britax regent or frontier

Hi all! My boys are almost 4 and we need to upgrade their car seats to a booster. My boys are in the low 30 lbs and are just shy of 40" tall. I'm looking at these two seats (despite the cost), because their seat to shoulder height is already 15" and the regent goes to 20" and the frontier to 21.5". I want them in 5 pt harness as long as possible. They also go up to 80 lbs and 100 lbs respectively but think the boys will reach the height requirement well before the weight.

Just curious if anyone has them and what they like/don't like about them. I have a 2006 honda odyssey and the seats will go in the captain type chairs (not a bench seat) in the back so size isn't really an issue (at least I don't think so).

I'm looking at the Safety 1st Apex 65 and Sunshine Radian also but am leaning towards the Britax for the reasons above. I've never owned a Britax before.

Any info much appreciated!!!

Mendy

 

I don't have them. I have the Marathons and I think we'll hit the height before the weight as well.

I am wondering if www.carseat.org will have more info???????

 

We have Regents and love them. They are, however, absolutely massive. We have them installed in a Ford Focus wagon and there is maybe six inches between them. The leg room could become a problem as the children continue to grow. They installed very easily and height-wise, my children have lots of room left and are just hitting 4.5 yo. I don't know how tall they are but they're probably both around 35 pounds. I've bought two sets of car seats at elitecarseats.com and if you call, they offer a multiples discount. The reason I've used them is that they also offer, sometimes for free, return shipping insurance. I think it's a small percentage of the purchase price but seats like these weigh so much that if you do need to return them, the shipping can be crazy! We also have Radians and those are nice and the children fit well but they will definitely be in the Regents for a lot longer.

 

I would look at the height of the seat you have now to help yo udecide. Just wondering which seats you have now?
I have the marathon and also think my girls will be too tall for them before they are 65 pounds.

 

We have a Regent for my 4.5 year old. He's 41lbs and about 40inches - and he has plenty of room to grow in that seat. We love it, too. Like a PP mentioned, it is a giant of a seat, though. So it is definitely not one you would want to move around from car to car or need to take out a lot. We have a Toyota Sienna and it is in one of the captains chairs and it fits just fine there.

We are a Britax family - my twin boys ride in Marathons and my older DS still easily fits in his MA that goes in my DH's Jeep Wrangler.

Good luck with your decision!

 

QUOTE(ljcrochet @ Mar 14 2009, 10:07 AM) [snapback]1227677[/snapback]
Just wondering which seats you have now?


I have the Evenflo Triumps convertible seats. They've been in them since they outgrew their infant carriers. These will be my first Britax.

 

QUOTE(me&myboys @ Mar 13 2009, 01:21 PM) [snapback]1226589[/snapback]
Hi all! My boys are almost 4 and we need to upgrade their car seats to a booster. My boys are in the low 30 lbs and are just shy of 40" tall. I'm looking at these two seats (despite the cost), because their seat to shoulder height is already 15" and the regent goes to 20" and the frontier to 21.5". I want them in 5 pt harness as long as possible. They also go up to 80 lbs and 100 lbs respectively but think the boys will reach the height requirement well before the weight.

Mendy


The top shoulder harness slots on the Regent do go to 20", but the top slots on the Frontier are only 18.25", not 21.5" as you mention above (you can see the car seat measurements here: http://www.carseatdata.org/cnt/resources/C...t-Measurements ). That means that the Regent will harness a fair bit longer than the Frontier. However, the Frontier will turn into a high-backed booster seat later and, as I understand it, it is a very good booster seat and the tallest one on the market. If harnessing for as long as possible is your primary goal, then I'd go with the Regent. However, then you will still have to buy a booster seat once that is outgrown. If you buy a Frontier, then you will still be able to harness for quite a while longer and then will have a good booster. It will be your last seat.

Another option which is similar to the Frontier in function (harnesses with high slots and then turns into a good booster) is the Graco Nautilus. It is cheaper than the Frontier and its top slots may be about a quarter inch higher, but it is not as roomy in the shoulders or as deep in the seat as the Frontier, which can be a problem as your children grow bigger in it. I understand that the Nautilus is easier to install than the Frontier, so if you move the seats very often, this might be a consideration.

My kids are currently in Radians. We just moved up from the Roundabout and I would have bought a Frontier or Nautilus if space wasn't an issue in our car (we have a CRV and wanted to still be able to fit another passenger in the back seat on occasion - that wouldn't have been possible with a larger seat).

 

QUOTE(T.O. Twins @ Mar 14 2009, 11:22 PM) [snapback]1228608[/snapback]
The top shoulder harness slots on the Regent do go to 20", but the top slots on the Frontier are only 18.25", not 21.5" as you mention above (you can see the car seat measurements here: http://www.carseatdata.org/cnt/resources/C...t-Measurements ). That means that the Regent will harness a fair bit longer than the Frontier. However, the Frontier will turn into a high-backed booster seat later and, as I understand it, it is a very good booster seat and the tallest one on the market. If harnessing for as long as possible is your primary goal, then I'd go with the Regent. However, then you will still have to buy a booster seat once that is outgrown. If you buy a Frontier, then you will still be able to harness for quite a while longer and then will have a good booster. It will be your last seat.

Another option which is similar to the Frontier in function (harnesses with high slots and then turns into a good booster) is the Graco Nautilus. It is cheaper than the Frontier and its top slots may be about a quarter inch higher, but it is not as roomy in the shoulders or as deep in the seat as the Frontier, which can be a problem as your children grow bigger in it. I understand that the Nautilus is easier to install than the Frontier, so if you move the seats very often, this might be a consideration.

My kids are currently in Radians. We just moved up from the Roundabout and I would have bought a Frontier or Nautilus if space wasn't an issue in our car (we have a CRV and wanted to still be able to fit another passenger in the back seat on occasion - that wouldn't have been possible with a larger seat).


Thanks Natasha! I did look again at the specs for Frontier and saw the 18.5" for 5 pt harness. I should have updated my original post! I read about the Nautilus, but there were lots of complaints about the strap between the legs not fitting right and people had to use it as a booster when they wanted the 5 pt harness. We won't be moving the seats around -- they will stay in my van so once it's in, it is in except for removing the seats every six months or so to clean . I took my boys to try the Regent yesterday. Their shoulders are already at the 2nd slot up so they have 2 more slots to move. I'm trying to decide between the Regent and the Frontier.

Thanks everyone for your responses!!!

Mendy