Question Trying to decide on a convertible

[lotsuvlittles]

I'm looking to buy a seat for a first time mom to use after the infant seat. I've been out of the car seat loop for a few years and see that there are a few new ones. I have been a big Britax fan, Marathon & Frontier being my favorites, so I lean towards a Marathon or similar for the new baby. However I've been looking at TruFit, NextFit, and ProRide pictures and wondering how they stack up to the Marathon and it's clones. I was never a fan of Graco or Evenflo convertibles, maybe they've gotten better? I also did not care for the Radian that I owned.

One more thing, this family does regularly take 4hr car trips so it does need to be a nicely padded seat.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[wendytthomas]

Without knowing the details of the child, of those I would choose the NextFit. It's the second tallest rear facing seat on the market and has a 40 pound rear facing limit. The Graco Size4Me/Headwise/My Size 70 is tallest.

The True Fit is tall and pretty easy to use and install, but it only has a 35 pound rear facing weight limit. That might not get some parents rear facing as long as they'd like.

The ProRide with the high base, deep sides, and no leg room is hard to maneuver a child into and out of. Imagine trying to button up your jeans with your knees at your teeth. Doable, perfectly ok, but not what you want to do every day. The ProRide is best for kids with really short to no legs, for that reason.

The Marathon and clones are some of the shortest of the higher weight seats, if not the shortest. Great for kids who are in the 30% or so with shorter torsos, or for parents who only want to rear face to two and not beyond. Otherwise, other companies have come up from behind and done a fantastic job of making seats that are easy to install (the Chicco NextFit with LATCH compared to a Marathon with LATCH makes the Marathon look like you're trying to put together something from Ikea. To be fair, the NextFit does that to everything), with great weight limits.

I think it's great you're helping them with a seat. That's quite nice of you.

Wendy

 

[nannykates]

Of those seats I also think the NextFit is the best bet. It is a very easy to use seat and well padded. The past few years Britax convertibles have been slipping in the ratings on this board. The 3g seats have shorter shells than the previous generation which makes us ERF advocates sad . I actually like some Graco and Evenflo seats better than Britax ones (the size4me and clones for example is like a nextfit lite, the sureride is under $100 and will fit full term babies and kindergarteners a like.) Both companies have come a long way.

 

[lotsuvlittles]

The NexFit is looking good.
Is there any other seat I should be considering?

Thanks!

 

[wendytthomas]

Do you know how heavy and old the child is?

Wendy

 

[lotsuvlittles]

He's due to be born in a couple weeks. The mom already has an infant seat so I told her I'd get her convertible in the next few months. That way I can wait for a sale, if I know what I'm looking for.