Cheap RF seat for 2.5yearold

[ayeree]

I would need a recommendation on a RF car-seat.

DD will be about 2,5 years when (if) we visit some friends in Texas this fall. By then she's expected to weigh around 35 lb so the chair needs to handle at least 40lb RF. She will probably be bellow 39" but since she's got a tall upper body and short legs it would be preferable with a bigger chair though at the same time it needs to be able to fit into the rental.

We're thinking about buying a seat and having it delivered to our friends. Hopefully they can resell it after we leave at about half the price.

Needless to say, we don't want to pay more than we have to

Recommendations, pls?

 

[Carolinadaisy]

Are you flying to get there? Your 2 yr old will have a seat on the plane. I would suggest using the carseat on the plane. You could use it ff on board. That way she would be safely restrained. An airplane lap belt is not likely to fit her properly. Not to mention, she might feel more comfortable in her familiar carseat. We have used my sons carseat on planes several times. He was quite comfy and napped for much of the flight. I can guarantee he wouldn't have slept without his seat.

 

[Wreckgoddess]

agreed.. you will HAVE to have a seat on the plane for the kiddo. It's required at 2. They will make you show a birth certificate.
We flew with my son when he was a big 20 month old.. with our giant Britax, and we RF him on the plane. It fit. : ) (Advocate 70 CS on Southwest Airlines) You could totally FF on the plane though if needed.

my son slept through a whole flight in his own carseat. May not have done that if he had been in unfamiliar seats etc


If you have a Radian or something, and aren't wanting to drag that puppy around the country, what about a much lighter Cosco convertible that RF to 40 lb? I don't know what the height limit is/shell height for RF but maybe yu could go to a Walmart and try it out and see if it would fit her RF?

Cosco RF40lb convertible: $54.99
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Juvenile-40RF-Convertible-Abbey/dp/B0077PIPUS/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t"]Amazon.com: Cosco Juvenile APR 40RF Convertible Car Seat, Abbey Lane: Baby[/ame]

I have no idea what your child rides in at home.. but other seats that may be a reasonable price for you (I don't know what you meant as your budget) and RF to 40 are a Graco Myride.. for around $120 on Amazon
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Ride-Convertible-Seat-Coda/dp/B005WHQKI2/ref=pd_cp_ba_3"]Amazon.com: Graco My Ride 65 LX Convertible Car Seat, Coda: Baby[/ame]

Or the Graco Classic ride 50 for $93
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Classic-Ride-Convertible-Boyton/dp/B005WHQKDW/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1358363230&sr=8-22&keywords=convertible+car+seat"]Amazon.com: Graco Classic Ride 50 Convertible Car Seat, Boyton: Baby[/ame]

 

[carseatcoach]

The Classic Ride is not likely to fit a 2.5yo child with a tall torso.

I agree she needs a seat on the airplane. If she still fits in a Scenera RFing, that would be lightweight and cheap.

 

[ConnorsMommy]

What about a Safety First Guide 65? That would fit well on the plane, has a 40 lb weight limit for RF and a taller shell than the Scenera. They go for $78 at Walmart.

 

[Brigala]

What about a Safety First Guide 65? That would fit well on the plane, has a 40 lb weight limit for RF and a taller shell than the Scenera. They go for $78 at Walmart.

^ That's what I would recommend also.

The same basic car seat (with slightly upgraded fabric) is sold under the name S1 Easy Fit 65 at Babies R Us. With coupons or trade-ins, it generally costs about $75-$80, but the regular price is $100. So depending on your timing and what's convenient that might be an equally good option.

I also think it would behoove you to buy the seat at home and bring it on the plane with you. For the most part, kids are happier in familiar car seats on planes. Last time I flew there were three toddlers seated with their mom in the row in front of me, and they were miserable and the mom couldn't keep them sitting down so we'd hit turbulence and they'd fall off the seats or bang their heads on the windows and scream... I felt so sorry for the poor mom. Conversely, there was also a kid riding in his car seat right behind me and I didn't even notice he was there until we were deplaning and I saw the dad get the wheeled cart out of the overhead bin for rolling the seat off the plane.

 

[ayeree]

The main problem with the idea of flying with our seat is that we live in Sweden and have a Britax Max-Way which is RF-only and not certified for use in the air. Since it's got a support leg I'm not even sure if it would be safe to use on a plane. As you probably understand it's a bit difficult to just nip down to Walmart and check out the chairs there

We went to Thailand this Christmas and chose to book transfer with kids-on-board (they offer RF car seats in their taxis) and she was perfectly happy in a Britax Freeway. That was the 3rd chair we've tried her in since leaving the infant seat behind and she hasn't minded any of them.

According to what I've seen US chairs are usually more inclined than the swedish ones when in RF position. DD wants to be upright in order to look out. Are there some models we should avoid?

 

[ayeree]

Is any of the chairs you've recommended attached using seatbelts? I can't say that I'm entirely comfortable with the whole LATCH-thing... It's not a european standard (we've got ISOFIX) so I've never tried it and we're using seat belt install on our own chair.

 

[agave]

All seats can be installed with the seatbelt.

 

[ayeree]

All seats can be installed with the seatbelt.

Great! Then at least we don't have to worry about figuring out how to handle LATCH at the end of a 20hour-flight