Help me choose a car seat/Is Britax ALL THAT?

[changingseasons]

We're currently using a Graco Safe Seat that is working fine and will last us a good long time still... but with our upcoming fall schedules we absolutely need a 2nd car seat for our 2nd car. (An extra base won't cut it- I will be taking DD to school with me; DP will be getting off work and running into my classroom right before class starts to pick her up... and I don't want to lug a car seat around campus with me. ) So I figured that a convertible would be the way to go. Is that what I should be looking at? I checked out the sticky about choosing a car seat, and the link only seemed to be about ease of use, not safety or quality or anything...

Also, all I ever see around MDC about car seats is about Britax. I just checked out their website, and looked at all the nice features in their seats... and then checked the prices at BRU, and holy crap- do I really need a $300 car seat? Is there something about Britax specifically that makes it better than the other brands, or say- a $40 convertible car seat?

Educate me about car seats mamas.

Oh BTW- DD is almost 11mo, around 18 pounds, 28". One car is a Toyota Corolla, one is a Volvo S80 if that makes any difference. Both have LATCH (although I can't use it in my Corolla, because they only put it on the outside seats, not in the middle.

[oceanbaby]

I don't know if Britax is any safer than other seats, but I will say that I really really like ours. The straps don't get all tangled up like I've seen in other seats, the upholstery holds up really well, and they seem to have a lot more comfortable padding.

[chickabiddy]

Britax seats are very nice seats: they are easy to install and have some great features. All seats currently made are tested to the same standards. One manufacturer, Sunshine Kids, releases some of its testing results. Others do not. We know they meet the standards and they may claim that they exceed the standards, but we don't know by how much.

Features that are important IMO/IME include a 35-pound rear-facing capacity, a forward-facing harness capacity above 40 pounds *and* top strap slots high enough to take advantage of that capacity, and EPS or EPP foam in the shell. Britaxes rear-face to 35 pounds and have the good foam. Most of them harness to 65 pounds, but do not have very high top shoulder strap slots.

Are Britaxes nice seats? Yes. Are they safer than a $40 seat? They say they are but they don't prove it. Does the $40 seat meet crash test standards? Yes. If I had a $300 and needed a seat, would I buy a $40 seat and bank the rest or would I buy a Britax? Neither; I'd buy a $100-$150 seat and bank the rest.

[adtake]

I have used no less than 10 different car seats with my kids and my best friends 2. The Britax are a dream!! I have never installed a seat as easy! And the adjust wonderfully. The material is great to wipe up. I have been very happy! I just ordered my little ones new seat yesterday! Britax is getting ready to have their bi annual sale in September, might be a good time to get one. Or check out Live Cash Back. I tried them this time. We will see how it goes.

Good luck!

[hockeywoman]

I love my Britax's, but I never have paid $300. The most I paid was $150 on clearance at Target. I also have the FPSVD, which is almost the same but not made anymore. We also have the Sunshine Kids radians, which are comfortable for the kids but a pain to install with seatbelts in most cars, and very large when used rearfacing (not yet a problem for us). These last longer than the Britaxes for most kiddos, and are cheaper at about $180 on sale.

For budget carseats, the Cosco Scenera has been recommended a lot - lightweight, about $40, but not as padded as the others.

For forward facing only, I would go Graco Nautilus hands down (I know you're not quite there yet). Much more useful than the Britax Frontier.

[MaterPrimaePuellae]

I have a Britax Marathon that I bought on clearance for $200; my M-i-l has a scenera for when my DD is visiting her. I can definitely tell a difference in comfort/quality of fabric. Also, my marathon has the tether that can be used front or rear facing; I think most tethers only work when ffacing (?). I have found that the rfacing tethering has added a LOT of stability to the seat.

[bandgeek]

No you don't need a $300 seat. What is your budget?

[thepeach80]

Originally Posted by bandgeek

No you don't need a $300 seat. What is your budget?

Exactly! There are plenty of great seats out there now. The biggest thing I try and push a parent to look for is for a seat that harnesses past 40#, there's way more now than there used to be. I love my 2 Britax seats, I also loved my Sunshine Kids Radian, and the new Alpha Omega harnesses to 50# as well so it's become a contender IMO. I don't care much for the Evenflo Triumph Advance, I have a lot of problems installing it so parents can actually use the knobs on the side to loosen the harness. Another one would be the First Years True Fit, Target carries that now, at least ours does.

[changingseasons]

Wow- thanks for all the quick responses!

I did not know that Target carried Britax too, so maybe I will just have to keep my eye open for sales.

I'm thinking our budget is probably more in the $100-$150 range... maybe $200. I definitely want to get something that is comfortable and will hold up, because that will be her seat for quite a while!

How does the tether work for rear facing? I know that I have the tether anchors behind my back seat in my car... but I can't picture how that would work if the seat is RF.

[DevaMajka]

I have a Radian, and feel perfectly good about it.
But I installed a friend's Britax once, and it was *amazingly* easy to install (with latch). I installed it soooo tight the first time, that I decided to loosen it and do it again. Even then it moved less than 1/2".
That said, I most likely won't buy Britax if I can find a recommended seat that is less expensive. $ is somewhat of an issue, yk? There seem to be a lot of non-Britax seats that are liked by car safety advocates.

[Mommy2Haley]

We have the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX. It's awesome! 5-35 RF, 20-50 FF, up to 50".

I read the reviews on installation, safety, comfort, etc at car-seat.org. I couldn't justify $300 for a car seat when there was another just as good for a lot less.

[Mommybree]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

One car is a Toyota Corolla, one is a Volvo S80 if that makes any difference. Both have LATCH (although I can't use it in my Corolla, because they only put it on the outside seats, not in the middle.

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you wrote, but I just wanted to point out that just like in your Corolla, you can't use LATCH in the middle of your Volvo S80 either; it only has LATCH in the outside seats and you can't borrow the inner anchors to use LATCH in the middle. I have an S80, and for the first 15 months of my daughter's life her seats were installed wrong using LATCH in the center!

As for rear-face tethering (only available on Britax and Radian seats), here's a page that explains it http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/...tethering.html

[Ironica]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

How does the tether work for rear facing? I know that I have the tether anchors behind my back seat in my car... but I can't picture how that would work if the seat is RF.

The seats that tether rear-facing come with an extra accessory for the purpose. It's a short strap with a loop at one end and a metal bracket for hooking the tether to at the other. What you do is, you put the strap around something stable below the seat (usually where the track for the front seat is anchored to the floor of the car), bring the end with the metal bracket through the loop, then attach the tether hook to the metal bracket.

In countries where rear-facing tethering is routine or required, cars have built-in anchors for the purpose, but very few cars here do.

As for Britax being "all that"... we've never owned anything but Britax seats. We borrowed a Graco Snugride from a friend for DS2 when he was a newborn, and every time I had to deal with those straps folding over and turning around and scrunching up, I fantasized about moving him up to the Marathon. ;-) Also, the comfort pads on the shoulder make tightening the strap a much less cringe-worthy experience.

Now I'm considering buying another set of seats for our nanny's use, and for cost reasons I'm thinking about going with non-Britax seats, but... I just love them.

Also, there's been one voluntary recall since we got our first Britax seat. I was so deeply impressed with how they handled it (determined a problem during internal testing with no complaints in the field; voluntarily recalled part and sent new one out; automatically sent replacement part to registered owners; had three methods available for ordering a replacement part if you weren't registered; super-easy photo instructions for correction), it dramatically increased my brand loyalty.

Costco stocks the Marathon now too (at least, they do at the moment; not sure if it's a permanent part of their repertoire). It's $229.99 there, which is a fairly good price, but you can find it under $200 sometimes.

[the_lissa]

We just bought Radians, and in my research, I much prefer them to Britax.

[sunnymw]

Yes, IMO, Britax is safer, and here's why.

The safest seat is one that is used correctly each and every time.

Britax has added features that make this much more likely than with other seats. They are easier to install. The straps don't twist or tangle. The straps are generally easier to adjust properly.

SK has a lot of these too (as well as the ability to tether RF), and I also have a Radian, but as for a seat that I don't mind moving from car to car and trust MIL/anyone to install properly, I'll always send the Britax. LATCH or seat belt, I got that thing in in under 30 seconds the first time I tried it.
(ETA: other times...
SK Radian, seat belt, 2-3 minutes, LATCH incompatible w/ my 03 Durango)
Graco CrappySport, seat belt 15 minutes, LATCH with noodles 10-20 minutes
Safety 1st Uptown, 5 minutes LATCH with noodles, never tried seatbelt yet)

Now, if you've got a lot of research in seat-installs, know what to do and look for, and get your seats checked by a good CPST... then yes, any seat is the safest seat. The EFTA is right in your budget too Of course you'll get MUCH more use out of a Radian65

Happy hunting!

[TefferTWH]

We have a Britax Boulevard that we've been using since my son was 2 months old. He was never comfortable in the bucket due to his acid reflux and the position, but the Britax was a dream for him. Our opinion is that it's very comfortable for kids, easy to install and maintain (acid reflux makes for lots of car seat cover washing) and exceeds safety standards most carseats have, especially for extended rfing. As for price, I got mine in June of 2006 for $230 shipped to my house because it was a 2005 (manufactured in December 2005), and when I consider the price over 5 years, it's $46 a year. I see them on sale all the time for similar or better deals; watch Slickdeals and you'll find them about once a month on sale.

My dad bought the Scenera for his car, and my son outgrew it within a year. So he ended up spending about the same amount for the year's usage, and the seat was not nearly as comfortable and I wouldn't risk washing the cover because it seems so flimsy.

He now has a Nautilus, which the verdict's still out on. So far, though, so good.

[chickabiddy]

Originally Posted by TefferTWH

We have a Britax Boulevard that we've been using since my son was 2 months old. He was never comfortable in the bucket due to his acid reflux and the position, but the Britax was a dream for him. Our opinion is that it's very comfortable for kids, easy to install and maintain (acid reflux makes for lots of car seat cover washing) and exceeds safety standards most carseats have, especially for extended rfing. As for price, I got mine in June of 2006 for $230 shipped to my house because it was a 2005 (manufactured in December 2005), and when I consider the price over 5 years, it's $46 a year. I see them on sale all the time for similar or better deals; watch Slickdeals and you'll find them about once a month on sale.

My dad bought the Scenera for his car, and my son outgrew it within a year. So he ended up spending about the same amount for the year's usage, and the seat was not nearly as comfortable and I wouldn't risk washing the cover because it seems so flimsy.

He now has a Nautilus, which the verdict's still out on. So far, though, so good.

Many seats rear-face to 35 pounds.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Mommybree

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you wrote, but I just wanted to point out that just like in your Corolla, you can't use LATCH in the middle of your Volvo S80 either; it only has LATCH in the outside seats and you can't borrow the inner anchors to use LATCH in the middle. I have an S80, and for the first 15 months of my daughter's life her seats were installed wrong using LATCH in the center!

Well... that's good to know. I knew that DP's older Volvo that he traded in only had the side latch, but I thought he had looked up the S80 and found that it had LATCH all the way across. It must have been a different model Volvo that we saw.

BTW- that is SO lame. Why do they only put LATCH on the sides, when the center is where you're supposed to put the car seat? :

Originally Posted by Ironica

Also, there's been one voluntary recall since we got our first Britax seat. I was so deeply impressed with how they handled it (determined a problem during internal testing with no complaints in the field; voluntarily recalled part and sent new one out; automatically sent replacement part to registered owners; had three methods available for ordering a replacement part if you weren't registered; super-easy photo instructions for correction), it dramatically increased my brand loyalty.

Costco stocks the Marathon now too (at least, they do at the moment; not sure if it's a permanent part of their repertoire). It's $229.99 there, which is a fairly good price, but you can find it under $200 sometimes.

That is impressive about the recall stuff. And I'll have to check out Costco.

The more I hear, the more I want the Britax... of course the one I'm drooling over now is the Boulevard... the most expensive one.

[Ironica]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

The more I hear, the more I want the Britax... of course the one I'm drooling over now is the Boulevard... the most expensive one.

That's what we'll probably get when our current Marathon expires. However, the Marathon is a *great* seat, and even goes a skosh taller than the BV. The additional side impact protection and infinite strap adjustment are nice though.

[RoadBuddy]

Britax are great seats. But I don't have one. I would have if I found it was that much safer or better, but I did a lot of research and found good things about the Evenflow Triumph Advance (has to be the Advance, the plain Triumph is different). It was maybe $140, rear faces to 35lbs, forward faces way beyond that, and so far has been great. Easy to use.

The important thing for me is that at that price we could buy 2. I feel much better being able to leave it installed in each car as opposed to taking it out and switching whenever we needed to use the other car. I think un and reinstalling a Britax would leave more room for error than having the evenflo correctly installed and then not moved.