Question Ready to move on from Chicco Keyfit30.. now what?

[digweed]

Our daughter just turned 1. At her 1-year checkup, it turns out she is 29 and 3/4" tall. We have a Keyfit 30, so she is going to age-out of it any day now.

We are looking at what's next. We'd like to keep her rear facing as long as possible so the Clek is at the top of the list currently. Other ones we are researching include the Diono Radian RXT, the Graco 4ever, and the Chicco Next Fit.

For the Keyfit30, we have one seat, but a couple extra bases. I'm noticing that the Clek and the Radian don't seem to have the extra base thing - that most of them appear to have the belts going through the seats. Is that true of most of the seats that handle toddlers and up? In other words, should I expect that from here on out, we're going to either:
* need multiple seats, or
* completely uninstall/reinstall the seat whenever we need it somewhere else?

For the Foonf specifically, I notice there are different prices depending on color. Are all the Foonfs constructed the same? Are people really just paying $100 more to get a Paul Frank monkey or is there some other feature?

This is day 1 of our research, so sorry if this sounds quite noobish

Thanks
John

 

[murphydog77]

Welcome, John! Great job doing your research. You'd be surprised at how many parents don't.

All of the carseats you have listed will keep your dd rear-facing probably until she's close to kindergarten age. The Graco 4Ever may edge out the others, if you want the ultimate rf seat, otherwise look for carseats that fit your vehicle well AND your dd and that have features you will be able to use easily each ride. If you don't like something immediately upon trying it, you'll really hate it after using it 10,000 times.

You are correct that convertible seats, which is this class of carseat, don't have bases that are removable. You will need to either uninstall it to switch it between vehicles or buy additional seats for other cars. Some parents buy the deluxe model for the vehicle in which the child rides in the most and a more economical model for lesser used cars. If you'll only be switching between cars once a month, it may not be a big deal. If it's daily or weekly, it's worth the cost of an extra seat. You may also want to consider your 2nd seat to be a travel seat that's lighter in weight so when you're schlepping it through an airport, you're not regretting buying the model that's made of solid steel .

When you see price differences between models that are otherwise identical, like the Paul Frank Foonfs, they are fashion differences. The Paul Frank example is extreme, but you will notice $10-$20 price differences in other carseats and it's for that reason.

 

[aporthole]

The Drift fabric of the Clek Foonf (and the new Clek Fllo) is made of automotive grade upholstery while the other colors/patterns are made of Crypton stain/moisture/odor resistant fabric that is GreenGuard certified. The Drift fabric does not have the additional features listed and contains the standard automotive chemical flame retardants.