Britax Boulevard 70 vs. Peg Perego Convertible?

[archiK8]

Sorry, new to posting (although not to researching on here) so forgive me if I don't have all the lingo down!
DS just outgrew his Peg Perego infant seat at 14 mo, 29" tall, 20 lbs. (40% height, 25% weight, so he's on the small side). I just bought the Britax Boulevard 70 for him for my car and have used it for two days, and am already SERIOUSLY missing his infant seat!

Ok, my disappointments so far (on how it compares to the Peg infant):
- Harness seems a lot more difficult to tighten and loosen.
- Straps and buckles do NOT stay out of the way--at all, even if velcro'd in place. My velcro on one side doesn't even really line up right (I def. expected more from this price point and brand)!
- Less legroom (RF) than he even had in his infant seat! (although BBB employee told me this is normal since infant seats are more reclined?)
- Gives me a pretty big blind spot in my car ('08 Ford Escape), and I tried it both in center and side (opted to switch to side b/c was big improvement over center visibility-wise). I expect this is just a general issue with switching to a bigger carseat, but let me know if I'm wrong!

That being said, I'm so disappointed (really, the way ppl talk about Britax, I expected to like it a lot more!), that I went into BBB (which I'm lucky enough to have right down the street ) yesterday to check out the Peg Convertible seat again. I'd originally ruled this out for lack of data and reviews, but now that I've really compared the specs, and sat him in both, they seem really comparable. Granted, I tested the Britax in store before I bought as well, and it seemed fine to me then. It's just now that it's in my car that I'm not happy!

So my question really is, am I being crazy, or is this just the growing pains of switching from the infant seat to a convertible? AND do you think it's worth me returning the Britax and getting the Peg Perego convertible? I was really happy with how long he fit in the Peg 30/30, so I suspect he'd fit for a long time in their convertible too. I should note, he seems comfortable in both, but the Peg looked roomier in width. I'd really appreciate comments from anyone that's actually used both! Thanks!

 

[safeinthecar]

I went out and tried a Peg Convertible this weekend. It fits very similarly to the Britax, but the actual install is a bit easier. The harness adjuster is not as smooth as the peg infant seat, it's about equal to the Britax. The loops to hold the harness out of the way work really well. There is significantly more legroom in the peg.

Of the two, I actually like the Peg better overall with one exception. The forward facing lockoffs DO NOT work correctly. I have no idea how Peg is going to handle that situation and am withholding recommendations on this seat until I have more info.

 

[tm4d]

I kind of have the same feelings about the Britax convertibles Love the solidness of the way they're made and they install easily but I can't figure out for the life of me why the whole world seems to be in love with them

Britax are definitely not roomy for RF'ers. If you want a roomy seat the Diono Radian or The First Years True Fit are both roomy....we tried a Maxi-Cosi Pria last week (it was a VERY nice seat) and though I didn't care for the install it was more roomy than Britax I thought. The True Fit only has a 35-lb. rear-facing weight limit but with your son on the smaller side I bet that'd take him pretty far for RF'ing. I haven't seen the Peg in person but had heard about the problems with the FF lockoffs and I also didn't think it looked much more roomy than the Britax seats....I would imagine it might be a little bit better but not enough to convince me.

 

[archiK8]

OP here...

Of the two, I actually like the Peg better overall with one exception. The forward facing lockoffs DO NOT work correctly. I have no idea how Peg is going to handle that situation and am withholding recommendations on this seat until I have more info.

Can you tell me what the issue is with the lockoffs? I hadn't heard about this yet. Really disappointing. Thanks for the recommendations! I took him back to the store today to try all of them out, but unfortunately he was in NO mood to cooperate! I did like the maxi cosi pria, and it IS roomy, but the side wings are so big in that one that it makes me claustrophobic just looking at him in it. :/ We actually have their older Priori in my husband's car that we got for cheap on Albee, and like it a lot. I really wanted SIP for my car though.
I still don't know what to do. The Peg was my favorite, and after another day of having to wrestle him into the Britax, I was ready to haul it to the curb!

 

[Unregistered]

Hi, I was so glad to see this review because I just got back from trying a few of these seats out at the store and I'm so overwhelmed. My daughter is 10 months, 21 lbs, 29 inches and needs a convertible asap. She LOVED the Peg when I put her in it and it fit really well in my tiny car. However, I'm really worried about the review that says the FF lock offs on the Peg do not work properly. What does that mean exactly? Our second choice (both my daughter and me) was the Pria, but I really like the Peg best...if it doesn't have a big safety flaw. Many thanks in advance for your help. I'm driving myself crazy over here with worry about picking the wrong seat.

 

[rae1026]

Ever since the info about the Peg's FF lockoffs was posted a few weeks ago, I have been hoping that someone would come back and clarify. Pretty please? I need to get DD a convertible and the Peg was on my short list, but I need to know exactly what is wrong with the FF lockoffs.