next carseat option

well since Ian is 40 in tall I think we officially need new a new carseat for him - we have Evenflo Triumph convertible seats (that we've used since they were 6 mos old) - he's no where near the poundage limit but is at the height limit...

of course my penny pinching father suggested I wait till he's OVER 40 inches but the manual says 40 in or less....please don't lambaste him - he comes from a time where there were no carseats so having to get new ones every few years confounds him...I tried to gently explain neck and whiplash issues should an accident happen and he thinks that its just the carseat manufacturer's way of getting you to spend money (which I can see - his head is not even over the top of the seat)

but I digress.....so what's your recommendation? I was looking at the Graco Nautilus - seems like a good seat....anyone have them? The good, bad and ugly?


ok be back - someone's gotta poop!

 

Before I even read your post I was going to put Graco Nautilus. I have been doing some research and I think this is the next seat were going to go with. My boys are in the Evenflo Triumph Advance right now and it says 50lbs 50in so were set for a bit but the next seats we buy with be the Graco Nautilus. The Triumphs are the boys 3rd carseats and when we switch to the Graco Nautilus It will be the 4th and final b/c its a 3 in 1 which I like. I LOVE the fact that they can be in a 5 point harness until they are 65 lbs. That is VERY important. There are certain bones in a child body that are not developed enough to be in a booster with just a seatbelt even though the manufacture says its ok for a child that size to be in one.

research makes all the difference and I think the Graco Nautilus is an excellent choice and should take you till they are out of carseats all together.

 

We have the Graco Nautilus for Nadia, and I'm really happy with it. She is still harnessed in it, at about 47 inches tall, and 43 pounds. It's comfortable for her, and she likes the cup holder. It's easy to install, both with LATCH and the seatbelt. I also like that it's the last seat that we'll have to buy for her, as it converts to a booster, and then a backless booster.

I had to take the entire thing apart and hose it down, and machine-wash the cover, after a vomiting incident -- and had no problems doing that. The cover washed up well.

My only complaint is that the quality is not quite on par with a more expensive seat like the Britax or Radian (my younger two are in Radians). We have two Nautiluses -- one for each car -- and the chest clip on the one in my car sticks a little bit, and is hard to undo. Not the biggest deal, but annoying, especially when my 5-year-old can't undo it herself.

But, in terms of what you get for the price -- especially being able to harness to 65 pounds -- I'd absolutely recommend this seat.

 

I agree that the Graco Nautilus would be a good next seat for you all to allow you to harness longer, and then it will convert to a decent booster. The other seat that fits that bill that I would also recommend is the Britax Frontier. There are pluses and minuses to both seats. The Frontier is more expensive than the Nautilus, but it is roomier (more shoulder space and more space in the crotch strap area) and is the tallest high-back booster on the market, so it will last longer that way. The Frontier can be difficult to install in some vehicles until you learn the tricks, but the Nautilus cannot be installed in cars where the base of the car seat overhangs the vehicle seat. If possible, I would suggest trying out your kids in the two seats AND trying out the seats in your car to see which one you like better or which one is a better fit for your situation. Both are good seats.

That said, you may have a bit more time in your Triumph Advance. While car seat weight limits are set in stone, the height limits are not. A child out-grows a forward facing seat when the weight limit is reached OR the shoulders go over the top slots OR the top tips of the ears are past the top of the car seat plastic shell (FYI - seats are outgrown rear-facing when the child reaches the weight limit OR the head is less than 1 inch from the top of the shell). If you have a kid who is all legs, you may have a while left in the Triumph Advance.

 

We just bought the Graco Nautilus for the girls since they were getting so tall for their Roundabouts. I love the seat!! One thing to add that (I don't think was mentioned above) is that it's a steel frame, so better than others should it ever be in an accident.

With a BRU coupon and the twins discount we ended paying around $134 per seat. I think elitecarseats.com offers a twin discount, if you call in your order, and they offer free shipping.

 

We bought the Nautilus seats when the boys got too tall for their Triumphs but were clearly not ready for a booster. They're working great for us!

 

I would agree on the Nautilus, but wanted to say that my 95% 5 yo (turned 5 last week, she's no longer 95% for weight, just height) has been happy in a Radian 65 since age 3 1/2 (when she outgrew the Marathon heightwise) and still has room to grow ... I would say at least another year, possibly longer!

 

Thanks girls!!

Radian's and Britax are out of my price range...with BRU coupons and twins discount I'll get the Nautilus's for about $130 a seat - think I'm going tonight!

 

Awesome! One last note about it, if your kids still fall asleep in the car, read the page about how to set it up in the recline position. I didn't do this before we put them in and the girls heads slump forward when they sleep in the car now. I've been too lazy to drag the seats back out of the car to fix it, but will do so soon.

 

Amy - do it!!! I got the Nautilus for both kids a few months back and I only wish they had had them when I bought my convertible seats. I have no complaints, and I love how they convert to high back and then backless boosters. I got a great deal on them at BRU with the twin discount, a coupon, and the fact that one rang up less than advertised.

 

We got the Nautilus for them for Christmas, the best price I found was walmart.com with .97 cents shipping. I bought one to see if I liked it at 110 about a week later it was up to 120 something, so I bought the 2nd one before the price went up again.
My sister works in a child's hospital and has seen horror stories about no/wrong etc carseat and is a car seat safety advocate and her choice after the Britax is the Nautilus.

Hope you find them at a good price!

 

Very helpful thread! Thanks!

 

When I looked up the Nautilus I thought - Not in a million years would I spend that much on a car seat - but after looking at several others and realizing there arent many options out there for a carseat that has the 5-point harness and then also converts to high back booster, then backless. . thats actually a pretty good deal since you would never have to buy another car seat. I would just have to come up with the money to buy 4 of them!

 

I bought the Graco Turboboosters this past weekend, after reading consumer reports and some reviews. Now this thread has me re-thinking that decision. My mom thinks this is just an industry preying on parents' fears, and that there's really no reason to be 5-pt harness restrained, or to not put the child in a booster with a shouler/lap belt. I'm torn.

My kids are 4 now, 41 in. tall, but 37 lbs. Plus or minus fractions. They are tall and skinny. I have Decathlons in my car, which are fine for a while yet, but DH has a smaller seat in his car (I think the Evenflo Triumph, but waiting for him to get home to confirm) that I'm pretty sure the kids have outgrown height-wise.

I'm just not sure what's the best thing to do. And yes, I'll spend the money if it's worth it, but would rather not if it's just marketing. Does anyone have links to the safety of the booster and shoulder/lap belt vs. the full 5-pt harness? Consumer reports doesn't rate the Nautilus or Frontier, so I'm out of luck there.

Thanks.

 

We have 2 graco nautilus -- great car seats that last forever at a good price. We got ours at walmart back when they were 120.00 and i think the price has gone up since then. Anyway-- here is a good website to let you know about the importance of 5 point harnasses..

www.kyledavidmiller.org

 

QUOTE(AlphaBeta @ May 26 2009, 04:11 PM) [snapback]1328659[/snapback]
I bought the Graco Turboboosters this past weekend, after reading consumer reports and some reviews. Now this thread has me re-thinking that decision. My mom thinks this is just an industry preying on parents' fears, and that there's really no reason to be 5-pt harness restrained, or to not put the child in a booster with a shouler/lap belt. I'm torn.

My kids are 4 now, 41 in. tall, but 37 lbs. Plus or minus fractions. They are tall and skinny. I have Decathlons in my car, which are fine for a while yet, but DH has a smaller seat in his car (I think the Evenflo Triumph, but waiting for him to get home to confirm) that I'm pretty sure the kids have outgrown height-wise.

I'm just not sure what's the best thing to do. And yes, I'll spend the money if it's worth it, but would rather not if it's just marketing. Does anyone have links to the safety of the booster and shoulder/lap belt vs. the full 5-pt harness? Consumer reports doesn't rate the Nautilus or Frontier, so I'm out of luck there.

Thanks.


Definitely keep your kids harnessed longer. At a bare minimum, they should be 40 pounds before you put them in a booster, but ideally they should not move to a booster full time until at least age 5 or 6 when they are more mature physically and emotionally.

Here’s a link to a hand-out about extended harnessing. http://www.carseatsite.com/EH_handout.pdf . The section about “Products with a harness for children over 40 pounds” is not fully up to date, but the information about safety is still good. Two products which come to mind as missing from the list of high weight harnessing seats are the Britax Frontier, which also has about 18” top slots and converts into a great high-back booster (the tallest on the market) and the brand-new Graco My Ride, which I think has about 17 inch top slots and is the only seat on the market which allows you to rear face to 40 pounds (assuming you don’t have a really tall kid).

Also, here's a link to a another video about High Weight Harnessing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04 . It's another emotional video, but it has some good information in it.