What carseats do you like?

We're looking for our next step up carseats and I've gotten recommendations for the Safety 1st Complete Air convertible. (We were looking for something low profile so that when the girls are able to, they can climb in easier, but also something that's extended use for the 5pt harness.)

opcorn:

 

We use the Britax Boulevard car seat and love it!

 

Sunshine Radians are low profile and great for extended use for 5 point harness.

 

I wish I'd gotten these, and still might get a set...

Here's how I make decisions... by numbers...
anyway on my "spreadsheet" of comparisons the one you're looking at the Complete Air only went to 45" for forward facing... and several other options go to 50" or like the Sunshine Radian goes to 53". not sure how long you want to use it... on my growth chart 45" is close to 5-6 yrs old at 50%. anyway, good luck making your decisions!

Mine is the Recaro and it is not a low profile which is why I wished I had the Sunshine Radians. Mine goes to 50" tall and it seems like it will last a long time.

 

I luuuuuurve my Graco Nautilus's but I don't know if you are ready to forward face or not. My kids can climb into them themselves already, so helpful!

 

We have these as well. The kids can climb into them now--have been able to for 6 mos or so.

 

After much deliberation we ended up with the Evenflo Triumph Advance and really love them. They had one of the higher weight limits for rear-facing. It is a really luxurious seat compared to those infant carriers!

 

We have the Britax Marathon and love it as well! I can't believe how easy they are to install. Good luck, they're so many great seats out there now!

 

We have the Britax Marathons and love them as well. These seats are easy to put in and take out. Also I can fit 3 seats wide in the back seat of my SUV. The bases are slim enough. They recline which is a nice feature. We were deciding between the Britax and the Sunshine Radians. We chose the Britax only because I got an amazing deal on them. I couldn't pass them up. I have a good friend that has the Sunshine Radian and its also an amazing seat.

 

I love my Britax Marathons. But, they do have the deep side shells--if you are trying to avoid that so they can climb in better, than I think you would be happier with the Complete Airs.

 

My older son, who is 6, is in a Nautlius and I do love that seat - a lot! But no, I'm not ready to go FF for them yet. I had him in a Triumph Advance before the Nautilus and I really didn't it like it that much, honestly. Plus, it has a high "foot" on the seat, and I really want something low.

I will definitely look into the Radian's. Thanks for the info on the seat heights on the Complete Air. My son is already 51" and he's not even 6-1/2. Both our girls are in the 90th percentile for height too (which is weird because I'm a complete shrimp! ) I really want this to be a long-term seat, especially since we have to buy two and that gets really expensive!!

Thanks again!!

 

These for us, too. You can fit three of these in the back seat of most larger cars and SUVs!

 

What I have heard is that Radians are a really difficult install in some cars (I don't have one myself, but this was a factor for us in not getting one). So I would check on your specific vehicle before investing in them.

There is a new version of the Complete Air--the Complete Air 65. It goes up to 65 pounds, but I'm not sure about the height limit. I saw it at TRU and BRU.

 

We have the Complete Airs and do NOT recommend them. They are a complete PIA. They don't tighten or loosing (the harness straps when you're putting them in) at all. And trust me we have tried just about everything to "fix" it. We have a set of Cosco sceneras in my husband's Tahoe and I love them!

 

We have a Marathon and a Radian. I won't buy another Radian altho they are great seats, hard to install rear facing and we will rear face till they out weigh the seats rear facing weight limit. The Marathon is an older one and only rear faces till 33lbs. It also expires next May so we are in need of another seat pronto!! I have my eye on a Britax Boulevard after doing tons of research.

 

We have 2 Evenflo Triumph Advance seat and like them, although they are pretty big seats. We also have a Sunshine Radian seat. It doesn't fit our car the best rear-facing and it reclines a lot. It doesn't appear that we can adjust the angle unless we could do a top tether (which we can't). I think it will be a great seat for FF, though. I love how narrow it is and that it allows us to fit 3 seats across our SUV.

 

I like these as well but I see you are not ready for forward facing.. no biggie! I kept my youngest rear facing until he was 2!!! (much to my family's dismay) Good choice!

This is what we have for my youngest! I love it!

 

Just posting to close the loop on our long and windy decision making process!!

We finally selected The First Years TrueFit seat - the 630 model. They have rear facing until 35lbs, FF with 5pt harness to 65lbs. I liked that they had a removable headrest that you don't need to install until they are 22lb. The covers snap off so you don't have to belt rethreading when you wash the covers, and the shoulder belts adjust heights without rethreading, which is a HUUUUGE plus for me. The price was also very good. I installed them this weekend, and although I found that to be quite the PITA, they seem to fit really well and are solidly built. Now, just have to try them out! Our littler twin has a dr. appointment on Wednesday, so we'll see how she likes them!

 

Thanks for the update! I hope they work well for you!

 

I hope they work fantastic for you

 

I thought of those, but I was trying to get something skinnier... anyway, the covers that came off easy looked like a wonderful feature! and the headrest part too! glad to know they seem to have a great fit!

 

Yes, they are kinda wide. But since we have them in the captain's chairs of the middle row in the the minivan, that wasn't a factor for us. The covers are really nice. There's nothing I hate more than rethreading carseat belts - except maybe changing crib sheets x 2.

 

Sunshine Radian. Love them. Low profile. Boys have been climbing in and out since we got them at a year. I was looking for something that had a higher rear-facing weight limit. They go up to 45 lbs rear-facing.

A friend of my has the complete air and hates it.

We had no problems installing them rear-facing.

 

I just got a set for our travel seats and I totally agree!!!!! I'm gonna sell them and get Sceneras.

I've heard really good things about the TrueFits so I hope you like them.