Britax Frontier vs. Recaro Young Sport

[Logansmum]

Hi,

I need help deciding what my next car seat will be... whether it'll be for DS or DD... etc...

This is what I have...
DD- 7 month old growing out of her Peg Perego
DS - 3 yr old (38") in a marathon

What should I buy:
Another marathon for DD?
Frontier or Recaro Young sport for DS & pass the marathon to DD?

Any thoughts on the comparison between the YS & the Frontier?? Installation / limitations / size...

We will be travelling with these car seats, if that makes any difference...

Thanks!
Amy,
Mum to
Logan, 3
Zoe, 7 months

[o_mom]

How much does your DS weigh?
The YoungSport harness only goes to 40 lbs. That may not be enough to get him to a safe booster age (5+ yrs)

How old is your Marathon?
If your Marathon is three years old, I would consider just getting a second one. The current one would expire before your DD was out of it and your son can probably get close to the expiration before outgrowing it.

I don't know that I would want to travel with either the Young Sport or Frontier - both are heavy seats. Have you considered a Radian? It lasts a little bit longer than the Marathon. It installs really easily with LATCH. The seat belt install can be tricky, but after doing it a few times it gets easier.

[Logansmum]

DS weighs 32 lbs (3yrs)..
The marathon was purchased in late 2005 (I don't know the manufacture date). Do they last 5 or 6 years?

Thanks!!

[o_mom]

At 32 lbs, you might be OK with the YoungSport. He would probably be old enough to use a booster at least part time by the time he outgrew the harness.

Marathons are good for 6 years from date of manufacture. It was probably made sometime in 2005 unless you got a really old one. So, you have about 3 years left in it. Your DS could probably use it until age 5-6 years, about the time it will expire.

If you hand it down to DD, it will expire before she outgrows it. The only problem with that would be if it expired before she was done with it rear-facing. You would then have to choose between another convertible or turning her forward-facing.

You have some nice options here, none of which are clearly better than others.

1. Another Marathon for DD - you know the seat, it is fairly easy to travel with, installs well just about anywhere.

2. A combo seat for your DS - YoungSport, Frontier, Nautilus, etc. I think you could go with any of them give his weight. I'm not sure how well they each travel. The Frontier can be tricky to install in some cars, but usually does fit. You could also get other seats just for travel - a $40 Scenera for the baby and take the Marathon for DS, for example.

3. A Radian for your DD - This seat is great for rear-facing as it is so low that they are easy to load into it. It gives great legroom for older rear-facing kids. If she is FF before the Marthon expires, you could swap it with DS and he could remain in the Radian 6-12 months longer than the Marathon. It folds for travel, but is heavy. Can be tricky for non-latch installs. Again, you could get a Scenera for DD to travel and use the Radian for DS.