Question If you were me, which combo seat would you be looking at?

[TXmom2]

DD is 3 1/2 and outgrowing her RF seats, so we turned her FF. (She only had about a lb or 2 to go in her EFTA and 6 lbs in the SFCA65, but her long legs make buckling her in a struggle and she had begun fighting us every time.)

She sleeps in the car quite often and is getting really bad head slump in her seats FF, so I'm looking into a dedicated FF combo seat.

Looking at the Frontier, Recaro Prosport or the Nautilus. (or suggestions?)
1- Must be sleep friendly. Head slump = very cranky little girl
2- Needs to fit well next to a RF CCO for now and later a RF EFTA. They are side by side in the "60" portion of the 2nd row of an 09 Pilot and we must leave one spot open for a teen or adult.
3 - smooth adjust harness is a big plus!
4 -Good fit on a tall, thin child in harness and booster mode
5- latchable in booster mode

Stats: Z is 32.3lbs (without clothes), 38 3/4in tall and has a 12 3/4in torso (she has long legs and is pretty narrow)

Here she is in the CA sleeping

Thank you for your help

 

[Brianna]

What about the EFTA FF on the middle recline?

 

[Gidgetc13]

We just recently got the ProSport for our ODD, and I love it. She loves it too. She is also about 3.5 and has pretty much the same stats as your DD as far as height and weight. I'm not sure about her torso length but she is 39" tall and weighs a little over 30 pounds, so tall and skinny. She fits in the ProSport great (not sure about booster fit yet). She sleeps in the car a lot too, so I was concerned about turning her FF. Her first trip in the ProSport she fell asleep. She slept great in it, no head slump at all. She looked so comfortable in it. It is a very nice seat, the harness adjust is extremely smooth. We currently have it installed next to a RF radian in our Nissan Altima.

 

[TXmom2]

Comparing the Prosport to the Frontier85... mixed reviews.

Some say they are both nice but prefer the height on the Frontier, some say the Prosport is more comfortable, some say it's more narrow.Both are supposedly good for sleeping. Both are now latchable in booster mode, correct? I'm so ...

I'm also trying to keep in mind the plan to hand down the combo seat to youngest DD who is proving to be shorter & stockier than her sister. And the fact that the center position has no headrest.

The Prosport has a 6 yr expiration and the Frontier was 8 or 9? Either would get my youngest to at least 8 yrs which would be fine to move to a dedicated booster.

Gah! Why are these decisions so hard?

I keep looking at the data & numbers, but I am a visual person. Does anyone have pics of these seats installed next to a RF seat? Any other pics of them in use?

 

[maramarrie]

I miss my '09 Pilot, and we had our RF seats set up the same way. We lost all access to the 3rd row in our Pilot when we tested FF convertible seat in that center position, so we traded it recently.

I believe the Recaro Prosport will fit where you need it, but I'm not sure if it will allow 3rd row access (if you need that). We traded the vehicle before I had a chance to try out the ProSport. I am pretty sure you can't use LATCH in booster mode (but I don't yet have a new one to check the manual). I'm looking at that one for our current vehicle because I need the seat to be 18.5" wide or less, a similar width to what we needed/had in the Pilot. It's definitely narrower than the Frontier. I did search some sleeping photos (here on the forum) of kiddos sleeping in the ProSport because DS sleeps often in the car. None of the pictured kids had head slump at all.

I think kids don't have problems sleeping in the Frontier either, but it is an inch wider (19.5 inches) and may not fit where you need it. It's really wide. It is very tall, though, so if you need a super tall seat that might be a good choice.

I don't know about the Nauti, but it looks like a great seat. It might be narrow enough to fit there and allow 3rd row access.

A Radian seat might work for you, too. It has a really long expiration, 10 years I think. Though I did read somewhere here that it's not the greatest in booster mode (seat belt).

 

[TXmom2]

I've been searching but having NO luck. Where/how do I find these "sleeping pics" ?

 

[maramarrie]

I've been searching but having NO luck. Where/how do I find these "sleeping pics" ?

I'll start looking to see if I can find it. I think someone was asking for pics of kids sleeping in the ProSport.

 

[jayvaldor]

According to Gracobaby the Nautilus car seat helps keep your child secure from 20 to 100 lbs. Nautilus™ is a 3-in-1 car seat that converts from a harnessed booster to a high back belt-positioning booster and finally to a backless belt positioning booster.

http://www.gracobaby.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=8J00BRV

 

[maramarrie]

Here you go! There are links in some of the posts where you'll find a bunch of photos.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=240627

 

[Gidgetc13]

The ProSport is latchable in booster mode. I don't have any sleeping pictures but I will try to post some pictures of it installed next to my RF radian.

 

[Gidgetc13]

I have them installed with the ProSport behind the passenger and the radian in the middle. Here is a view from the passenger side.
http://s1294.beta.photobucket.com/u...824605641587_1092283811_n.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

And from the other side.
http://s1294.beta.photobucket.com/u..._837383724207_717950634_n.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

ETA: Those are the only 2 photos I have of the ProSport next to a RF seat.

 

[thtr4me]

I have a Frontier, and we have absolutely NO head slump while sleeping. DS1 sleeps in the car a lot. He had horrible head slump in his convertible seat. I looked at both the Recaro and the Frontier, and the Frontier won because of the 9 year expiration (DS2 can use it likely until he no longer needs a seat or booster) and DS1 said it was the most comfortable. Of course comfort is totally subjective, and what one child finds comfy, another may not. My guy is a stick thin peanut of a 6yo and the seat fits him very well. I find the harness adjuster to be like butter. Super smooth and easy to pull. I wish all my seats adjusted as nicely.

 

[jjordan]

We chose a ProSport over a Frontier because it was narrower and worked better in our 3 across situation. The original PS was not LATCHable in booster mode; I heard they were changing that on new models, but if you go with a PS then check the manual once it comes and make sure it is now allowed. I'm not sure if there was a magic date where it changed. My two FF kids both like it a lot.

One weird thing about the PS is that it requires that you discontinue top tether use after 52#. If you expect to want to harness past that weight, then think about that. For us it is a total non-issue since our nearly-7 year old is still just 46# on a "heavy" day, and she'll be boostered long before she reaches 52# (as will any of our kids unless this #4 breaks the mold and turns out to be gigantic!).

 

[aeormsby]

I don't think either of my kids have ever had head slump in our Frontiers. We got our first one almost 4 years ago when DD was about the same size as your DD.