What is a good, safe rear-facing car seat for 20lbs and up?
Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at
9:56 am
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The Radian XTSL is currently the top rear-facing I’d say, the only problem being it’s a bit tall so some cars have trouble fitting it. If your car can accomadate it then I’d say go with that one. It’s made of steel, uses the LATCH technology longer than any other, is rated for side-impact, and lasts for 8 years instead of the standard 5-6 for plastic car seats. It also goes to 85lbs… 45lbs rear facing. So that’s your best bet for safety and longevity.
For the poster about legs bending… they’re allowed to bend. It’s not uncomfortable or unsafe. I admit my daughter is small, but we’re keeping her rear-facing until she outgrows her car seats. One is to 35lbs and the other is 40lbs, and at her rate it’ll probably be 4 years old. The safety benefits of them facing rear, with legs bent and all, outweigh facing them forwards.
Add: For the record, we have a Britax Decathlon (basically a Marathon) which goes to 35lbs rear which was the highest at the time when we bought it in 2008. After an accident where she was in a Safety-First that went to I think 32lbs and the buckle did something weird after the accident, we bought a Graco My-Ride, which goes to 40lbs rear and 65lbs forward. It has head-protection on either side (wings I think they’re called) and is side impact tested. My daughter loves the drink holders. It costs $115 at Wal-mart now (I think we paid $160) putting it at a good price for long-safe use. Radian still is better made and will last longer, but for the cost My-Ride does very well.
This is the one that we have for our 8 month old daughter:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Safety-1st-Air-Protect-Convertible-Car-Seat-Wind-Chime/13004565
We’ve had her in this seat for almost 3 months now and we absolutely love it. It’s especially nice for if you drive long distances because it has really comfortable cushioning.
I would honestly be surprised if you can keep your son rear facing until he is 35lbs. Chances are by then he will be too tall to face backwards. Once their legs get to long and start to bend towards their belly it’s time to turn them forward.
This is the seat with the highest rear-facing limit on the market in the US (45lbs): http://www.skjp.com/product/195XX
Also decent seats, lower price tags and a lower limit, but they’re still 40lbs: http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Travel/Car-Seats/Convertible-Car-Seats/Details/2412-22436ANZ-Complete-Air-LX-Convertible-Car-Seat and http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/Pages/productlistingPage.aspx?catid=10:41||1+10434:4294958943||1
Average limits are 35lbs, these are the only seats currently available that go higher.
It’s perfectly safe for tall children to rear-face. Touching the seat with their legs or having to cross them or even let them hang over the edge is fine. As long as their height doesn’t exceed the seat recommendations it’s safe.
Be-safe iso combi – There is no substitute. Its a very heavy seat, even for me and I do weight training, but everything else is great. We have a huge mirror up, so we can see the baby. She is happy riding high so she can look out of the windows. Most injuries are because of badly fitting seat belts. Iso bars are the safest and easy to swap into another car. Our LO is 22 months and added to our high safety rating car, I know I have done my best for her
Hey girl, while I don’t have the answer to your specific question, I wanted to throw in that I have a bertini rear facing car seat that is good for 5 to 35 lbs, so I’m thinking that might be the standard cut off weight for rear facing. Mine however, does not convert to forward facing, it an infant carrier, but is bigger, thus has a higher weight limit. Keep in mind though that weight gain does begin to slow once children become more mobile (crawling, walking, etc.) so it may take him a while before he gets over 35lbs.
Good luck, I hope you find what you are looking for.
That is standard (35lbs) and Britax is the absolute best. I hate to be totally morbid here but a friend from junior high was in a serious car accident, her passenger died, and her daughter was in a britax rear facing car seat and was completely unscathed.