Graco Atlas or Tranzitions

[mommyfrog]

We need an affordable harnessed seat for our 6 year old. He's small and wiggly and we will be keeping him harnessed for now. It will going in an older Suburban with leather seats in the middle of the back seat. We are looking at the Atlas and the Tranzitions. Will either of those work better than the other or is there something completely different that will work better but isn't expensive?

 

[DogznKatz]

What is his height and weight and what vehicle? Other carseats/booster seats on either side? Both are nice seats, The Trazitions has a snuglock version that may be easier to install. I haven't seen it IRL yet. The non-snuglock version can be a pain.

 

[mommyfrog]

He's 45 inches tall, 42 pounds. 1994 Chevy Suburban. It's my husband's car. No other car seats or boosters, just possibly older kids. It's a lap belt in the middle so we want to install a harnessed seat there and leave the shoulder belts for older kids (all 12 and up and adult size).

 

[aporthole]

Ah, so no tether anchors at all. How many older kids are there? Is it a 2nd row bench or captain’s chairs?

 

[mommyfrog]

We have 7 kids at home, but dad usually only takes 2 or 3 with him at a time. Bench seat.

 

[aporthole]

Has he tried using a booster at all at this point? The lack of tether anchors would be a personal concern even though not legally required like it is in Canada.

If he is definitely not booster-ready, I’d re-consider the lap-only position and if possible, put his harnessed seat in a position with a shoulder belt. An untethered seat will more often have less head excursion with a lap-shoulder belt than a lap-only belt. The Graco Nautilus has traditionally been one of the lower head excursion options when untethered. I’m not sure how the Tranzitions compares to the Atlas in that aspect. The Atlas is more similar to the Nautilus in design but I wouldn’t make any assumptions based on that alone.

 

[aporthole]

Another good option would be a Ride Safer vest in one of the positions with a shoulder belt.