Convertible car seat??

[bibiloves]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to buy a convertible car seat during black friday or cyber monday. Any recommendation on which one I should get? If you can list the pros and cons that would be great. I heard that Britax is good but that's pretty much all I know about convertible car seat. TIA for your help!!!

 

[brown_eyes]

We chose a Diono Radian RXT for our convertible car seat. It is one of the pricier ones, but here is why we chose it.

1. We want to keep DD rear facing as long as possible and this seat has the tallest shell to allow for the longest rear facing time (kiddos usually outgrow the height before the weight limits rear facing)

2. It is narrow so we can easily have this in the middle of our Jeep liberty with an infant car seat on either side.

The only thing I will note is that because the shell is so tall, it really does need to be installed in the middle unless you drive a larger SUV with more leg room in the back seat.

Other than that, we love it! I will also note that the grandmas have the much less expensive Evenflo carseats, which work just fine. They just wont be able to keep our kiddos rear facing quite as long.

 

[baby monster]

We have 3 models between different cars - Britax, Evenflo and AlphaOmega. They all work fine and rated about same for safety. IMHO Britax is most user-friendly with best thought-through layout. Straps are easier to adjust, cover easier to take off and put on, more comfortable seating position for child. My son threw-up in AlphaOmega seat and I had a very hard time cleaning it. When he threw up in Britax, it took all of 5 min to remove the cover without spilling throw-up everywhere. If we have to buy another carseat in the future, I''ll spend the extra money on Britax.

 

[PetitiePoire]

We have a britax for our daughter and it's very user friendy. It seems to be popular, but I really love the chest straps, the buckles are easy and always flap forward so I never have to search under her butt for it. We will most likely go the same route for number. Just make sure you get one that has the heighest weight and height for rear facing.

I've read good things about the diono radian. I've just never seen them in stores.

Also, we went to babies r us and they let us test them in our cAr. We brought our smaller car for the test and I was really surprised at how many were too tall for it- probably great for baby, but I wouldn't have been able to see well driving.

 

[megumic]

Another for the DIono Radian. We have two. Buy Buy Baby will price match to Amazon's price and if you get a check out person who doesn't know what they're doing, they'll also apply a 20% off coupon. This is how we scored a Diono for $190.

 

[Kunzite]

1. We want to keep DD rear facing as long as possible and this seat has the tallest shell to allow for the longest rear facing time (kiddos usually outgrow the height before the weight limits rear facing).

I just want to clarify that this isn't quite true. It has one of the tallest shells, but not THE tallest. Both the Chicco Nextfit and the Graco Size4Me/Headwise are taller. The Graco significantly so (I think 3 inches?). My son has a very, very long torso and what we lovingly refer to as a giraffe neck and he outgrew his Radian RFing a few months before he turned 3.

To help with the legroom you can also get an angle adjuster: http://www.amazon.com/Diono-60320-Radian-Angle-Adjuster/dp/B006I1QTYQ

We have 6 Radians, so it's safe to say that's my recommendation

 

[brown_eyes]

Kunzite - thanks for the clarification. Meant to put "one of" because I know there will always be something out there I don't know about!
Also, love the angle adjuster, I had no idea these existed! I also love that you have 6 radians. We will definitely be getting one for #2 when the time comes. It really is a great seat.

 

[bibiloves]

brown_eyes thanks for the input. I will check it out. I have a Toyota Camry so a narrower seat might be good.

baby monster which Britax model do you have? We're looking at the Britax Advocate. Would you choose the Advocate or the older model Marathon?

PetitePoire good to know that Britax is user friendly. I will make a trip to babies r us and test them in our car this weekend.

megumic that's a great deal you got there. I wish i live near a buy buy baby store.

Kunzite thanks for your input.

 

[baby monster]

Marathon. I looked at Advocate and it was just too wide and bulky for our midsize sedan. Try it out in the store but you may have a hard time putting it in camry. And the deep sides make it uncomfortable to put in and take the child out from the car because of the roofline in the back. Plus the sides make it harder for baby to see out. My child doesn't always fall asleep in the car so the inability to look out the window would make him very cranky.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We have a Britax Boulevard and a Diono Radian. I really like them both, but actually prefer the Boulevard. It was easier to install, more user-friendly and our 21-month-old seems more comfortable in it. Our DD is very tall, so leg room while rear-facing was a consideration, but I am in the minority in that I turned her forward facing prior to 2 years, so that is no longer an issue for us.

 

[Rubylovesjewels]

Looks like I'm a little late on commenting and that you might have already purchased one.. but i'd just add my two cents here.
I agree with others.. Diono Radian is a great choice.. what works for it is that sleek deign which makes it a good choice for those wanting to fit three seats in the back. It is super sturdy, safe and easy to install in the car with the LATCH system. You can RF in it for a long time because of its tall shell and the high weight limit. It FF weight limit is also higher than most other seats.. and it can later be used as a Highback/Belt-position Booster with a weight range of 50lbs-120lbs...
So even though it is expensive, it probably last you a long long time... http://us.diono.com/convertible-to-booster/radianrxt

Another seat that I really like is the Britax Marathon.. Although, I like all Britax seats including Boulevard, pavilion and roundabout.. I'm especially partial to this one because of its size.. which is great for even small cars.. and high weight range and great safety features. http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/marathon-70-g3

If you do not want to spend much and would rather go for a cheaper option than try Safety 1st or Graco seats

Choosing the right seat can be such an overwhelming task.. you should visit the site http://www.carseatvs.com/find for recommendations based on your child's weight/height, price, size etc.. Plenty of reviews to go through as well..

Wish you luck there!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

I've had Britax Roundabouts, Cosco Scenaras, and Diono Radians (and Britax Frontiers and Graco Nautiluses for the FFing only crowd). I like the Radians the best for sure- I have a tall, long-torsoed child and the Radian let him RF until 3.5. Also, the seats are slim and low which made getting the kids in and out so much easier, for both RFing and FFing. The Britax are supposed to have a fairly short shell; car seat techs say that they're really best for a kid who's 30th percentile or lower in height. I will say that my tall kid outgrew his Roundabout RFing before 2 (around 20 months) and outgrew it FFing at 2.5. However, the Britax fit my 10th percentile height kid well, so it really depends on your child's measurements and what kind of car you have.

The one thing I'll caution people about re: the Radian is that it does not make a long-lasting booster, if you can use it at all. The reason is that the belt guide is fixed AND there is a minimum 50lb requirement to booster. That means, by the time most kids reach 50lbs, they will be too tall to use the belt guide since it doesn't move. And, if you get the models with the headwings (we don't have headwings), the wings will impede the shoulders anyway. My son will be too tall for the belt guide by the time he's 50lbs.

I thought, then, that having a shorter, but heavier child like my daughter would mean that she might get use out of the booster. Unfortunately, what will most likely happen is that she will be too heavy to use the harness, as that has a weight maximum too, but too short to reach the belt guide. I guess once she grows taller she might be able to booster in it, but we'd need another seat in the meantime.

Just wanted to share that, as boostering was one of the attractions that I liked about the Radian, only to find out later it's not really a usable feature of an otherwise terrific seat.