Carseat Question

[TupeloHoney]

Don't worry - this is not a debate about whether to bring a carseat!

 

We do plan on bringing one. What i'm looking for is advice on what one to bring. We have a Britax Marathon in my car, which we love, but it's enormous. We've been meaning to buy a smaller, cheaper carseat for dh's car. So I thought I'd look into one that would be easier to travel with. Anyone have any experience traveling with a convertible carseat and had good luck? Can you recommend one that isn't horribly expensive but is still very safe and easy to install?

 

Thanks!

 

eta - perhaps I should add our son will be about 15 months and he's a big kid for age. He's about 26.5 lbs right now just before his 1st birthday.

[luvmyjewels]

If you are flying, then I would definitely say leave the Marathon home and bring a lighter seat. When we flew to Disney two years ago, we brought along dd's Marathon and it was a major pain to drag accross airports because it is so heavy and bulky!! (Of course we were also dragging along two booster seats in addition to the Marathon.)

 

Shell

[All4fun1]

I'd recommend either the Cosco Scenera 5pt ($45-50), or the Safety 1st Avenue ($80-90). They both r/f to 35lbs, f/f to 40lbs but the Scenera is the more basic model with lower top slots (15"), and has very little padding which doesn't seem to bother most kids. The Avenue has 16" top slots and is EPP foam lined for extra safety, and is supposed to be easy to install. Also the Scenera may require a pool noodle or tightly rolled towel when installing it rear facing.

 

hth

[TupeloHoney]

I'd recommend either the Cosco Scenera 5pt ($45-50), or the Safety 1st Avenue ($80-90). They both r/f to 35lbs, f/f to 40lbs but the Scenera is the more basic model with lower top slots (15"), and has very little padding which doesn't seem to bother most kids. The Avenue has 16" top slots and is EPP foam lined for extra safety, and is supposed to be easy to install. Also the Scenera may require a pool noodle or tightly rolled towel when installing it rear facing.

 

hth

 

 

Thanks so much! That was exactly the kind of info I was looking for! I will check these out!

[scubagolfer]

I wanted to ask in what capacity do you need to bring along the car seat? Are you needing it for the Plane? My wife and I was recently introduced to a product that is FAA appproved to fly on all US major paasenger aircraft, The product is called CARES. It is a seatbelt that slides down over the back of your child seat, uses the aircraft's seatbelts and makes the 5 point harness system we are all used to with car seats,. The great thing is the whole system is smaller that most womens purses. We used it with our 2 year old recently and is rated for 1 year olds who weigh 20-44 pounds up to 40 inches in length. When not in use it fit into my wife's purse......it's worth a look. google cares seat belt for flight...or something like that. We tried it and we cannot be more happy

[scubagolfer]

the webside....http://www.kidsflysafe.com

[Eclipsepearl]

The CARES harness is easy to bring along but for $75, it's a lot of money for something that can only be used on an airplane. As you can see, a Scenera is almost half of that and you can also use it in a car. It can only be used for a short time of a child's life.

 

You can find people renting these on both Ebay and Craigslist. Just search with "Ebay (or Craigslist) CARES harness" to get a list of them.

 

No one objects to the CARES harness itself but they say on the website to use their product and then check the car seat as luggage. This is not recommended because the car seat can easily be lost and/or broken in the hold. It's much better to use it onboard and that way, the child is safe leaving the airport by car. It's not that big a deal to take a car seat to the gate. I've arrived my destination to find that my bags didn't and although they came two days later, I had to leave the airport that day.

 

The pp was also looking for another car seat anyway. I've flown with my children in a Scenera and a Radian65 and both are great on flights. They can even go down the aisle (at least the old Scenera could!)

 

The Radian is more expensive but if you want a higher harnessed seat that you can fly with, it does both well. With a big boy, you were wise to get the Marathon and this would fall somewhere in between the two.

[queenL]

I just ordered a Joey safe freedom rider. http://www.joey-safe.com/ It hasn't arrived in the mail yet but it seemed a very safe and convenient option.

[scubagolfer]

The CARES harness is easy to bring along but for $75, it's a lot of money for something that can only be used on an airplane. As you can see, a Scenera is almost half of that and you can also use it in a car. It can only be used for a short time of a child's life.

 

You can find people renting these on both Ebay and Craigslist. Just search with "Ebay (or Craigslist) CARES harness" to get a list of them.

 

No one objects to the CARES harness itself but they say on the website to use their product and then check the car seat as luggage. This is not recommended because the car seat can easily be lost and/or broken in the hold. It's much better to use it onboard and that way, the child is safe leaving the airport by car. It's not that big a deal to take a car seat to the gate. I've arrived my destination to find that my bags didn't and although they came two days later, I had to leave the airport that day.

 

The pp was also looking for another car seat anyway. I've flown with my children in a Scenera and a Radian65 and both are great on flights. They can even go down the aisle (at least the old Scenera could!)

 

The Radian is more expensive but if you want a higher harnessed seat that you can fly with, it does both well. With a big boy, you were wise to get the Marathon and this would fall somewhere in between the two.

Didn't say it was cheap, after 2 children, I have more than enough car seats, booster seasts , car seatboosters, booster car seats....the cares system works for us but we fly alot...I say leave the seats at home, we rent cars with car seats, soooo thats not a problem for us. Certainly if you are looking for a new car seat then buy away.....i'll remember to duck my head when your car seat comes whizzing down the airplane isle, with the baby, the DVD player, the diaper bag, purse, bags of snacks, fold up stroller.....etc. For us the loss of extra carried things on the plane is well worth the 75 bucks. I was also aware of the OP desire to buy a new car seat but why would the mess with removing the seat from the DH's car every single time? Like I said the cares system works for us, we couldn't live without it.

[pfisted]

Please provide me information on the Cares system. My DGD is 6 months old (and has traveled by plane 4 times already) and will be needing something in the future. By the way, her stroller and carseat are checked and we've not had a bit of problems. DD

[sabbie]

Don't worry - this is not a debate about whether to bring a carseat!

 

We do plan on bringing one. What i'm looking for is advice on what one to bring. We have a Britax Marathon in my car, which we love, but it's enormous. We've been meaning to buy a smaller, cheaper carseat for dh's car. So I thought I'd look into one that would be easier to travel with. Anyone have any experience traveling with a convertible carseat and had good luck? Can you recommend one that isn't horribly expensive but is still very safe and easy to install?

 

Thanks!

 

eta - perhaps I should add our son will be about 15 months and he's a big kid for age. He's about 26.5 lbs right now just before his 1st birthday.

 

 

We have the Marathon for my car and the Safety 1st Uptown for my DH's car and for travel. I use the Uptown coupled with the GoGo Baby Adapter and it's a breeze when traveling (I check the stroller and just push the car seat with the GoGo adapter). Personally, I would rather deal with taking a car seat with me then trust the car rental companies that the seat has never been in an accident or that it isn't gross from the last kid who used it but I am a bit weird that way. We leave tomorrow for our cruise and we have packed the Uptown and GoGo in a travel bag to check when we get to the terminal then store it in the closet for when we need it in port. Had no problem with storage room last time.

[ncmomof2]

we rent cars with car seats, soooo thats not a problem for us.

 

Just another take on renting car seats...I tried it once with my DS (I was traveling alone with him and decided the outrageous prices the rental companies charge was worth it for the reduced stuff to lug around and out of the airports) and he screamed every time I put him in it because he was so uncomfortable. He was 4 mos old. I was also very unimpressed with the quality of the seat for the price I was paying. So I never rented one again, even when I traveled with him alone. Just my experience.

[Olive]

We brought our Britax Roundabout on a recent cruise, along with the Go Go Kidz attachment. The attachment was expensive for what it is, but our son REALLY enjoyed being wheeled around in it and it made for a very easy time getting him on board and off. We also used the carseat on an excursion and it was no problem. The carseat fit in the closet of our suite (NCL Gem) so it wasn't in the way.