Going back & forth-- 35 vs 40 & 50 vs 65

::er!ca::

Member
I had totally planned on buying the Complete Air in October, for my youngest daughter who is just about 14 months old. (but now that I'm reading about some issues, I'm starting to rethink it). But I keep going back and forth between a couple seats.

I love the idea of the 40 pound rear facing weight limit of the CA. But it only harnesses to 50 pounds. I'm also interested in the True Fit, but only rear faces to 35 pounds. However it harnesses to 65 pounds. Then of course there is the EFTA. I have an older Evenflo Triumph (DOM 2005) and I absolutely LOVE it. So I am of course keeping that seat in mind too. But it only rear faces to 35 pounds, and harnesses to 50 pounds.

How much do you worry about the difference a 35 seat will get you compared to the 40 rfing limit seats? How about for the 50 lb limit vs the 65 pound limit.

I just can't decide! How likely is the TF going to get a child to 65 pounds?

I also worry about the harness adjuster with the TF.

I just can't make up my mind on which seat to go with.. CA, TF, EFTA.

Oh, and for what it's worth... I'm not interested in a Radian because I can't find them locally to see if I'd even be able to install one in my car. I've also searched this site and can't find anything about them being installed in my car (97 Grand Prix GTP, 2 door).
 
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NannyMom

Well-known member
What about the My Ride? Rf to 40 and FF to 65.

I doubt any of the seats will actually get you to 65, unless you have a chunky child. But the TF has the highest top slots of the seats your thinking about.

How much does she weigh now? Can the Nautilus in your siggy be passed down to her (when she's FF) and a dedicated booster bought for the older? The GN has top slots a tad higher than the TF.
 

firemomof3

New member
The True Fit will not get most kids to 65lbs. no way. My dd1 who is 6y/o and around 47lbs. has outgrown the harness by height and last year when she did still fit she said that the crotch strap was very uncomfortable (probably because its so short).
What about the Radian?
 

emandbri

Well-known member
I wouldn't base your decision on the forward facing weight limit at all. All the convertibles that go to past 40 lbs have top harness slots very similar and most kids outgrow them before reaching the weight limit anyway. My son will be 6 next month and got too tall for the marathon this last Feb at 45 lbs. He would have been fine weight wise in the complete air and evenflo triumph advanced. He is now 48 lbs and the only convertible he fits in is the radian.
 

::er!ca::

Member
She's currently (almost) 14 months old, 22.5 pounds, 31 inches.

The GN can definitely be passed down.

I'm not a big fan of the My Ride. To be perfectly honest, I hate the way it looks. Bad, I know. The shape of the base drives me crazy.

So, throwing FFing weight aside because we can pass down the GN .... would you pick a 35 pound rear facing seat or a 40 pound rear facing seat?
 

Niea

New member
Well, I guess it comes down to how long you'd want to RF.

I can tell you what I did. DS is 16 mos and weighs 22lbs and I went ahead and bought him a TF. He actually has only gained 2-3lbs in the last 6 mos. and he's slowing down even more. Honestly, a 40lb RFing seat doesn't do anything for me and I'm perfectly fine with a 35lb seat.

DD didn't hit 40lbs until she was 4 yo and even had there been seats that RFd to 40lbs all along, I doubt I'd have kept her that way. She would have lasted to at age 3 with a 35lb seat and I'd have been perfectly fine turning her FF at that point.

DS is growing very similarly to DD so I'm pretty confident that the TF will be totally fine for us.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
She's currently (almost) 14 months old, 22.5 pounds, 31 inches.

The GN can definitely be passed down.

I'm not a big fan of the My Ride. To be perfectly honest, I hate the way it looks. Bad, I know. The shape of the base drives me crazy.

So, throwing FFing weight aside because we can pass down the GN .... would you pick a 35 pound rear facing seat or a 40 pound rear facing seat?


It depends on the age and shape of the child. My daughter hit 40# around age 5.25. I wouldn't have felt it necessary to purchase a 40# RFing seat.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
First off, the RN should fit just fine in the Grand Prix if I'm remembering correctly that the 2 door Prix and the 2 door Grand Am have the same interior. I know I've put a rfing RN in the center seat of a Grand Am.

Second, I always wait to form my own opinions of seats. What annoys the heck out of one person, doesn't matter at all to another. I've definitely had seats that lots of people love that I can't stand because of some little quirk, and visa-verse.

That being said, if I had the option to rf a kid, regardless of age, I would. One of the instructors I had when I took my class was a coroner. She made her points photographically. I tend to be a little paranoid.
 

Madeline410

New member
Based on what I've seen, the CA will definitely get a lot of kids to 40lbs RF! And by the time "I" outgrows the CA FF, she'll be able to use the Nauti and "B" will be ready for a booster :)

Mason is just now outgrowing the EFTA by weight RF, so that would also get you a lot of use RF. I've never tried him in a TF though.

That being said, as a whole, I think I liked the EFTA better than the CA. Easier install, easier harness adjuster, tons more foam.. however in my situation (no top tethers = I *need* to keep him RF as long as possible) I very happily got the CA. I mean, the CA can give DS an additional year, if not more, RF! That is a huge deal to me. But you know that :)

(I noticed their names are just initials in your siggy so I didn't want to write their full names LOL. I just didn't want you to think I didn't realize it was you LOL!!)
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
She's currently (almost) 14 months old, 22.5 pounds, 31 inches.

The GN can definitely be passed down.

I'm not a big fan of the My Ride. To be perfectly honest, I hate the way it looks. Bad, I know. The shape of the base drives me crazy.

So, throwing FFing weight aside because we can pass down the GN .... would you pick a 35 pound rear facing seat or a 40 pound rear facing seat?

How long do you want to RF? Would you prefer your oldest still be RF? She's 36 pounds and 4 years old. It sounds like DD2 is a tiny one too. If you couldn't imagine RF your 4 year old, a 35 pound seat should work well. DD2 sounds to be the same size as my Sofi was. Sofi could RF in a 35 pound seat until she's 4 or 5.
 

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