Question Help with finding a ff car seat

[scoop]

We have had our 4 y/o daughter in an Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE LX (as asked about here a few years ago) both rear and forward facing since she was about 1 y/o. She is about 35lbs and 40 cm so will be good in this car seat for some time yet. We havent required a second seat until now, but come September will need a seat in each vehicle for JK drop offs and pickups.

We no longer need the rear facing option, so wondering what some good choices are out there for forward facing seats, or even forward facing that eventually convert to booster seats? Or are we better to ignore that and still get a rf/ff seat?

Looking for a good combination of safety, comfort and of course cost.

thanks for any help.

 

[bbartlettnfld]

You could try looking into a Graco Nautilus or a Britax Frontier. They seem to be recommended regularly on here. Both seem to make a decent booster once the harness is outgrown. I am sure there are more but I'm not quite into the harnessed combo seat stage!

 

[Judi]

You could try looking into a Graco Nautilus or a Britax Frontier. They seem to be recommended regularly on here. Both seem to make a decent booster once the harness is outgrown. I am sure there are more but I'm not quite into the harnessed combo seat stage!

Those would be the top two. The frontier, being the 85, not the 80.

 

[mam521]

What do you want to spend on a seat?

Frontier XT could very well be the last seat you have to purchase. Its got the highest harness slots available and functions as a FF harnessed seat and a high back booster. It is wide and doesn't necessarily play well with situations needing a 3 across situation (not that you need that now, but you never know in the future).

The Nautilus is a harnessed seat, high back booster and low back booster. Its wide as well, but not as wide as the FR and is more pocket book friendly. It tends to run about $229 but seems to go on sale fairly regularily at Canadian Tire and Sears. Certain Superstore locations carry it as well for a reasonable price.

Another consideration may be the EvenFlo Maestro. It only harnesses to 47lbs, but has a reasonable belt fit once your DD makes it to the 40lb mark. By the sounds of it, it might take a bit so it might be a great choice thats also budget friendly. It runs about $130 regular price at Toys R Us and seems to go on sale fairly often for about $99.

At 4yo, I personally would stick to a harnessed booster unless I had someone else to pass a seat down to. I own a FR and Nauti and I like them both. Some say the Nauti causes head slump in younger kids, but I don't find that an issue with my DD.

Good luck on the hunt

 

[scoop]

What do you want to spend on a seat?

Frontier XT could very well be the last seat you have to purchase. Its got the highest harness slots available and functions as a FF harnessed seat and a high back booster. It is wide and doesn't necessarily play well with situations needing a 3 across situation (not that you need that now, but you never know in the future).

The Nautilus is a harnessed seat, high back booster and low back booster. Its wide as well, but not as wide as the FR and is more pocket book friendly. It tends to run about $229 but seems to go on sale fairly regularily at Canadian Tire and Sears. Certain Superstore locations carry it as well for a reasonable price.

Another consideration may be the EvenFlo Maestro. It only harnesses to 47lbs, but has a reasonable belt fit once your DD makes it to the 40lb mark. By the sounds of it, it might take a bit so it might be a great choice thats also budget friendly. It runs about $130 regular price at Toys R Us and seems to go on sale fairly often for about $99.

At 4yo, I personally would stick to a harnessed booster unless I had someone else to pass a seat down to. I own a FR and Nauti and I like them both. Some say the Nauti causes head slump in younger kids, but I don't find that an issue with my DD.

Good luck on the hunt

thanks to all 3 of you for the great info. what do you mean by the bolded? does "harnessed booster" mean a ff/booster combo as the examples listed or are there just booster seats with harnesses?

Maybe I dont understand the differences well enough - from what I understand the move from a carseat to booster on a combo unit is only because the harness on the carseat is not rated for a certain weight - is this correct? Is the seat portion used in the same way once the move is made to booster - just using the seatbelt instead of the harness to secure the child?

FWIW - would rather spend less $ then more, but not at the expense of safety. Not concerned about hand me down capability or car seat width, as this is our one and only!

 

[Judi]

a harnessed booster is a combo seat. You are correct. I would take a look at the Graco Nautilus, for price, and something that will last awhile.

 

[violets_mommy]

I'd go with the Graco Nautilus

 

[scoop]

thanks again for all the info. From what I can see the nautilus seems to be much higher priced here in Canada then the States.

Regular price Im seeing on these three is

frontier $299
Nautilus $259
Maestro $129

Biggest downside I can see to the Maestro vs the other two is the booster height/weight differences but with my 4 y/o daughter being 40" and 35lbs Im not too worried about her outgrowing it anytime soon - and figure when she does I could buy a dedicated booster for less money total then the other two options.

I think those suggesting the nautilus are US based where the price is closer to the maestro, would you still recommend it for $130 more then the Maestro?

 

[Judi]

I do realize that all seats cost more in Canada.

The Maestro will be outgrown in booster mode about the same time it is outgrown in harness mode. If you go into it knowing you will have to buy a booster later, then it is a good choice.

Can you go look at the Maestro and Nautilus?

 

[oddduck]

thanks again for all the info. From what I can see the nautilus seems to be much higher priced here in Canada then the States.

Regular price Im seeing on these three is

frontier $299
Nautilus $259
Maestro $129

Biggest downside I can see to the Maestro vs the other two is the booster height/weight differences but with my 4 y/o daughter being 40" and 35lbs Im not too worried about her outgrowing it anytime soon - and figure when she does I could buy a dedicated booster for less money total then the other two options.

I think those suggesting the nautilus are US based where the price is closer to the maestro, would you still recommend it for $130 more then the Maestro?

The Nautilus goes on sale quite a bit. It was on sale for $187 at Canadian Tire last week, and usually is on sale somewhere at least once a month. It definitely feels more "solid" then the maestro. I personally like the higher weight limit just in case I need to transport my niece who turned 5 last week and is pushing 50lbs.

That being said, I'm a lot like you -- I bought a maestro on sale at $99. It will most likely only ever be used harnessed -- the money I saved buying it can be used to purchase a HB booster when needed. My maestro gets used 1-2x a week by grandma.

 

[scoop]

I do realize that all seats cost more in Canada.

The Maestro will be outgrown in booster mode about the same time it is outgrown in harness mode. If you go into it knowing you will have to buy a booster later, then it is a good choice.

Can you go look at the Maestro and Nautilus?

i should do that - ill look for a place with them both in stock. Prices are typically slightly higher here, but for some reason price seems quite inflated on the nautilus.

this looks to be the non sale prices out there. about a $30 difference on frontier and maestro, but for some reason an $80 difference on the nautilus.

frontier $299 CDN $279 US
Nautilus $259 CDN $179 US
Maestro $129 CDN $99 US

 

[Judi]

But, like oddduck said, you can find the Nauti on sale.

 

[scoop]

The Nautilus goes on sale quite a bit. It was on sale for $187 at Canadian Tire last week, and usually is on sale somewhere at least once a month.

Good to know thanks. Not on the CT website, but Ill check in store to see if they have it.

 

[canadiangie]

Those would be the top two. The frontier, being the 85, not the 80.

Judi,

You're in Canada.

So it's the Frontier XT.


OP, the Maestro and Nautilus both have 18" top harness slots. The Maestro makes a pretty crappy booster, the Nautilus tends to make a good booster. The Frontier XT has 20" top slots and tends to make a good booster.

Remember, as soon as your child's shoulders are level with the top slots the harness is outgrown, no matter what she weighs. To put things into perspective, her Triumph Advance has a 17" top harness position (slid all the way to the top). How many inches does she have until her shoulders are level with the top position of her Advance?

 

[Judi]

Judi,

You're in Canada.

So it's the Frontier XT.

I hope I can make it back to the US, I have no passport.

 

[canadiangie]

I hope I can make it back to the US, I have no passport.

Well and it's a crappy day for you to be here. You really should be at home doing fireworks or something.

 

[Lea_Ontario]

I think those suggesting the nautilus are US based where the price is closer to the maestro, would you still recommend it for $130 more then the Maestro?

Yes, without hesitation.

It's much more comparable to the Frontier than it is to the Maestro.

 

[scoop]

Ok - thanks to this thread i narrowed it down to the frontier or nautilus. With both being on sale this week time to grab one.

Was leaning frontier. When we tried it in my vehicle though it was fine upright, but sticks way too far out when reclined(ford escape). So far out the front passenger would have their knees in the dashboard to make room for my daughters legs behind them. reading the manual it appears it MUST be in the reclined position when using the harness, so couldnt work for us. Just thought id mention thhis for anyone else thinking about this seat with a similar vehicle and wanting to use the harness.

So i have a nautilus now. Fits much better both reclined and upright, and from what i can tell can be used either way with the harness. Can anyone verify how to know if it should be reclined or not?

Only thing i notice is with the head rest at the proper height (according to manual) my daughters head is pushed a bit forward. She says it feels good, but looks a bit awkward. Anyone else notice this?

Also took the extra padded cusion out of the seat. My daughter isnt big, (40", 35lbs) but seemed a little too cramped with the padding in there. gave her the choice and she chose without. I dont think this has anything to do with the proper fit of the seat, and couldnt find anything in the manual, so i hope this is OK?

We'll go for a lengthy drive this weekend and see how it goes.

Edit to add: is there a way I can edit the OP with this info?

 

[dingohate]

The Frontier XT is on sale at www.snugglebugz.ca for 239.00 from 299.00 so if you're going to get the FT, I recommend getting it now. They sponsor the Canadian forum at c-s.org and also offer free shipping! I'm not sure how long the sale will be on, I heard about a week and it's been up a couple of days

Good luck!

 

[canadiangie]

Yes, the Nautilus might push her head forward. Its just how the headrest sits on some kids, in some vehicles. If she sleeps in the car you may find she experiences 'head slump' because of her head being further forward.

The Frontier XT does work on the seat of an Escape, you just need to work it in with your knee. What I do is move the front seat all the way forward and stand in front of the Frontier. Use my knee to wedge it into/onto the seat while I tighten. I can usually work most of the Frontier onto the vehicle seat. Then I move the front seat back to where it needs to be. I agree though, the seat of the Frontier is roomy front to back (nice for older larger kids) so it has a tendency to overhang the vehicle seat if it's not worked in.



I do believe the toddler padding on the Nautilus has to come out once the child is using the harness slots that are above the highest slots offered on the padding. ie: if there are 3 sets of slots on the padding (?) and your child is using the 4th set of slots on the seat then the padding must be removed. Hope that makes sense. Actually I'm pretty sure the rule about this is printed on the padding itself.


Hope that helps,