Help me choose a car seat

[psygrad]

Hi. My son just turned a year and weighs about 22 pounds. I have been using the peg perego infant/car seat and the graco snugride (in 2 cars). I want a great and very safe car seat that will last a few years. I am very new to this and am lost by all the options. Can someone recommend a car seat to buy? I want my son to be safe and comfortable.
thanks for all your help! Should I buy a seat that goes up to 65 pounds or one that turns into a booster seat/80 pounds? Here are some names I am considering: Graco my ride, Graco nautilus, Radian, sunshine kids, britax marathon, safetyfirst alpha elite. As you can see - I can use some clarity!
Thank you for all your help!

 

[bree]

For a 1 year old, you want a convertible that will allow you to rear-face your son for a few more years. Fortunately, many of the seats on the market can rear-face kids until they are at least 3 or 4 years old. If you want to read up on why rear-facing is so vitally important, this page had fantastic explanations and links.

On your list of seats, the Graco Nautilus is a forward-facing only seat (that turns into a booster later), so it wouldn't be recommended for a 1 year old. I also wouldn't go for any of the Safety 1st Alpha Elite or various 3-in-1 models, because while newer models are decent rear-facing and forward-facing seats, the booster mode is atrocious, and I believe there are better choices for convertibles.

The Graco My Ride rear-faces to 40 pounds and the Sunshine Kids Radian models rear-face to 40 or 45 pounds. The Safety 1st Complete Air also rear-faces to 40 pounds. These 3 choices have the highest rear-facing weight limits and would be good choices for most kids to rear-face until at least 3 or 4, then forward-face after that until they are old enough for a booster.

I wouldn't consider the Britax Marathon, as it has a lower rear-facing weight limit, lower top harness height, and/or shorter shell than some of the other seats on the market.

What's your budget and what cars do you have? Any other kids in the car? We can help you give you recommendations for your particular situation if we have more info.

Since you have infant seats in 2 cars, I assume you will want 2 convertibles. I know all the info can be overwhelming, but at 22 pounds, I believe your son has reached the maximum weight limit on both your infant seats, so buying a convertible needs to happen ASAP.

 

[armywife12]

Like pp said, when looking for a convertible seat, you want to look for one that will RF for a few more years, preferably around 3-4 yrs old. A budget would help us and also his torso length, which will probably be hard to get with a wiggly one yr old.

Graco MyRide-RF to 40lbs FF to 65lbs (around $120-$150)
It will easily RF most to at least 3 yrs old and will harness most to 5.5 yrs old, when many are ready for a high back booster

Compass True Fit- RF to 35lbs FF to 65lbs (around $140-$180)
Compass True Fit Premier- RF to 35lbs FF to 65lbs (around $220 I believe)
Both will easily RF those light tots to around 3.5-4 yrs old and will harness most until around 6 yrs old, when many are ready for a high back booster. The True Fit Premier has everything the regular True Fit has with the addition of the anti rebound bar, which is an added safety feature.

Sunshine Kids Radians-RF to 40/45lbs FF to 65/80lbs (around $165-$299)
The Radian 65SL will RF to 40lbs and harness to 65lbs. The Radian 80SL and XTSL will RF to 45lbs and harness to 80lbs. ALL 3 have the same shell height and top slots so they'll all be outgrown in height at the same time. All will easily RF most close to 4 yrs old and will harness most to around 6 yrs old, when many will be ready for a high back booster. They can be a pain to install in many vehicles so it may be best to try to find one IRL to install and try it out first.

Safety First Complete Air- RF to 40lbs and FF to 50lbs (around $199-$229)
Will RF most to around 3.5 yrs old and FF most to around 5.5 yrs old. It has a very tall shell but has a stated RF height of 40inches that many do not feel comfortable ignoring like they would on other seats because of how Safety First is being so adament about following these height limits. I think the stated FF height limit is only 45 inches. It has a tall enough shell to fit most children well beyond these limits so it is up to the parent to decide if they want to follow that or not. (I go back and forth on it) I'm not a big fan of the seat and have heard it can be a difficult install but many on here love the seat

 

[Jonah Baby]

The previous posters answered your questions pretty thoroughly.
I would like to add that each of these above convertible seat options makes a good fit for different sized/shaped children.

The Graco MyRide is not the best fit for children with a long torso, as the shell on the seat is shorter compared to the other options listed. My larger child does fit well in this seat, his stats are listed in my signature.
The SafetyFirst Complete Air is a great match with longer torsos and skinny children because the shell is taller and the width between the harness straps is pretty narrow. A child of the size I have doesn't do so well, because of the harness strap width being so narrow - it rubbed against his neck too much.
The TrueFit or TrueFit Premier is a good option for those lightweight kiddos that need more height growing room than a higher weight limit, as the seat has a pretty tall shell.
Sunshine Kids Radians make a good fit for most kids all-around. My child also rides in one of the newest models because he needed the high 45 rear facing weight limit not offered by any other seat. You get a tall shell, lots of butt and shoulder room for larger children, lots of harness height adjustments, a high forward facing weight, as well as many other great features. The downfall to this option is that they are the priciest of your listed options and they do not always install well or at all in some vehicles.

If you could provide more info about your child, like height and torso length, the Techs could lead you closer to your best options.
Knowing the vehicles the seats will most frequently be used in will help tremendously as well as knowing your expected seat budget.

Hope that helps!

 

[psygrad]

Thank you so much for all your help. We have a 2009 Honda Accord and an 2005 Nissan Altima. He would pretty much be in the Accord. I am not sure of his height. He is our only child. I don't want to really put a budget on safety, but I'd like to get the best for my money and not pay through the roof.
thanks again!