Frontier or Nautilus? Or Regent?

[jnh896]

Hello,

DD is 3 years old and 38 lbs. and 38 inches. Since we are just about to outgrow the latch limits of our Honda Odyssey, I think this is a good time to transition her seat as well.

I have looked at the Graco Nautilus and the Britax Frontier and this is probably going to sound like a crazy question. I know the combination harness/boosters have undergone extensive testing, but there's just something about the idea of "converting" to a booster seat that just didn't seen safe to me. i.e. what's to stop the pieces from coming apart in an accident? Can anyone put those fears to rest for me?

She is always in the 90th percentile so I think it may make sense just to buy a booster seat down the road when the time comes. That's why I thought the Regent might make the most sense right now. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[wendytthomas]

If you're happy buying a booster later on, a Regent would be a fine seat for you.

The harness doesn't hold the seat together, so there are no more worries about it flying apart with the harness than without. Besides, both seats come assembled (I believe you simply put on the Nautilus headrest now. How awful that I don't remember! LOL). In fact, I've had to do more assembly on boosters than I have on harnessed seats.

Wendy

 

[armywife12]

At only 38 inches tall, the Regent may swallow your 3 yr old but it will last her quite some time in a harness. Like the pp said, the harness has nothing to do with the seat staying together so removing it doesn't affect the stability of the car seat. Many boosters require more assembly than the the Frontier and Nautilus. I prefer the Frontier because it makes a much taller high back booster (the tallest HBB I believe) and I have heard it fits children better as a booster overall. My 27 month old is 35lbs and 38 inches, so similar in size to your 3 yr old. We have a Frontier that was used for a few months while he was forward facing in my vehicle. I love the way he fit him and he was already on the 4th harness position. Since hubby deployed, he is now rear facing full time in my vehicle so the Frontier is waiting in the closet until he goes forward again. When hubby returns in a year, we'll probably get the Nautilus for his vehicle unless another super cool car seat comes out by then. My husband loves the look of the Nautilus though. All 3 are great seats but I would rather go with the Frontier or Nautilus because I am not in the group that feels harnessing as long as possible is safest. I believe that, when a child is old enough, big enough, and mature enough, a high back booster is just as safe as a harnessed seat, so I am ok with harnessing my son when he outgrows the Frontier (around 6-7 yrs old)

 

[thepote]

My DS2 (almost 6yr, 46lbs) is in a GN (second slots from the top)... which I have no plans to use as a high back booster. Too heavy for my comfort level.

We had the Regent for a little while, but (imo) he seemed so open and unprotected, and I thought his neck would hurt from it hanging when he slept. My DS1 fit in the Regent until age 9... we didn't use it with him, but that's how long he fit. For me, I'm already starting to be comfortable with DS2 riding in a booster... and he has plenty of time left in the GN's harness, so a Regent seems like overkill, anyway.

We have an 05 Odyssey. He's in the driver's side middle row captain's chair, installed with the seatbelt :thumbsup:

 

[Evolily]

A & C are both in the Nautilus in harness mode- I love it . I'm personally very comfortable with using it as a booster if it provides a good enough fit for the child, although some kids will outgrow the high back portion before they are ready for just a lowback booster. I use to feel less comfortable given it's weight, but after viewing and reading the recently released Transport Canada study it assuaged the reservations I had about using it.

The Frontier and Regent are also good choices, I've never used them but I do know they are suppose to be very nice. Good luck choosing! I don't think there is a bad choice, as long as you pick one that fits your car, your child, and you can use correctly 100% of the time. They are all great seats.

 

[firemomof3]

I've had all 3 seats, still own the GN and Frontier. The Regent is great if you have a bigger child that is going to need the extra height/weight that the Regent offers. Like armywife said, it may swallow your 3y/o and be overkill :twocents:

The GN is very easy to use/install, my 3y/o who is 39" tall and 30lbs. uses the GN once in a while in DH's Jeep and she loves it. She fits very nicely. I will say that my one complaint is that all 3 of my kids do get head slump in the GN but they have never complained about it, it just looks horrid.
Also, the GN (tethered) received very good scores on some recent crash tests :thumbsup:
My 6y/o fits very nicely in the GN in booster mode but it really depends on the child and vehicle. But at the price, if you feel more comfortable buying a dedicated booster after the GN is outgrown, I think thats what you should do

The Frontier is a little more difficult to install and there is a learning curve, but with your vehicle, it will install great The Frontier is going to have more growing room all around vs the GN (especially in the shoulder area). The Frontier also has a 9year life span vs the 6 of the GN. And in booster mode, the Frontier can be latched and tethered :thumbsup:
My 6y/o used the Frontier in booster mode for a while and had no head slump and was very comfortable.

 

[Kaede's_Mom]

My DD is about the same size as yours, only weighs a bit less. I have put her in all three seats. The Regent swallowed her, she looked like a new born in a big converdable. It is a huge seat, but would also last you forever. We have both the Frontier (her daily seat) and a GN. She prefers her Frontier, as do I.

I would see if you can find each seat localy and try them all out.