My sister gave me her infant seat, which she chose because it was the lightest one of three that fit in her stroller. And it's fine, so I never really did any research.
But, now I'm thinking about the convertible seat and there are SO MANY OPTIONS. Is there a website or list you thought was extra helpful? I may post to Car Seats for the Littles on FB, but I'm waiting until C's 9 month appt this week so I have accurate height and weight stats.
It's sort of overwhelming, right?
coconut / 8498 posts
I narrowed it down to three, went to a store that would let me try it in my car, and then I bought the one that fit.
pomelo / 5678 posts
I wanted one without flame retardants. I ended up getting one rated medium on that front- the britax cow print marathon.
eggplant / 11716 posts
@Foodnerd81: we have no idea what convertible seat to get, either! It's definitely a tough decision! I keep hearing that it has everything to do with the car you drive, but I need, like, a definitive lost of what works on our car.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I just went based on reviews on Amazon and my friends. We have 4 Britax seats.
pomelo / 5607 posts
We haven't 100% decided, but one of the biggest factors for us is how long they can remain rear-facing. There's a pretty good range of sizes on that front.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
Clek Foonf because:
-DD is tall and I want to RF as long as possible
-Love the extra safety features like crumple zone technology
-It is a beast and i feel like it would protect her well in the event of a crash
-I like that she can sit up high and see out the window when RF
-I like the small footprint and the fact it doesn't take up a massive amount of room width wise
I knew we would be using it for many years so I didn't find the price that bad when you averaged it out per year. She's been in it for about a month now and we both love it so far !
GOLD / pomegranate / 3688 posts
I knew I wanted a Britax, so I looked at the Lucie's List reviews because she provides a really good description of the differences between models. Ultimately, we decided on the Pavilion because I like that the straps click when they are tight enough.
papaya / 10473 posts
I read a great run-down on Babble, and we ended up choosing the Chicco NextFit because of the high weight/height limits, ease of use, ease of installation, the size/way it fit in our car, etc. It was their top rated carseat.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
It was super hard to decide! I had my heart/mind set on the diono radian... but it ended up being too tall for RF in our car. We weren't ready to FF him by the time he moved up to a convertible either. It was also one of the most expensive options we'd looked at.
I read hundreds of reviews on tons of carseats, and ultimately we chose the Recaro because 1. diapers.com was having a 30% off sale so we paid like $175 which I figured is a great price for a convertible... 2. it had great safety and personal reviews.
We love it. It fits in our car, it's comfortable, safe and easy to install. I'm happy with our choice.
pomegranate / 3858 posts
We're deciding between Foonf, Peg and Radian convertibles...hopefully by the weekend! We want something that will rear face a long time, doesn't need to be top tethered while RF, and so etching narrowish. So hard!
squash / 13764 posts
I went by amazon reviews and the car seat for the littles blog. LO is tall so I wanted something that would allow him to RF at least til 3 if I wanted to, something that would allow us to do 2 carseats and a passenger in the future, something that didn't take up a ton of space, and something that looked nice. I love our carseat (peg perego primo viaggio).
I think if your LO is of average height and weight, and you don't have a small car, you have a TON of options and it really depends on your price point.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
Umm I liked the way it looked? Sad, but true. Figured if I am going to have to look at it for years I might as well like it! It also has high weight/height limits which was important to us because I'd like to RF til at least 2. I also read that the material is great for babies that run warm--they don't get all hot and sweaty. We have the Maxi Cosi Pria.
grapefruit / 4903 posts
I did a a ton of research, and in the end I got it down to three choices - the Chicco Nextfit, the Diono Radian and the Clek Foonf. We went to the store and tried DD in all three of them, and much to my chagrin, she hated the Nextfit. I think it would be a matter of personal taste, but the nextfit really cradled her more, where the Foonf seems to have a lot more space or felt more roomy. We tried them in our car (a sedan), and surprisingly the Foonf fit the best by far, so it was the winner on all fronts. We've been really happy with it!
pear / 1696 posts
We choose the Diono Radian. Love that it is narrow so you can fit 2-3 across in some cars. It also folds for travel. Like @Mrs. Pen we found it too tall, but got the angle adjuster and so now it fits in my VW Jetta!
http://www.amazon.com/Diono-60320-Radian-Angle-Adjuster/dp/B006I1QTYQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1398812643&sr=1-2
pear / 1642 posts
Nissan puts out a list of car seats that are the best fits in their cars, so I started with that list and narrowed it down from there based on the rf limits, price, and features I wanted.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@Foodnerd81: How often are you in the car with LO? If I remember correctly it's not too often?
grapefruit / 4442 posts
We decided on which one was the best fit for our car, safety ratings, speaking with parents that had the seat and how much room it would take up in the back seat.
We ended up choosing the Diono Radian RXT
grapefruit / 4278 posts
I used this website to check out the stats on a bunch of different convertible seats. http://www.carseatmoms.com/reviewpost/g21-convertible-carseat-reviews-and-ratings.html
I made a decision and went into the store to see it in person and hated the seat I picked out. But I found the Graco mysize 70 there and did some quick research and ended up LOVING it. E is tall, and it has the highest RF height limit on the market. We were at BRU, so they let us take it out to the car it fit well in my small Mazda 3. The price point was excellent, so we were sold.
The carseats for the littles group will tell you that price is not an indication of improved safety. The best carseat for your child it the one that installs the best in your car and fits your child the best.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I feel like just 4 years ago, when I was in the market, there weren't as many options as there are now and I wasn't as informed. I went with a Britax because it was a brand I knew.
If I had to make the choice again today, I feel like I would choose differently. Now, when I needed a second convertible, I actually chose a harness to booster seat instead since we were already forward facing.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Super difficult to decide so I left it up to Wagon Sr. ! He loves researching these kinds of things. I believe he decided on Britax as a brand because of the safety features. And both of our seats (one high back booster, one convertible) have full side impact protection, which our old convertible did not (we had an older model, which we now use as a backup seat and store in the garage).
Oh: we have a Pinnacle 90 and Marathon 70.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Read reviews on Britax ones, there were a few on NBD at a great price right around the time we were thinking of switching so I just bought them!
Pavilion and Advocate
papaya / 10343 posts
I actually just decided on a convertible for my husband's car. Long story short, we decided to do an infant seat for my car and a convertible for his car because LO won't ride in his car hardly at all for the first 4 mo, and not much after that, and and it seemed silly to waste money on another infant seat or base for not much use out of it.
I used this website: http://carseatblog.com/carseatblogcoms-recommended-car-seats/. And then googled around a bit more. I decided on the Graco Size4Me because it seems to have generous height/weight limits so we can ERF, while still being safe for teeny tiny babies initially. Also it seems well rated for safety and ease of installation, and it wasn't too expensive which was important to me since we have a lot to buy right now and LO won't be in DH's car a ton anyways (like probably less than 5 miles/week, if that).
When we go to buy a convertible for my car we may pony up more for a really top rated one like the Clek Foonf because it seems super duper safest and she'll primarily be in my car, especially for all of our longer road trips. Plus I like that she could look out the back window in it.
persimmon / 1343 posts
I asked the CSFTL group for suggestions based on my dd's height and my car and then went to Baby's R Us to check them out in person which really sealed the deal for me. I loooove my Nextfit! It is very compact front-to-back and was super easy to install, and overall it seemed like a good quality and comfortable seat that will last a long time RF. 
I bought it at Target when they had a great sale (and used my target card & ebates!)
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
Started with car seats for littles and got some recommendations. Compared reviews on amazon. Chose maxi cosi pria for my car (primary) because comfort for LO was important to me and it looked (and is) cushy. Also it's compact and fits really well in my car. Britax roundabout for my husbands car, which she rarely rides in. This one was harder to install, and takes up a little more space, but it works well, had great reviews, etc.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@lawbee11: You are correct, we aren't in the car that often. A couple of short drives a week, usually, but we will also be driving to visit my family more often, which is a 4-5 hour drive. But yeah, definitely we aren't in the car every day or anything.
pear / 1517 posts
We tried a bunch out in our car and then I searched reviews. We ended up with a Britax and I love it.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
I blindly chose the Britax Marathon based on everyone's Britax raves. Dumb mistake, since it has a short shell and I wanted my son to ERF! The baby will be moving into it shortly, so not a total waste, but we now have a Diono Radian RXT for my almost 3 year-old. Great seat. Britax is, too, just not for taller kids if you want to ERF.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Mrs. Yoyo: How do you know if your kid is going to be a taller kid? C has consistently been 50th percentile in height and weight, for a girl, so I feel like she isn't "tall", but I do know i want to ERF.
clementine / 828 posts
LO is tall, so I knew I wanted a something with a high rear facing limit. I eliminated Diono Radian because it got such bad ratings on consumer reports, I did not want to need a wedge, and I was just not interested in it. I eliminated the Clek Foonf for price. I was left with the Graco MySize and Chicco Nextfit. I went to the store with DH, and he chose the Nextfit, because we are happy with the Keyfit, liked the many recline levels, and figured it was worth a little extra money for more comfort for LO, because he will use it for a long time.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@Foodnerd81: Well, he had been 75th-80th percentile consistently, but more importantly, he carries all his height in his torso, which means he outgrows seats faster because of the "inch from the top of the shell" rule. So you have to look not only at height but where your child carries it. If your LO is more legs, I probably wouldn't worry as much at 50th percentile. I might if she's all torso.
apricot / 468 posts
We went with top safety ratings as our #1 priority. We also asked friends and looked at Amazon reviews. We chose the Britax Advocate.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Well C was 33% for height today, so I'm gonna say I'm overthinking this! But all these comments are super helpful. I feel like any seat with be ok for erf for her.
pomegranate / 3858 posts
@Foodnerd81: I'm in the same boat - it makes the decision difficult!
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@Foodnerd81: @tinyperson: That's good, though, it means you'll be relatively safe with most choices.
http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats/best-convertible-car-seats-0
^ Shameless plug, since I wrote this 
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