Help me decide what is the best carseat for my 3 year olds

What do you have, and do you like it? What do you not like about yours? I would like them to be in a five point harness yet though. THanks!

 

I just got an Evenflo Triumph Advanced LX for my youngest. It goes up to 50 lbs!

 

Thanks for asking about this Tasha. I was realizing the other day that we're going to need new seats probably this summer, so I've started researching. If I find any great info, I will pass it along also. :good:

 

We have/had the Evenflo Triumph Advance for the twins. I love them. My older DD had the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 and when I bought that I had no idea that she would be 4 and out of the forward facing weight limit for the 5 point harness. I dont think she is ready to be in a booster seat. So I did alot of research on Consumer Reports and I decided to get the Britax Marathon to use for her for the 5 point harness and the 65 pound forward facing harness limit. She loves it and looks so comfy in it. I am so glad that I got it and feel so confident that she will be in a 5-point harness for at least another couple of years. Well, my Dad bought 2 more Marathons for the boys for Christmas. So now we are a Marathon family.

 

It will be a long time before my kids are out of these seats weight wise but these are the ones I have and I love them both. In my car are Britax Decathlons. I love these seats. They go up to 65 lbs forward facing and my girls are really comfortable in them. I also love that the harness adjusts easy and I can loosen and tighten it as needed

My other set of seats are in DH car and are the Sunshine Radian 65 and we got these earlier this year when we needed two sets of seats. These seats are also 5pt harness seats and go up to 65lbs. Thay also make one that goes up to 80. I love this seat because they are a much more low profile seat and it looks like the girls are sitting in a regular seat. My only problem is that as soon as they girls weight goes in the seat it becomes really hard to adjust the straps if they need it.

 

I have three Britax Marathons (65 lb. weight limit) and am about to buy two new ones for my twins. I am a Britax Mommy all the way!

 

We have the Sunshine Radian 80's. We got them because we needed to put three carseats across the back row and those are the only ones skinny enough to fit, they were also getting close to outgrowing the Roundabouts. Funny how when I bought them I thought 40 lbs is sooo far off! Now they are about 5 lbs away. Anyway, we really like the Radians. Like a PP said, they sit more like they are just sitting in the car and not so "carseat-y". They seem more grown-up, and they are much easier for the kids to climb in and out of themselves. The only downside is that the straps are kind of hard to tighten, you have to pull a weird way to do it. But, they go up to 80 lbs, so we won't have to get yet another carseat or booster, this is it!

 

We have the boys in Evenflo Triumph Advances. They go to 50lbs and 50in. They are great seats!! Dont break the bank either!

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Dec 27 2008, 11:37 PM) [snapback]1123512[/snapback]
We have the Sunshine Radian 80's. We got them because we needed to put three carseats across the back row and those are the only ones skinny enough to fit, they were also getting close to outgrowing the Roundabouts. Funny how when I bought them I thought 40 lbs is sooo far off! Now they are about 5 lbs away. Anyway, we really like the Radians. Like a PP said, they sit more like they are just sitting in the car and not so "carseat-y". They seem more grown-up, and they are much easier for the kids to climb in and out of themselves. The only downside is that the straps are kind of hard to tighten, you have to pull a weird way to do it. But, they go up to 80 lbs, so we won't have to get yet another carseat or booster, this is it!


Does that mean that they sit lower in the seat? I need to get a second set of sets for DH's car. The marathons block too much of the window for driving.

 

QUOTE(ljcrochet @ Dec 28 2008, 12:26 AM) [snapback]1123537[/snapback]
Does that mean that they sit lower in the seat? I need to get a second set of sets for DH's car. The marathons block too much of the window for driving.


If you mean that the girls will not be sitting up as high in the car you are correct. There is no big base on the bottom of the Radian 65/80 carseats. If you want to see them I can have DH leave his car home one day and take mine instead then we can get together and you can check the seat out.

I don't want to hijack this thread so send me a PM. Talk to you later.

 

I'd get Radians. The top slots are 19" (it's 18" but you can go over by 1") compared to only 17.5 for Marathon and Triumph and the weight limit is the same (I have the 65). It will last most children until age 6 or so. My 4 1/2 yo still has room to grow and she's 95%. The Marathon and Triumph they'll outgrow quicker ... the height limit that is. The Radian will buy you more time, and they'll be in a 5-point harnass longer. They're great narrow seats. Radian life span is also 7-8 years so longer than Britax and most brands.

My twins are still in Marathons, oldest is in Radian 65. I wish I had 3 Radians, but I already had the 2 Marathons.

 

We had the Britax Roundabouts and because the girls were really comfortable with them and we go on relatively long car rides, we decided on the Britax Regent. They are large and comfortable! The girls love them and they can ride in it until they are 12...just kidding..until they can sit in a regular seat. I like the Britax quality and felt it was worth getting. We just returned today from a 5 hour car ride and they slept about an hour and a half each in them.

Just a note. there are two different fabrics. One is the suede like fabric that the Roundabouts have and the other is a "plastic" like cover. I did not realize this and ordered the plastic ones first...I chose based on color. I didn't care for that cover and returned it to get the regular material.

 

My FIL purchased the Britax Boulevard CS seats for both of our boys. WE LOVE THEM! They are so comfy in them. The day we changed from their infant carriers to these seats changed our traveling! They were only 8 months old when we changed over...and still well within the weight limit.

These seats also go up to the 65 lbs and 49 inches.


Good luck, I know I fretted over which seat to choose.

 

Graco Nautilus!! No time to post now, but check out the reviews on Amazon. I am a die-hard Britax fan, but I just bought one of these for each car for my almost-5-year-old, when I had to replace a lot of car seats after an accident.