What's the slimmest/not that bulky convertible car seat?
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at
7:48 pm
I’m looking at the cosco alpha omega elite, Or Britax…..
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Sunshine Kids Radian is the narrowest seat. Run far away from the Alpha Omega! From a car seat tech:
Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3n1/Safety 1st Enspira- This seat bills itself as the last car seat you will ever need. It’s not true! This seat is often difficult to use and having confusing instructions. It can be used rear facing from 5-35 pounds, which is a plus, and from 22-40 pounds AND over a year of age forward facing, plus as a booster from 30-100 pounds AND over a year of age. It cannot be tethered rear facing and is not lined with EPS foam. It costs between $100-$200, depending on the model.
So why it is less recommended?
It’s hard to use
It has extremely low top slots so most children outgrow it VERY early
It is difficult to use as a booster and the belt guides can introduce slack
It does not adjust taller for booster use
It is very expensive
It fails government testing for head excursion when used forward facing without the top tether
We have 2 Britax Marathons and love them!
britax is the best by far. my daughter had the roundabout and the regent
Britax is great, but its definitely not slim. We got a Sunshine Kids Radian. It allows you to rear face and forward face with a 5 point harness longer than your average seat and it is very slim. We love ours and getting one allowed us to fit 3 seats in a sedan. (2 Britax, 1 Radian)
The narrowest convertible seat is sunshine Kids Radian65 or Radian80. They are both the exact same seat, but one is tested to 65lbs, one to 80lbs. Very unlikely that a child will ever get to 80lbs inthe seat, so a better buy to get the cheaper Radian65. Definitely best to try before you buy, b/c it is completely incompatible with many vehicles. Installs easily with LATCH, but you have to stop using LATCH at 48lbs (40lbs for Hondas) so it needs to be able to be installed with the seatbelt as well. Its the narrowest seat and boasts being able to fit 3 across in most vehicles.
One thing to think about though, narrow isn’t always a good thing – you want the seat to be able to fit your child for a long time, and with this very narrow seat, some kids start getting very uncomfortable b/c it is so narrow they feel squished. There are 3 stages of car seats: rear facing, forward facing, booster, and you want to keep your child in each phase for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Each move ‘up’ in car seats is a major move down in the protection the receive. The bare minimum for safe and legal booster use is 4 years old and 40lbs. but most 4 year olds are not ready for boosters, waiting until a child is 5 or 6 is preferred, and to do that you need a seat that will fit your child until then.
If you’re needing a seat for 3 across, its a great choice. If you need something light for travel, try a $40 Cosco Scenera. It won’t last that long, but for $40, getting 1-2 years out of it is no big deal. Installs easily and is about as lightweight as it gets. Downside? 40lbs forward facing limit, short shell, short top harness slots, hence why it doesn’t last very long.
YOu can’t go wrong with a Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon. The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different variances of luxury additions, with the Marathon being the cheapest base model) can be found for regular price of $269, and on sale at Albee Baby online for $209-$219. The Marathon a wide open easy to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot easier, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. I can get it into 4 different vehicles in under 2 minutes. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats (all car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture) lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years old, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years old. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years old. Britax is having one of their semiannual sales from February 24 – March 2. You could snag a Britax seat for $200 or less including shipping!
The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17", harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has little less plush padding. Wide open belt path, easy to install, though it doesn’t have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don’t have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It’s one of only 2 seats that does this (The Britax Boulevard is the other, I believE), and it has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. No more tugging straps to tighten them either. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. As a major bonus, it can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode. Awesome for kids who still sleep in the car. I LOVE THIS SEAT! LOL My son, who is too big for every other car seat at Walmart has the same amount of room in this as the Britax Marathon.
The Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe Convertible seat is great, it is made by Britax, without all the frills. It’s the same shell as a Marathon, but for less than half the price. $130 at Albee Baby online with free shipping, or at their eBay name, babysurplus. Rear faces to 33lbs, forward to 55lbs. Easy to use, fits in most cars. A small word of warning about these seats: they are now officially not making them anymore, so the date of manufacture is getting older and older, with many being delivered that are 6+ months old already. Since car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, this could make a difference to you, especially since its possible your child could fit in the seat for the next 5-6 years.
These are the best you can buy that will give you the most bang for your buck. As a single parent I’m always watching the budget – I have no money to speak of, and these are what I would buy. (My son has a marathon and is soon getting a Britax Regent). They will last the longest. I only wish someone would’ve told me all this before I had him, I coulda saved some money for the extra seats I started out with!
All seats in the US must meet the same safety criteria to sell, so technically they all are safe, however, if its hard to install, then it won’t be used correctly and that makes it unsafe. Also, they only must meet the guidelines, some seats barely pass, some exceed them. Britax exceeds the guidelines and is easy to use.
Definitely steer clear of the Alpha Omega Elite/3-in-1/Eddie Bauer. These are all the same company – same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That’s what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too short a shell to really go to 40lbs. And they do not make good boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they’re at least 8 years old. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you’ll ever need to buy.
When shopping, Remember these rules:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you’re more likely to use it correctly.
2)Children should stay rear facing AS LNOG AS POSSIBLE!!!! The 20lbs/1 year rule is outdated and provides a bare minimum for turning kids forward facing. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both recommend keeping kids rear facing as long as possible, up to the limits of their seat, preferably until at least 2 years of age. For good reason: A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone. In other countries, rear facing 2 – 3 – 4 year olds is standard, they understand that its safer. Here, we turn them as soon as we get to, seeing it as a right of passage thing or something. Ridiculous. Most convertible seats have a 30lbs rear facing limit, Cosco/Dorel/Safety1st/Eddie Bauer seats rear face to 35lbs, Britax rear faces to 33lbs.
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can’t sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight – 40" tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I’d have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.