Car Seat help needed

[NiftyJ88]

We're driving to DW and would like a more comfortable seat for DD3. She's a peanut and doesn't meet the height requirement for a regular high back booster. So we were thinking the Britax Frontier. Does anyone have one that can share their thoughts?

 

[karen624]

We don't have that one, but we have two other Britax. I am a huge fan. We have the Regent for my 5 yo. My in laws have a Graco Nautilus that she says is really comfy. Had the boosters that will harness to higher weights and then convert been available when we got the Regent, I might have gone that route. That thing is a bit of a beast!

 

[stephie1012]

We don't have that one, but we have two other Britax. I am a huge fan. We have the Regent for my 5 yo. My in laws have a Graco Nautilus that she says is really comfy. Had the boosters that will harness to higher weights and then convert been available when we got the Regent, I might have gone that route. That thing is a bit of a beast!

ditto, we have a britax boulevard and a britax regent. DD rode down the 20hr drive in her regent and slept so well in it. I would take her to the store and try her out in different seats, the frontier is a great seat tho! How big is she?

 

[lil mermaid]

We have a Frontier for my nearly five year old. No complaints. DD says it is very comfortable.

I have heard good things about the Graco Nautilus, which is quite a bit less expensive.

 

[NiftyJ88]

ditto, we have a britax boulevard and a britax regent. DD rode down the 20hr drive in her regent and slept so well in it. I would take her to the store and try her out in different seats, the frontier is a great seat tho! How big is she?

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a store that actually carries the Frontier to try.

She is 3 years old, 36" and 30 lbs.

 

[NiftyJ88]

We have a Frontier for my nearly five year old. No complaints. DD says it is very comfortable.

I have heard good things about the Graco Nautilus, which is quite a bit less expensive.

I think kids are supposed to be 38" before going in the Nautilus, but I will double check that.

 

[all4fun]

Three is really too young for just a booster anyway. Four yrs and 40lbs is the bare minimum age recommendation for moving up to a booster seat w/adult seat belt. So I think you are wise to look at another 5pt harness seat. What seat is she riding in now and where are her shoulders in relation to the top harness slots? Fwd facing car seats are outgrown by height when the shoulders go past the top harness slots or the tips of ears go past the top of the shell.

The Frontier, & the Graco Nautilus are pretty comparable as they both convert to booster seats when the harness is outgrown. The Frontier has an 80lb limit which would probably be overkill for your dd but if you like the seat, it would probably still fit her just fine. The Graco Nautilus harnesses to 65lbs, is less expensive, but is still well-liked overall. Both seats should be the last one you would need.

If you have to order online, then elitecarseats.com has an excellent return policy. For $4 (IIRC) you can buy return shipping insurance so if you do have to ship a seat back you're not out a whole bunch of shipping costs. If you don't ship it back then you're only out the $4. Pretty good deal, IMO. I've ordered from them before and had a good experience.

hth

 

[lil mermaid]

I think kids are supposed to be 38" before going in the Nautilus, but I will double check that.

That is the minimum height for belt positioning booster mode. The minimum height for harness mode is much lower. I was assuming that you were going to use the harness mode.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

I second the Frontier. I know lots of mother's who have them for their kiddos and LOVE them. You should also check out www.car-seat.org. They can answer any question you have.

 

[ms_missy66]

We have a 6 year old and 4 year old and they're both in Britax Regents. They've very comfortable and I feel good about my girls' safety in them. And so far, no one complains about not being in a booster.

 

[allie1078]

try babies r us, they should have both the frontier and the nautilus. That is where I went to compare in person. We went with the nautilus becasue of price. I also agree she is way to small and young for a high back booster. what is her current seat? how does she fit? botht the frontier and the nauti are more upright seats and may not be very comfortable for fallen asleep. convertible seats have more of a recline and tend to be better for sleeping. so if she still fits in her current seat leave her there.

 

[NiftyJ88]

try babies r us, they should have both the frontier and the nautilus. That is where I went to compare in person. We went with the nautilus becasue of price. I also agree she is way to small and young for a high back booster. what is her current seat? how does she fit? botht the frontier and the nauti are more upright seats and may not be very comfortable for fallen asleep. convertible seats have more of a recline and tend to be better for sleeping. so if she still fits in her current seat leave her there.

I think she does fit in her current seat, but it's uncomfortable for her. She is always complaining about her behind hurting and it isn't very padded. My concern is that it seems the crotch strap is not long enough maybe.

I wasn't planning on putting her in belt positioning booster. She is certainly not ready for that and I would like to leave her harnessed as long as possible.

I spent all last evening looking at reviews for both car seats and I'm even more undecided than I was before. I can get a new pink Frontier (09 model) on eBay for $229 including shipping. To get a pink Nautilus would be about $180.

What I've found so far is that the Nautilus is very comfortable and more affordable, but the crotch strap has been a problem for several children with it not being long enough.

The Frontier doesn't say much about comfort, but installation is difficult, and it's hard to get a tight fit, and the shoulder straps have a smaller maximum height.

Some reported on both car seats that the fabric was itchy or uncomfortable.

I know it is basically opinion and what one person likes, another may not. I just want this to be her "last" carseat, which is what we said about the other one we bought her that I just don't like that much.

I'm going to call Britax today and see who carries their carseat near me. If anyone else has any advice, I would love to hear it.

 

[Tiffany_PartyOf7]

We have a Nautilus for our 6 yr old and LOVE IT!! So much so that I'm buying one for our 4 yr old and 3 yr old. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting a child under age 2 in the Nautilus - just not enough side impact protection IMO.

We use Britax Boulevard CS and Britax Marathon Couture for our 4 yr old and 3 yr old currently. We love the Blvd and hate the Marathon.

We also have our 1 yr old in an Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat that we absolutely LOVE but the Orbit is pricey and not worth the money unless you have the entire system.

I've thought about getting a Frontier but really we love the Nautilus and the price is better. LOL. I have not one complaint about the Nautilus.

 

[all4fun]

Just be careful about ordering Britax seats off ebay. They do not warranty seats that are not from an authorized dealer. Some ebay dealers are authorized, you just need to verify it with Britax (they used to have a list on their site but I don't know if it's still there).

hth

 

[NiftyJ88]

Just be careful about ordering Britax seats off ebay. They do not warranty seats that are not from an authorized dealer. Some ebay dealers are authorized, you just need to verify it with Britax (they used to have a list on their site but I don't know if it's still there).

hth

Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't even think about that. We're going tomorrow to Babies R Us. Whoever suggested it was right, they do carry both seats. I guess it's just been awhile since I tried to look at them before. I'll let you guys know what I ended up with.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Our DS5 has been in the Nautilus for a year now and we all have been very happy with it.

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

I don't have a Britax, but if you are looking for a comfy convertible carseat, I HIGHLY reccomend you check out The First Years True Fit one! Our DD always screamed whenever we put her in her seat, then we got this one, and she loves it! Seriously, it's one of those that seems to be overlooked by a lot of people because everyone automatically goes to the Britax ones if they are going to spend that amount of money, but I can't say enough about it. We got it for $190 at Babies R Us. It fits kids from 5lbs up to 65lbs, is super easy to install and adjust...

 

[jlr9882]

All three suggestions are great! Check out car-seat.org. There are some great reviews on all of these seats and you can search for 15% and even some 20% coupon codes off car seats and strollers from Babies R Us. They are good until May 28. I just got a great deal on a new stroller to use for our Disney trip.

 

[all4fun]

I don't have a Britax, but if you are looking for a comfy convertible carseat, I HIGHLY reccomend you check out The First Years True Fit one! Our DD always screamed whenever we put her in her seat, then we got this one, and she loves it! Seriously, it's one of those that seems to be overlooked by a lot of people because everyone automatically goes to the Britax ones if they are going to spend that amount of money, but I can't say enough about it. We got it for $190 at Babies R Us. It fits kids from 5lbs up to 65lbs, is super easy to install and adjust...

The True Fit is a well liked seat. The reason I wouldn't recommend a convertible car seat for the typical three yr old is because the rear facing feature won't be used. The other seats mentioned (Nautilus, Frontier) have taller top slots and also convert to a booster, so the OP would get much more use out of it. I have seen the FYTF recommended a lot for younger kids though. It really does seem like a very nice seat. One I would have probably seriously considered if it had been around when my ds was younger & in need of a convertible seat. He probably could have stayed r/fing in it until he was four since he was a string been and it has such a nice tall shell.