Secondary car seat

Thanks for allowing me to join in. Our son is 13 months old, and has been in his convertible car seat for a couple of months. We bought the Evenflo Triumph, which all of us (including Thomas) like. It's bigger than I planned on, so it takes up quite a bit of room in our Jeep Compass, but we aren't changing it out. Instead, we need a secondary car seat for another vehicle; the car seat will later (hopefully) be used in our Jeep as well.

My in-laws often watch Thomas, and if they need to go anywhere, they cannot, because they don't have a car seat for Thomas. Since we have ours installed (still RF) with the LATCH system, it's a pain to get out and put in their car. My husband and I want to buy another car seat, one that can be used for many years. We plan on having another kid, so when s/he is old enough to use the Triumph, Thomas can be in this [for now] secondary car seat.

I saw the Evenflo Chase at K-Mart, liked the size and info on it. However, reviews (including on this site) don't seem very positive, so I don't know if we should go with it. I do want, of course, to have a very safe car seat for Thomas, and I want one that will last ... without breaking our budget. Not sure if it matters, but his infant carrier was a Graco (we had a travel system) and I liked it too.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Welcome.

A forward facing carseat is not an option for a 13 month old. The Chase makes a decent harnessed seat, though with top slots and weight limits lower than your EFTA, and it doesn't make a good booster.

For a spare seat for right now I'd look at a Cosco Scenera or Safety 1st Avenue. Those are the two under $100 that I like. They rear face to 35 pounds and forward face to 40 with 15" and 16" top slots respectively.

Over $100 my next favorite is the EFTA.

He needs a rear facing seat for a couple of years yet, and then after that forward facing for a while. Another child can use both of these seats passed down later, but for right now I'd focus on rear facing in all cars.

Wendy

Thanks!