Best Convertible Car Seat...QUICK

We have an Evenflo Titan and Symphony. The Symphony is nicer because you never have to adjust the height of the straps on the back... there's a lever that you do that with (Britax doesn't do that I don't think). Plus it has the recline option which is nice. It is sort of heavy so it's a pain to switch around. We debated getting a Britax, but decided to get Evenflo because they were just like two percentage points away in the safety rating and we were able to save a lot of money. Good luck deciding... I know I seemed to research forever before deciding on what we liked the best!

We have two different seats. The one I LOVE is the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat. We used this rear & forward facing. It is super easy to adjust which is the part that I love, especially w/ bulky winter clothing, and it had good safety reviews. We have a second seat (a Graco) that we use in my husband's car which is OK... and it was a lot less expensive. The safety reviews were good on that seat as well, but for convenience in everyday use... I suggest the Evenflo. I wish I had spent the extra money & got two. The Evenflo also seems a lot more comfortable for longer trips & when my child falls asleep. There is a cup holder that folds up which is really good now that my daughter is older.

We researched ratings and value and found the Evenflo Triumph Advance car seat to be the safest and best option for much less than a Britax. You can get one for about $110 on Amazon.

We have the Graco comfort sport. About 79 bucks. Remember, you could spend all the $$ in the world on a car seat but if you don't use it right, what's the point? I think that installing it and using it correctly is more important than if someone says " that's the best, top of the line..."
Remember, they all have to pass gov't tests. Get what you can afford, and use it correctly.

My 2 cents.
L. :)

Go play with the seats at Babies R Us to see which one you like the best, if you decide on Britax, check them out at tinyride.com--save a ton of money, no sales tax and free shipping--I got mine there and had great experience (they carry a few other brands as well)! BTW, I love the Britax, we have the marathon and roundabout and both are super-easy to use and install.

I would check out the Evenflo site. I really like their seats, and I think they aren't terribly expensive. I paid $99 for the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible carseat. The convertible car seat the triumph, and the titan models go from 5-35 pounds rear facing, and 20-50lbs forward facing. They are very comfortable and pretty easy to adjust. They are a bit bulky if you are trying to remove seat from car, or fit several car seats in the backseat.

Last time I checked consumer reports the top three were:
Tied at 81/100 - Evenflo Triumph and Britax Roundabout
Second at 80-100 - Cosco Alpha Omega Elite

You can get the Cosco AOE at Big Lots for $90-100! We have one Triumph and one AOE and prefer the ease of the AOE, but the Triumph is 3 years old, so they may have changed the way the straps are so that it's easier, I don't know.

Also, go to shopping.yahoo.com and/or froogle.com and type in the car seat name and you can come up with lowest prices. Or type the seat name and "clearance" in any search engine and see what comes up. Another choice is Ebay. You can get good deals on new and used seats, just ask the seller of used ones if they have been in accidents and when they were manufactured.

I had a Graco one. It was easy once you figured out how to work the little mechanisim. I LOVED it. Did survive a car accident in which the car was totaled. Infant completely unharmed and car seat totally intake but replaced (with the same brand).

I have a Graco Step 2 SafeSeat that I adore. My daughter sleeps in the car a lot, so finding a seat that could be reclined when the car is moving was important to us. The lever makes it easy to manage from the front seat. It's very safe, has great ratings, is very affordable at around $160 (although we've seen cheaper on line if you want to wait for shipping). I really can't say enough about it. We're currently looking to purchase a second one for our other vehicle. Hope this helps!

You all must be rich!! All carseats have to pass government standards and must be installed safely. I got the cheapest carseat at Target for every stage but Infant (we bought a $90 one and I hated it). The convertible ones at target will run you about 40 or just straight forward facing 5 point carseats for the same. When we had a police officer come and talk about carseat safety he said it didn't matter how cool or how much you paid for a carseat that they were all the same when it came to crashes and that having one was the important part (as well as installing it correctly. Two police officers installed or checked all the carseats for my moms group. You can spend over 100 for a carseat but it's going to get dirty and stained and you are going to feel bad. I have three kids and can't afford to spend 100 every time they need a new car seat. Don't buy used!!! Just buy new and go with what you can afford. No one is going to think less of you because you don't have Eddie Bauer in your car or Britex. Best of luck.

Know a friend who likes the one below too, but the Britax is what we use and it is worth it. My Britax marathon goes to 60lbs and the next one up goes to 80. Expensive, but they last longer than other convertibles that go to 40 lbs. They also have more side protection and are super easy to install. I've talked to a few firefighters who install them/check installations (and see the wrecks they are in) and like the Britax. Consumer Reports recommended an Evenflo one last year that I bought for my daughter and it was terrible. It didn't have much room, didn't have much slack on the harness and the harness release didn't work easily.

We've had great luck with our Titan Elite 5-point convertible carseat. Both of our children transferred to it when they were only 6 months old because of their weight. And you can get it for less than $100. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Hi A.,

I am currently 8 1/2 months pregnant so I do not have any hands on experience with car seats yet. However, I joined consumer reports and I am able to see what they recommend and the ratings. The top two that came up for convertible car seats are the Evenflo Triumph 5 (approx $120) and the Britax Roundabout (approx $220). Each rating...ease of use, crash protection and fit to vehicle ranged from excellent to very good. Hope this helps!!!

-K.

I LOVE the First Years True Fit. I bought it when our current 18 month old was about 6 months old and she's still rear-facing in it. Experts are now saying to keep 'em rear-facing until 18-24 months because of the severe neck injuries they are seeing with forward-facing 1 year olds. It's rear-facing to 35 lbs (if I remember correctly) and harness for forward-facing to 65 lbs. It's easy to install, has built-in locking clips for extra security and even the headrest removes for rear-facing to fit better in smaller vehicles. She seems very comfy in it and it's easy to adjust the straps while she's sitting in it. I paid about $140 (free shipping deal) when I bought it online.

And don't be fooled by Britax's big price tag. They are not the safest seat out there. Plenty of other seats rank just as high, if not higher, in the tests.

I loved my Cosco Alpha-Omega...ended up buying a 2nd one for my other daughter. It's pricey, but not nearly as much as the Britax.

Will your daughter be spending much time in her car seat or will it be more just quick errands?
We have a Britax in my car and an Eddie Bauer in my husbands car. Both have the button in front that allows you to adjust the straps. I would highly recommend this! This always allows you to have the straps thight but comfortable on your child. The Britax is much more comfortable for Addison when she falls asleep in her seat. I can recline the seat while i'm driving so her head doesn't bop all over. The Britax also sets the child up higher so they can see out of the car. She sits low in the Eddie Bauer and can't see out of the car. Both install easily and come completely apart to clean.

We also have a Britax and an Eddie Bauer. The Eddie Bauer is just fine safety wise, and I have not had any problems with installation or anything. We have had Eddie Bauer convertable carseats for the last 3 of our 4 kids. With our youngest, we needed another carseat for the second car, I found a great deal on a Britax Marathon, so I got one. I absolutely LOVE this carseat. Having had no problems with the Eddie Bauer I was a little surprised to like the Britax so much. My baby doesn't really seem to have a preference, though. The only time I REALLY have a preference is when we go on super-long car trips (more than 8 hrs) I like to use the Britax because it has the recline feature and he looks SO much more comfy sleeping reclined that sitting fully upright.

Cost-wise, if I HAD to get another carseat, I would probably get an Eddie Bauer. If you go for that, I would recommend the 5-point harness instead of the 3-point harness with the thing that goes over their head--that makes it more difficult to buckle them when they are bundled up.

on a side note, I have seen a few ppl say that you should go to the police/fire station and have them help you install your carseat. I have gone to three different 'stations' in different areas, and after they installed my carseat, it had a lot more wiggle room than it had when I had installed it. One of the people actually installed the seat incorrectly, and when I asked why they had done it the way they did when the owners manual said to do it a certain way the person got angry with me for questioning them. I am not saying that they don't know how to install the seats correctly, just please double check your safetly seats regularly. Every seat/vehicle is different, and nobody can know everything about every one of them. YOU are responsible for your childs safety, not them!

good luck!
~J.

We have a Britax Roundabout and an Evenflo Triumph. Both are great, and both did really well in the Consumer Reports testing. They are #1 and #2 as rated by Consumer Reports. Triumph is about $100 cheaper than Britax. The Triumph careseat we have in my husband's car and it doesn't get used every often. Our son is in my car all the time, so that is why we put the Britax in my car. Britax Roundabout is more compact. Also, I have NEVER had a problem with the Britax straps folding over and such.

Unfortunately, my husband was in a car accident, and our son was in the car. It was a side impact accident right on my son's car door. Luckily, everyone was OK. The Triumph carseat held up GREAT! We had to replace it, because once a carseat is in a wreck, you cannot use it anymore. We went back and forth as to whether we replace it with a Britax Roundabout like mine, or if we get the same that we originally had in his car, the Triumph. We ended up getting the Triumph again.

I hope that helps.

Hi A.,
We have two Britax Marathons and we love them. It's very easy to adjust and comfortable for our daughter. The only drawback is that it is large, so her feet touch the back of my seat in our car (cavalier sedan) and she has to sit in the middle of the back seat of our truck (dakota extended cab). We're looking to get a mini-van since we have another on the way, though, so that eliminates the space issue. So if you have a large car, SUV, or minivan, you'll be fine, but it might be tight in a compact car or mid-size truck.

A friend of mine got the most expensive Britax for her son, but all the padding made him sweat constantly. She felt better having it, but I, personally, think it made the little guy miserable.

I haven't tried any of the other convertible seats, but I just wanted to give you some input on the Britax seats.

Good luck!

I have had two britex seats (still using the second one) and have loved them. I don't know for sure if they are really any safer but it is the brand that was recommended to me by both the Fishers Police and my auto insurance company. The first Britex seat I got was the Roundabout when my son graduated from his infant seat. The best thing I noticed about it was that when he was sleeping he always looked really comfortable. His head never seemed to fall forward as it would in some seats. It also held up so well that my neice now uses the seat. Good luck with your choice. You may already be aware, but most local police departments have time each month when they will properly install the seat for you.

We have the Eddie Bauer convertable car seat. It will last you until your DD is 100 lbs. I think it's about $120 at Babies R'Us.

The only issue I've had with it is the strap tightener gets a little hard to pull with the weather is really cold and trying to get the belt retainers off the seat bottom to remove the seat cover is a little hard. Nothing a pair of pliars won't fix. It took a while to figure it out the first time but now I can take it off pretty quick.

It is also FAA certified so if you fly anywhere you can use it on the plane.

My six month was the same way (she was eleven lbs at birth!) we have the grace elite. It was ranked at the top and SO easy to install. I have a trailblazer, and the back seat has an incline. We had the cosco alpha omega, and the fire dept had a difficult time installing...what a pain.

I love the Britax! It is by far one of the safest ones out there! Babies R us and Target have them....I bought mine online.

have fun!

I was lucky enough to get a couple of almost brand new seats from family, so I'm really now help on what to buy. BUT! Since you're little one is growing fast (nothing wrong with that!) I would suggest that you get something that has a higher weight restriction. Like I said I don't really have any brands for you, but you're going to want something that will last for a really long time.

I have a Britax in each of our vehicles and absolutely love it. They are super easy to install and/or remove if you need to.

I consulted the book Baby Bargains (love it!) because they do a pretty thorough assessment of basically every baby product under the sun. They also take into account the level of safety as well as the pricing. Britax came highly recommended, so despite the higher price, I went with the superior product.

Britax, britax, britax. I have 2 of them and I love them. I am able to get the seats in and out of cars quickly. I like how secure they latch with the latch system. I just put them in a rental car this week with just using the seatbelt and I it felt really secure that way also. I know they are pricey but if you can get one I think you will love it. Just look for online sales. I got my 1st one as a floor sample from babies r us. The 2nd one I got on sale online. So worth it. Bought a cheap one and both me and my husband fight over who has to put it in his car when it has been taken out. It is not user friendly. Good luck hope this helped

Hi A.. I have a 9 month old daughter and bought my first convertable car seat just before Christmas. I searched all around, and found that I like the Evenflo Triumph. It is very comfortable and my daughter really likes it. I got it on sale at Babies R Us for $129. It has the exact same ratings from Consumer Reports as the Britax. Plus, when I looked at the Britax, they did not have side supports that my daughter's head could rest on when in the car and she fell asleep. The adjustment on the Evenflo is nice once you know how to work it. Make sure someone demonstrates it for you, because I had a little trouble figuring it out at first. Good luck on your search!

we have a britax car seat for both of our boys. we have a britax marathon that my older son (2 1/2 years old) used for 18 months before we transitioned him to a britax frontier harness booster last week. we love both seats and they are very safe and easy to use. our younger son (12 months old) is now in the marathon car seat and likes it much better than his infant seat. if you would like to find discounted seats you can check out ebay which is were we bought both of our seats brand new in the box. they were just discontinued colors. good luck with your decision!