convertible car seat 15 month old

[melann]

Hi! I am buying a Boulevard as DD primary seat but want a secondary that is less expensive for DH and grandparents. I plan to RF as long as possible. I used the Scenaro for my DS but the noodle was a bit of a pain. It is expired now as well. What other options are there that have a taller backrest and do not cost as much as the Boulevard?

-Melissa

 

[Jan06twinmom]

Most convertibles cost less than the blvd so you have a lot of options.

Some other options to look at are the Evenflo Triumph 65, Complete Air and the Graco MyRide. The MyRide goes on sale for around $100 every so often.

How big is your DD? We might have more specific recommendations if we know she is particularly tall or heavy or small.

Melanie

 

[melann]

Most convertibles cost less than the blvd so you have a lot of options.

Some other options to look at are the Evenflo Triumph 65, Complete Air and the Graco MyRide. The MyRide goes on sale for around $100 every so often.

How big is your DD? We might have more specific recommendations if we know she is particularly tall or heavy or small.

Melanie

She is in the 75% for height and weight. Her trunk seems a bit tall so looking for a taller backrest.

 

[EmmaCPST]

She is in the 75% for height and weight. Her trunk seems a bit tall so looking for a taller backrest.

If she's tall in the torso, I would take the Boulevard off your list. It's one of the smaller interiors on the market and kids tend to outgrow it before other convertibles.

The First Years True Fit, Diono Radian, Safety 1st Complete Air, Maxi Cosi Pria, and Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible have the tallest shells for rear facing. The True Fit only goes to 35 pounds RF (the others go to 40 or 45 pounds) so it might not be the best choice if she's higher in weight as well as height. Any of those seats definitely allow her to rear face easily to 3 or so, whereas if she continues to be tall in the torso she'll most likely outgrow the Britax before then.

For a backup, the Triumph or the MyRide that the previous poster mentioned are both great options.

 

[melann]

If she's tall in the torso, I would take the Boulevard off your list. It's one of the smaller interiors on the market and kids tend to outgrow it before other convertibles.

The First Years True Fit, Diono Radian, Safety 1st Complete Air, Maxi Cosi Pria, and Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible have the tallest shells for rear facing. The True Fit only goes to 35 pounds RF (the others go to 40 or 45 pounds) so it might not be the best choice if she's higher in weight as well as height. Any of those seats definitely allow her to rear face easily to 3 or so, whereas if she continues to be tall in the torso she'll most likely outgrow the Britax before then.

For a backup, the Triumph or the MyRide that the previous poster mentioned are both great options.

Well then I guess all of the Britax would be out then since it looked like all of them have about the same harness height measurements. Am I correct?

 

[wendytthomas]

Yes, you are. They're all the same height. For rear facing you're not looking as much at the harness height, but rather the shell height.

Wendy

 

[melann]

Yes, you are. They're all the same height. For rear facing you're not looking as much at the harness height, but rather the shell height.

Wendy

Hmm, not sure what to do. My DS used the Decath and I loved it. After the Decath, we moved onto the Frontier. To give you an idea, my daugther's head is about 4 inches from the top of the Safety First infant car seat that she is in right now. I still think I will need to purchase something like the Frontier no matter what I buy now. Am I right? Or is there something that could last us until we move to something like a high back booster?

 

[EmmaCPST]

Hmm, not sure what to do. My DS used the Decath and I loved it. After the Decath, we moved onto the Frontier. To give you an idea, my daugther's head is about 4 inches from the top of the Safety First infant car seat that she is in right now. I still think I will need to purchase something like the Frontier no matter what I buy now. Am I right? Or is there something that could last us until we move to something like a high back booster?

It's not even so much getting your daughter from now to booster maturity that I'm thinking about, it's getting her to a safe forward facing age. 2 years old is the absolute minimum, closer to 3-4 is safest. Small to average kids can make it that long, but longer torso'd kids just don't the way the interior of the redesigned Britax seats is shaped. The Britax seats aren't bad or anything, they're just not the best choice for a child with a long torso and I hate to see parents faced with the choice of buying ANOTHER convertible a year or 18 months from now, or having to turn a child forward facing earlier than the child is physically mature enough for.

All of the seats I mentioned previously are great choices for tall kiddos to stay rear facing, and they all also have 17-18" top harness slots which makes them very long lasting forward facing as well and WILL more than likely get most kids to booster maturity around age 5-6.

 

[melann]

It's not even so much getting your daughter from now to booster maturity that I'm thinking about, it's getting her to a safe forward facing age. 2 years old is the absolute minimum, closer to 3-4 is safest. Small to average kids can make it that long, but longer torso'd kids just don't the way the interior of the redesigned Britax seats is shaped. The Britax seats aren't bad or anything, they're just not the best choice for a child with a long torso and I hate to see parents faced with the choice of buying ANOTHER convertible a year or 18 months from now, or having to turn a child forward facing earlier than the child is physically mature enough for.

All of the seats I mentioned previously are great choices for tall kiddos to stay rear facing, and they all also have 17-18" top harness slots which makes them very long lasting forward facing as well and WILL more than likely get most kids to booster maturity around age 5-6.

Thank you for bringing me back to what I should be focusing on! Of the choices you gave me, do you think you could offer a quick comparison so I can narrow down the choices a bit.

I drive a 2010 Honda Pilot if that helps at all.

 

[EmmaCPST]

I'm just noticing what you said about her infant seat - is it the Onboard 35? That's a pretty tall infant seat, but if she has four inches left over her head at 15 months then she may not be as long in the torso as you think she is so you may be ok with a Britax seat if you still want to go that route.

Do you have a Buy Buy Baby in your area? They carry all the seats you mentioned AND will let you try them in your car. I would suggest going down there and spending some time seeing how your DD fits in them and how you like the features and narrow it down to a couple and then see which you like in the car best. But here's a quick rundown of the seats I mentioned:


The True Fit only RF to 35# and the adjuster button for the harness sits very low for RF. It has a continuous harness though which means you can pull the slack out from one shoulder or hip at a time and essentially bypass the adjuster. Some people love the continuous harness, some hate it. The Premiere version has an anti rebound bar. Here's a review: http://carseatblog.com/3054/the-first-years-true-fit-premier-c670-review-very-nice/

The Radian has a low, narrow profile and is great if you have other passengers in the car and is very easy for loading and unloading a RF toddler because of the low sides. It can be difficult to install and does take up a lot of front to back space. There is an angle adjuster available now that is a foam wedge that goes underneath, specifically for the Radian that allows it to sit more upright, but does make it sit a little higher in the vehicle. Review: http://carseatblog.com/14805/diono-radian-rxt/

The Complete Air has slightly twisty straps, a continuous harness, and a 40" stated height limit for rear facing as opposed to a 1" from the top of the shell rule. It's pretty easy to install, sometimes needs a noodle or a towel. Review: http://carseatblog.com/3332/safety-1st-complete-air-with-air-protect-first-look-review/

The Pria is pretty similar to the Complete Air (Maxi Cosi and Safety 1st are both owned by Dorel) I haven't actually seen one in person yet, but here's a review: http://carseatblog.com/11231/draft-dorel-maxi-cosi-pria-70-convertible-review/

The Primo Viaggio is brand new, it's expensive and tough to install with a seat belt (but a breeze with LATCH). So far folks seem to be pretty happy with it though, here's the review: http://carseatblog.com/16793/peg-perego-primo-viaggio-sip-5-70-convertible-review/

 

[melann]

I'm just noticing what you said about her infant seat - is it the Onboard 35? That's a pretty tall infant seat, but if she has four inches left over her head at 15 months then she may not be as long in the torso as you think she is so you may be ok with a Britax seat if you still want to go that route.

Do you have a Buy Buy Baby in your area? They carry all the seats you mentioned AND will let you try them in your car. I would suggest going down there and spending some time seeing how your DD fits in them and how you like the features and narrow it down to a couple and then see which you like in the car best. But here's a quick rundown of the seats I mentioned:


The True Fit only RF to 35# and the adjuster button for the harness sits very low for RF. It has a continuous harness though which means you can pull the slack out from one shoulder or hip at a time and essentially bypass the adjuster. Some people love the continuous harness, some hate it. The Premiere version has an anti rebound bar. Here's a review: http://carseatblog.com/3054/the-first-years-true-fit-premier-c670-review-very-nice/

The Radian has a low, narrow profile and is great if you have other passengers in the car and is very easy for loading and unloading a RF toddler because of the low sides. It can be difficult to install and does take up a lot of front to back space. There is an angle adjuster available now that is a foam wedge that goes underneath, specifically for the Radian that allows it to sit more upright, but does make it sit a little higher in the vehicle. Review: http://carseatblog.com/14805/diono-radian-rxt/

The Complete Air has slightly twisty straps, a continuous harness, and a 40" stated height limit for rear facing as opposed to a 1" from the top of the shell rule. It's pretty easy to install, sometimes needs a noodle or a towel. Review: http://carseatblog.com/3332/safety-1st-complete-air-with-air-protect-first-look-review/

The Pria is pretty similar to the Complete Air (Maxi Cosi and Safety 1st are both owned by Dorel) I haven't actually seen one in person yet, but here's a review: http://carseatblog.com/11231/draft-dorel-maxi-cosi-pria-70-convertible-review/

The Primo Viaggio is brand new, it's expensive and tough to install with a seat belt (but a breeze with LATCH). So far folks seem to be pretty happy with it though, here's the review: http://carseatblog.com/16793/peg-perego-primo-viaggio-sip-5-70-convertible-review/

Ease of installation is important. Also, with the Safety 1st she has now, we have it installed in the center. We do not have much room as it is now so I would need something that does not take up more room (front to back) than what she has now. Does this help narrow down the options above?

 

[wendytthomas]

Most upright convertibles take up less space than infant seats. So no, not really.

Wendy

 

[melann]

Most upright convertibles take up less space than infant seats. So no, not really.

Wendy

UPDATE: My DH is still fitting into the Onboard 35 but she has been on the top harness slot for some time now and I cannot extend the harness any further. So, I think she wasn't as tall in the trunk as I thought initially. Should I go back to considering the Britax then? As a back up, maybe I will go with the Scenaro. Will I need to install with a noodle again or can it be more upright since she's not an infant anymore and over 20 lbs?

 

[EmmaCPST]

You could - just know that it will be outgrown RF before most of the other convertibles on the market. For reference my small 3.5 year old still fits rear facing in a Radian, True Fit, and MyRide but out of curiosity I tried him in a friend's Marathon 70 just the other day and he was too tall to RF in it. They're not bad seats at all, it's just that they don't last as long as some others, and know there's a possibility that you may have to forward face earlier than you want to or purchase another seat so she can RF closer to 3-4.

Technically Cosco/Dorel wants the Scenera installed with the line level to the ground, but even if you install it more upright you usually need a noodle just because of the way the base is shaped.

You might consider going with a Graco MyRide or an Evenflo Triumph for your backup seat if you're going to go with a Britax - the Graco or Evenflo are about $130 and they have a taller shell than the Britax so at least if you go with the Britax and she outgrows it faster than you want, you can switch to one of those and have longer RF time.

 

[kathysr98]

Personally, I would not go with the Britax even if your dd isn't terribly long in the torso. I would still look at the seats mentioned above, and also the Evenflo Triumph 65 and the Graco MyRide. They are not as tall as the seats previously mentioned, but offer more legroom for extended rearfacing & are inexpensive enough to buy two nicer seats instead of one really expensive one & one scenara since you didn't like installing it.

 

[Brigala]

Technically Cosco/Dorel wants the Scenera installed with the line level to the ground, but even if you install it more upright you usually need a noodle just because of the way the base is shaped.

Or you could get a Cosco Apt, which is very similar to the Scenera (wider, and with cup holders). It will last longer RFing because it has a higher weight limit and a taller shell, but it won't last as long FF because the harness isn't as high. But the main reason I suggest it is because it allows a more upright install than the Scenera.

Do you have an idea of how long you want to rear-face? If your goal is to rear-face to around age 2 or 2.5, a Britax seat would be just fine if that's what you like. Any child who still fits in an Onboard infant seat at age 15 months should make it to age two RF in any of the Britax convertibles. Many of us prefer to rear-face as long as we can, closer to age 4 if possible. For that you would need a taller car seat and a Britax wouldn't be your best choice.

 

[melann]

Or you could get a Cosco Apt, which is very similar to the Scenera (wider, and with cup holders). It will last longer RFing because it has a higher weight limit and a taller shell, but it won't last as long FF because the harness isn't as high. But the main reason I suggest it is because it allows a more upright install than the Scenera.

Do you have an idea of how long you want to rear-face? If your goal is to rear-face to around age 2 or 2.5, a Britax seat would be just fine if that's what you like. Any child who still fits in an Onboard infant seat at age 15 months should make it to age two RF in any of the Britax convertibles. Many of us prefer to rear-face as long as we can, closer to age 4 if possible. For that you would need a taller car seat and a Britax wouldn't be your best choice.

Is the Cosco Apt FAA approved? Looking for a back up seat that is FAA approved as well.

 

[EmmaCPST]

Is the Cosco Apt FAA approved? Looking for a back up seat that is FAA approved as well.

Yep, pretty much all harnessed seats are FAA approved. There are a couple weird exceptions (the Graco Smart Seat) but as long as it has a 5 point harness you can typically use it on an airplane.

 

[Brigala]

Is the Cosco Apt FAA approved? Looking for a back up seat that is FAA approved as well.

Yes but since it's wider than the Scenera it may not be quite as convenient on a plane. It should work as long as you can lift the arm rests, though.

 

[melann]

Yes but since it's wider than the Scenera it may not be quite as convenient on a plane. It should work as long as you can lift the arm rests, though.

Hmm, has anyone actually used this on an airplane? The Scenera was sometimes a tight squeeze even with armrest up.