Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year old?)

[Unregistered]

Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year old?)

Hi, I have a similar problem, as I also have a very tall/big almost 2 year old (39lbs).
Although I still have a carseat that fits it is very big/heavy (rear and front seater). We're about to fly on vacation where I need to carry and move around the seat so I'd like to buy a lighter childseat that fits her now and will hopefully fit until when she doesn't need one anymore. Any suggestions and what is the difference between the Marathon and Nautilus?
Thank you in advance for your answers!
Didi

 

[Maedze]

Re: Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year ol

The Nautilus would be preferable to the Marathon, because it is a combination seat (forward facing harness converts to booster) rather than a convertible (rearfacing and then forwardfacing harness only). It's a nice, well constructed seat that is reasonably affordable.

However, given your child's size, I would recommend considering the Frontier instead. It will harness to the same shoulder height as the Nautilus, BUT has a harness weight limit of 80 pounds rather than 65.

 

[mylittlet]

Re: Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year ol

The nautilus is at walmart and target. I suggest you go try it. It works for some kids, but not wide enough for others. Your other great option is the frontier. It harnesses to 80# and turns into the tallest booster currently on the market. It also doesn't expire for 9 years.

What does he ride in now? There are also some great ways to get the carseat to the plane for traveling. The travelling toddler, the go wheels, or a regular lugguage cart.

 

[momtoirs]

Re: Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year ol

The nautilus is at walmart and target. I suggest you go try it. It works for some kids, but not wide enough for others. Your other great option is the frontier. It harnesses to 80# and turns into the tallest booster currently on the market. It also doesn't expire for 9 years.

What does he ride in now? There are also some great ways to get the carseat to the plane for traveling. The travelling toddler, the go wheels, or a regular lugguage cart.

We flew with the Nautilus a year ago. We ended up with a two block walk, a light rail train ride, and a second two block walk before we got to the terminal -- with 3 rolling suitcases, 3 backpacks, and sleeping cot in a travel bag. We used an extra luggage strap to hook the Nautilus onto our Volo. It worked great. I wouldn't want to do this on a regular basis (especially not at the 3:45 am time we needed!), but it worked great for a once in a while thing.

Tina

 

[swtgi1982]

Re: Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year ol

honestly i own a nautilus an i love it. My daughter just turned three and is only 30lbs and to tall for any 40lbs car seat on the market and after comparing several at babies r us we went for the nautilus. we did not need the high weight limits since it has never been an issue for us. but in your case i would consider one that goes to 80 lbs since she is already 39lbs at 2. a booster is not advisable until 5 or 6yr old (or older). I like the nautilus since it does convert and we will never need another seat for her (well maybe since I may pass it down to my younger two and get her a new one when she outgrows it)

 

[Jeanum]

Re: Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year ol

Thanks for the input. The OP probably made a choice and took that trip by now, given the thread dates from a couple of months ago. I'm going to move this to Carseats for Special Needs and Other Transportation since it seems suited to that subforum and might be helpful for those who google up previous threads.

 

[kandamom]

Re: Travel seat for 39 lb. 2 year old & differences between Marathon & Nautilus? (was Re: Booster seat for my 2-year ol

I bought a marathon for ds1, after he weighed 38 lbs at his two-year check-up. In our case, the marathon did not get him to an age or size where I was comfortable putting him in a booster full-time. He looked a little too tall and broad in the shoulders to be comfortable in the seat for a while before he technically outgrew it around 45" and 45 lbs. (I do love our marathon, though.) I would get something like the frontier or nautilus. My older son's growth slowed down quite a bit after age 2. In our case, 65 vs. 80 lbs. would not have mattered. That being said, I will probably get ds2 a frontier once he is too large to ride rear facing. It looks like a great seat, but I don't know how easy it would be to travel with it.

Rebecca

DS1 K - 7 1/2, 51", 56 lbs, Monterey
DS2 A - 24 months, 37", 32 lbs, rf in a Marathon