Booster Seat--The Works? - Page 2

[janasmama]

Originally Posted by alegna

You need a harnessing seat, not a booster.

Top choices would be

least expensive- nautilus
similar to nautilus- frontier

Bigger harnessing seats- regent and safeguard (I LOVE the safeguard, but it's pricey)

-Angela

I went and looked at the Nautilus and I thought the fabric on it seemed low quality. Like it wouldn't last very long. I haven't seen the Frontier in person but I assume they use the same fabric as they do for their carseat covers which for our convertibles, after two years the fabric looks just as good as the day we bought them.

Has anyone had a Nautilus for a period of time and can say how well or not the fabric holds up. I read some reviews but those are usually written too soon after the purchase to determine the longevity of the fabric.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by janasmama

I went and looked at the Nautilus and I thought the fabric on it seemed low quality. Like it wouldn't last very long. I haven't seen the Frontier in person but I assume they use the same fabric as they do for their carseat covers which for our convertibles, after two years the fabric looks just as good as the day we bought them.

Has anyone had a Nautilus for a period of time and can say how well or not the fabric holds up. I read some reviews but those are usually written too soon after the purchase to determine the longevity of the fabric.

Interesting. I've not seen the nautilus in person. Seen the frontier briefly. Problem is that the nautilus hasn't been out that long so NO one has had one in use very long.

-Angela

[chickabiddy]

Originally Posted by janasmama

I went and looked at the Nautilus and I thought the fabric on it seemed low quality. Like it wouldn't last very long. I haven't seen the Frontier in person but I assume they use the same fabric as they do for their carseat covers which for our convertibles, after two years the fabric looks just as good as the day we bought them.

Has anyone had a Nautilus for a period of time and can say how well or not the fabric holds up. I read some reviews but those are usually written too soon after the purchase to determine the longevity of the fabric.

The Nautilus hasn't been out all that long, but Graco seats usually hold up reasonably well. The Frontier covers are mesh, not the plush that's on the convertibles.

[janasmama]

Originally Posted by chickabiddy

The Nautilus hasn't been out all that long, but Graco seats usually hold up reasonably well. The Frontier covers are mesh, not the plush that's on the convertibles.

Hmmm, I really wish I could see a Frontier. Are they removable covers on the Frontier?

[DahliaRW]

Personally, I wouldn't get a frontier right now. Moms I know on another careseat board are having issues with the harness sliding off of the splitter plate when loosening. The danger in this is if you loosen and then tighten and it seems to tighten, and then you get in a wreck and one side of the splitter plate is not connected to the strap. Scary! Britax has been notified, transport Canada has actually taken a frontier that was doing this for testing, but nothing official has been done yet.

As for the nautilus, I haven't used mine that long, but the fabric seems fine.

[Ironica]

Originally Posted by janasmama

Hmmm, I really wish I could see a Frontier. Are they removable covers on the Frontier?

Yes, the cover is removable.

Also... the center section of the cover is mesh; the rest of it is more like their other covers. It's a pretty good-quality seeming mesh though.

Though... I just opened the box on our new Nautilus that we bought for the nanny's car... and the material is pretty similar to the Frontier ;-). So you might not find it satisfactory.

[thepeach80]

I've heard of more problems w/ the fabric on the Frontier cover than I have on the Nautilus. We just got our new Nautilus, but I know there are 4 or so different covers for it, ours is the Reese pattern (from Target) and it's the nice, soft fabric. AJ likes it better than the Bravo one he had.

[janasmama]

Originally Posted by Ironica

Yes, the cover is removable.

Also... the center section of the cover is mesh; the rest of it is more like their other covers. It's a pretty good-quality seeming mesh though.

Though... I just opened the box on our new Nautilus that we bought for the nanny's car... and the material is pretty similar to the Frontier ;-). So you might not find it satisfactory.

Thanks for that...this definitely helps.

[pixiepunk]

don't mean to hijack, but anyone know how wide the Nautilus is compared to the Radian? After reading this thread I'm reconsidering my options, but i've got to seat three across and wondering if two Natilus' and one Radian would fit across the back seat. I've got a '05 Toyota Highlander, which has a third row but i don't want to use it on a daily basis because it swallows up so much of the nice big trunk.

[DahliaRW]

Originally Posted by pixiepunk

don't mean to hijack, but anyone know how wide the Nautilus is compared to the Radian? After reading this thread I'm reconsidering my options, but i've got to seat three across and wondering if two Natilus' and one Radian would fit across the back seat. I've got a '05 Toyota Highlander, which has a third row but i don't want to use it on a daily basis because it swallows up so much of the nice big trunk.

I'm not sure on how much wider it is, but it definitely is wider. I can try to measure later today.

[pixiepunk]

just found it on the graco website. the Nautilus is 20" wide - that's 3" wider than the radian. my current configuration of three seats - one Safeseat that is 19", one Radian 65 that is 17", and an Evenflo Chase that is 17" - that's 53" total... the configuration of seats i'm considering (Radian 65 for the baby RF, and two Nautilus' for the 3 and 5 yo) would be 57"... it's seems pretty tight in there as it is, though there is a couple inches between edge of carseat and edge of actual seat on each side. would a store like Target (if they have the Nautilus) let me try them in the car before i bought them?

i have latch for the two outboard seats but not the middle. but atm i have them installed with the seatbelts anyway because when we bought the car i forgot all about latch (my old car didn't have it at all) and i prefer to keep the baby behind the driver's seat if possible because 1) it's easier for me to get her in and out, and 2) i don't want DS messing with the baby. and i really don't want to put DD1 in the third row because not only does it mean loss of major trunk space but she can buckle herself into a harness just fine but can't get herself out, so i'd have to climb back there every time we got out of the car, which doesn't thrill me.

hmmm.... must go measure my back seat

[aja-belly]

Originally Posted by janasmama

I went and looked at the Nautilus and I thought the fabric on it seemed low quality. Like it wouldn't last very long. ....Has anyone had a Nautilus for a period of time and can say how well or not the fabric holds up. I read some reviews but those are usually written too soon after the purchase to determine the longevity of the fabric.

we have a nautilus from babies r us. it is i think 2 months old now? the cover is already falling apart around one of the shoulders. the whole things seems pretty crappy to me - not just 'not a britax' but not even as 'nice' as the evenflo, other graco, cosco, or recaro that we have had. i am pretty dissappointed in it, but for the price it will make a decent extra seat for us.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by sraplayas

Yes, I forgot to include her stats! DD is 3.5, 39" and 38lbs. The weight limit on her Evenflo Triumph Convertible is 40lbs or 40" tall.

We measured her this morning and realized we still have a little time to buy her a booster b/c she isn´t quite at the limit yet.

It sounds like from the discussion that a full-flegded booster is best for toddlers in terms of safety and comfort. I guess I´ll start looking at which ones last the longest now!

Thanks!

Think about a Britax Regent..........with one of those, you can keep her in a 5-point harness for a long time.

[Jes'sBeth]

okay, I'm currently just jealous of all the choices you have in the US. Off to sulk now... (though we do have a frontier for our 3.5 yr old and we really like it. It's a HUGE seat compared to our Marathon and it's in our tiny Tercel but the baby needed a convertible and I'd rather buy a combo for our 3.5 yr old than a 2nd convertible. We were within an inch of outgrowing the harness height with our 3.5 yr old on the Marathon anyway... she's freakishly tall in the torso!)

OP, I think you're making a great choice to do high weight harness/ booster seats for your kids. This way you get a great booster but also get to keep your child safely in a harness for awhile too.

[Ironica]

Originally Posted by Jes'sBeth

(though we do have a frontier for our 3.5 yr old and we really like it. It's a HUGE seat compared to our Marathon

Really? I found that we reclaimed a lot of back seat real estate when we swapped the Marathon out for a Frontier. It's a bit taller, sure, but not even that much since the Marathon sits up on a big base and the Frontier's seat is lower. (A fact which my son points out pretty much every time he gets in our car after riding in his Marathon in my mom's car. ;-)

[littlemizflava]

Originally Posted by Jes'sBeth

okay, I'm currently just jealous of all the choices you have in the US. Off to sulk now... (though we do have a frontier for our 3.5 yr old and we really like it. It's a HUGE seat compared to our Marathon and it's in our tiny Tercel but the baby needed a convertible and I'd rather buy a combo for our 3.5 yr old than a 2nd convertible. We were within an inch of outgrowing the harness height with our 3.5 yr old on the Marathon anyway... she's freakishly tall in the torso!)

OP, I think you're making a great choice to do high weight harness/ booster seats for your kids. This way you get a great booster but also get to keep your child safely in a harness for awhile too.

i know it sucks im in canada also... but atleast whe have radian i favor it because of how small it is width wise and it gives so much room.

if your dd was with in a inch of outgrowing the height on the marathon which is 16". you might like the radian it slots are 18". this would give you lots of space in the backseat.

[BeckC]

At 3.5 years old a child needs a harnessed seat.

I'll echo the other posters and say that I would get the Graco Nautilus. It will keep her harnessed for a long time and then convert to a good highback booster, and then a backless.

[Polliwog]

Originally Posted by aja-belly

we have a nautilus from babies r us. it is i think 2 months old now? the cover is already falling apart around one of the shoulders. the whole things seems pretty crappy to me - not just 'not a britax' but not even as 'nice' as the evenflo, other graco, cosco, or recaro that we have had. i am pretty dissappointed in it, but for the price it will make a decent extra seat for us.

We have the original Nautilus from Walmart. The fabric looks like new. It's the mesh-type fabric. We got our seat in January, I think.

[an_aurora]

Originally Posted by BethNC

We have the original Nautilus from Walmart. The fabric looks like new. It's the mesh-type fabric. We got our seat in January, I think.

We have a Nauti from Walmart that we bought in July and it still looks fine, even though it's been through the wash several times. I have seen pictures though of other peoples' Nautis having snags or rips in the covers after only a couple of months. My tether strap broke last month

[aja-belly]

i've seen the walmart one and the target one in person. babies r us didn't have one on display when i bought our's. the babies r us one we have (all light grey colored) is way worse than the other fabrics i've seen (imo). if we weren't desperate due to a broken buckle on our young sport i would have returned it.