Recommendations please - shared seat for grandma's car.

[MJrouge]

I'm replacing a True Fit Premier that is expiring. This is in Grandma's car, used once or twice a week. It has to be a no re-thread seat, easily adjustable to fit several users, and easy to use/buckle, as it will be shared by:

- 6.5, 46.5", 51 lbs (but Grandma will have a separate backless booster for when she tops out of the harness.)
- 5, 45", 46 lbs
- 3, 40", 36 lbs
(and eventually, a 15-month-old and 17-month-old, but not until they are ready to FF.)

Grandma drives a '99 Passat, but will be getting a new small/midsize SUV soon.

I was leaning towards an Atlas, Graco Argos Elite, or maybe a Harmony Defender. I would like to stay around $100, but if the Argos Elite is worth it, I'd be willing to spring for that at $160 on Amazon. Open to other recommendations.

Thank you!

 

[ketchupqueen]

I think you'd be plenty happy with an Atlas or maybe Defender.

 

[Nedra]

I would get an Atlas. If, in-between topping out the harness and using the backless booster, a kid needs it as a highback booster, the Atlas is easy to transition -- it just has a little storage compartment for hiding the harness. Perfect for multiple users.


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[rin2809]

I love the Defender, but probably wouldn't recommend it in this case. It's a very little thing, but if you are moving the headrest often for multiple kiddos, I find it really hard to get to the lever. It's kinda squished in under the cover and I feel like I have to bend my hand strangely and wouldn't want to do it regularly.

I think the Atlas would be a good choice. The Tranzitions is probably work well for you too. The one thing the Argos Elite has that the others don't is built in lockoff. Since the vehicle it is going into is a 1999, it may not have LATCH, so it would make install a bit easier. But if you are comfortable with the seatbelt locking as it is now and a new vehicle is in the near future, that probably isn't a necessity.

 

[MJrouge]

I think the Atlas would be a good choice. The Tranzitions is probably work well for you too. The one thing the Argos Elite has that the others don't is built in lockoff. Since the vehicle it is going into is a 1999, it may not have LATCH, so it would make install a bit easier. But if you are comfortable with the seatbelt locking as it is now and a new vehicle is in the near future, that probably isn't a necessity.

You're right, her Passat doesn't have LATCH. But LATCH is useless when the seat is used by a child over 40 lbs though, correct? Does the Argos Elite jump up in consideration knowing that a seatbelt installation will be the norm?

 

[Nedra]

You're right, her Passat doesn't have LATCH. But LATCH is useless when the seat is used by a child over 40 lbs though, correct? Does the Argos Elite jump up in consideration knowing that a seatbelt installation will be the norm?

The LATCH can be used until the child + restraint weight reaches 65 lbs, so it depends on the weight of the restraint. The Atlas, for example, has a 45 lb weight limit for the child when used with LATCH. In your case, since the seat is to be shared, it effectively means that you need to follow the weight of the largest child -- unless you want to reinstall using a different method for different kids -- so you'd need to stick with a seatbelt install.

I don't think that I'd place too high of a premium on lock-offs, as long as the vehicle has belts that can be put into ALR mode. My FIL (who has arthritis) finds it easiest to install seats with a seatbelt using the belt's ALR mode -- even though he uses Britax seats which have both lock-offs and an easy LATCH installation as options.


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