which seats have shorter crotch straps?

[cdnmama]

I recently purchased a Safety first alpha omega and an evenflo chase as second seats for my husbands and a grandparents vehicles.

I tested both out in my house to make sure DS fit....it seems he does not because when I buckled DS into them, the crotch strap seems unusually long?? Once buckled the buckled dig into his stomach. DS is 1yr 22 lbs and 31 inches.

I also found both of these seats difficult to tighten and could get neither seat to tighten enough...they both had slack left on one side....I found this very frustrating and will most likely return both seats....however I was really looking for a less expenseive option for a second seat. My main seat will be a Radian XT, but obviously due to price can't afford 2, and it is not feasible to remove and install the seat daily b/n vehicles.

 

[LittlePeanut]

I'm not certain about the crotch strap length issue so I will leave that for others to answer. I would like to address your other seats however, at just 1 year and 22 lbs, your DS meets the bare minimums to FF. I strongly advise you keep him RF until he outgrows his convertible seats RF. The chase is a FF only seat and he is 500x safer while RF. if you want a very inexpensive seat that should fit him until approx 4 years or more, I recommend checking out the Cosco Scenera. It goes RF to 35 lbs and FF to 40 lbs. It is on rollback at Walmart for just under $55.

The 3 in 1's are generally not a recommended seat here. The general consensus is that they make decent RF seats, okay FF harnessed seats and poor boosters.

 

[LittlePeanut]

I forgot to address the slack issue... I'm guessing both are continuous loop harnesses. That means the entire harness is one belt. If you tug on them to even them out first, that should solve the slack issue. The Scenera is the same design. I'd still recommend returning both new seats.

 

[chay]

ETA - I'm too slow typing, sorry about the repeats...

The Alpha Omega has a continuous harness which means that the straps on the left side are joined to the straps on the right. If you're having a problem with one side being tight while the other is loose you can pull where the straps come out of the bottom of the seat (near the kid's bum) and pull slack from loose side to the tight side. Your Radian on the other hand has the left and right side separate so this is different than what you're used to.

I'm not sure about the crotch buckle length, I don't recall having an issue with that with the Alpha Omega with either of my kids.

I find I have to pull the straps from behind to get the harness tight enough (of course that only works RF which we would strongly recommend).

Also, with colder weather coming you want to remove their winter coat in the car - they aren't safe and it makes it impossible to get the harness tight enough as well.

If you decide to replace the seats, post back with a budget and we'll be more than happy to try to help.

 

[cdnmama]

I know all the recommendations for rearfacing as long as possible, that's why our main seat that will be used 99% of the time will be a Radian XT

However, we need a second seat for DH vehicle, so he can drop off and pick up from daycare while I am @ work, I work 12 hr shifts and its just not feasible to be switching a seat daily.
As the Radian is $300+ I can't really afford 2...I'm sure most ppl are in this situation.

The safety first Alpha omega RF to 35 lbs as well...just like the scenara...but they have the same ht restriction that the infant seat has of 32 inches...so DS will quickly outgrow the ht limit before the weight limit and have to then be FF. I know the scenara's are currently on sale right now and it is on my list to go check them out and possibly purchase one instead. Most likely I will be returning both seats, as I found them way to difficult to adjust and couldnt not get them fastened correctly....If I cant do it...how am I to expect my MIL to fasten it correctly when she's only using it occasionally....i wont trust that....i need something that is easy to use.

I was trying to get the most bang for my buck when I purchased the AO @ $99 and the Evenflow Chase @$69...they were both on sale, and I thought they were a better choice b/c they can eventually be used as boosters, that way I wouldn't have to buy boosters later (also at the time I was thinking of giving 1 seat to my MIL for the occasionaly time she has to pick DS up...but @ this point I dont think thats totally necessary and am looking for a seat that is comparable to the radian in specs but not in price...doesnt seem to be any out there (i guess budget wise something $100-150)

 

[dogmelissa]

I tested both out in my house to make sure DS fit....it seems he does not because when I buckled DS into them, the crotch strap seems unusually long?? Once buckled the buckled dig into his stomach. DS is 1yr 22 lbs and 31 inches.

It hasn't been suggested, but I would personally suggest you try out the TrueFit. Its just a tiny bit above your budget (very close when on sale), has a long RF life, fits in almost every vehicle (I haven't heard of one it won't fit in), and should fit your son. See if you can try it in the store for fit on your DS but I bet it will. Also I think it has infant padding, which can "lift" the child up so the crotch buckle sits a little lower. However, no crotch buckle should 'dig in' either at the stomach or anywhere else so I suspect that the other seats didn't fit well at all.

I know you say the other seats are for ocassional use only, which is fine, but he should still be RF. Most crashes happen only a few km from home and you never know when they might occur. We were in an unavoidable crash only 3km from our house on a sunny, dry summer afternoon: with winter fast approaching I would not want to take the risk of FF for even a trip to the corner store. You obviously care or you wouldn't have bought the RN, so have a look at the TF. You may be surprised at how easy it is to install (switching between the 2 ocassional vehicles may not be an issue so you'd only need 1). Also consider asking if the grandparents would be willing to pay for (some or all) of a seat for their vehicle.

ETA: I wouldnt worry about the cost of booster seats at this point. It will be a long time before you need one and the good, dedicated boosters aren't that expensive. You will have plenty of time to save for one when DS is about 3 yrs old or older!

HTH,
Melissa

 

[cdnmama]

thanks for your reply dogmelissa, I will check that seat out!