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i heard that especially in the rear-facing position, the straps are hard to tighten. we have a britax marathon and have a similar issue. i think it's something about the positioning of rear-facing convertible seats.

but otherwise, how do you like the nextfit? we were thinking about getting one for our other car.

@Smurfette: This was just recommended to us on car seats for littles. Did you get a good deal on it? I can't pay that much for a car seat, and I can't ask our family to pay that much (I think we've decided to get 2 convertibles, we'll buy one and ask for the other).

Also, I just read a review on amazon that suggested this process:
"1. Push the shoulder pads down as close to the chest clip as you can before tightening. Since the straps tighten from the shoulder holes, the shoulder pads get pulled back into the seat and put up a lot of resistance.
2. Don't buckle the chest clip until AFTER you've tightened the straps. For whatever reason, the straps tighten much easier when the chest clip is unbuckled. "

@Smurfette: wow- what a deal. convertible research is so much harder than infant seat. I just want someone to tell me what to get. We should probably go try a few out at a local store.

@Smurfette: yeah, and they suggested like 5. I think I've narrowed it down to the Pria 70, Nextfit (which is more than I"d like to buy, but we have a little time to look for a deal- one going on now at Albee but I'm not ready to pull the trigger), the Britax rounadbout and the Radian R100 which looks so uncomfortable, but I like how long she can use it.

I had such a hard time with this too! I found that if I pull the straps in the back first and then tighten them down it helps a lot!!

@Silva: Interesting suggestion about doing the chest clip after you tighten the straps. I'm going to try that!! I love this car seat but tightening the straps is tough! I feel like I'm going to have very strong forearms by the time we switch to forward facing!

@Smurfette: I heard people mention the tightening issues on Car Seats for the Littles. People say it gets easier with time though. And yes, apparently removing the strap covers helps. Glad to hear R likes it so far!

So great to see tips on the straps and I'll try buckling the chest clip after tightening... I've struggled with tightening the straps (feels like I will break my hand or wrist some days) since we installed it last year. Other than that, we love it. My DH says it was the easiest thing ever to install, it is comfy, looks sharp and doesn't take up too much room.

Just want to say that we also have this issue with our Radian -- it takes brute strength. Ugh.