Britax car seat owners

[AppleOrangePear]

Having trouble finding a britax that will fit without being to snug to the passenger seat while front facing. I want to out my soon to be 3yr old in this and hte newborn in his evenflo triumph that only goes to 40LBS.

The marathon hung over the seat, was high up and no leg room so we were thinking the regent which is a newer vs of the husky. It has a 5 pt harness though not as big on the sides.

Has anyone used the regent (husky) with a 1-1.5 yrs old? I ask because if we get the regent i would buy 2 now so they match and once we have the baby when he is ready to go forward facing i will have a seat. I know it says1yr old or 20LBS just not sure how it would be for a 1yr old....

michele

[Shaunam]

I'm not sure I'm understandng...

You want a regent for your DC, you will put the new baby in the triumph, but you want to go ahead and get another regent for the new baby too for later on?

I would go ahead and get the regent for your DC *if* it fits properly in your car, but I would not get one for the new baby. Car seats expire after 6 years and if you buy the regent now, you will get less use out of it. When and if you decide to get a higher-weight harnessed seat for your second DC, they will likely have even better models on the market (possibly cheaper too).

Besides that, children must be one year AND 20 lbs to forward face. That is the *minimum* though. They really should rear-face until the limits of the seat, which I believe is 30 lbs with the triumph, or when the baby's head is within in 1 inch of the top of the seat, whichever comes first. Most kids comfortably rf for several years.

We did buy a regent for my 17 month old, but he is quite big for his age. He's comfortable in the seat (shoulders at second slots and harness is snug), but I would not have bothered buying it already if he wasn't so close to outgrowing the marathon rf'ing. It's just not practical to buy car seats so far ahead of time.

Also, the regent is at least as big as the marathon. The only reason it's not gigantic compared to the marathon is because it doesn't set up on a base like the marathon does.

[AppleOrangePear]

Thanks for the input Shauna.
Yeah at first my DH was thinking we would get two so we had another for him however we are just getting the one for now. Of course we will keep the newborn to be in the triumph until the baby is older maybe 2 or so.

The only concern i have is sleeping for my toddler in the regent for trips. How is it for your toddler when and if he falls asleep in it since there isnt much side supports?

ALso the regent fit the best ( out of the marathon) in our subaru however his toes could touch the back of my seat. So im wondering are his feet gonna grow more before his legs Cause then i would think they would be scrunched up..

Michele

[Shaunam]

DS has fallen asleep in the regent almost every time we've gone out and his head just flops over and rests against the side. It's not as compact as the marathon, so his head does flop a little more than it did in the marathon, but he doesn't look uncomfortable. The regent does come with an optional recline bar that reclines it just a tad, which helps with the head flopping (to his chest). I suppose if he was uncomfortable, you could roll up a small blanket and put it between his head and the side of the seat, kind of like how you would support a tiny newborn in a big seat.

Don't worry about his legs and feet. Just like how kids adjust to being scrunched up in the rear-facing position, your son will find something to do with his feet. Remember, kids are much more flexible than adults. He could always sit cross-legged, or shove his feet to either side of the front seat.

[thepeach80]

The Regent is a big seat and can overpower smaller children. My friend's son was 29#? and 36" when he went into his and he's still on the bottom slots. AJ would need the 2nd slots and he's 35# and 37". We're hoping to get him one next year. I would never put a child in it who could still be rfing (unless they were over 2).

AJ never has his feet in front of his seat, he puts them over the side or puts them in his seat.

[True Blue]

Hey Regent users....do you have complaints about flimsy straps, and if not or if so, where did you buy them? I've heard some of the new ones have straps that are not as nice as the rest of the Britax line. I'm thinking about getting one this week for DS since I can't get a good ffing fit with the RA in my car for some reason, and DD will need to move to one of the MA's, and we like to keep one of those in DH's car in case he takes DS out.

[AppleOrangePear]

Jennifer,

Is there a certain amount of space that should be from the bottom of the car seat ( regent) to a back of a passenger seat> this is what the main issue is... When the passenger seat is in the place that is most comfy ( not all the way back either) when we placed the regent while at the store in our car once DS was in his legs were mostly supported by the regent however his toes were right at the back of the passenger seat... When he gets older does this mean his knees are going to be jammed up against the seat? DH says there is maybe a 4 inch space from the car seat to the passenger seat.. does that make sense?

I dont want any other seat but a britax and dont know what to do if that seems to tight in a subaru 4dr outback.

michele

[**guest**]

I have a Regent and am calling Britax tomorrow with a HUGE complaint. No matter how tight I pull the straps, they don't get tight enough. I can still put my whole hand under the straps (shoulder area).
And yes, the straps are VERY flimsy.
I want a totally different carseat. This one STINKS!

I'd like to try the Wizard (if Britax will take this one back).

[thepeach80]

Liz, I would ask for new straps first or explain the problem and ask for another Regent. That one may just be defective.

For the front seat, you want at least 10" between the person and where the airbag deploys. In the back, there are no real rules, just comfort issues. I wish I had been in your car before (I've never been in one before and it would help). I understand what you're saying and honestly I don't know what else you can do w/out getting a new seat or moving the front seat up more. Is the front seat reclined at all? Make sure it's straight up and down when measuring.

I know the Roundabout straps aren't as thick as the other seats, I'm not sure about the Regent.

[**guest**]

Thing is, ds's father has a Husky and has the same problem. He didn't TELL that to me though. I had the bright idea to double check it myself. Grrr.
It's not just the straps...It's the seat design itself, I think.
I don't want another Regent. No way.

[AppleOrangePear]

HI ThePeach,

we didnt purchase the regent yet however from everything i read it ranked the best for being able to harness kids as long as they are in the seat. Are there any other seats out there that are just as good that harness for more then 40LBS?

Michele

[**guest**]

I believe the Wizard goes up to 65 lbs.

[thepeach80]

Liz, I'm sorry you're having so many problems. I know it was hard for you to get those seats. Definitely call and complain, they are pretty good w/ customer service I think.

The Britax Marahton, Decathalon, and Boulevard all go to 65#, but the top slots are about 1.5" shorter than the Regent. The Fisher Price Safe Voyage goes to 55# (made w/ Britax) and the Sunshine Kids Radian goes to 65# as well and has slightly higher strap slots than the 65# Britaxes (we have one of these, it's also the narrowest seat I know of). There's the Safeguard, but it's really expensive, it goes to 65#. The Cosco Apex (if you have headrests or high seats, which I don't think you do) goes to 65# and then converts to a booster. I think that's about it for now.

[AppleOrangePear]

Thanks,
im gonna check out the sunshine kids... that is more narrow and smaller then the regent, right>

AND the safeguard is really nice but WOW$$$$$$$$$


Michele

[**guest**]

Boulevard! That's the new name. Forget about that.

[thepeach80]

Way smaller than the Regent, lol. I think it's 13" at the base and the Regent is 21" at it's biggest point. It's not as deep either I don't think. It's hard to find in stores though, but I think Target has it online and you can return anything you bought off Target.com to a store.

[AppleOrangePear]

Thanks Jennifer for all your very informative help.. last question is the sunshine as cushiony as the regent or thinner hard feeling?

michele

[thepeach80]

I don't think it's bad, but I've heard some people didn't think it was as cushy. My kids have never complained about lack of padding in any of their seats though and we own all the way down to a Cosco Scenera. I think padding a lot of times is more for the parent than the kid.

[True Blue]

Well we are going to look at the Regent today and check out the straps and stuff. I've heard different answers from different people, so I wonder if it has to do with date of manufacture? My RA is old and says DD can't be rfing in it anymore bc she is over 30in, and it won't install properly ffing in my car. We have a MA and Decathlon that we love but one of those is for DH's car. DD gets one of those now, but we have no spare. I've considered the Parkway for DH's car for DS but I just don't think I trust him in a booster yet, especially since the Jeep's seatbelts can't be locked.

I don't think I'd worry too much about your child's legroom, his legs will keep growing longer, and starting around 2 or 3 their legs grow more than their torsos. The only person it might be a problem for is the passenger sitting in front of him LOL!!!

[**guest**]

I'm so aggrevated at Britax! I called about my problem with the Regent (manufactured in April of this year!) and they won't exchange it for another model.
They said that I could send it back to them and they'll take a look at it but it'll probably just get sent back to me.

So, in other words, I'm out over $200. And I can't afford to buy another one.
VERY angry.