Would I be happy with a Regent?

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

I just can't decide what to get for DD when she outgrows her MA (soon.)... So now I'm wondering if I would be happy with a regent. I've never installed one so I don't know anything about them.

Problem is, I'm always moving car seats around. Am I going to get irritated trying to move the regent all the time? (3X a month, it seems) How wide are they, really? Like in comparison to the MA?

Is it even going to work in my van? (2000 Ford Windstar SEL)

carseatcoach · Jul 29, 2009

A Regent is way bigger than a Marathon.

I'd be okay with moving it 3x/month, but not 3x/week.

myliljunebugs · Jul 29, 2009

I'd be okay with moving it, but it is a beast! What about a Frontier? How far from outgrowing the MA is she (how close to the top slot?) When you move her is it for long drives or little short trips or just in case? If it is little short trips or just in case and you don't want to move the Regent you could use this opportunity to start booster training maybe?

ETA, meaning get the Regent for the main vehicle and a booster for those other times.

momofmandp · Jul 29, 2009

We really like our Regent, but yes, it's pretty big. I probably wouldn't want to be moving it a lot, but I think 3X a month is tolerable. We recently had to replace our Regent that had been in an accident and I was debating about going with a Frontier for our main car instead, but ds1 strongly prefers the Regent to the Frontier or the Nautilus, so we went with a Regent again.

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

myliljunebugs said:
I'd be okay with moving it, but it is a beast! What about a Frontier? How far from outgrowing the MA is she (how close to the top slot?) When you move her is it for long drives or little short trips or just in case? If it is little short trips or just in case and you don't want to move the Regent you could use this opportunity to start booster training maybe?

ETA, meaning get the Regent for the main vehicle and a booster for those other times.

She's about 1/2" from the top slot on the MA - her legs hang completely off the seat as you can kind of see in my sig picture.

When I move her MA, it's for convince of other passengers. I like to have her in the drivers side captains chair but if another adult is riding with us, I move her to the 3rd row bench. If we have other children (out of boosters) riding with us, I like to have her in the center of the 3rd row (lap only belt) so that the rest of the passengers have a l/s belt, but usually I move her radian to the van when I do that, to make more space for the outboard passengers. Sometimes I move her when I have daycare kids, depending on what seat they are in and what direction they are. I don't have any plans for full time daycare kids right now though...

The other times I move it are to install it in someone elses vehicle for her to ride in... My parents, IL's, Sister & BIL's...

She rides in a Radian in DH's car (99 Buick regal).

kandamom · Jul 29, 2009

chickabiddy said:
A Regent is way bigger than a Marathon.

I'd be okay with moving it 3x/month, but not 3x/week.

My son has a regent, and I absolutely agree with this.

Once I had done it a few times, I didn't find installation to be bad at all. I had to have a tech help me at first with the short belt path, but you are a tech.

It is a huge seat. My son outgrew his marathon right around the time he turned five, and I wasn't quite comfortable with him in a booster full time then, especially in the small vehicle I had at the time. When he was 6.5, we got a minivan, and I let him switch to a booster full time.

Myliljunebugs had some excellent suggestions, depending on your daughter's size. Once my son was 4, we used a booster in the second vehicle. (He is large for his age, and I sat in the back with him to make sure he sat properly. This worked well for us, anyway.) I absolutely would have bought a frontier instead of the regent, if it would have been available then. At 7.5, ds1 still has tons of room in the Regent. It really was too much seat in our case. (I think DS1 has long legs, though, as he is still under the top harness slots in ds2's radian at 51.5" tall.)

I would think it would work in your van, unless you don't have latch & need to use the lbp with a seatbelt that isn't long enough...

Does she have much room in the radian? Is that one easier to move around if you need to?

I just love the name Kyrie!! My brother has a friend named Kyrie, and I've always thought it was such a pretty name.

Rebecca

myliljunebugs · Jul 29, 2009

How much time does she spend in DH's car? How much room to grow does she have in the Radian?

Sorry for all the questions. Just wondering, if she has more room in the RN (I think she should probably) why don't you use that in your car and the Regent in DH's car?

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

kandamom said:
I absolutely would have bought a frontier instead of the regent, if it would have been available then. At 7.5, ds1 still has tons of room in the Regent. It really was too much seat in our case. (I think DS1 has long legs, though, as he is still under the top harness slots in ds2's radian at 51.5" tall.)

I am thinking about a frontier too, but DD is pretty spoiled with her "pink" seats and I've heard the pink sky frontier cover is horrible for cleaning etc.

kandamom said:
I would think it would work in your van, unless you don't have latch & need to use the lbp with a seatbelt that isn't long enough...

I do have LATCH in all the outboard positions, can use the outboard anchors for a center install if the car seat allows, and top tether in all positions...

kandamom said:
Does she have much room in the radian? Is that one easier to move around if you need to?

The radian is fairly easy for me to move and I would guess that she'll fit in it until she's ready for a booster, as long as she doesn't get too "wide" for it's shoulder room. We use DH's car at least once a week it seems, so I hate to move it back and forth THAT much.

kandamom said:
I just love the name Kyrie!! My brother has a friend named Kyrie, and I've always thought it was such a pretty name.

Wow! I've only heard of one other "Kyrie" since we named her that! It fits her very well.

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

myliljunebugs said:
How much time does she spend in DH's car? How much room to grow does she have in the Radian? Sorry for all the questions. Just wondering, if she has more room in the RN (I think she should probably) why don't you use that in your car and the Regent in DH's car?

I need the Radians for DH's car so we can carry another passenger if we need... which seems to be quite often!

She does have more room in it, I think it will last her until she's 6 (Nov 2010), unless she hits a huge growth spurt.

kandamom · Jul 29, 2009

Nisha said:
She's about 1/2" from the top slot on the MA - her legs hang completely off the seat as you can kind of see in my sig picture.

She looks just like my ds1 did in the marathon at her age. He kept insisting his legs were not uncomfortable,

so I had him use it until his shoulders were at the top. He said the same thing about his turbobooster, but he would never sit still in it. He loves his new Monterey, but I anticipate that his long legs will be an issue soon even in that. He must be more comfortable in it for now though, because he sits perfectly. I commonly see posts about kids with long torsos & finding seats that fit, but I have found long legs to be a bit of a challenge to fit properly as well. I'm sure ds1's legs will be halfway off of the Monterey seat before he is too tall in the torso to use the back. The Regent is a GREAT seat for long legs. I'm not sure how the Frontier compares in that respect. My biggest problem is that my kids were too spaced out to get the most use out of our Regent. DS2 is currently rf, and our Regent will expire when he is 5 1/2.

Is the radian better than the marathon for ff legroom for a child your daughter's size? (I hope it will be for my ds2.)

Rebecca
K - 7.5, 51.5", 57 lbs
A - 25 months, 37.5", 32 lbs

jujumum · Jul 29, 2009

We have a Regent, but don't use it. It is a huge, gargantuan beast that is a massive pain to install compared to an MA (particularly with the recline bar). We call it the 'Behemoth'. DD loves the plush Madison cover and says that it is so pretty & comfy, but at only 3.5 years old, it looks like it is going to swallow her whole.

I just called Britax today and put in a plug for a Madison or Cowmoo Frontier. The rep agreed with me that they would be great, but couldn't tell me if and when the Frontier would come out with new covers.

I'm trying to convince dd that the Pink Sky or Red Rock seats really are pretty, and that we could always buy a new cover when one comes out.

Have you thought about another Radian? You could pass it down to your ds when he outgrows his MA. Or, a CA might be an option. It looks like the CA has more ff harness height than the MA - we're thinking about getting one for dd and then using it for our ds rf to 40lb when he outgrows his BV.

ketchupqueen · Jul 29, 2009

*whispers* SafeGuard Child Seat... SafeGuard Child Seat...

Just sayin'.

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

ketchupqueen said:
*whispers* SafeGuard Child Seat... SafeGuard Child Seat...

Just sayin'.

Tell me about SafeGuard... I've never seen one of those either (I live out in the boone docks ya know!) Do they come in pink?

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

jujumum said:
DD loves the plush Madison cover and says that it is so pretty & comfy, but at only 3.5 years old, it looks like it is going to swallow her whole.

You could sell it to me

Even if I buy a new regent, I'm going to have to find a used Madison cover for DD!

jujumum said:
Have you thought about another Radian? You could pass it down to your ds when he outgrows his MA. Or, a CA might be an option. It looks like the CA has more ff harness height than the MA - we're thinking about getting one for dd and then using it for our ds rf to 40lb when he outgrows his BV.

I have been thinking about another Radian, maybe an XT for the fun of it... I only hesitate because I'm not sure if DD will be comfortable with the width of it, for another year, and we do a lot of traveling so I want her to be very comfy!

I would like to take a look at the CA, looks like something that might work for us. Sure wish we had a BRU closer than 3 hours away

tanyaandallie · Jul 29, 2009

We had the Regent for a short time and I just could not love it. It was so freaking big. What I disliked the most was how wide it was at the top. I much prefer the fit of the Frontier. However, the Frontier is not any easier to install than the Regent except the Regent has the recline bar.

BookMama · Jul 29, 2009

We've had a Regent for almost three years and love it! It's really not too bad to move around once you get the hang of installing it.

Nisha · Jul 29, 2009

I just want to love whatever I buy as much as we've loved our MA's! They are so comfortable and since we travel quite a bit, that is a MUST!

tanyaandallie · Jul 29, 2009

Well, I hate to say this but I'm just not sure you will find something you love as much as the MA!! I felt the exact same way. I just love the MArathon so much. Safe, comfy, easy as pie to install. Unfortunately the bigger seats are just bigger and more bulky and not as easy to install. However, I will say that other than the few quirks the Marathon has, I do really really love the Frontier. My dd is so darn comfy in it! The fit really is perfect.

ketchupqueen · Jul 29, 2009

Nisha said:
Tell me about SafeGuard... I've never seen one of those either (I live out in the boone docks ya know!) Do they come in pink?

They don't come in pink, but I tell you this: it does not matter. They do come in red, which is nice.

The covers are not plush but a very soft microfiber. There is scads of memory foam under the cover, all over, for superior comfiness. My kids ADORE the comfiness of this seat.

As for install, it's super, super, SUUUPER simple. LATCH is what the Symphony SHOULD be-- in almost all vehicles with LATCH it practically installs itself. Seatbelt install with lap/shoulder belt is a cinch due to the absolutely easiest ever lockoffs (rather like those in the Keyfit's base, you simply pull the belt tight, and then slide the belt in to the lockoff. Done.) Lap only belt is not as much easier than other seats but only because lap-only belts are sooo easy to install with most of the time.

Adjusting the harness is a dream. You just lift and pull to go up and down. Tightening, you pull the yellow lever to get most of the slack out, then it has knobs (kind of like the ETA's but easier to use) to tighten up the rest of the way.

It does have a few drawbacks. It's not as wide or deep as the Regent. But even my long-legged gal doesn't seem to care, because of the angle of the seat, I guess, and the memory foam. Its width is not much wider than other seats, so I guess that could be a problem if you don't have skinny kids, and it only goes to 65, not 80 lbs. (though I think 80 in the Regent is unrealistic for many kids, there are some who need it.)

But, it is soooo easy to fall in love with this seat. I have two-- because I bought one, and needed another for my other child. I love them that much.

outnumberedby6 · Jul 30, 2009

we love our regent! i had a fire fighter tell me once that my car would crumble around his seat. i dont know if thats true dont want to find out either. but it is large. a bit heavy more ackward when carrying it til u get used to it.

Would I be happy with a Regent?

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