Which Car Seat would you pick???

[ArizonaGirl]

I have narrowed down my selection of combination booster seats to 3...

My question to you wise mamas is which car seat and why?

Britax Frontier 85
Graco Nautilus
Evenflo Maestro

DS's stats:

3.5 years old
30 lbs
37 inches tall

I am thinking of this for 8-9 months down the road when I anticipate that DD will hate the bucket (like he did) and we will want to give her the seats he is currently in (Britax RA 50). I just know that my life over the next several months will be hectic, so I was trying to get this decision figured out before then so when the time comes I will know what to buy.

TIA

[AngelaS]

We had the original frontier. Installation is a beast. And it's super heavy. My friends with nautiluses love them and I can't say the same about my frontier.

[lhafer]

I have a Frontier 85 that I just switched from harness mode to booster mode for my 6 year old. I don't find the installation to be an issue. And she loves her seat. Their seats stay installed in my car, so I never really move them around to have to install/reinstall a lot. That said - today I just moved the seats around because I was watching a friend's little girl. It took me about 5 minutes to uninstall the Frontier from the 3rd row, and reinstall it (with LATCH) back into the second row of my minivan. I don't find it any harder than the Britaxes I've had in the past, or the Cosco Scenera, or the Radian XTSL I have for my other daughter.

We've also had a Nautilus in the past. I never used it the booster mode. It was okay in the harness mode. My daughter was okay with it, but preferred the Frontier. She has more room in the Frontier - she can pull her legs up, cross them, etc on long car trips. She didn't have that room in the Nautilus.

I have a friend who has a Nautilus and she likes it.

I think any of those seats are fine. Can you put your child in them and see which one he likes better?

[ArizonaGirl]

The concerns/questions I have are that

1. I have heard that the Nautilus has a crotch strap that can um pinch boys.

2. Do you guys feel that the Frontier with the higher harness limit (wt and ht limit) is really important with children that are on the smaller side.

3. I have also heard that the Frontier is harder to use in the booster mode.

I probably will see if I can take him to the BRU down the street and have him sit in both of them and "test drive" them so to speak and see if that helps me make up my mind, I just always like to hear what all of you car seat experts have to say before I make any decision.

I am just so torn, mostly between the Nautilus and the Frontier, gahhh!

[arivecchi]

I have the frontier 85 and the maestro and like both but much prefer the frontier. Excellent quality. Easy to install IMO.

I have never considered a nautilus due to the head flopping and crotch strap issues.

My DS is 5 and still harnessed.

[Joolsplus2]

Don't let the high weight and height limits of the Frontier deter you, it's a very comfy seat for even tiny kids. You might end up just using it as a harnessed seat, not as a booster, anyway (you have maybe 7 years of harnessing ahead of you, and the nice non twist straps and smooth adjuster and ease of height adjustment and the deep crotch strap for boys will be a boon in the future).
The Frontier 85 is really super nicer than the old 80, the belt path is completely redesigned and the straps are way nicer. Almost shouldn't have the same name, really, lol.
If you travel or need a light easily moveable spare, that's where the Maestro or Secure Kid comes in, they are really light and easy to move around and install really fast

[KrisM]

We have a Frontier 80, Frontier 85, and used to have a Natuilus. The 85 is much easier to install than the 80 is. I also found both Frontier's easier to get tight than the Nautilus. After an accident, we moved from a Nautilus to Frontier and are happy with that.

DD uses the Frontier 80 as a booster and likes it fine.

[legaleagle]

Love our frontiers - ESP in my mazda5 I can install it in under 2 minutes with the seatbelt. DS1 is not small and ds2 is huge, plus with dc3 on the way any minute I don't really ever expect to use it as a booster, though it's nice knowing it's such a tall booster(tallest currently on the market I believe) if we need it.

[Jai]

I just selected the Nautilus over the Frontier for my 3 year old DS who is 40.5 inches tall 33 lbs. i selected it over the Frontier because it seems most like his current carseat (which is a Graco) which he likes. I like that I can recline it with a simple pull of the latch.

I did take him to BRU to sit in both. I also has a friend who has both. She did say that the Frontier has thicker padding than the Nautilus.

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by ArizonaGirl

2. Do you guys feel that the Frontier with the higher harness limit (wt and ht limit) is really important with children that are on the smaller side.

3. I have also heard that the Frontier is harder to use in the booster mode.

My daughter turned 6 in March. She's very petite. She's 43" tall and she weighs about 38 pounds. She actually prefers the room she has with the Frontier because she can have her toys, etc with her easier. We tend to go on long car trips periodically (5 hours or so). She has no head flop when she sleeps in the Frontier, like she did with the Nautilus.

At first, the seat belt was a bit awkward for her to use when we switched to booster mode about a month ago. But now she works it very quickly and knows how the seat belt should be, etc.

Here are some (crappy phone) pictures I took back when I first got the Frontier. The Nautilus is the pink/gray one, and the Frontier is the black/brown one. These were taken in Feb. 2011, so my DD in the pictures was about to turn 5 years old. The install was in a 2006 Nissan Quest minivan - both installed without any issues.

You can see how much more shoulder room she has in the Frontier. And where her knees/legs hit the Frontier. The seat on the Frontier is a lot deeper.

016 (3).jpg 019 (3).jpg 020 (3)-001.jpg

011 (6).jpg 014 (6).jpg