Ready to buy a convertible

[Piglet]

DD2 is 9.5 months old and has been screaming every time I put her in her infant seat. I pulled out older DD's Radian (wow - love the 8 year expiration!) to try out for DD2 and so far so good - no screaming

My problem is that I am really not loving the Radian day in and out. It is VERY hard to tighten the straps. I am not sure if it has always been this bad or if I am just used to the smooth adjustment on the infant seat (Graco Safeseat). I am thinking of getting a new convertible for my car and then using the Radian in DH's car (though for now I can still use the infant seat in DH's car since it is a secondary vehicle and even though she hates the seat, it won't be used much).

So, basically I am not in a huge rush to get a new seat, but I want to start looking for sales. What is a good seat to get? I am reading all sorts of conflicting info on the Click-tight seats. I have adored our Britax MA in the past, so I am tempted to just get another one, but by now there are so many other options. Both our vehicles are minivans, so size is not a huge factor, but I don't want a crazy large seat either, as we will need to travel with it once in a while as well. The Radian is great for size, though weighs a ton!

FYI - DD is on the petite side, so the seat doesn't need to have extra high weight/height limits.

Any recommendations? Anything new I should wait for? I am in Canada, so that makes things tricky too.

[trcy]

I would say go with the marathon. I have no experience with the click tight, but it looks nice. I have an older blvd, which I love. The newer blvds have hugs with safe cell; the safe cell is a huge PITA. The car seat in my mom's car has it and I hate it. The marathon does not have the safe cell.

[AngB]

We like our BLVD and MA's. Chicco Nextfit is another pretty popular one.

[Joolsplus2]

Oh, that Radian has always been a pain to adjust, you just blocked the memory, lol.
I'd probably go with a regular MA if it were me, Canada also has the anti rebound bar which is a lot nicer to use than a top tether for rebound control. http://www.amazon.ca/Britax-Marathon...britax+rebound
I can't find the Chicco NextFit on that page, maybe it's not in Canada yet? At any rate, it's a huge bugger, nothing you want to travel with!

[Joolsplus2]

PS, Congrats on the new little one! I always tell myself I need to venture over to other boards, and never do, so I miss all the good news!

[Piglet]

Thanks Jools - can you explain the anti-rebound bar vs. top tether? I was under the impression that the seat HAD to be RF tethered in Canada. Is that not the case with the ARB? It would be great if I didn't need to tether as I can't seem to find a good tether point in my van (I did look it up and it can be done, but everyone agrees it is awkward and requires removing a lot of plastic).

[Joolsplus2]

It's 'either, or', if you have the ARB, then Canada in general prefers you don't top tether (too many possible complications finding a sturdy spot and airbag sensors whatnot). Tethering or ARB both make the seat meet the Canadian anti-rebound standard.