Questions convertible seat

[Relish]

Ds is rf in a Britax RA, 22mo, 23lbs. He has only about 1 inch of shell above his head. The manual says I can go to the tips of the ears, with no qualification about ff or rfing.

1. The manual says the seat should be reclined to Rf. Is this a MUST? Not reclined he'll last longer in the seat.

2. I tried him out in the EFTA and Marathon. He has barely any room to RF in the EFTA because it too has to be reclined, but a good amount in the Marathon .

Get a Marathon you say? Dh agrees and I'll do it if there's no better option. My big but...I hate how the Britax strap slots fit Ds' body. He's been on the bottom slots of the RA forever and he'd be on the bottom slots of the MA too. I'm forever digging around for buckles and the straps fold over, sit far out on his shoulders, and need lots of straightening.

Dh likes Britax quality, built-in lockoffs and isn't afraid to spend for a seat. Do you think a CompassTru Fit or Radian might fit him better? Recaro?

 

[ThreeBeans]

At an inch of shell left you need to discontinue using the seat RF now. Britax has clarified their position on this.

The seat MUST be in a reclined position.

The Marathon will allow you RF a LOT longer

 

[azgirl71]

The one inch rule applies to RF. The tips of the ears that the manual talks about only applies to FF, not RF.

Your seat must be in the recline position for RF. You will actually loose room if it is in the FF recline mode.

 

[Relish]

Thank you for clarifying! I had a feeling that people "in the know" would know more than my manual. I thought we had until the top of the shell.

Argh. We'll switch to the Scenera for now then while we decide on another seat.

Any suggestions on a seat that might better fit Ds' body?
I'm assuming here that slot heights on non-Britax will be different but Britax all the same.

 

[azgirl71]

You have a few options. MArathon, Boulevard, Decathalon all have a 16.75" harness height. There will be a sale Feb 24th - MArch 2nd on Britax seats.

The Radian has a 17 inch harness height. Would last longer, but can be hard to install in some vehicles.

Those would probably be your best options with is size.

 

[Mama!]

If you pull the harness at the top and chest to pull it snug around his legs, it shouldnt swallow him whole. Sometimes the harness gets gathered around the legs and doesnt slip through those crotch buckles properly. See if you can snug it down that way.

We have a Signo that is quite nice, and I don't have a problem getting him in snugly. Granted, he's not a peanut.

 

[ThreeBeans]

The Radian has a 17" harness height, just to clarify

 

[azgirl71]

The Radian has a 17" harness height, just to clarify

I oops. BTW...We are both wrong it is 18 inches.
Radian Measurements click the specifcations tab. I had the Nuatiilus in my head...LOL

 

[ThreeBeans]

It's actually 17 inches. I own 2 of them and have measured them several times over.

The 18" figure comes due to the recommendation of using it 1" above the top slots. But the slots themselves are definitely only 17", even with the fabric completely compressed.

 

[azgirl71]

It's actually 17 inches. I own 2 of them and have measured them several times over.

The 18" figure comes due to the recommendation of using it 1" above the top slots. But the slots themselves are definitely only 17", even with the fabric completely compressed.

Gotcha. I had to go measure mine just to see of course Thanks!

 

[crunchierthanthou]

Make sure you're measuring harness height against the actual shell and not the cover (which can slip and be an inaccurate gauge). Ds looked to still be on the lowest slots, but had actually reached the second slots when judging against the shell.

Britax is moving toward the 1" rule. The last time I spoke with them about it, they were clear that the RA could be used until the head was even with the top of the shell. I haven't seen anything indicating that they have changed it (I believe only the BLVD and Diplomat currently state 1"). Here is a guide on determining whether the seat is outgrown by height.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30201

The seat must be in recline mode rf. However, you can install it as upright as 30 degrees. To get it more upright, pull the base back from the seat bight an inch or two and put more pressure toward the front of the seat (over the harness adjuster, rather than where the child's bottom goes).


edit: I just looked online and the RA manual was updated last week. It does state the 1" rule.

 

[azgirl71]

I agree the Britax seats are hard to measure at times. The Radian lines up perfect with every slot.