[MCPM]

So we are getting a car...it's been nice w/o one but the situation is changing. Anyway, we've been using a Cosco Scenera to ride around in friends' cars. Now that car stuff will happen more often, should I get a Britax? Is it notably safer?

 

[alegna]

Well, at some point you will need another seat, the scenera only goes to 40lbs and has the low straps to go with it. So eventually you will need a higher harnessed seat. How old, tall and heavy is your baby now?

-Angela

 

[MCPM]

She's 28 pounds now (not sure about her height! but tall for her 16 months), and you're right, at some point we'll have to move on anyway.

I'm sure this has been covered (I searched but didn't find it), but if I should go with a Britax, which should I buy of the ones that go up to 65 pounds?

 

[alegna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCPM She's 28 pounds now (not sure about her height! but tall for her 16 months), and you're right, at some point we'll have to move on anyway. I'm sure this has been covered (I searched but didn't find it), but if I should go with a Britax, which should I buy of the ones that go up to 65 pounds?

At this point I would probably budget and plan. As for which Britax, the Boulevard is the top of the line. It has side impact protection and adjustable strap height (no rethreading)

-Angela

 

[hottmama]

I would keep her in the Scenera for now, so that she can stay rear-facing until 35 lbs. (longer than Britax). And at 35 lbs. (or whenever she outgrows the Scenera, if you prefer to wait), buy a Britax Regent that'll keep her harnessed for as long as possible.

 

[bobandjess99]

I wouldn't rush right out.
At this point, your child can still RF for a LONG time in the scenera.....probably a YEAR or more....so you really don't need to buy one unless the money is just no object for you and/or you are just really wanting to get one with side impact protection or EPS foam or something..which are nice features, but not necesary........
When the time to FF is met....then you should probably look for another seat....at that point, she will likely be 2.5+....so I would not necesarily get another convertible, but a long-term use seat...like a Regent, radian, or possibly the mythical new Recaro seat due to come out in May......
the reason I say that is because getting a convertible Britax won't be as great of a value, since many kids are outgrowing it by 4.5 or so..and if your child is already 2.5 or so....then you are only getting about 2 yrs out of the seat....whereas something like a regent, which is cheaper than a BLVD anyway, will get your child until 80 pounds or about 8+ years old.....basically, until a carseat is no longer needed!!!

 

[s_kristina]

We have our 15 month old RF in a Cosco Scenera. Even if money weren't an issue we would keep the Scenera around for that extra 2 lbs RF. My kids are on the big side though and for a smaller child that extra 2 lbs of growth might not be as big an issue. At 15 months my ds is already 26 lbs and around 33 inches I think. Based on his current weight and where the harness is fitting him we think he will go from RF in the Scenera to FF in another seat. Which seat will depend on if we have anther vehicle then. Our only vehicle at the moment a Regent will not fit in. If we have a vehicle the Regent will fit in that would be my first choice with a second choice being the Apex as we do have head rests in the back seat of our truck.

 

[CityGranola]

I have a Scenara in DH car and we really like it. In my car we have the AOE. Both are ok seats for now, DS is 22 months old. So, that said, we will use the seats we have now until he either out weighs or out-heights them. It's looking like he'll get too tall before he's too heavy - he's 25 pounds at 22 months!!

Are you aware there's a new seat coming out in May - from Recaro - the people who make race car seats? It looks SUPER promising - there's 19' top slots, it has a harness weight of 70 pounds instead of the 65 with Britax, and it will be about $20 cheaper the Britaxes. So, something to keep in mind.

I just went to check the site and they still don't have pics up or direct info on the site, but there should be updates there soon - I believe it's www.recaro.com and follow to child seats...

Please let me know if I can help you with any other car seat choices!

 

[MCPM]

I didn't even realize the Scenera was good for RF longer than the Britax.

*******
>so you really don't need to buy one unless the money is just no object for you >and/or you are just really wanting to get one with side impact protection or >EPS foam or something..which are nice features, but not necesary........
*******

So do you all think that this side impact Boulevard stuff is not so important? It's hard to tell if things like that are just minimally useful or actually make a big safety difference.

 

[alegna]

I like the side impact. IMO it probably would make a difference in a side impact crash. Likelyhood of that? Beats me.

The only Britax with the TSIP is the boulevard.

-Angela

 

[Synchro246]

I think side impact crashes account for 24% of severe crashes.

I too would keep the scenera until my child outgrew the RF capabilities by height or weight. I think a 65lb limit Britax or the Regent are both fine options for after.

 

[MCPM]

OK, another question -- don't the Britaxs (and I guess I would get a Boulevard if I got anything) have a rear tether and the Cosco Scenera not? (At least, I haven't seen it, but of course I don't use it much.) Would that make a measurable safety difference? Because I suppose I *could* get a Britax now for side impact protection and when she gets to 30 pounds put her back in the Scenera for the last five pounds. That does sound sort of silly and spendy, but is it logical?

And does anyone know a link to rearfacing weight limits? I'm sorry to say that only recently did I learn that rearfacing is so much better. Luckily our car jaunts have been quite short, but I can't believe I didn't know about this.

 

[Synchro246]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCPM OK, another question -- don't the Britaxs (and I guess I would get a Boulevard if I got anything) have a rear tether and the Cosco Scenera not? (At least, I haven't seen it, but of course I don't use it much.) Would that make a measurable safety difference? Because I suppose I *could* get a Britax now for side impact protection and when she gets to 30 pounds put her back in the Scenera for the last five pounds. That does sound sort of silly and spendy, but is it logical? And does anyone know a link to rearfacing weight limits? I'm sorry to say that only recently did I learn that rearfacing is so much better. Luckily our car jaunts have been quite short, but I can't believe I didn't know about this.

I don't know if your scenera has a tether. I would imagine so, but look and re-read your manual to be sure. Tethering does make a very measureable safety difference.
If your Scenera doesn't have a tether I would say that your plan to use a boulevard until 33lb RF (their limit) and just keep the scenera around for those additional two pounds and as a spare is reasonable.

If you want to look at different seat limits I think your best bet is looking at the manual for whatever you are interested in. They are all available on line and should be read before your purchace is made anyway.

 

[MCPM]

Thanks for all the advice. 33 and 35 pounds seem pretty close together as a weight range, too.

Interesting! I found this at car-safety.org:
Can I use a tether on my convertible seat when it is rear-facing? NO, unless it is specifically stated in the manual. Britax, for example, allows this on some of their models.

 

[alegna]

I'm pretty sure the Scenera does NOT tether RF.

If you have the $$- get the boulevard. If you don't don't.

-Angela

 

[CityGranola]

Ok, I am a wealth of car seat info. What, in particular, were you looking for in terms of links about RF? I'll post my faves and you can do with them as you'd wish!

And, the Scenara does NOT tether RF, but as with all car seats now, you can use LATCH. (well, as long as it's in a LATCH spot and such.) Anyway, many people get confused about that - typically in car seat lingo LATCH refers to using the bottom parts to attach it to the bottom of the car and tether mean attaching to the top. That's not the case with the Britax, though, and you CAN tether that RF.

IMO the side impact stuff is super important. The seat I posted about earlier, the Recaro, which has been pushed back to late June/July, will also have great EPS.

Ok, now, for the links...

** This is probably the one with the most info you'd like : http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

And, the rest:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9916868/
http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_se...ing_seats.html
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx
And, finally, here is a link to some older children (up to 4+ years old) who are still RFing:
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbumAll.aspx

http://www.car-safety.org/
http://www.cpsafety.com/
http://www.carseat.org/
http://www.thecarseatlady.com/
http://www.carseatsite.com/

 

[MCPM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityGranola And, the Scenara does NOT tether RF, but as with all car seats now, you can use LATCH. (well, as long as it's in a LATCH spot and such.) Anyway, many people get confused about that - typically in car seat lingo LATCH refers to using the bottom parts to attach it to the bottom of the car and tether mean attaching to the top. That's not the case with the Britax, though, and you CAN tether that RF. IMO the side impact stuff is super important.

Thanks!

OK, wait, I just want to make sure I understand. Even though it's a new-to-me car, it's not a new car per se and doesn't have LATCH. So I was thinking of trying to do the tether to where the seat bolts to the floor. Rear-facing. Which I see I can only do with a Britax, not the Scenera.

Do you think that top tether makes a big difference in terms of safety? Because that and the side impact stuff is the big difference between the two.

And the, erm, money... (!!!)

Incidentally, does anyone have experience of going from FF to RF? I am expecting some disgruntlement.

 

[Synchro246]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityGranola Anyway, many people get confused about that - typically in car seat lingo LATCH refers to using the bottom parts to attach it to the bottom of the car and tether mean attaching to the top. That's not the case with the Britax, though, and you CAN tether that RF.

Actually LATCH stands for Lower Anchors And Tethers for Child Restraints. So when referring to a RF seat that is not to be tethered but can be installed using the lower achors it should be called lower anchors, not LATCH.
But it's all semantics.

 

[Synchro246]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCPM Thanks! OK, wait, I just want to make sure I understand. Even though it's a new-to-me car, it's not a new car per se and doesn't have LATCH. So I was thinking of trying to do the tether to where the seat bolts to the floor. Rear-facing. Which I see I can only do with a Britax, not the Scenera. Do you think that top tether makes a big difference in terms of safety? Because that and the side impact stuff is the big difference between the two. And the, erm, money... (!!!) Incidentally, does anyone have experience of going from FF to RF? I am expecting some disgruntlement.

As for RF tethering I don't know if tethers make a measurable difference (I know it does for FF). I don't know how the testing takes place that determines if tether isn't for RF on that seat or if they just don't test that and the seat passes fine without RF tether. I can see how tether would matter much less for RF than for FF just thinking physics, but I don't know.

My son was mildly disgruntled when I switched him back to RF, but it was short lived and alieved by a new soft book and cherios.

 

[alegna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synchro246 As for RF tethering I don't know if tethers make a measurable difference (I know it does for FF). I don't know how the testing takes place that determines if tether isn't for RF on that seat or if they just don't test that and the seat passes fine without RF tether. I can see how tether would matter much less for RF than for FF just thinking physics, but I don't know. My son was mildly disgruntled when I switched him back to RF, but it was short lived and alieved by a new soft book and cherios.

Actually, my understanding is that all seats that will tether RF can pass without being tethered. Tethering is a BONUS

-Angela