Can you help me choose new carseat?

[lrgs]

I'm trying to choose a new seat for my DD who is 7.5 months old and having trouble, my brain hurts. Ainsley is 7.5 months old and about 20 ish pounds. I drive a 2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor, ODD is in a Britax Frontier XT and I don't have a need to fit 3 seats across the back....no more babies for me :(. My ODD is very tall, especially in the torso so I'm assuming YDD will be simillar. I've mostly narrowed it down to the Britax Boulevard vs Sunshine Kids Radian. What I love about the Britax is the fact I can make the straps taller without having to rethread them, the no twist straps save my sanity as well. I'm just wondering how long the seat will actually last. I had ODD sit in one a few weeks ago and she had some room to grow still but she had much more room in the Radian. The Radian seems okay but I don't like that the straps have to be rethreaded, it doesn't have no twist straps and there's no head support.....it just doesn't seem as comfortable but I think it would last us a lot longer because of my tall kids. I'd like to spend the money on this seat now and have it last until she needs a booster. Any advice? Is there another seat I should be looking at?

Additionally, ODD is in her Britax Frontier but I would love to get a grandparents seat. We had cheap Alpha Omegas but she'll have outgrown those ASAP. I want to find another grandparents seat that is tall but I don't want to spend $200 on it. Are there any inexpensive seats that work for tall kids?

[DahliaRW]

I would do the radian for a taller child, hands down.  The britax seats will not last that long height wise.  You could also look at the safety first complete air if you want a harness you don't have to rethread, though the straps are thinner and more prone to twisting, though I don't have an issue with it.

How old is your ODD?  Where are her shoulders in the frontier?  Your most economical choice would be the Evenflo Maestro.  The top harness height is 18 or 18 1/2 inches (compared to 20 in the frontier). 

[lrgs]

Thanks.........I'm a little worried about how the Radian will fit behind the passenger seat in my car but I'll give it a shot and see how much room it leaves. It's mostly just me in my vehicle anyway. My ODD is 3.5 (almost) and does still technically fit the Alpha Omega seats, just not for long. I was thinking of the Maestro anyway so I'll wait until she outgrows those Alpha Omega and then look into that one when it goes on sale. It's pretty reasonably priced.

[an_aurora]

With the Alpha Omega seats, make sure the headrest is not at the top setting.  With the headrest all the way up, you can't use the harness; it's not reinforced.  The top headrest setting that is usable with the harness is the 2nd-from-top one.  That harness height is only about 15" so it's a good bet that a tall kiddo, especially a long-torsoed one, will have already outgrown it or will outgrow it soon.  My kid had outgrown it before her 2nd birthday.  

[mama2soren]

As far as the Radian "rethread" harness goes.... it's really a non-issue for me.  I JUST moved the the harness to the next slots for DS, after about a year of being on the slot below.  I'll probably only need to change them one more time before he's about to outgrow the seat RF.  When RF it's super easy to do, since you don't have to uninstall the seat.  If you keep your YDD RF to the limits of the seat, chances are you'll only have to rethread the harness in FF mode once or twice.  IMO, it's not worth the compromises you'd make with a Britax (short shell, less leg room for RF, etc) to have a no-rethread harness.  I find that my Radian straps are MUCH less twisty than my Britax straps.  I never, never have to untwist the Radian straps. 

Budget friendly seats: For tall FF kids, I'd also suggest the Maestro.  For your YDD, look at the Complete Air ($150-ish).  If you're not satisfied with how the Radian fits RF in your vehicle, the Complete air would be the other seat to consider as your primary seat.  It is actually a little taller than the Radian and it has a no-rethread harness!  It's easier to get the CA installed at a more upright angle, whereas sometimes it's impossible to get the Radian to be more upright than a 40-45 degree angle, which makes it take up a lot of room in some cars.  The straps can be a bit twistier, though.

[lrgs]

Originally Posted by an_aurora 

With the Alpha Omega seats, make sure the headrest is not at the top setting.  With the headrest all the way up, you can't use the harness; it's not reinforced.  The top headrest setting that is usable with the harness is the 2nd-from-top one.  That harness height is only about 15" so it's a good bet that a tall kiddo, especially a long-torsoed one, will have already outgrown it or will outgrow it soon.  My kid had outgrown it before her 2nd birthday.  

 Someone had told me about not putting the headrest at the top setting just a few weeks ago (good thing because I had no idea) so it's at the second to last setting. I had her sit in it this afternoon and the straps are still slightly above her shoulder.......maybe she's not as tall as I thought or her legs are catching up to her torso? She's about 40 inches tall. I figure we'll get another 6 or so months out of the Alpha Omega (as grandparent seat) and then look at the Maestro. Thanks!!!

[lrgs]

Originally Posted by mama2soren 

As far as the Radian "rethread" harness goes.... it's really a non-issue for me.  I JUST moved the the harness to the next slots for DS, after about a year of being on the slot below.  I'll probably only need to change them one more time before he's about to outgrow the seat RF.  When RF it's super easy to do, since you don't have to uninstall the seat.  If you keep your YDD RF to the limits of the seat, chances are you'll only have to rethread the harness in FF mode once or twice.  IMO, it's not worth the compromises you'd make with a Britax (short shell, less leg room for RF, etc) to have a no-rethread harness.  I find that my Radian straps are MUCH less twisty than my Britax straps.  I never, never have to untwist the Radian straps. 

Budget friendly seats: For tall FF kids, I'd also suggest the Maestro.  For your YDD, look at the Complete Air ($150-ish).  If you're not satisfied with how the Radian fits RF in your vehicle, the Complete air would be the other seat to consider as your primary seat.  It is actually a little taller than the Radian and it has a no-rethread harness!  It's easier to get the CA installed at a more upright angle, whereas sometimes it's impossible to get the Radian to be more upright than a 40-45 degree angle, which makes it take up a lot of room in some cars.  The straps can be a bit twistier, though.

 Wow! Thanks, I knew I'd get some great information here. I'm going to test out the Radian, see if it works and if not, look into the Complete Air (is this available in Canada?)

[an_aurora]

Oh good, glad she has room in the AO.  And yes the Complete Air is available in Canada!

[char c]

My youngest is in a Complete Air (my oldest is in a Britax). The CA is available in Canada--we got ours at Babies R Us.