Combination Toddler Booster Car Seats

Updated on August 21, 2010
D.T. asks from Tampa, FL
12 answers

Hi,
I have an almost 3 year old (October brithday) and I'm looking at a new car seat for him now because his younger brother has grown out of the infant car seat. So, my youngest will move to my 3 year old's current car seat and I'll get a new one for my 3 year old. He weighs about 31-32 pounds and is about 35-36 inches tall. My utmost concern is SAFETY with comfort too. I am comparing 3 seats right now: Britax Frontier 85, Graco Nautilus 3-in-1, and the Clek Oobr. Would like to know your thoughts and reviews on any of these products? Thank you in advance.

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J.L.

answers from Dallas on

I got the Graco and we've been happy with it. Cheaper than Britax with good reviews. Plus, my son LOVES the cup holder. I was alittle disappointed that it's just as big and bulky as the other convertible carseats (hoping we could squeeze a person in between the two carseats, but alas no) but I wanted to get one that converted to boosters because, like you with two little ones so close together in age, these carseats are getting expensive!!!

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M.W.

answers from St. Cloud on

The Frontier 85 is a 5 point harness till 85 pounds! Then can be used as a booster till 100 pounds. We have 2 and both our kids LOVE them! They are 3 and 5 years old.

Albeebaby.com has/had them on sale for $223 if you use their britax sale code.

Also check diapers.com for them! They were running them on sale as well. And if you are a new customer and put in referral code: FRID5486 you get an additional 15% off! Plus you get it in like 2 days! And free returns if you don't like the item! Highly recommend ordering from this company!

Keep her in a 5 point harness. She will be much safer!

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R.K.

answers from Boston on

We have a Graco Nautilus and love it. You can use the harness to 65lbs or to 52 inches then as a booster. I suggest you actually go to a store and try your child in the seats and see which works best with him.
Edit: although the recline is very slight we have not had any issues w/ our son being uncomfortable when he falls asleep in the car (rare occasion) but his head doesn't seem to flop forward like it did in his old convertible seat.

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B.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

The Oobr is a belt positioning booster only ,and your son is not old enough or big enough for a belted booster only. He needs a 5pt harness, so strike that one off your list.

The Nautilus will harness to 65lbs and then turns into a high back booster and then a no back booster to 100lbs. The no back portion is good for 9yrs, the rest for 6yrs, so he will never need another car seat. For $150, you can't go wrong, its a great seat. Most kids can use the harness to 6/7yrs old.

the Frontier is also a great seat that will harness to 80lbs and the nbooster to 120lbs. It does not become a no back booster like the Nautilus, but a high back is always safer anyway. Most kids can use the harness to 7+yrs old.

You have two good choices there with the Frontier or the Nautilus, just go to the store and try them out, see which you like best.

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L.M.

answers from Norfolk on

I adore our Graco Nautilus. When researching, I was most impressed that you could keep the 5-point harness up to 60lbs, which was higher than any other combos I found, and that the booster is good up to 100 lbs. These details make it, hopefully, the last car seat we'll have to get for our kids. The only downside may be that the recline function is slight, so if you were hoping to have a carseat that your kids could continue to nap in with their heads reclined, this could be a problem. Other than that, we love this seat!

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S.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I have the Graco Nautilis and LOVE it. It has been great, comfortable, easy to wash, everything you want in a car seat. And the price is great for what you get.

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W.T.

answers from Jacksonville on

I love our Graco Nautulis (plural). Both my 4 and 2 year olds have them and we are very pleased. They don't recline but my two can sleep in them if need be -- I usually bring along a pillow for long trips.

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J.J.

answers from Tallahassee on

I always use Britax - they're the best. :)

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B.A.

answers from Tampa on

I just went through all this recently. I bought the Nautilus, and I love it. The Frontier is awesome, and is good for 9 years vs. the standard 6 years of the nautilus. Frontier also harnesses to a higher height and weight. It is, however, super expenisve. I don't know much aobut Cleck Oobr. Me personally, I loved the Frontier but it just wasn't worth the price difference between it and the Frontier.

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D.K.

answers from Port St. Lucie on

We have a Frontier (the first/older model that harnesses up to 65 lbs) and LOVE it. I can't say enough good things about it. I feel that it's so safe and comfy, my son is 5 1/2, 45ish pounds, he can sit indian style in it and loves the cup holders! I let him choose the color for his 'big kid' seat and I don't feel it looks babyish, not that I would care, he would stay harnessed regardless, but as the kids get older, many moms choose boosters :( and then their kids think the harnessed ones are in 'baby seats'...I have a few friends with the Nautilus and several with Frontiers, everyone is happy with both. I am just a big Britax fan and it has higher weight limits, so for me, an easy choice but I think you can't go wrong with either!

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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

We have the Graco Nautilus for our son. We moved him into it at around 2.5 years when his sister had outgrown her infant seat.

We love it! He still fits well into it (now at 4 years, 41 inches and 41 lbs). We've been considering spending the money to purchase 2 new seats for his sister who is really tall and heavy for her age. We learned from a friend over the weekend that he has reached the size to move into a more traditional booster seat, so we're going to take that route with the Pediatrician's blessing.

You can't go wrong with Britax, the Nautilus is great, and I'm not familiar with the Clek, but I sounds like all your options are great, and you just need to make a decision based upon $$$, style, etc.

Good luck!

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M.P.

answers from Chicago on

My 4 year old is in the Frontier and it's awesome!

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