Question Best combo seat for 6.5 light girl

[BrittanyM]

Right now my almost 5.5 yr old DD is in a FYTF FF at 43" and 35lbs. My almost 3.5 yr old DS is in a FYTFP FF at 36" and 28lbs. I am pregnant and due in Sept and the baby will be in our Chicco KeyFit 30 for the first 9 months or so. At that time I want to put the baby in the TFP and DS in DD's TF and buy a new seat for DD, she'll be 6.5. My kids are really light, we drive a 2004 Sienna so have plenty of room and we do move our seats around a lot so easy install is important (love the True Fits for that!). I'm guessing DD will be in the seat for about a year and a half or two before the TF expires and at that time I'm guessing I'll put her in just a booster and put DS in her combo. We do longer drives since we live in a rural area and she still falls asleep in the car once in a while so I definitely want her in a 5 point. I'd prefer a narrower seat in case we need the back seats for my sisters but it isn't a must. Price isn't a huge issue as long as I love the seat.

 

[BrittanyM]

Bumping? No recs?

 

[CMeMeC]

My daughter is about the same size/6 years. She is currently in a nautilus. I like it fine and it fits well. I thonk she has 1 or 2 more slots to grow. If I were buying for her again I would consider the nautilus and the britax pioneer. I really want a frontier now because I like the idea of click-tight and the no rethread harness, but I do think it is a lot of seat for petite kids. My daughter will be ready for (and does use now sometimes) a booster by the time maxes out the nauti.

 

[aeormsby]

I would wait until you're closer to needing a seat to see what's available and if any situations have changed. You're talking about not needing the seat for more than a year and companies are constantly changing things and releasing new seats.

Some to look at are the Evenflo Securekid/Maestro and Harmony Defender - those would be the narrower/lighter weight options. Also the Britax Frontier, Graco Nautilus & Recaro Performance Sport.

 

[cookie123]

I agree if you're not planning to buy for another year you should wait and reevaluate then. New seats come out all the time and there may be better choices then. Also at 6.5 you may find yourself willing to consider a high back booster seat for her when the time actually arrives. There are lots of nice ones available and that will probably be more wonderful choices by then.

If you plan to buy now, which I personally would do simply because I like combination seats rather than convertible seats for bigger kids, I'd probably consider the Nautilus, which actually only fit 2 of my grandkids until 6.5 ish. Also the Britax Pioneer or Frontier depending on height needs. The Frontier has the highest harness height available.

 

[BrittanyM]

Thanks for your input. After inspecting her seat today I realized her shoulders are almost level with the straps in the top slot already! So I'm guessing it won't be more than another month or two before she needs a new seat. Is it normal for a child to outgrow the harness slot height before the seat itself? I'm planning next time we are in our nearest large city (later this month) to have her try out some different seats at the BRU. Do they sell the Harmony Defender there?

 

[cookie123]

The Defender is only at Walmart.

 

[BrittanyM]

After doing some more reading I'm leaning toward the Frontier or Pinnacle. Since it seems like in the Nautilus she would only have another inch of growth in the harness. How long does it usually take a 5 yr old to use up that much space? And I'm afraid of a seat without locking clips since I'm used to our True Fits and KeyFit, all of which have them. Are there any good deals on the Frontier or Pinnacle right now?

 

[cookie123]

I don't know of any. Sorry. The Frontier and the Pioneer have recently undergone some changes to make them better fitting as a booster and the Pioneer got more harness height, so when you buy, look for those changes.