[Hokulele]

We're huge Britax fans here but we need a new car seat and I'm suddenly drawn to the TrueFit. We tried out a couple Britax seats (the Marathon and the Boulevard) but the crotch strap was so short the buckle was digging into my DD's skinny little thighs. Then I saw the TrueFit mentioned here and the more I look into it, the more I'm drawn to it. We are looking to use the seat forward facing only.

Trouble is, I can't find any good comparative info on the safety of these car seats. Of course there are ratings on ease of use, but to me safety is by far more important.

Thoughts anyone?

ALSO - would you feel safe ordering a car seat online? I just worry about it getting banged around during shipping and the safety of use of the seat being compromised.

 

[AndrewsMother]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokulele ALSO - would you feel safe ordering a car seat online? I just worry about it getting banged around during shipping and the safety of use of the seat being compromised.

Car seats are shipped to Babies R Us and local baby stores via private shipping companies, UPS, the USPS or fedex. No matter how the seat reaches your home it is bounced and banged in shipment. A drop or fall that would damage the car seat would first have to damage the box, and this you would realize before purcahse or accepting the shipment. I have ordered two Britax online and never had a probllem with the appearance of the packaging.

 

[Hokulele]

AndrewsMother - thank you for that. It makes me feel a lot better about it. I guess I hadn't really thought it through. I just feel so much more in control when I buy in the store (even though, really I'm not!) And car seats stress me out for some reason.

 

[Labyrinth]

All car seats on the market have been found to be safe, or else they would not be on the market. We have no way of knowing for sure which seats are safer than others, because there is no mandate to release crash test information.

I prefer the true fit- it has a tallest shell of any convertible on the market and taller top harness than the marathon. It also takes up less front to back room than the marathon and has better leg room. This means that virtually all children will make it to 35 lbs rear-facing in the true fit, whereas some kids outgrow the marathon by height before weight.

If I was in the market for a rearfacing convertible the marathon would be in fourth or fifth place on the list of seats I would get- tied with the boulevard. The only situation which would prefer a marathon would be ease of use- if I needed the seat to be used by someone who was likely to struggle with seat installation and use the marathon would probably be my first or second choice. The true fit would be my first choice otherwise.

 

[AndrewsMother]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokulele AndrewsMother - thank you for that. It makes me feel a lot better about it. I guess I hadn't really thought it through. I just feel so much more in control when I buy in the store (even though, really I'm not!) And car seats stress me out for some reason.

No problem!!! I stress about car seats too when I am in the market for a new model.

Have you considered the Regent for your DD. My almost 40 pound 3 year old(in two weeks) DS loves his Regent. We own a Regent and a Boulevard but he has more room to spread his legs and store his cars and other random stuff.

 

[alegna]

I don't think that all seats are equally safe. I do think, however, that those two seats are most likely equally safe.

How tall and heavy is the child in question? If over 35lbs or already ff and not going to turn back, I'd consider different seats.

-Angela

 

[an_aurora]

If your kid is over the RF limits, I'd go for a FF-only seat like the Nautilus, Frontier, Safeguard, or Regent.

 

[TheGirls]

THere's no real way to know which seats are safest, but those are both good seats. However, I agree with the others that for a child that is already forward facing, I'd choose a different (FF only) seat. It'll either last much longer harnessed (Safeguard, Regent) or convert to a booster in the future (Nautilus, Frontier).

 

[Hokulele]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

DD is a smallish almost four year old, is 30lbs, is already forward facing and will remain forward facing. Our trouble is that the Britax seats all seem to have no crotch room. Even with DD's skinny little legs the buckle was digging into her thighs.

Why is the TrueFit not your first choice for FF? And what would be the first choices for this situation?

Do any other countries require safety ratings?

 

[an_aurora]

I wouldn't get the TrueFit for a FF child because the other seats I mentioned have higher top slots and will last longer.

 

[KayleeZoo]

You would get a lot more time out of the Frontier or Regent- I am not a big fan of the Nautilus because the crotch buckle depth is SO much shorter than the Frontier (my 33-ishlb 4yo is sitting directly on the crotch buckle strap in the Nautilus and complaining about it bothering him. He has a couple inches of depth left in the Frontier- same is true for the Regent). For a FF only seat, it doesn't make sense to buy a convertible when some of the dedicated FF seats will get you possibly years longer of use.

 

[alegna]

If she's already ff and will remain so, I'd look at- frontier, regent, nautilus and safeguard.

No point in getting a convertible for a ff child. Might as well get a seat that will harness until they're ready for a booster.

-Angela

 

[Ironica]

Just to state it another way... the TrueFit doesn't have any particular disadvantages for forward-facing, but you'll get more use out of a dedicated FF seat. A 30-lb 4-year-old could probably RF in the True Fit for at least several months, but since you're not interested in that feature, there's not much point; you'd be getting another seat down the line. A Nautilus or Frontier would almost certainly be the last seat she'd ever need; a Safeguard or Regent would keep her in a 5-point harness longer, and after that she'd move to a dedicated booster.

 

[Ceili]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hokulele Our trouble is that the Britax seats all seem to have no crotch room. Even with DD's skinny little legs the buckle was digging into her thighs.

I don't think this would be a problem with the Regent. There are two crotch strap slots we're still on the closest one with my almost 5 year old. If the Regent fits in your car that's what I would get. I love ours.

 

[LittleBlessings]

All car seats are considered safe. If you want to spend lots of money then get the Britax but personally I love the true fit. It has most of the perks of a Britax with out the price tag

 

[Picturesque]

Quote:

Originally Posted by an_aurora If your kid is over the RF limits, I'd go for a FF-only seat like the Nautilus, Frontier, Safeguard, or Regent.

I am currently looking into this issue for my son who will max out his current car seat (Alpha-Omega Elite II) shortly. It only FF to 40lbs harnessed. I am curious about the Nautilus compared to these other seats. I am willing to pay top dollar for a seat that is clearly superior to others, but when the Nautilus is $80-$100 cheaper than any other seat I've seen with comparable features, can anyone tell me why I would consider paying more for one of the others?

 

[KayleeZoo]

We've recently owned a Regent, Frontier (still have) and Nautilus (returing to Graco) and honestly, I really love the Nautilus EXCEPT for the crappy crotch depth. My kids are really small (DS is 30%ile) and he sits directly on the crotch strap and is uncomfortable. The Regent and Frontier offer lots more crotch depth. Otherwise, I think the Nauti is a great seat. Way easier to install than the Frontier (I'm a weird one who has never ever had trouble installing the Regent) and my DS loved the cupholder. At 33lbs, I really expected him to fit comfortably in the Nautilus in harness mode longer than this. That's the only reason I'm returning it to Graco.

 

[Cinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labyrinth I prefer the true fit- it has a tallest shell of any convertible on the market and taller top harness than the marathon. It also takes up less front to back room than the marathon and has better leg room. This means that virtually all children will make it to 35 lbs rear-facing in the true fit, whereas some kids outgrow the marathon by height before weight.

I can't even fathom that...and I keep my kids rear facing for a long time (3 1/2+ years)... My 6 1/2 year old isn't 35lbs yet, but she is 46" or 47".

Anyway, I agree, I'd go with a forward only seat if you have no plans of turning her back around rear facing, but I don't have a suggestion for seats cause my 6 and 5 year olds are both in britax boulevards and there is no issue with the crotch straps for them. Janelle, 6, is 34lbs as I mentioned above, and 46 or 47 inches. Kincaid, 5, is 40lbs and 45 or 46 inches.

 

[an_aurora]

Yep, not all kids, but most. If my kid continues on her current growth curve, she will be 7 and a half before she hits 35 pounds, and be 50 inches.

 

[Hokulele]

This is all REALLY helpful info. Thanks MDC mamas! I knew I could get great info here!!