Need input on which convertible seat to buy.

[aimee123]

Hello everyone!

My daughter is 10 months old (today, actually ), and we're going to be buying a convertible car seat soon. She's about 20 pounds and almost 30 inches. We plan to leave her rear-facing until 30 pounds. I'm looking at the Britax seats, and I'll probably be buying it soon because of the deal that babycatalog.com has right now. We were originally planning on the Britax Marathon, but I just want to get some opinions and recommendations before making a final decision.

I drive a 2007 Toyota Camry, and DH drives a 2007 VW GTI. We're going to be getting one car seat for each car. I'd like to know what Britax seat got the best safety ratings, but I'm not sure where to find it. I'm assuming that we would be able to buy the same car seat (i.e. both of us get Marathon), but I included what cars we drive, just in case it makes a difference.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[southpawboston]

pretty much any new carseat is going to be safe if installed properly. but i would go to a BRU or other carseat retailer and test out the britax along with some others just to make sure you can get good installs in both cars before ordering one online. a cheap carseat that fits better in the car (and that fits the child better) is better than a more expensive carseat that doesn't fit as well.

2007 GTI-- great car!!!!!!!

 

[scatterbunny]

All seats on the market pass the same federal testing. We have no way of knowing which ones are "safer". Some have features that others don't have, that may or may not make the seat actually safer.

My top recommended convertible carseats:

Britax Marathon/Boulevard
Sunshine Kids Radian65
Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe

(those top ones all have very tall seat shells and rear-face to 33 pounds, harness forward-facing to 55-65 pounds and will be outgrown by most kids by height at age 4-7; all have EPS foam and twist-resistance harnesses)

Cosco Scenera
Safety 1st Uptown

(these two rear-face to 35 pounds but don't have as tall of seat shells, so may be outgrown rear-facing by height before weight, except for chunky or short-torsoed babies; forward-faces to 40 pounds but will be outgrown by most kids by height at 2-4 years old; Scenera is bare-bones, no padding, but a good basic seat; Uptown has EPP foam and good padding)

Some people get a Britax for the main car and a cheaper seat for the lesser-used car, if that's something you'd like to consider.

 

[Victorious4]

Just remember that the "best" carseat fits the child, fits the vehicle & is always used correctly....

Cosco seats tend to fit short stocky kids well, but the Radian or Britax tend to fit taller thinner children longer. The Radian or Britax are still good for short stocky kids, too, though.

Try out the different carseats in the store to find those that are easy for you to adjust (to reduce risk of misuse) & let kiddo sit in them (to find what's comfortable to help with cooperation) & ask if you can test the carseat in the vehicle -- after you've chosen your seat, have a local tech help you install

I personally would look into the Radian or Marathon as the primary seat + Uptown as the spare (having a spare seat helps reduce risk of incorrect installation from uninstalling/reinstalling the primary seat repeatedly). The Radian is generally more difficult to install in more vehicles, but help from a tech could take care of that....