2006 outback car seat rec for 21 month old

[Becky0372b]

Hi All,
Apologies if this is being posted 2 times. I don't see my post (still figuring out how to use this forum).

I am looking for a carseat for my 2006 Subaru outback with leather seats. I understand it's difficult to get a good convertible car seat to fit. My son is 21 months and is small to average. My husband and I are both short so I don't think a we'll have a huge issue with a car seat that does not allow a passenger car seat to recline a lot, but we still would like some recommendations. Right now, we have an infant car seat that we very quickly need to replace (we live in NYC and dont drive often but we need it for occasional travel).

I've seen britax marathon/boulevard and radians with angle adjuster as options, but welcome your feedback.

Thanks in advance!!

Regards,

Becky

 

[Pixelated]

Hello, and welcome to car-seat.org

When you first register your posts go into moderation and have to be manually approved. Usually weekends are a bit slower but we try to approve posts as quickly as we can. In Canada it's Thanksgiving weekend so I'm taking a brief break from turkey prepping before my guests arrive.

Your follow-up responses will likely be in moderation too, I'm honestly not sure how long it takes before you can just post freely.

 

[MotoMommaNH]

Hi Becky! That is one tough car to work with but I think we can find you something! Can you give us your childs stats? Age, weight, height, shirt size etc....that will help to tailor recomendations.

 

[Becky0372b]

Hi,
Thanks for the quick reply! Our son will be 21 months on the 21st of October. It's been a few months since we've been to the doctor. But, in July, Levi was 23.5 lbs and 32 inches. But, we did a measurement about 1 month ago and it seemed like he was still 32 inches. I'd say he's about 33ish inches. And weight wise, probably about 25 or 26 lbs. He's probably just now fitting into 18 month old clothing perfectly and his 24 month old clothing is big for him.

We borrowed a Combi Coccoro for a recent trip overseas, but we know that wouldnt be a car seat that would last that long or that we could use rear facing. So, we're looking at a longer-term car seat.

Let me know if you need anything else to help provide a recommendation. Thanks in advance. This is a really wonderful forum!

Thanks,

Becky

 

[aporthole]

The Britax seats are very easy to install and use, but the big down side is short rear facing height capacities.

The Dionos with angle adjuster would be a much longer lasting option that the Britax seats. The downside with the Radians is that they can be trickier to install as well as all the extra parts and pieces. They are very slim and can even fold up with an available carry strap accessory.

Another option I would suggest checking out would be the Chicco NextFit. It will rear face longer than the Radians by height, but has a 5 lb lower rear facing weight limit at 40 lbs which is still more than sufficient for most kids to get close to 4 for rear facing. The install is also VERY easy with LATCH and it has built in lockoffs for seat belt installs. It isn't the most lightweight seat for travel but neither are the others discussed (Britax and Dionos). It also installs very compactly front to back and gives maximum space for the front seat passengers.

 

[melissa621]

Hi All,
Apologies if this is being posted 2 times. I don't see my post (still figuring out how to use this forum).

I am looking for a carseat for my 2006 Subaru outback with leather seats. I understand it's difficult to get a good convertible car seat to fit. My son is 21 months and is small to average. My husband and I are both short so I don't think a we'll have a huge issue with a car seat that does not allow a passenger car seat to recline a lot, but we still would like some recommendations. Right now, we have an infant car seat that we very quickly need to replace (we live in NYC and dont drive often but we need it for occasional travel).

I've seen britax marathon/boulevard and radians with angle adjuster as options, but welcome your feedback.

Thanks in advance!!

Regards,

Becky

I have a 7.5 month old (who has consistently been in the less than 15th percentile) and ended up getting a Britax Marathon. It installs great in the center of my 07 Outback with the seats able to go almost all the way back. I've read a lot that they don't last long RF for avg-taller children though, but I'm also willing to get a different seat if he has some HUGE growth spurt and outgrows it RF and I'm not comfortable FF him at the time.

 

[Becky0372b]

Hi All,
Thanks for the great feedback and recommendations. I was ready to go forward with the Radian with the angle adjuster, but I've come across a post here or there that the Radians online didnt work with the angle adjuster in some outbacks (rear facing) without having the passenger seat very far forward.

Does anyone out there have a 2006 (or close in year) Outback who've had success with the Radian rear facing? Before I purchase it would love to have at least one person who mentioned a successful install.

If not, I've read the graco myride 65 or one of the britax should be a good option too. But, the Radian seemed like the best long-term option for us.

Thanks,
Rebecca

 

[aguafresca]

Hi All,
Thanks for the great feedback and recommendations. I was ready to go forward with the Radian with the angle adjuster, but I've come across a post here or there that the Radians online didnt work with the angle adjuster in some outbacks (rear facing) without having the passenger seat very far forward.

Does anyone out there have a 2006 (or close in year) Outback who've had success with the Radian rear facing? Before I purchase it would love to have at least one person who mentioned a successful install.

If not, I've read the graco myride 65 or one of the britax should be a good option too. But, the Radian seemed like the best long-term option for us.

Thanks,
Rebecca

I am not a tech. But I have an '05 Outback with fabric seats and we just got an angle adjuster to try out with our Radian. It installs just fine, and the passenger has more room than we did with the TrueFit or the Complete Air installed there. But, it's less room than we had with our infant seat (a Keyfit). I've never owned a Myride or a Britax seat, so I can't help you with a comparison there. We haven't tried installing the Radian in the middle yet to see if that gives even more room or not. We may try that today. If we do, I'll come update.

 

[aporthole]

Hi All,
Thanks for the great feedback and recommendations. I was ready to go forward with the Radian with the angle adjuster, but I've come across a post here or there that the Radians online didnt work with the angle adjuster in some outbacks (rear facing) without having the passenger seat very far forward.

Does anyone out there have a 2006 (or close in year) Outback who've had success with the Radian rear facing? Before I purchase it would love to have at least one person who mentioned a successful install.

If not, I've read the graco myride 65 or one of the britax should be a good option too. But, the Radian seemed like the best long-term option for us.

Thanks,
Rebecca

The Graco MyRide takes up a ton of room front to back and side to side, so I would not think that would be a good choice at all for an Outback. I'd go for a Radian with angle adjuster or a Chicco NextFit.

 

[aguafresca]

I am not a tech. But I have an '05 Outback with fabric seats and we just got an angle adjuster to try out with our Radian. It installs just fine, and the passenger has more room than we did with the TrueFit or the Complete Air installed there. But, it's less room than we had with our infant seat (a Keyfit). I've never owned a Myride or a Britax seat, so I can't help you with a comparison there. We haven't tried installing the Radian in the middle yet to see if that gives even more room or not. We may try that today. If we do, I'll come update.

We installed the Radian RF with Angle Adjuster in the center position this afternoon. It was an okay installation, but not great I'd say. It didn't move much at the belt path, but the seat felt more wobbly there than it does when installed on either side because of the hump. The center install with AA gave a touch more room to the adults up front but not much as compared to the side.

 

[Becky0372b]

Dear all,
Thank you for your many replies!! It is so very much appreciated! I did get the radian with the angle adjuster. I installed it and while it is fine when I sit in the car seat (I'm only 4'9), my husband who is 5'6 felt cramped b/c he had to keep the seat straight up. He was also concerned about if we have someone else in the passenger who is taller than us, there would be a need to constantly remove and put back the car sit. So, I am going to order the Chicco Nextfit and hope this is the 'one'!

I'll come back again with the final results!

Thanks,

Becky

 

[Becky0372b]

Hi All,
Wanted to email with my final results in case there are others with a Subaru Outback 2006 with leather seats (or possibly 2005 if it's a similar model). We got the Chicco Nextfit today and it installed super, super easy (but will have a tech check it). There is tons of room for the passenger seat even at its lowest recline. Many reviewers of the car seat complain about the shoulder pads, but hopefully we'll be ok with it.

Thanks again for everyone's help and feedback. It's been amazingly helpful as I'm not sure I would have had much success without your responses.

Take care,

Becky