FF seat for tallish kid?

[Cattitude]

My DS is 3 1/2 and recently hit the weight limit for RF in his RN XTSL. I don't really care for the Radian as a FF seat for some reason.

He's 44-45 lbs and approx 43 inches tall. He has a longish torso. I was looking at the Nauti and Frontier 85 and several people recommended the FR85. Is this a better choice for a bigger kid?

Also, a FR 85 would be fine for my car as DS sits in the middle. In DH's car he rides outboard as the middle seatbelt is broken. Would the FR 85 SICT be better as he is riding outboard there?

OR is there another amazing option that I have no idea about?

TIA!

 

[Jan06twinmom]

I would recommend going with the Britax Frontier since your DS is so big. It's going to give you the most growing room in a harness and you'll also need it as a tall booster down the road.

Just to give you some comparisons. My DS is large too, but was smaller than your DS at that age. My DS outgrew the Radian at 5y10m by height and weight, but still fits in the Britax Regent at 7yo at 53in tall. From talking with other parents, I think my DS has a shorter than average torso. My guess is that your DS is on a higher growth curve with a longer torso so he'll outgrow all of the seats faster than my DS did.

Hopefully someone else has a recommendation about it you should get the SICT for the outboard position.

Melanie

 

[Athena]

I'm not a tech, but we have both of those seats and at your kid's height, I would definitely get the Frontier 85. As far as whether to get the SICT, that's up to you. Our seats are outboard and I didn't even consider the SICT, but if you have the space and extra money and it makes you feel better, go for the SICT.

 

[Cattitude]

Thank you both. I keep going back and forth with the SICT for DH's car. Reading the Britax site doesn't help either!

 

[Kaitsmom]

The SICT is huge, you can rule out fitting a passenger next to the seat in most cases. Theres no data to prove that the SICT does anything, Britax doesnt release its official testing data, and there are no federal side impact testing standards. The cover is easier to remove, though fewer cover choices, and it doesnt require a top tether over 65lbs, which may be helpful if there arent tethers available. Personally, I went with the FN85, and skipped the SICT, I think its overkill and I have to use it in several different cars and cant risk it not fitting in a compact car.

 

[Cattitude]

Thanks kaitsmom. Good to know about the size. Maybe I'll go to a B & M and look at both in person. I'll probably end up with 2 regular Fr85s.