Soooooooo... my DH got a job!! Yay! Now we have to drop LO off and pick her up from daycare in two different cars, so we need another carseat. I have a britax marathon and LOVE it, but i don't feel like spending $215 (i got it on sale!) Is there anything comprable that is less expensive. Obviously, i want her to be super safe, so should i suck it up and buy another britax?
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I love our Graco MyRide. I got it on sale for $100, but I think normally they're only $150.
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We have the Graco Sport and Evenflo Titan Elite, love them both and they have good safety ratings. All car seats need to meet safety standards. These were $75-$90 each.
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Here's the recommended list of seats for under $150 in the Car Seats for the Littles group:
Cosco APT:
Stats: $50, Rear facing to 40 lbs / 40” / head to the top of the 23” shell. Forward facing to 40 lbs with 14” top harness slots, 6 year expiration
Pros: Inexpensive, fits small newborns and preemies
Cons: Usually needs a pool noodle to install, will be outgrown rear and forward facing around age 3, seat is fairly wide, straps can be twisty.Safety 1st Guide 65:
Stats: $80, Rear facing to 40 lbs / 40” / head to the top of the 24” shell. Forward facing to 65 lbs with 17” top harness slots.
Pros: Inexpensive
Cons: Usually needs a pool noodle to install, does not fit newborns and young infants, straps can be twisty, headrest sometimes pushes kids' heads forward.Evenflo SureRide:
Stats: $100, Rear facing to 40 lbs / 40” / 1” from the top of the 25” shell. Forward facing to 65 lbs with 19” top harness slots, 6 year expiration.
Pros: Inexpensive, fits average size newborns, fairly easy to install, fairly narrow side to side.
Cons: Narrow set harness straps do not have strap covers and may irritate the child’s neck. Harness isn’t long enough to fit kids at the upper end of the seat’s weight limitGraco MyRide:
Stats: $130, rear facing to 40 lbs / head 1” from the top of the 25” shell. Forward facing to 65 or 70 lbs with 17” top harness slots, 6 year expiration for the 65 lb model, 7 year expiration for the 70 lb model.
Pros: Inexpensive, fits newborns.
Cons: Very wide, and very reclined for forward facing use so it loses a good amount of harness height growing room forward facing. -
@runsyellowlites: what is this pool noodle install thing??
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I agree that the Graco has a very reclined position when installed rear facing. I also hate that the buckles always fall down behind her when I put her in.
How expensive is a cheaper Britax?
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@yellowbird: All seats while rf require a specified angle, some are difficult to get installed at the correct angle with just the seats themselves b/c they want to go back to "flat" on the seat. You can use a pool noodle, or in some cases "pyramid" of noodles to ensure the angle is kept.
Here's a pic:
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Don't get the Scenera. I have one and it is not worth the hassle to install properly. I use it exclusively for an airplane seat.
I would get a Graco My Ride. It's $100 at Walmart. It's the exact same dimensions as the Britax Boulevard (I own both of these seats).
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We rolled up a towel to put under our Graco, it works fine!
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@Bao: awesome!
@runsyellowlites: ohhh okay! I never had a problem with my britax. Good to know! I wish you could try a seat out in your car for ease of install. Is that allowed??
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@yellowbird: I have the britax marathon G3-70 and love it too, for our second card we got the Graco myride 65.. it has decent reviews but we try to avoid using it because it doesnt feel as comfy or sturdy but LO cant tell the difference
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@yellowbird: BBB & BRU let you try them in your car
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We have two graco mysize 70s... it's different than the myride and didn't take up as much room front to back. We got ours on sale at BRU for $140.
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We got the Safety 1st carseat at Costco that Runsyellowlites mentioned for our 2nd/backup carseat... we have had no issues with it! Didn't start using it til she was already forward facing though so we never did the pool noodle thing.
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I'm probably going to go look at some tomorrow. We don't have a BBB here, but we do have a babies r us reasonably close. We need a new one by monday, so hopefully i find something this weekend!
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Also, this carseat will be going in a TINY 2 door hatchback. the smaller the better, but i would like it to last a reasonable amount of time. My lo is 20lbs at 12 months
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@yellowbird: I suggest joining the Car Seats for the Littles fb group where a tech with more seat vs car vs child size experience could chime in.
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