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Need carseat advice

post #1 of 13
Thread Starter 
My dd is almost 40 pounds and will be growing out of her carseat soon. I was looking for a 5 point harness at least to 65 pounds. There does not seem to be many choices out there. I want to make sure I get something that will last. She needs to be in it till 10yrs or 100 pounds in my state. She's almost 4 now. Any suggestions.
post #2 of 13
Graco Nautalis - harnesses to 65lbs then becomes a booster. Around $140.
post #3 of 13
Head on over to the family safety forum.
post #4 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahmae1 View Post
Graco Nautalis - harnesses to 65lbs then becomes a booster. Around $140.
Yeah, that. And has a high harness height to last longer. Then boosters to 100lbs, first as high back, then low back.

If you have a bit more to spend, the Britax Frontier is similiar, but harnesses to 80lbs. (and I don't know whether that one becomes a backless booster or not?). But it's close to $300 so not worth the money in many cases but it is an option.

Also - most 40lb carseats will be outgrown by height well before 4 yrs old. If her shoulders are above the top strap slots, or the tops of her ears are above the shell of the seat, you must stop using it ASAP! If it has a booster mode, switch to the booster mode while you look for something else.
post #5 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahmae1 View Post
Graco Nautalis - harnesses to 65lbs then becomes a booster. Around $140.

I THIRD this one. We got it about 4 months ago....LOVE IT!! We needed something to grow with.

Easy to clean and my son loves his own little cup holder (although it's been known to hold many other things).
post #6 of 13
We have two Safety 1st Apex 65 Booster Car Seats and love them.
post #7 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by secondtimearound View Post
She needs to be in it till 10yrs or 100 pounds in my state.
Wow, that's the highest limit I've ever seen. We know a 4'11" 8 year old who is no where near 100 lbs and is definately safe out of a booster. I feel DD is much safer out of a seat at this point (she is close to 4'10" and 70-75 lbs).
post #8 of 13
The Radian Car Seat from Sunshine Kids is rated upto 65lbs. My 3yo loves his!

www.skjp.com
post #9 of 13
I'll throw another vote out there for the Graco Nautilis. I have both my 38lb 6 year old, and my 29lb 3 year old in them right now. I've been using them a little over a year now and I still LOVE them. I couldn't see spending $300 for a single carseat.

Nicole
post #10 of 13
We bought our Regent during the annual Britax sale earlier this year. We love it! The Nautilis wouldn't have been a good long term seat for us.
post #11 of 13
Oh, wow...I am so glad to read these posts! We have 2 Britax Marathon's (65# limit) for our girls (3 & 4) and our 2 year old is still in a Britax Roundabout (45# limit). I have always been a diehard Britax fan, but my MIL has been wanting to buy a seat for her car. So... I have been doing some research. My first goal was safety, and after reading some reviews I decided to compare the Graco Nautilus and the Sunshine Kids Apex 65. I thought about the Britax, but honestly didn't want to spend the money for a seat that may be used once or twice a month. I liked the idea of giving MIL the Marathon's and keeping the Apex seats because their "claim to fame" is that you can fit 3 seats across. We have a minivan, but all the kids like to sit in the back for some reason. After comparing them in person and talking it over with the car seat install technician, I decided to buy 2 Graco Nautilus' and the kids say they are comfy (and they love the cup holder). It just looked like a more comfortable seat and since they both got great safety ratings, I liked the idea of being able to use the Graco longer and the cup holders are convenient. Beware though....make sure you take your child to sit in the seat to test it out. I've seen several complaints about the bottom buckle being under the child's butt and if that is the case, you can't use it. For some reason Graco only put 2 slots and I agree that they should have just added one more slot for slightly larger kids. Fortunately, my kids fit in them well. Oh, and we got the cute pink and brown model.
post #12 of 13
Argh, I didn't even realise I was in the carseat market again until this thread....

DS is pushing 40 lbs and the 3in1 we bought when he was an infant is only to 40lbs. Wish I had considered that when I bought it! Looks like we'll be going for the Nautalis at this point.
post #13 of 13
Thread Starter 
Thank you for the advice. I'm going to check them out this weekend.
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