MJHY27

New member
Does anyone have this seat? I saw one at baby depot and liked the looks of it and how it fit when I sat my 16 month old son in it. Just wondering if anyone has actually used it and has a review of it, not that i need another car seat! just curious
 
ADS

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Yes, there are lots of reviews here.
Mostly, the consensus seems to be that people REALLY LIKE the seat, but with only a 40 pound limit and a huge $200 pricetag, it is so completely not worth it for the money, when you can get a seat that RF to 40 and FF to 65 for the same money, or a nice seat that does what the symphony does for WAY LESS money.
 

MJHY27

New member
I didn't notice the 40lb ff limit, i just saw it was to 100lbs and assumed it was harness to 65lbs. Too bad it'd be a good seat if it harnessed a litle longer, this just makes it more of a hazard b/c parents are more likely to booster kids too soon
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
yes, exactly. Supposedly, they are tweaking it a bit, and will be re-releasing it with a 50 lb limit, which would be nice. But...who knows when/if that will actually happen.
And of course, if a parent buys it, they arent going to run out and get another seat when their 3 year old hits 40 pounds..they're going to use their pricey "all in one" seat as a booster. *boo*
nice concept, nice latch, nice seat...but with only a 40 lb limit, it pretty much ruins the seat for most "average" parents, because it will entice them to make unsafe choices. We do have a couple people on here using them though (but who will get a hwh seat if their child outgrows it prior to an acceptable boosetr age) who really like it.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
At 3 years, only 3% of the population is 40 lb or heavier. Only 20% of boys and 18% of girls hit 40 lb by four years. By age 5, 48% of girls and 56% of boys have finally reached 40 lb. In fact, 15-20% of children won't have reached 40 lb by age 6! And, since the top harness "slot" position on the Symphony is pretty high, it's safe to say that most kids will fit until they are approaching their fifth birthdays or later. Most so-called "high weight harnessed seats" are outgrown by height long before the child gets anywhere close to the weight limit.

Nadia is 43 lb and 6 years old. She reached the weight and hight limit on the Symphony almost simultaneously (around her 6th birthday). While she still fits in her Marathon, she'll probably outgrow it by height around 45-50 lb, a good 15-20 lb below the seat's theoretical weight limit! And, unlike the Marathon, the Symphony can be used as a HBB after the harness is outgrown.

So, while I would like to see the weight & height on the harness raised a bit, I think the price is pretty reasonable for the features it offers.
- Super easy LATCH installation
- Well padded
- Butter-smooth harness adjuster (tightness)
- Infinite slide harness adjustment from the front of the seat (height)
- EPS foam & Side Impact Wings
- RF to FF to Booster
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Ulrike..one thinkg I have found with the growth charts is that A - they are old, and do not necesarily reflect the current trends of overweight/obese kids, who i believe are heavier and heavier earlier than back when the charts were developed. and B - they are dr. weight charts, which generally means nakey weight, maybe with a diaper or gown on, or basic clothes, but no shoes. Which means kids weight *for carseat purposes* tends to be a couple poudns heavier than their growth chart weight, which again, advances how early kids will hit "40 lbs".
but yes...even accoutign for that, it will still get many kids to 3-4, and some further..but if your kid falls into that 20% that does outgrow it by 4, it's still a pretty bad deal, and since most parents either don't know to look ahead and think about it that way, or are off on their estimates of child growth, or the child grows in an unexpected way, I hate to recommend a seat that *might* not get a kid to booster age. I'm still happy to describe it to parents, of course, including the pros and cons, but it certainly isn't on my generally/frequenlty recommended list for sure....usually parents who have that much to spend want to get more out of it, and parents who are looking for a 40 lb seat usually want to/can spend way less.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
My son was always a skinny kid, still is at 16, and was 40 lbs and 4 years old.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
I'm not saying that it's the right seat for everyone. I just think the "not much seat for the money" criticism is unfair. I think it's a LOT of seat for the money. It has features (ease of use, comfort, and longevity) that most other 40 lb harness seats don't have. It has DIFFERENT features from other $200 seats (and I'd note that it can be found on sale for ~$185 or less), but it DOES have "deluxe" features.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I agree with Ulrike. I would happily buy a Symphony. I'm not a fan of infant seats and it adjusts small enough for even my teeny tiny kids. Subtract $80ish for an infant seat and the cost of the Symphony is $120. My kids would have easily made it to 35# rfing and 40# ffing in this seat. None of my kids hit 35# before 3.5, or 40# before 4.5. Since they are 4+ when they hit 40#, I start booster training at 40#. The Symphony makes a good booster, so that would save me $40 for a spare booster, bringing the cost down to $80. For that amount of money. The feature it has are well worth it. I would spend the same amount of money for a Snugride, Uptown, and TB.
 

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