Convertible Car Seat Help

I love my Evenflo Triumphs. I bought 2 of them 2 1/2 years ago when my first son was born and he's been using his since we brought him home from the hospital (we never used an infant car seat). When he was 22 months my second son was born and we took the seat from my DH's truck, put it forward facing in my car and he's loved it even more. So now I have one forward and one rear in my Vibe. They're very easy to get in and out of the car -- we do this often as there are times when my DH will have to pick up one or both kids from daycare. And installing them either with the seat belts or safety latches is a breeze. We initially looked at the Triumph due to safety ratings, but quickly noticed how comfortable they seemed, and the price was great. I also love that the covers are very easy to get off for washing. All-in-all, I don't think you can get much better than the Triumph.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance and Deluxe Lx are great car seats! They are rear facing to 35lbs, forward to 50 (I think the new ones are 65) and they are all around easy to use and understand.

Take what consumer reports says with a grain of salt. They test and refuse to disclose their testing situations, who is installing the seats, the sled used, etc. They retracted their statements a few years ago and they are just not to be trusted with car seat ratings until they disclose their testing.

A few other great options are the Firstyears TrueFit (my 3.5yr old daughter is still rear facing in this one, great seat!), Britax Roundabout 50, Graco MyRide65.

Please reconsider turning him forward facing. Please research EXTENDED REAR FACING, JOEL'S JOURNEY, and INTERNAL DECAPITATION. THe AAP, NHTSA and safekids, and every single car seat manufacturer, recommend rear facing until at least 2yrs and 30lbs, or until the rear facing car seat is outgrown. Feet touching the seat is not a problem, in fact there has never been a case of broken legs. However one of the most common forward facing injuries is broken legs!

Remember when rear facing the harness shoudl come from just at or below the shoulders. the harness should be snug and the chest clip level with the armpits. No bulky clothing in the carseat like jackets, buntings ,etc. Polar fleece is warmer than bulky clothingand its safe in the car seat. A rear facing car seat is outgrown when one of two things happens; the child goes over the weight limit or there is less than one inch of hard shell above the childs head.

Again please research EXTENDED REAR FACING, JOEL'S JOURNEY and INTERNAL DECAPITATION before turning him forward facing. The seats you are looking at are excellent for extended rear facing. My 3yr old is 30lbs and 37" tall and still easily rear facing. WITH AFO's on her lower legs too. :)

I do not suggest this seat. I have had 2 of them. My first one I sent back to Evenflo because I was loosening the straps one day for my daughter and noticed the strap was frayed almost completely through like it had been rubbing on something over and over. I flipped out and called evenflo and they sent me another one and I sent that one to them. Now the second one the styrofoam thats on the sides under the cover has cracked and is falling apart. I am no longer using it. I do want to suggest you keep your child rear facing up to the limits of a convertable car seat. This one goes to 35lbs. Mine were 2.5 years and 3.5 years before they were turned around forward facing. Their legs are not uncomfortable like people think and its better to have broken legs then a broken neck. The AAP and the NTSB suggests keeping kids rear facing to the limits of the seat.

we have the graco my ride 65 and i love it. some people have said it was hard to put in but i didnt think so. i even took it to the hospital to have it certified. we have 2 of them. it allows you to rear face even longer which is why we bought it. good luck!

Two great websites for convertible car seats:

http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/tp/topconvcarse...

http://carseatnanny.blogspot.com/

I am not familiar with the car seats you are considering, but they may show up on these sites, so check it out. Also, the AAP now recommends that children remain rear-facing until at LEAST 2 years of age or until they outgrow the rear-facing weight or height limits. Just something to consider. Good luck.

Evenflo Triumph Advance. Love it.

We had the Evenflo Triumph Elite (?) and we absolutely loved it! It's still in great condition and is so easy to install. :)

Hi K.,
We own two of them and they are great (I think ours are the LX, not the deluxe one, but not sure what the difference is). We bought the first one in 2007 when our son got too big for his infant seat. The second one we got this year for our daughter for same reasons - we specifically looked for the same car seat because of how much we like the features on the first one. The main thing that we like is that you can tighten the straps down using the turn button at the side (we have not liked the car seats where you have to pull the strap between the kid's legs to get the seat belt tight). As far as I know (from when we looked this year), this is the only car seat that has this type of system. Also, like that to loosen the straps, there is a lever at the side rather than something to push between the kid's legs. We have been very pleased with these car seats. Hope that helps!
Cyndi