Car Seat - Chicago,IL

Sorry but I got the Britax too. Check out Consumer Reports. Actually, my husband got the Evenflo (I believe) that is #1 rated which is much cheaper than the Britax Roundabout which is #2 rated.

Britax is the best. I have 3. One in each car and my babysitter has one. The cost killed me as well, but I have heard soooo many stories of parents in car accidents and thier children were fine. Buy the Roundabout it's not the most $$$$ one but it is still up there. Pay for the saftey and peace of mind. And have them put in by the police department, they get trained on how to put them in correctly it's great.

Hi L.,

I have the Britax and love it. My friend who is a research nut insisted I get it (despite the cost) and I'm glad I did...

N.

Whatever car seat you choose, get a Mighty Tighty to go with it. It makes intalling the seat a breeze!

Hi L.,
Have you tried E-Bay? I purchased my Britax forward facing seat on E-Bay. It was brand new and about 150.00 less than what it retails for. It was still expensive, but Britax is the best from what I found in my research.
Good Luck!
K.

Dear L.,
I understand your dilemma! The Britax is so pricey. I ended up bucking up and purchasing two of them (I have a two year old and a three year old) when they switched from their infant seats. I have to say I'm very happy with the decision. The seats feel very secure. They're also very easy to operate and even to move from car to car. I've never heard of the other one you mentioned, so I cannot offer any advice on that. Good luck to you. I know it's a tough decision.

The Evenflow Triumph convertible carseat is about $120. It has a good rating for safety in the consumers report. My daughter, niece, and cousins daughter all have it, and love it! It is very easy to adjust the straps to get your baby in and out of it! It comes in different colors/patterns for the seat cover. They sell it at Babiesrus and Target and Walmart...good luck!!

Hi L.,
I have the Britax car seat for both my kids and not only is it very safe (from all the comparisons I did) but very comfy for the kids. I really love these seats and would recommend them to anyone.

We needed to add these seats to our budget when planning to buy them (far in advance) ...they are costly (especially if your living off one income while your a SAHM), but I strongly believe it's worth it.

Good luck!

Hi L.,
Check out the Evenflo Triumph carseat. You will see for yourself it is very sturdy. Also it is nicely padded and comfortable. It is not as expensive as the Britax. In fact, it is quite reasonable.
D.

Hi L.. You need to get a copy of the book "Baby Bargains." It's a great resource for all kinds of products, especially car seats and strollers. It's like a Consumer Reports for baby stuff. You should be able to find it at any Barnes and Noble or Borders. Here's their website, as well. http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/default.html
We went with the Britax for our (now)
2 year old, but Baby Bargains will tell you which of the less expensive models are safe.
Good luck!

Don't know if this helps but my dad is certified in installing car seat, so he has worked with many different brands. He actully bought ours for us. We have an Eddie Bauer convertable carseat. I am not sure the exact model, but it is the tan one that is good between 7 and 80 pounds. I want to say the cost is around 150 may be less. My son loves it and I know it is a good one because it was approved by grandpa! Good luck!

the britax is awesome. i think it is one of the best on the market. but, yes it is expensive.

*All* of the car seats on the market meet current safety standards, and will probably keep your child safe in an accident that would injure you, the driver. That said, I would check Consumer Reports and see what they say - they do very thorough product reviews and look at "bang for buck" features. Last time I checked you could figure out which issue you needed through their website, and head down to your local library and just take a look at the issue you need.

I've also found epinions helpful (though products with only a few reviewers can have pretty biased reviews) and also the Baby Bargains website http://windsorpeak.com/reviews/items/ (same caveat there)

I hope this helps!

When my oldest was ready to move into a bigger car seat, we had a specially trained Chicago police officer come over to help us install it in our car. While he was helping us, he mentioned that there really isn't one brand that is better than any others. As long as it has the safety information on it, they're all the same. Of course, I had bought the expensive Britax! The most important thing is the installation. The police officer came to my house to help me, all you have to do is make an appointment. Hope this helps.

Hi L.,

I am not sure it is the best but I have heard great things about the britax roundabout. I have it for my son who is 6 months and he seems to like it a lot. In terms of safety I have heard that it is top notch.

Hope this helps.

L.

My son is 3 and a half. We use the Alpha Omega car seat. I think the price was about $125 4 years ago. We have been using it since just before he turned one and it is very nice.
Also, as I'm sure you've probably read, 80% of parents don't have their car seats properly installed. I think the car seats are probably comparable as far as safety goes, but installation is key.
The police station will check to make sure your car seat is installed properly.

I know your dilema and in my opinon I found that the Evenflo Triumph 5 is the best it is about 109.00 at babies r us, and according to consumer reports it rates the best in crash test ratings....
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/child-car-...
my daughter loves it and it is super secure...check it out

L.,

I am the mom of a 16 month old girl, and we bought the Britax Decathalon. Yes, it's very expensive, but we love it. We went with that one based on the advice of a couple other moms that we know, and it's recommended by a book we had been referring to, Baby Bargains. It's big and bulky, but very comfy and cozy. We recently moved here from Michigan and have done a bit of travelling back and forth, and our daughter hasn't minded the 4 1/2 hour drive one bit. Are you on the mailing list for Babies 'R Us? We used a coupon that they sent us to get some money off the price, but I just don't remember how much. Hope this helps!

K.

We bought the Evenflo Titan. It was highly rated at consumerreport.org as well as at

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CSSRating/Index.cfm.

The Evenflo Tital costs about $100 at Babies-R-Us. The fire captain who installed both our car seats said that any Evenflo carseat, such as the Titan or Triumph, is equal in quality to other more expensive seats (such as Britax).

Hope this helps!

I would look it up for you--but someone borrowed my copy. Take a look in "Baby Bargains"--you can probably find it the library for a quick peek. Awesome book, with an entire chapter on car seats.

I'm a big Britax fan--I have two--the second one I bought was the Marathon and it has holds the child until 60lbs I think, so that's a long time. I rationalize it by dividing the cost by how many years I'll use it. Then it doesn't seem so bad. But truthfully just do your research, I'm sure there are other that are just as good. Good Luck.