Combo seat for big 2 year old?

[kimigal]

My DS is 2 years, 3 months old and we are looking for a car seat for his grandmother's car, since she will be babysitting/transporting him occasionally. Not really wanting to spend a ton of money on it, but definitely looking for a seat that will work for a taller, heavier child for as long as possible.

He is 100% in height and weight: 37 inches tall, 36 pounds. He currently rides FF well in my car in a Radian XTSL (top harness slots) and in DH's car in a True Fit (2nd to top harness slots).

Grandma has an Evenflo seat handed down by a friend but it only goes to 40 lbs so we are looking for something else sooner rather than later. He will be riding outboard FF in a Mazda CX-7 since they have three adults to drive around.

Any reasonably priced suggestions? Thanks!

 

[BabyKaykes]

Is he all torso? Does he not fit in the Radian RF by height?

 

[Kaitsmom]

The cheapest combo seat is the Evenflo Maestro, about $70, but it harnesses to 50lbs and has the same 18" top slots as the Graco Nautilus and Argos but they got to 65lbs and 70lbs respectivly, and $140-$170. Then the Recaro ProSport which has a 90lb and 18.5" limit, but around $250. The Britax Frontier 85 has the highest harness, 20" and an 85lb limit, around $250.

How far is he from being even with the top slots on the Radian?

 

[Brianna]

I would skip the Maestro, I think it would be outgrown in harness mode before you're ready to booster.

I would look into the Nautilus- your DS should fit in the Evenflo long enough for the next Babies R Us Trade in Event, I would trade in his Evenflo at that point for a discount on a Nautilus. Of course if his shoulders go above the top slots or he reaches the weight limit before the trade in event he needs a new seat immediately, but I think it may work in your favor.

I'm curious how long of a torso your DS has- my godson has the same exact stats as your DS but is an inch taller and still is rear facing in a MyRide.

 

[kimigal]

Haven't measured his torso (will do so tonight if he agrees to hold still) but he is wearing 3T tops because the 2T are too short.

If I had to guess, I think there's about an inch left of shoulder room under the top harness slot in the Radian. But don't quote me on that, I'll look more closely tomorrow morning when I drop him off at daycare.

BTW I had him RF in the center in the Radian until he was 2 and then for his comfort and the comfort of my front seat passengers, I turned him around. I had to have the passenger seat in my Mazda 6 up too far for viable passenger leg room.

 

[java]

The nauti and the meastro are very close to the same harness height, so it wouldn't help height wise to harness longer in a nauti.

 

[wendytthomas]

Diono has come out with a new angle adjuster for the Radians (Diono was Sunshine Kids). That sits it more upright. If you get that and turn him back rear facing you'll have plenty of front seat room, and he'll gain room in the seat so it'll last longer rear facing.

Wendy

 

[KaiLing]

My nearly 3 year old is 41", wears 5T shirts, is nearly 43 lbs and still fits rear facing in his Radian. The angle adjuster has made such a difference in our cars that my husband, who is 6'9", can drive with the RF Radian in the center of all of the following relatively small cars: 1996 Accord, 2011 Camry, 2010 Prius. The seat doesnt touch at all in both the Camry and the Prius. I can now sit in front of him in the Mazda 3 (a very small car front to back) when the seat is installed outboard with no touching. I'm 5'9" or so. If continuing to RF him in the Radian is in the cards, I bet the angle adjuster will make everything different for you, too. And it's a $10 item.

 

[lilliput]

I turned my 2 year old FFing last spring in his RN for many of the same reasons as you. Like you, we were having issues with space in our front seat and the RN as well.

Having said that, this past month I learned about the angle adjuster and have turned him back RFing at nearly 2.5. He is no munchkin, with a long torso, and comfortable in 3T shirts. We have an angle adjuster on the way to help with the space issues. And he is frankly much happier in the car than he was before. He likes riding backwards again, and will even tell people so. I plan to keep him there as long as possible.

For me, it brings me increased peace of mind for his safety, since I know he is safer RFing at this age, and I know he's happy with his improved view and being able to chat up his brother in the way back. Having the angle adjuster will make it just that much better, and I am relieved I went this route instead of a combo seat for him at this stage.

 

[henrietta]

If it helps....Evenflo is supposed to be releasing new versions of the Maestro that compete w/the Graco Nautilus (higher slots than the Maestro, higher wt. limit, and a moveable headrest). The price point is supposed to be about $120 for the regular version.

henrietta

 

[mylittlet]

I would look at the nautilus. Or get a frontier then us it in a main vehicle later. He sounds like a tall kid. We have tall kids and the frontier is awesome for them.

CPST in Iowa
mom to dd11y, ds10y, ds 5.5y (red monterey), dd 4.5y (cow frontier85), EDD 8/17/12 (who knows what??)

 

[Baylor]

I would get a frontier if he is big already. I bought a GN for my big 2 yr old and 1.5 yrs later ended up with the fr85 anyway. He is on top slot on GN with not much room. My other son was able to be harnessed in GN til right before 7 th birthday.

auto-correct on the loose..

 

[kimigal]

The Frontier is out because of cost. I'd really like to find something closer to $100 since this will be the spare carseat in Grandma's car and won't be used all the time.

Would it make any sense to buy him a convertible car seat with a 65 lb FF limit, and then just buy a booster only seat later when he meets age/height/weight requirements? I think he could last another several years in something like the True Fit, or the Evenflo Triumph 65 or even the Graco MyRide 65. Just not sure how the cost would pan out in the long run.

And not knowing how fast this kid will continue to grow.

Is the new Evenflo the Generations? Saw it online....but no reviews as of yet.

Hoping to try some of these seats out this weekend at the store for size.

 

[KaiLing]

If you're not going to rear face, spending money on a seat that half of it's use is rear facing might not be ideal, unless you get a heck of a deal, or there's another baby in the wings that can use it. A kid that is on the top slots in the radian (but sometimes people don't see those very top slots, and my kid in 5T shirts still FFs on one down from the top, but maybe a diaper would make the difference) won't fit long in the MyRide or the Triupmh. The maestro is cheaper than both of those full price I believe.

You can check out the CDC or WHO growth charts and guess when he will hit various weights and heights: for me that means drawing a parallel line a ways above the last line in the chart using his data. It's not perfect but it has been helpful for me.

 

[Kaitsmom]

Also if he is on the top harness slot on the Radian then he wont have room left to grow in any of the cheap, under $100 convertibles that I can think of. Most convertibles are outgrown ffing by height not weight. My dd is about to outgrow her Marathon by heighy but still has 20lbs left on the weight limit.

If you dont want to spend more them $100 you dont have any options other then the Maestro, so you will probably need to switch his current seat betwen cars.

 

[jourdysmom]

My nearly 3 year old is 41", wears 5T shirts, is nearly 43 lbs and still fits rear facing in his Radian. The angle adjuster has made such a difference in our cars that my husband, who is 6'9", can drive with the RF Radian in the center of all of the following relatively small cars: 1996 Accord, 2011 Camry, 2010 Prius. The seat doesnt touch at all in both the Camry and the Prius. I can now sit in front of him in the Mazda 3 (a very small car front to back) when the seat is installed outboard with no touching. I'm 5'9" or so. If continuing to RF him in the Radian is in the cards, I bet the angle adjuster will make everything different for you, too. And it's a $10 item.

:yeahthat: My just turned 4 year old is 40" tall, and 39#, wears a 5 or 6 shirt to cover her long torso, and still fits on the 4th slot (there are 5 on the Radian). and the 2nd from top on the Maestro. Double check that you aren't missing the top slot of the Radian, it kind of blends in