car seats!!! time to get a forward facing one.....any suggestions? good ones.....bad ones...?

Cristine - posted on 07/05/2010

My oldest used a Britax Marathon until our youngest was ready to move out of the carrier. Now my oldest uses a Graco Nautilus. I've been happy with both, but I am glad we started out with the Marathon as it seems more comfortable than a convertible car seat (one that converts into a harness-free then booster). The Marathon seems to recline a little while the Nautilus sits at almost a 90 degree angle.

Tara - posted on 07/05/2010

My 6yr old is in a Britax Regent, my 3yr old is in a Graco that grows with him, and Ian is in a Britax Marathon rear-facing.

We used one for Ben that was a combo seat that said it went from 5-100lbs and its not worth it. He was so curled up and scrunched as an infant I knew it couldn't be safe so we got an infant seat. He sat in it until he was 3.5yrs old when he reached almost 4ft tall and was over 20in seated. I wanted him to remain harnessed so we saved and got the biggest seat on the market and that is the Regent which he will be in until he is tall enough to be safely seat-belted without a carseat. The research I did showed that the belt guides on his previous Eddie Bauer seat would not have held up in Booster mode as they were sewn to the fabric of the cover and not molded from the seat itself.



So please those getting combo seats please do your research to make sure its totally safe. Just because they tested them in harnessed carseat mode doesn't mean they tested it in booster mode.

Jayne - posted on 07/04/2010

i go a britax and it was well worth every penny i paid £120 pound and is the best money ive ever spent its so easy to get in and out of cars ive had 3 car seats 4 my son and they're all been britax

Laura Zoey - posted on 06/16/2010

sunshine radian xtsl is an awesome seat as you can remain rear facing up to 45lbs. front facing really is not safe for babies. or anyone really. statistically everyone is safer rear facing but specifically young ones necks can easily snap in a crash. many many parents are keeping their children safer rear facing up to the highest weight possible and this carseat is the best i can find. I personally would feel like a failure if i put eric in a more vulnerale position in the car. if i were to have an accident i would never forgive myself for putting him forward facing.
Sunshine radian xtsl is an awesome carseat.

Christina - posted on 06/16/2010

I got the Graco - Nautilus 3-in-1 Multi-Use Car Seat from Walmart. My child seems to like it and I like it too. It rates almost 5.0 stars out of 1300+ reviews, and it's on sale for 135.54 at walmart.com. Good luck on finding the right carseat.

Aimee-Grace - posted on 06/16/2010

I too thought I would get the Britax, expensive but if it's the best who cares. I did a lot of research because I wanted one that would last the rest of the time my daughter needed to be in a car seat. She also outgrew her infant seat before she was 12 months old and needed to still be rear-facing. Here is what I found: Britax can be too big for certain vehicles, the tension tighter/loosener was a knob on the side that isn't easy to use, and it only goes up to 50-60 lbs and then you'll have to buy a booster seat for your kiddo. Another one I found was the Evenflo Symphony 65, it can be rear-facing for up to 35 lbs, forward-facing (with harness) 20-65lbs, and forward-facing (without harness using the shoulder belt) from 48-100 lbs. It was rated just as good as the Britax, it's around the same amount of money but unlike the Britax which stops at 55-60 lbs, this one will become the booster for me too. I felt it was the best bang for our buck especially since the safety was just as good. Since my DD outgrew earlier I chose the Evenflo and even now when she could be forward-facing she isn't and she'll continue until she will no longer tolerate facing the rear. (She is 14 months old.)
If your daughter is already a year old and at least 20 lbs and you want to turn her around then I would recommend for less money then the Evenflo but just as good is the Graco Nautilus because it will go into a booster seat when you're ready and unlike the Britax you will not have to buy another seat. I hope this is helpful. Good Luck!

Sherry - posted on 06/05/2010

It depends on how much room you have. We have a Graco Nautilus for Breanna and a Safety First 3 in 1 Convertible installed in our Pontiac. We still have Madelyn rear facing in her Safety First since it will rear face to 35 pounds.

Stina - posted on 05/29/2010

Try out the mechanism for adjusting first. I prefer the one with a lever and single strap to pull.



One of our car seats has a button you press to be able to tighten or loosen one strap- the tension then has to be adjusted on the other side. It's a pain in the butt.



I also prefer the forward facing seats that can double as a booster seat when the child is ready for one.



As for price- find the seat that works for your car and your kid.