Car Seat recommendations

[colsxjack]

Well, since I didn't do too well the last time I bought a carseat I thought I would get some advice here. Last time, after researching types of car seats, I bought a Radian 65sl on-line. Problem was it was from an American site and I live in Canada. So now my very expensive car seat is useless to me.

I do like the Radian for several reasons.
1) it is foldable
2) low sides for DD to see out the window
3) rear facing for a long time
4) narrow but roomy
5) tall and seems like it will do her for a few years at least

I hate the weight of it, and it isn't that easy to install. It is hard for me and almost impossible for my wife to tighten the straps with the pull cord thing.

Our needs:
*Our Dd is 15 months old. Weighs about 24lbs and fairly tall (95% in weight and height).
*She is RF and we want to continue that for as long as possible.
*We do not own a car and do not plan on owning a car in the next few years.
*We borrow a friends sometimes or rent. When we borrow a friends it is a Honda Civic. 2007 I believe. When we rent it is usually a compact car.
*We need something that is relatively easy to install into different cars and even for people who do not install one very frequently. We only use a car about 6-8 times a year for a couple of days at a time.
*Something not too too bulky as we then have to store it in our home.
*One of the ones that will RF for a long time and then FF up to at least 65lbs. We do not want to have to buy again for a long time.
* HAS TO BE CANADIAN COMPLIANT!

Thanks so much.

[mama2soren]

A Complete Air is as tall as a Radian, sits more upright (so, takes up much less room!), and has a 40 pound RF limit. In some cars, you'd need a pool noodle to get the right recline angle, but the LX version has a base that helps adjust the angle of the seat. It's much lighter than the Radian.

[DahliaRW]

I agree, the Complete Air is great. I know in the US the newest version ff to 65lbs, the older one to 50lbs. Most kids will outgrow it by height (and the radian too) around 50ish lbs anyways.

[~Amy~]

The Radian fits well in a Honda Civic if you want to go that route again.

Other than that, the Safety First Complete Air is a good choice. The First Years True Fit is as well. Both are fairly easy to install in most vehicles. The Complete Air often requires a rolled towel or a piece of pool noodle to get the correct angle for RFing. Both should keep your child RFing for 2-3 years and FFing to a safe booster age.

[DahliaRW]

The CA will keep most kids rfing until 4 and beyond! The True Fit too if they are lighter weight.

[Twinklefae]

Originally Posted by ~Amy~

The Radian fits well in a Honda Civic if you want to go that route again.

Other than that, the Safety First Complete Air is a good choice. The First Years True Fit is as well. Both are fairly easy to install in most vehicles. The Complete Air often requires a rolled towel or a piece of pool noodle to get the correct angle for RFing. Both should keep your child RFing for 2-3 years and FFing to a safe booster age.

, though the True Fit is not narrow, it is very comfy and easy to install after the first time.

And just to be clear, you can use a Radian as long as it is a Canadian compliant Radian - that would include the Canadian Safety Mark, which has a maple leaf on it.

[colsxjack]

Yes. My Radian, which I bought on-line and had shipped directly to my front door in Canada, does not have a Canadian sticker on it. So it is not legal to use here.

[colsxjack]

So. If we could fit a Radian rear facing in the cars we use than do you feel we will be able to better fit the Complete Air LX?

They are having a sale at TRU right now for $190 for the LX. I think that is probably a good price here?!

[an_aurora]

Yes, that is a good price for the CA and it will definitely fit in your vehicles!

[mbhf]

I know they have lost popularity recently with all of the lower priced options on the market but I still prefer my Britax Marathons to anything else, and if I had to install a seat in a variety of vehicles I would absolutely choose one. They've been so easy for me to install in every car I've tried with LATCH or a seatbelt.

[colsxjack]

Is the Britax Marathon RF to a high weight? My 17month old is 27lbs and a big girl...heavy and tall. I want her to rf for a long time and still be able to fit someone in the front seat (hard enough with a radian). Also, do you know if I have to go a specialty store to buy one? We have a BRU and walmart nearby. We are in Canada...so no Target.

Thanks.

[chickabiddy]

The new Marathon70 has a 40# RFing limit, but a short shell and not a lot of legroom, so it will not accommodate a tall child RFing as long as other seats will.

[mbhf]

Originally Posted by chickabiddy 

The new Marathon70 has a 40# RFing limit, but a short shell and not a lot of legroom, so it will not accommodate a tall child RFing as long as other seats will.

Can I ask why you (and others, in other threads) are calling the Marathon's shell short? I know there are other seats with higher shells available but I certainly wouldn't call the marathon a seat with a short shell. My tall 5yo just outgrew the harness FF in his and my smallish (but not tiny, about the same size as most of his friends) 4yo still fits in his RF by height. I know there are several seats out there with taller shells now, but I love my Britax seats and after trying out some of the newly recommended seats (TrueFit and Radian) I don't understand why they are preferred over Britax seats. Did something happen? Because I don't understand why people are recently dismissing Britax seats because of a few other seats with taller shells. I get that tall shells and high RF weight limits are important but especially with the new 40lb RF weight limit I would think most kids would last quite a while in a new Marathon. My oldest RF to 4, my second RF to just over 3 in a 33 pound weight limit BV, my third was turned a month or so prior to his fourth birthday to accommodate a new sibling but still fits in his Marathon by height and weight. My kids same age friends are all similarly sized, my 5yo is taller than most of his friends and my 4yo is a little smaller than most but I can't think that all of the kids I know are much smaller than average. I'm really just curious because after trying some of the more recently recommended seats I just don't get it.

[chickabiddy]

I think we've discussed this before, and IIRC your kids are fairly short-torsoed.

IME, kids usually outgrow the Marathon FFing between 42"-45".  That's not very impressive for a seat with a 65# or 70# limit.

And when Britax increased the RFing weight limit, they actually made the shell SHORTER.  Kids were already outgrowing the seat by height before weight RFing:  increasing the weight and shortening the shell was an incredibly poor design choice.

I think that having notably less capacity than other seats is a serious drawback and I will mention it when people are asking about which seats will last the longest.  I don't think that's "dissing" Britax:  it's just the truth.

[colsxjack]

If we judge by her clothes, my DD is long in the torso and shortish in the limbs. I can't remember exactly how tall she is, but 95% in height and about 90% in weight.

We are going to go to BRU with a measuring tape and check out the width and height of seats. I would like a shell that is either a bit shorter than the radian or just easier to install at a different angle. I found with the radian we had to move the front seat too far ahead, even with a towel rolled up so the leg didn't go into the bite of the seat.

I think the CA lx seems good because of the base adjusting the angle. Looks easy to get right and install.

[an_aurora]

It's hard to judge how a seat will fit in the car by simply measuring, since for example the CA has a taller shell but takes up less room because of how it fits in the car, and installs more upright.

The Marathon has one of the shortest shells out there, and with all the 40 lb seats, it is taller than only the Scenera.  The Evenflos, the MyRide, the CA, and the Radian are all much taller.  I had three Marathons, but my oldest outgrew them RF and FF by 2, so they were a waste for her.  My second DD is a tiny peanut and was getting close to the top slots of her Marathon when it was crashed, at just over 3, and 25 pounds.  We moved her into a Radian for the narrowness even though she doesn't need the weight limit.

[leighi123]

Britax seats are also quite bulky, not the easiest to store... 

[mbhf]

Originally Posted by chickabiddy 

I think we've discussed this before, and IIRC your kids are fairly short-torsoed.

IME, kids usually outgrow the Marathon FFing between 42"-45".  That's not very impressive for a seat with a 65# or 70# limit.

And when Britax increased the RFing weight limit, they actually made the shell SHORTER.  Kids were already outgrowing the seat by height before weight RFing:  increasing the weight and shortening the shell was an incredibly poor design choice.

I think that having notably less capacity than other seats is a serious drawback and I will mention it when people are asking about which seats will last the longest.  I don't think that's "dissing" Britax:  it's just the truth.

My daughter (2yo) is really short, this is true. I have no idea if my other kids have short torsos, but most of their friends also have Marathons or Boulevards and at least appeared to fit in them until 4 or 5 when they were moved to a booster. I haven't seen the new seats, that's odd that they would make the shells shorter. I didn't say "dissing" though, I said dismissing. Like I said, I haven't seen the new seats. But I think the ease of use with the Britax seats makes them competitive.

Originally Posted by an_aurora 

The Marathon has one of the shortest shells out there, and with all the 40 lb seats, it is taller than only the Scenera.  The Evenflos, the MyRide, the CA, and the Radian are all much taller.  I had three Marathons, but my oldest outgrew them RF and FF by 2, so they were a waste for her.  My second DD is a tiny peanut and was getting close to the top slots of her Marathon when it was crashed, at just over 3, and 25 pounds.  We moved her into a Radian for the narrowness even though she doesn't need the weight limit.

I honestly can't imagine a 2 year old outgrowing a Marathon FF. My 5yo (almost 6) is taller than his same age friends and he just outgrew it FF. I guess maybe he has a really short torso too but I don't think it's that short.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I promise! I'll just continue to love my seats and stop trying to keep up with all the new ones.

[chickabiddy]

I think that if people want Britaxes because they love the ease of use and features, that's fine and they should enjoy them.

I think that when the question is "what seat will last the longest", or "what seat will actually keep my child harnessed to 65#", the Britax convertibles are not in the running.

I do apologize for misreading your word, but my answer is the same.  I'm not dismissing Britax overall.  I am stating that they are more quickly outgrown both RFing and FFing than other seats.  I've seen a lot of kids in a lot of seats, and again, Britax convertibles are usually outgrown between 42" and 45" FFing, which is not 65# for most kids, which the OP stated she wanted (which is another debate altogether).

[bella99]

I don't think that anyone is dissing OR dismissing Britax seats.

However, there are several seats out there that are *just as good* but cost considerably less, and are likely to last longer, which means that people are getting more for their money.  If you prefer a Britax seat, that's fine, and doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them.

FWIW, in my opinion, for a long time, Britax was the best game in town, and now, well not necessarily, but they are still pricing their seats like they are.