Recommendations for a Convertible Carseat

We have the Cosco Alpha Omega and its great! We love that you dont have to rethread the belt everytime an adjustment is needed(when they grow and need to move the belt). Its easy! And its pretty affordable. Only thing is that its doesnt allow us to keep him in a 5 point harness when he passes the 40 pound mark. I am NOT going to put my child in a boosters so this will require us to buy another seat.

We are going to be buying either the Britax Regent or the Radian 80. The both can be used as a 5 point harness seat until they are, I think, 80 pounds. One of them might be more. I want to keep my son in a 5-point haness as long as possible due to safety reasons! The only thing is with these seats, they are forward facing only. I hope this info helps!

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I like the Britax Marathon. It goes up to 65 lbs. My 5 1/2 year old still fits comfortably in it which is great b/c I think a 5 point harness is safer than a booster. I also have a Britax Roundabout which is pretty much the same seat only smaller (I think it goes up to 40 or 45 lbs). The seats are very plush and comfy. My kids love them and used them once they outgrew the snugride.

Britax was the highest rated seat when I bought-I think it still is but I haven't checked in awhile.

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We have the Graco Comfortsport. Our daughter is small for her age so I was concerned about her tiny body in a big giant seat. I took her to Target and sat her in all the different models and bought the one that seemed to fit her best. The "Alpha Omega" is a favorite with most of our friends, especially since they've changed the belt tightening mechanism to it's accessible in the rear-facing position. I would have bought that one except that the Graco seemed more appropriate for our small girl (10th percentile in size). The Alpha Omega is just fine for our son, but he's at the 75th percentile in size. :-)

You might read the carseat chapter in the Baby Bargains Book (www.babybargainsbook.com). They have good reviews and recommendations. Also, they'll tell you about the different manufacturers. A lot of car seats are really the same seat, but the fabrics and branding on them make the prices different. For example, Evenflo makes several car seats that have Eddie Bauer versions. The Eddie Bauer brand fabrics make their products cost a little more.

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I have the Alpha Omega by Safety 1st. I absolutely love it! It is super soft and really padded. My daughter loves it too. I bought it because it goes up to 100 lbs and I wouldn't have to ever buy another one for her. That is why I didn't mind spending almost $200 for it. It can go face the front or back or can be used as a belt positioning booster. Also the seat belt is super easy to adjust. Here is the link for it.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3932620

Good Luck!
A.

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We have the Britax Decathalon and a Britax Roundabout. They are a little pricey but well worth it for what they offer. You might find them at a reduced price on www.elitecarseats.com.

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J.,
My Husband and I bought our son an Alpha Sport, it is by Cosco and is at Babies R Us for $99. It is a rear-facing, forward-facing, and booster seat. It is great. My son loves it. We compared different ones and did quite a bit of homework before we decided. We liked that it worked up to 80 lbs, it has adjustable pads, and it was easy to install. Here is the link to it.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=240132...

I hope this helps you.

Good luck, and go with your gut instinct if it doesn't feel right then don't buy it.

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Hi, J.. We bought the Evenflo Triumph 5 convertible car seat for our daughter when she outgrew the Graco Snugride. She's almost 3 and is still riding comfortably in the Triumph. We love, love, love this carseat. It's extremely secure, easy to buckle her in, and we especially love how easy it is to adjust the tightness of the straps. Good luck with your carseat search.

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J.-

We just started researching for my son who is almost out of his infant carrier seat. We've consulted Consumer Reports and the overall rating for the Britax Roundabout ($220) and Evenflo Triumph 5 ($120) were both rated 81 of 100 points, followed by Cosco Alpha Omega ($160) with 80 points. The Britax Marathon ($250) was only rated 58 points.

We're going to purchase the Evenflo Triumph 5 based on this report. It also received the highest rating (all excellent) in the crash protection ratings, and the Britax all very good ratings.

The Britax was rated excellent in all ease of use and fit to vehicle categories, and the Evenflo was all very good ratings, so those are the other considerations.

Good luck to you!

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J.,
We have the Britax Marathon and we love it. We bought our fist one when my daughter was 6 months old and put it in rear-facing. We bought our second one for our son when he was 5 months old. Our kids are 3 and 1 now and they are forward-facing. They are super comfortable and have some great fabric design options. I believe that you can use them up to 65 lbs.
The best part about them for me is that they are SOOOO easy to install and they have the instructions under the leg portion of the seat so that you have them with you at all times. Also, it is SUPER easy to tighten and loosen the straps. My parents have a carseat - I can't remember which one - that I still don't know how to tighten/loosen the straps very well and I can never find the instruction book.
The Britax carseats are a bit more expensive - I think ours was around $260 plus tax. You can get them at Babies R Us but I think they only have a couple fabric options. You can usually get them online with free shipping if you shop around.
Check out www.bizrate.com to compare online prices. It's a great website that lets you compare prices and places to buy what you need.
Good luck!
D.

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Hi J. -

My son just outgrew the same seat. We bought the Fisher Price Safe Voyager to replace the seat he outgrew. It's convertible and huge. So far we are really happy with it - and it's big enough to take him into adulthood! hahaha We got the recommendation from a friend who has a relative that does testing and research on carseats.

Also, got it on sale at albeebaby.com.

I hope this is helpful.

M.

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J.,
I am a Mom in a similar situation. Will you pass on any great advise you receive? Thanks!

J.