Question so overwhelmed by convertible choices!

[Unregistered]

My son will be growing out of his KeyFit 22 soon so I'm doing research to pick out his next carseat. I'm leaning towards the Britax Marathon (most moms I know swear by this) or the Evenflo Sympony DLX (I like their side impact technology) or The First Years True Fit (5 star rating) Keeping with his growth trends, I expect at 9 months he'll be 22 lbs, 29" tall ... we have a 2012 Honda CR-V and he's our only child so he'll be in the middle seat. I'm 5'2" and my husband is 6' so his seat is moved most of the way back. And we are budget conscious so I'd like to keep it under $225. Any help is really, really appreciated - I'm going to the store this week to see them in person but would love to hear others' advice.

 

[MamaErin]

What is the child's age, height and weight right now?

I wouldn't completely trust other mom's opinions on Britax, yes they are great for ease of use and things but a lot of people seem to think because they cost more they are safer which is not true! A marathon is a great choice, for some people, but not others. If you are expecting your son to already be 29 inches at 9 months, that is pretty tall and the Britax seats aren't the greatest for tall kids.

The symphony is one of the shortest RF seats and not usually recommended around here for that reason. It can only RF on the 1st 2 headrest positions so it is outgrown as early as 18 months for some and not much past 2 for many others.

The truefit is a great option. Highly recommended here and great for tall kids without taking up a ton of RF space. Out of the 3 options you listed, I would definitely choose this over the others for your particular situation.

A few others you could look into are the Safety 1st complete Air, Graco Size4me/Mysize 70 and the Diono Radian. All good for taller kids and can be found in your price range.

Also, I was just curious where you are getting the "5 star rating" from?

 

[Unregistered]

He's currently almost 7 months, 18 lbs 8 oz, 26" ... 75th percentile since birth so assuming he stays on that curve he'll be outgrowing his Chicco at 9 months. We'll keep him in his Chicco til then. The 5 Star Rating comes from the NHTSA website, where they give the True Fit the highest rating for Ease of Use. I'm leaning towards the True Fit, thanks for the advice! I know that they all meet high standards but I'm a first time mom, therefore stressing about and second guessing every decision we make : )

 

[Stelvis]

The Truefit isn't a bad seat, but it is a little annoying to adjust the harness rear facing and it only rear faces to 35 lbs.

If you can wait til April, Chicco's coming out with a really neat convertible called the Nextfit. It's also very tall and rear faces to 40 lbs.

 

[MamaErin]

Oh ok, I just wanted to be sure you weren't getting any ratings from something like consumer reports, a lot of people do and they aren't reliable.

Even though the Truefit does only RF to 35 lbs, I would personally go for it for the height. My son was 90% for weight from birth and then dropped to only 30-40% when he started walking at 9 months. So the weight definitely slows down, height probably won't and many seats are outgrown by height before weight.

Also as the PP said, the Chicco seat is coming out, however, it is expected to be closer to $300.

 

[Stelvis]

Oh ok, I just wanted to be sure you weren't getting any ratings from something like consumer reports, a lot of people do and they aren't reliable.

Even though the Truefit does only RF to 35 lbs, I would personally go for it for the height. My son was 90% for weight from birth and then dropped to only 30-40% when he started walking at 9 months. So the weight definitely slows down, height probably won't and many seats are outgrown by height before weight.

Also as the PP said, the Chicco seat is coming out, however, it is expected to be closer to $300.

Its MSRP is $280, but with sales/coupons you could get pretty close to her budget.

My DS is unusual -- his weight gain actually sped up between about 1-2.5. As an infant he was in the third percentile, but hit 35 lbs dressed before he was 3. Then in the last year and half he's only gained 2 lbs, so who knows.

 

[MamaErin]

That is definitely unusual, never heard of a kid jumping around so much weight wise! That is one thing with picking any seat though, you can never predict how it will work in the future!

 

[Unregistered]

No kidding - we love Chicco products, even if its a little out of our budget I'd strongly consider this. And you're right, with coupons and sales I think we could get close. And yes, its so hard to predict where he will be height/weight wise but I like to plan and would rather shop now and have it ready when needed - the later the better, that carrier is pretty convenient!
Thanks so much!

 

[Stelvis]

There is a Chicco Club you can sign up for and they are having a giveaway right now of 10 Nextfits.

 

[Kel]

The graco my ride is a nice seat, and is in the toys r us ad this week for 129.99.

It's the Royale cover. Dark purple and black. My 2.5 yr old son LOVES this seat.
It's the second my ride 65 that I've owned. Cup holders are a big plus, as my little guy keeps his hot wheels and little people in them, lol.