I have car seats that convert to boosters for up to 100 lbs..... but have decided that I want to 5 point harness my children for longer than 4/40lbs which they are now. Does anyone have the Safe Guard Go seat? It 5 point harnesses until 65 lbs... and folds up for travel which is huge for us b/c we're always flying to see family, etc. It has the head ('wing') piece but not all the plastic around the sides... and that's causing me to 'think' it may not be that good.... or is it just a visual thing that I need to get over??!
Do any of you moms use this?? How has it been? If not what 5 point harness system do you use (to 65 lbs)?? Also, we have a '02 Explorer... but it doesn't have a lower seat latch system... just an over the back anchor on the floor behind the seat. Not sure if that matters re: which booster to get. Thank you so much mamas!!
We have the Nautilus 3-in-1, also. We've bought it for both our kids (3 and 1). Our oldest is just under 40 lbs, and it has accomodated 15 lbs of growth pretty well! Hopefully that continues!
Since we've gotten this one for both, I can't comment on other kinds. The Nautilus is pretty big for travel.
Good luck. I really dislike buying carseats! So much to think about!
I don't know anything about the Safe Guard Go seat. I got my daughter the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1. It will hold her in a 5pt harness to 65 lbs, and belt positioning booster & backless booster to 100 lbs.
It doesn't fold up for travel, and it's kinda big & heavy (and I'm only comparing to the little cheap $40 seats, as that's what we had before). But we don't fly anywhere :)
I loved the idea of that seat!! Got it... took it back.... It doesn't fit right in any of our vehicles... which means that you would struggle to use it for travel as well...
From what I've read it's a good "niche" seat but not the best for every day use. Here's a pretty thorough assessment from a certified Child Passenger Safety Tech whom I've found to be very helpful and well informed on child safety seat installation, selection, and use:
http://carseatblog.com/403/safeguard-go-review-hybrid-boo...
what are the current ages and sizes of your children? the forums at http://www.car-seat.org have a lot of helpful and knowledgeable folks, many of whom are certified techs, who can give you a lot of good options to fit your children, vehicle, and budget.
BTW the absence of lower LATCH anchors shouldn't affect which seat to get, as all current child safety seats are designed so that they can be installed with the vehicle seat belt *or* the LATCH system - although the LATCH system was intended to simplify car seat installation, it doesn't make installations inherently safer.
