Time to buy ANOTHER car seat -- harnessed booster/ff with most height?

[sunnygir1]

I have 2 kids and have already had 10 car seats (I still have 7 of them!).

4yo dd has just outgrown the ff Scenera, and isn't big enough to go to the boosters.  I have one Maestro in my car for her and she's at the second slot from the top (2 months ago she was 34# and 41").  I want to get her something with a harness for dh's car.  I will then use it for ds when he outgrows the Sceneras (I have 2).  Ds has been both heavier and taller than dd at every age (except birth), so I want to make sure I get something with plenty of height for him.

Is the Maestro the tallest harness, or is there something else out there?  I don't think dh will let me spend hundreds of dollars here, but give me my options, please.

TIA

[ssh]

The Graco Nautilus is only half an inch higher, the Britax Frontier has straps that are  2 inches higher and goes up to 85 lbs in harness mode. As a booster the Frontier goes up to 120 lbs. and 65 inches. Since your DD has plenty of room in her Maestro I'd probably get a Nautilus, it goes up to 65lbs. in harness mode and 100lbs. and 52 inches as a booster. My 5.5 yer old was about 45" tall when she outgrew the harness part of her Nautilus, but she has a long torso (wears one size larger in shirts than in pants). I'd get a Frontier but it's usually $279.

Edited by ssh - 5/27/11 at 3:53pm

[sunnygir1]

Thanks.

So, it looks like the harness mode on the Nautilus has a higher weight and height limit, but the booster mode has a lower height limit than the Maestro, am I looking at that right?  Do either the Nautilus or the Maestro (I should know this ; ) convert to a backless booster too?  My kids are 2.5 years apart, and dd is likely to get big at a later age than ds, so I expect to be in need of 4 booster seats.  Right now I have the Maestro, one hbb and one backless.

[ssh]

I know the nautilus converts to a backless. And the height for high back booster mode is 57" not 52", sorry for the wrong info.

[sunnygir1]

Thanks so much.  It does look like the Nautilus is the best option.  It's a little pricey for dh's taste, but from product reviews it seems well worth it.

[chickabiddy]

The Frontier85 has the absolute tallest harness, but a 4yo who has just outgrown a Scenera by height doesn't *need* the absolute tallest harness.  The Nautilus, or even the $80 Evenflo Maestro, will get that child to a safe booster size/age.

[sunnygir1]

Okay for dd, but I want to try to make sure it will get ds to a booster.  He is 20 months, but has, at every age, been taller and heavier than dd was at his age (and she's not particularly small).

I think I'm going to go with the Nautilus to get him just a little more height and more weight.  It is already more than dh will want me to spend on a car seat, so I don't think I'll spring for the Frontier.  I already have a Maestro that I will move to dh's car and put the Nautilus in mine (since I drive the kids more).

I looked at the Evenflo Symphony 65, which seems to have the same height and weight limits as the Nautilus, but the reviews are much worse for the symphony than the nautilus.  I'd hate to get a crappy car seat that either I or my child will hate, ya know?  Oh, and I guess it's more expensive than the Nautilus -- not sure how I missed that the other day.  Definitely going with the Nautilus.

Thanks!

[chickabiddy]

The Nautilus harness is about 2" taller than the Symphony.  Stated height limits don't often correspond to how kids actually fit in the seats -- I've never seen a kid get to 49" in a classic Britax convertible or 40" in a Graco ComfortSport, for instance.

[sunnygir1]

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge -- it has made it much easier for me to make an informed decision.

[DahliaRW]

Ds1 outgrew the scenera at 2 1/2 by height (not 4) and I think he's either just barely too tall or close to outgrowing the nautilus (haven't tried it in a while).  He's 6 1/2 now.  So, for a kid that still fits in the scenera at 4, he'll definitely fit in the Nautilus for a loooooong time!

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by DahliaRW 

Ds1 outgrew the scenera at 2 1/2 by height (not 4) and I think he's either just barely too tall or close to outgrowing the nautilus (haven't tried it in a while).  He's 6 1/2 now.  So, for a kid that still fits in the scenera at 4, he'll definitely fit in the Nautilus for a loooooong time!

Right, but that's my daughter.  What I'm saying is that my son, who is 20 months, is likely to be much larger than dd based on how big he has been compared to her so far.

But, geez, I hope I can keep him rf in the Scenera beyond 2.5!  Good to know the Nautilus should last him til booster age.  Thanks for the info!

[dot1]

We just got a Sunshine kids Premier on sale (this year's model on clearance).  65 lb wt limit and 53" height limit.  It has an 8 yr expiration (most have 6 yr) and the top harness slot is an inch higher than our Britax MArathon which is in dh's car (she still has a good year left in it too).  dd is 36 lbs, 41" and is on the second harness slot from the top in the Sunshine kids seat.  It had the highest harness height in a harnessed seat we could find in Canada and I'm feeling good that I can keep her harnessed longer.  Most outgrow the height limit before the wt. limit - so height was the big determining factor for us.  There are 3 models of the sunshine kids seat and all have essentially the same height limit (I emailed the company and got some good info on seat dimensions, etc.).  They're a pricier seat but for me it was worth it b/c of the ability to stay in 5 pt. harness longer....and we'll pass it on to our baby when dd outgrows it.  We'll get a good 8 years out of it before it expires.  The only downside is that it doesn't convert to a booster, but that's not a necessity for us. 

Ironically the Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seat we had (that does convert to an 80 lb booster) has the same height limit of 53"....so we would have had to get another seat anyway!