Hello Mamas and Dads!
My little guy is going to turn a year old next month and is really starting to outgrow his infant car seat. I'm in the market for a good carseat that can be rear facing (hopefully until he's 2, as is now being recommended) and then turn around and used as forward facing as well.
What car seats do you have? Do you recommend them? Would you buy them again?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Thanks to everyone that responded! For some reason, I can't send flowers for your responses right now, but I really appreciate your input!
Britax is the best. For a one year old, I think the Marathon is the best model. Others prefer the Boulevard but I didn't like that one as much.
britax boulevard, without a doubt. i've told my story MANY times, but my boys were in a BAD rollover interstate crash with my mother when they were 1.5yo and 4.5yo - her minivan rolled side over side and nose over tail down an embankment after being hit by an 18-wheeler. my boys were both in boulevards and had LITERALLY not a scratch or injury of ANY sort - the EMTs and police on scene were SHOCKED, they were all writing down the model numbers of the boys seats, it was miraculous how well protected they were. i bought 2 new boulevards that very day, and have purchased others for dh's car and our 3rd child.
Britax marathon..I have always bought them and always will recommend them. Superb comfort and safety ratings, and we were in a fatality accident, my daughter was in hers and wasn't hurt. Proof enough for me. Albeebaby.com always has the best deals! It forward faces to 70 lbs now I believe.
I have to second the Radian. I just did this for my DD last summer and she got the Sunshine Kids Radian RXST. My son just outgrew his seat in April so I had to do it again, and I got the same seat. But the company is now called DION for some reason, so he got the Radion RXT. They have a great customer service department and replacement program if the carseat is in an accident. Also, it is made out of steal (not light), but it has really great crash ratings and they will actually tell you what they are, unlike a lot of companies. My little guy is 13 months, 34 or 35 pounds and about 33 inches long. He can still sit rear facing, but his legs are starting to rub the seat back a little so we might need to change him soon. I chose this one because the harness will go until 80 pounds, and then its a high back booster seat until 120 pounds. It really is the only carseat you need to buy, but I like the infant carriers, so I used those as long as possible. (Snugride and Snugride 32). I hope this helps, its really a very hard thing to figure out, but I bought 2 of the same one, so I came to the same conclusion twice. I would shop around online because prices can vary by as much as $75 depending on where and when you get it.
That is a great seat to choose from. I wanted to add just in case you don't know that it does not matter if their feet hit the back of the seat when turned rear facing. It is much safer to keep them rear facing as long as possible, including past 2 years of age. It is better to have a broken leg if heaven forbid something happens than a broken neck by being placed forward facing too soon. 2 years is the minimum to keep them rear facing and as long as they do not exceed height and weight requirements of the seat keep them rear facing!
Britax. No question. You can use them a LONG time and are so worth the money. Good luck!
We have two, my favorite is the Sunshine Radian XTSL (there is a newer model that has increased it's weight range to the max recommended) that allows you to rear face up to age 4 or so which we plan to do for safety, as well as a Britax Frontier. The Frontier is a bit easier to adjust the strap, but I love the ease of in/out with the Radian as the Britax is difficult to lift them in/out; the strap adjustment typically occurs only with a change in thickness of clothing. If I were to buy one, it would be the Radian.
This is a really great reference site for picking out car seats: http://community.babycenter.com/post/a29304041/faqs_-_ple...
Scroll down for a discussion of fit requirements and safety considerations before it gets to the list of different types of car seats and which are recommended and why. The relevant one for you right now is this one: http://community.babycenter.com/post/a30856461/faq_-_reco...
I was recently in a minor fender bender and am replacing my infant's bucket with a convertible instead of another infant carrier seat. The one I chose is the Evenflo Triumph 65. I have a previous model of it (Evenflo ComfortTouch?) that my preschooler is using - getting replaced also with an Evenflo Maestro forward facing seat that becomes a booster later. I really like the twist knob to tighten. I feel like I can get a much better fit with the knob than I can with the pull tab most seats use. It's nice and cushy and comfortable. My preschooler rear-faced in it until 21 months and still had plenty of room to grow in it, but we ended up turning it around at the time (I wish we hadn't, but I can't change the past). And that was the older model with smaller height and weight limits than the ones the Triumph lists.
