We are going to visit DH's parents when my LO will be around five months old. I'm flying alone with her and really don't want to bring the infant carseat. They offered to buy a carseat but asked me to pick one out. Since we only go there 3-4 times a year, I am thinking getting a convertible seat makes the most sense. Does anyone have any suggestions for easy, safe and fairly inexpensive options? I was thinking about getting a britax for us eventually, but I'd rather them not spend a ton of many since the seat will only be used about three weeks a year. Thank you!
-
My parents have a Britax Roundabout and my ILs have a Cosco Scenera. While the Britax is definitely the one I prefer, the Scenera will be able to be used longer. It's kind of difficult to get a good rf install, but not too bad after you've done it once. For 3 weeks a year, I would go for the Scenera.
-
I bought my parents an Evenflo Sureride. It's known to be a good option for extended rear facing and it's only around $80.
-
We just bought a safety first guide 65 as a secondary car seat--it was like $80 and way more padded than the cheaper option.
-
@Weagle: thanks! Just how difficult is the RF install? I'm picturing my FIL trying to get the carseat in before picking us up at the airport...
@bisous: thank you! I will check that out.
-
@Zbug: It can be hard to get the angle right and get it tight. I pretty much had it down after 2-3 installs. Make sure they bring a beach towel to help get the angle right. To be honest, I tend to reinstall at the airport every time. My ILs don't seem to care about learning how to do a correct install, so I'd rather do it myself.
-
@bisous: will look into that too. Thanks!
@Weagle: hmm. Do you know if RF is a bit difficult with all convertible seats or is this issue specific to the scenera? I'm nervous
-
@Zbug: The Scenera is known for having a difficult rf install. Really, if it's only 3 times a year, you wouldn't have to deal with it much. The ff install is really easy. As far as others, it depends on the seat and the car. I think Britax seats are super easy to install rf, but I've had trouble installing them in a few cars. It's a compatibility thing.
-
Maybe you could check and see if there's a place close to them that will help with car seat installations? Most of the more cost-effective seats can be a bit of a pain to install, and you'd hate to be fixing it at the airport. But I'd second the suggestion of the Evenflo Sureride - it's under $100 and I've heard it's fairly easy to install even if they don't have any help.
While I understand that bringing along the car seat on the plane can be expensive and annoying, I feel obligated to throw it out there that it is what the FAA recommends doing so that your LO is safe should you encounter any turbulence, particularly during the take-off and landing (http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/)
-
@Weagle: thank you so much. Extremely helpful.
-
Graco makes good seats as well. I have the Graco My Ride and my parents can manage the install with LATCH quite well. It has the exact same dimensions as the Britax Marathon, FYI.
I also have the Cosco Scenera for travel only and that seat has so many drawbacks, I wouldn't even bother. We used it for three years, on airplanes and in cars without a LATCH system and it's been good, but the straps are very difficult to tighten in a forward facing position and as mentioned above, the rear facing install is incredibly difficult without a pool noodle or rolled up towel.
-
The Evenflo Tribute is on sale on Amazon for $47 right now.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PB2B6O?tag=babycheap-20
I have a Graco seat too (My Size 70) and I LOVE it. Really easy to install, not super heavy, comfortable for her and has high RFing height limits.
-
@looch: @loveisstrange: thank you!! Looking at all of this now.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
12 comments