Car Seat Tips

UPDATE! 9/9/07 I installed this seat in the Passat center with seatbelt. See review body.

UPDATE! 3/24/07 I installed this seat in the Xterra center with lapbelt. See review body.

We recently purchased the new Recaro Vivo booster after using a Britax Parkway for almost 2 years (our daughter is 7 now). We liked the Parkway just fine, but the Vivo blows it away. First of all, the construction of the Vivo is just on a whole different level. I would expect the Vivo to cost $40-50 more than the Parkway, which seems almost flimsy in comparison. For the Vivo to be the same price is a real bargain. The plastic is thick and solid, the headrest is reinforced with steel. The mechanism to raise and lower the headrest seems to be extremely well designed, and makes a distinct clicking sound at each height level. The Parkway head section starts to bend when it is raised up high, but the Vivo doesn’t do that due to two steel rods reinforcing the headrest.

We love this seat! My 2 year old does too! We purchased it from Albeebaby.com (no tax or shipping so it was a great deal!) about a month ago and couldn’t be happier. Our son just turned 2 and is about as tall as a 3 year old. We had an Eddie Bauer 3n1 seat that we thought would last us until he no longer needed a booster, but we were wrong. Because of his height, he was about to outgrow the harness straps (forward facing should be at or above his shoulders). He is way too young to be put into a belt positioning booster so I had to do some extensive research on car seats. I wanted one that would last and most I found only had harness straps an inch or so higher than his current seat. We almost purchased the Safety 1st Apex 65 but it was extremely bulky and felt cheap. The Britax Regent is a monster as well and there was so much cushion, he looked like he was being pushed forward in an uncomfortable position. I stumbled across this seat online and drove to the nearest store that carried it to see how my son fit in it. I was concerned about the crotch strap because of other reviews I’ve seen, but it didn’t seem to be an issue and he has a thick build. Maybe the other people have problems because their kids are sloutched in the seat????

I have always been a little car seat obsessed, so my girls never went anywhere with someone else unless I had schooled them on proper use and installation. I always worried that if I wasn’t the one to install the car seat, it would be done wrong (and it usually was!). Since discovering Britax Marathon, I can relax a little. It is SO easy to install! I have a 1998 Chevy Venture minivan (no LATCH) with a really awkward seat configuration. It is the two front seats, a middle row with three seats, and the back row only seats two. This has made my life very difficult with regards to car seats. Upon the birth of my little guy, we needed to have three kids in the middle row, because we don’t always have the rear two seats in, and the seats are a tad narrow. The infant carrier fit well, but our Alpha Omega was absolutely incompatible with our model of vehicle(when used in any of the seating positions in the third row, rear seats it was fine). The plastic base of the seat was just too wide. If I removed the base and used pool noodles to adjust the incline, it was acceptable, but was really finicky, and frequently I would spend 45 minutes trying to get it right and still not be happy with the fit. So I started to research my options a lot more thoroughly than in the past.

We bought this as a second carseat for trips. We fly a lot and hoped this seat would offer us the peace of mind we sought. We currently have/use a Britax Marathon as our primary carseat. Perhaps we have been spoiled by the quality and ease of use our Marathon offers???

I purchased this car seat for my home day care in May of 2006. I Love it and so do the children who use it. It was very easy to set up and put in to my vehicle securely. This seat is not as wide as most car seats and fits beside other car seats with ease. Children still fit very comfortably in the seat even though it’s slim width. It is very high quality. I have found it very easy to adjust the seat for different sized children. With this car seat is easy for kids to buckle themselves. When there are several seats cramped in a row together, it is by far easier to buckle themselves into the Radian than to try to buckle their seat belt over themselves and a booster seat. I also own and love the Britax car seat which also seats older children. It is plush and cozy, but it is also very heavy and very wide. The Radian is a better choice if you need to move the seat from time to time or have less space to place the car seat. I love this seat so much that I am purchasing a second one and recommend you get one as well. Expensive???? I don’t think so. I think this car seat is worth every cent!

Key Features
Car Seat Type:Convertible
Seating Direction:Rear / Forward Facing
Stay-in Car Base:No Detachable Base
Restraint System:5-Point Safety Harness
Adjustable Harness Height:Adjustable Harness Height
Adjustable Recline Positions:Adjustable Recline Positions

Other Features
Weight Limit:5 - 80 lbs.
Height Limit:Up to 49 In.
Carry handle:No Carry Handle
Head Protection:With Headrest
Additional Features:Latch System • Central Harness Length Adjustment • Foldable

Miscellaneous
:48349622

Details

Radian’s patented steel frame means no bulky plastic structure. Compared to other car seats, Radian offers more shoulder room, more leg support and fits three across in a car.

The price : $249.00

I bought this carseat for my second son around his 1st birthday. I already had 1 Britax Marathon (Shadow) and 1 Britax Decathlon (Odyssey) for my older son and was very happy with them. I preferred the Marathon, so that’s what I decided to go with for my little one.

Britax makes 3 higher weight harnessing convertible seats that are built on the same shell and have the same limits…Marathon, Decathlon, and Boulevard.

The Marathon is the most basic, the Decathlon has a few more features, and the Boulevard had True Side Impact Protection (head wings).

Key Features
Car Seat Type:Convertible
Seating Direction:Rear / Forward Facing
Stay-in Car Base:No Detachable Base
Restraint System:5-Point Safety Harness
Adjustable Harness Height:Adjustable Harness Height

Other Features
Weight Limit:5 - 65 lbs.
Height Limit:Up to 49 In.
Carry handle:No Carry Handle
Head Protection:No Headrest
Additional Features:Latch System • Foldable

Miscellaneous
:51391467

Details

The Radian Baby Car Seat can fit 3 across most standard sized back seats. It is a convertible which is at least 2 inches narrower than most other convertible car seats. That bit of narrowness is a big difference in the Radian car seat and other convertibles.

The price : $195.00

Research: I did extended researh for a seat that would hold a child in a harness past 40 pounds and once I found the seats I research their safety ratings as well.

Outcome: Other then the Britax line these are what I found:

Fisher Price Safe Voyage Convertible Car Seat, 55lbs w/harness, $150 (albeebaby.com no tax or shipping)

Radian by Sunshine Kids, 65 lbs w/harness, $200 (albeebaby.com no tax or shipping)

Safety 1st Apex 65 Booster Car Seat by Cosco, 65lbs w/harness, $99

Cosco Alpha Elite Apex Booster Car Seat, 65lbs w/harness, $129

Cosco Alpha Elite Apex Booster Car Seat: