Where can I find a Nania Airway Car Seat?

[Elizasmom]

I have been looking for a Nania Airway car seat (also called Safety Baby Airway). I can’t find it anywhere but online. I contacted the company, and they couldn’t help. Does anyone know of stores where they are sold? I don’t like the idea of ordering one from a website since it may not fit right in my car. I know that Baby Depot used to sell it, but not any more.

[Joolsplus2]

You could try calling any smaller local baby stores in your area, one might have one or two, but otherwise, online is your only option right now. If you have LATCH, I'm quite sure it will fit fine. If you don't have LATCH, there're no promises (I had a hard time getting mine to fit tightly in any of my cars with seatbelts...the top tether anchor helps a bit, though...I'm not saying I couldn't get it in tight, but it was hard to do)
http://www.123safe.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/c-secNania_Carseats.html?L+scstore+glbd9255fff294f2+ 1078619297

I think they are being bought out by Combi, and there's a huge reorganization going on, which is why they are so hard to find. Fingers crossed Combi re-releases the seat to more stores soon!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Elizasmom]

Thanks for your reply. This will be our "extra seat" to use in the second car (Nissan Sentra). It does not have latch and there is a hump in the center position. I would buy another Wizzard, but I don't think Britax seats fit well over those "humps". Our Fisher Price Safe Embrace does great, but she's 40 pounds now. How does the Airway do on humps with a lap belt?

[Joolsplus2]

I got my seat installed on my "hump" with a lap/shoulder belt...another tech and I both had bruises on our knees for weeks, lol. My guess is you would have better luck installing it outboard with the lap/shoulder belt, but if you are determined enough, it would work in the center (it's a narrow seat at the bottom, may well work on top of the hump...)
Do you have tether anchors in that car? If not, I highly recommend them for installing that seat with any seatbelt (I have part numbers if you need them, just in case)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[marybliss]

You can call the Nania U.S. distribution center (877-912-1313).

Babyage has run out of these seats, but if you call the above number, you can order the seats directly from the distribution center ($75 plus straight $15 shipping, no tax). They only have the "malt" color which is black and burgandy... but will be getting more selections in by August.

FYI: These seats are being bought out by Combi this winter. They will be under the Nania name until then. (The rep I spoke with suspects, once under the Combi name, the price will go up too.)

These seats are a good alternative to Britax, if you want to keep a child harnessed beyond the standard 40 lbs. They have decent padding, side wings, and a front seat adjuster. I've also learned that the ones manufactured in 2004 are made slightly better than the older ones.


Good luck!

[Elizasmom]

Thanks a ton for the info about calling Nania's distribution center! I do have a tether anchor in the Sentra installed in the center. I feel like the Sentra isn't very safe to begin with, so I will only put her in the center in that vehicle.

[ALLEYCAT]

Where has this been hiding on all my searches? It looks alot like the Britax and I am very interested in your review when you get it(if you do). We are still fussing with moving the Wizard back and forth and it often ends up at work in DH vehicle while DS and I are stranded at home. We have abandonded the Cosco Touriva all together as it is so hard to install.
Hurry and post a review!

[Joolsplus2]

It's much more like a cosco, in quality, than a Britax (cheap cover, somewhat difficult adjuster--compared to a Britax anyway, smooth compared to an evenflo titan, lol-- straps that twist a bit and don't have a harness yoke for easy rethreading).
He's way too young to forward face now, were you asking about the nania convertible seat on that page? they used to be at kmart for like $40, don't know if they still are..you *might* like it better than the touriva... oh, check this out http://www.babylove.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/p-CAR-014034.html?L+scstore+lioo4756

:)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[ALLEYCAT]

Absolutely I meant the convertable with the wings like a Wizard. I guess I got distracted and did not mention that. Funny how things look so great but don't always turn out that way. We have a Cosco Touriva that is nearly impossible to instal in our cars so I want something easy to install and will just have to deal with the twisty straps. The base, or lack of one on the Touriva was what makes it so difficult for us to use. That little flip up foot thing is not adequate. I like the link you shared, wow what a great price I may give it a try.

[murphydog77]

Hey, Julie! A store owner friend of mine said that the new Airways will have a splitter plate. His wife also said she just placed an order for them through Combi. I didn't think to ask when she thought she might receive them, since I've only heard that Combi is releasing them later this year.

Heather

[Elizasmom]

How are the 2004's better? Any chance they shortened the buckle? I heard that was a negative.

[Joolsplus2]

That's good news Heather, thanks. We need so many more options in this "over 40" category, don't we? And GOOD ones would be nice!
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joolsplus2]

I asked a top GM crash test expert (teaching an update class I took in March) about that long crotch strap and if it was a problem, and she said that children in 5-pt harnesses simply do not experience abdominal injuries (there are other seats with long buckles too, so there has been time to compare data, fortunately)...mainly, it's those heavy head and shoulders taking the brunt of the crash forces (little kids have big heads and tiny butts, their weight is distributed differently from adults), so the long buckle on the Airway isn't a problem, it just looks weird. One bonus of that, though, is that it's easier to keep a kid from sitting on it every time, and it's easier for older kids to buckle themselves :)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[murphydog77]

Before I bought the seat, I asked 2 of the top car seat experts in the country about it. Being the professionals that they are, they hemmed and hawed when I asked their opinions on the seat. They did say that there wasn't likely anything to worry about with the length of the crotch strap.

Heather, CPS Tech
http://www.carseatsite.com

[kellyotn]

I have no idea if this is the same seat, but go to Big Lots' had a Nania in their ad. Its a "Nania 3-in-1 convertible booster seat". That's all it says. Its $35, "compare to $49.99". I've never heard of this seat before! I saw the ad and see it mentioned here now. Weird.

http://www.biglots.com/adpage.asp?a=3629&r=1FCFD

I hope it shows up, they have a kinda weird ad page, they email a link to you, but you can't really get to it from their site directly.

Its probably not the same one, since this one says booster, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Kelly

[Elizasmom]

Interesting. That looks a little like the Airway. I wonder what the weight restriction is on the harness. I have never heard of it. Does anyone know anything about it?

[Joolsplus2]

I can't get to the link, but only the Airway goes to 50 pounds, so likely it's only 40. Does it look like the "mothercare runner" here? http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2003/mothercare_runner.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doeamtc%2Bkindersitze%26hl%3Den%26lr%3 D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[kellyotn]

http://biglots.inserts2online.com/BigLots07142004BigLotsMASTER/breakouts/b168398_9.jpg

does this link work? oh, i just previewed it and it (hopefully) is showing the pic directly. :-)

kelly

[Joolsplus2]

Good work getting that posted. Yup, it's the same one that did pretty poorly in Austrian testing...darn, it's a bargain, too. Too bad BigLots! never carries Huskies, lol.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[ALLEYCAT]

Do you know how the convertables did in testing? Where do I find that info?

[Joolsplus2]

Oh, you don't want to see the Austrian test of the convertible. They installed it wrong, and it totally dumped the dummy. Here's the seat itself http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2003/teamtex_safety_baby_basic.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doeamtc%2Bkindersitze%26hl%3Den%26lr%3 D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8
And here's the main page http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2003/gesamt.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doeamtc%2Bkindersitze%26hl%3Den%26lr%3 D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8 (click on "to the videos" and "frontcrash video badly") Bear in mind, they install the same seat totally differently than we do in the US, and the testers installed it completely wrong (I don't know why they didn't revise the whole test) so it will perform MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH better in the US.
You know, it's only a little while till your baby's a year, though, why not just tolerate moving your Wizard or Touriva for now and then cut your losses and get an Ultra Cargo at a year? It'll save you some hassle and money in the long run, I think, and the Ultra or Platinum Cargo are going to be much nicer and longer lasting than another bargain convertible seat. I wouldn't say all this, but I have owned dozens of seats looking for the "right" one, so I've "been there, done that" already :)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[ALLEYCAT]

I had not thought about just waiting for him to turn a year I guess because I planned on keeping him RF untill the Wizard limits. I could continue to tough it out as we have been doing but I was hoping for a simple fix. Thanks for your input.

[Joolsplus2]

I really wish there were something better out there to recommend :( Maybe a really good deal on a Roundabout? (You can ebay it after a couple years, and probably be out less money in the long run than you would spend on a couple of "lesser" seats....)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats (33 so far....)
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Elizasmom]

After all that, I bought another Wizard today! We already has a Wizard in the van, but I thought it wouldn't fit in our Nissan Sentra and was hoping the Airway would. Well, turns out the Wizard does fit. I feel really confident in Britax, and I wasn't so sure about Nania. Still, it wasn't cheap and won't be useful later as a booster like the Airway would be. Thanks for all your posts though. I spoke to the Nania distributer this morning, and they just got the newest Airway patterns in and will sell them for $75 plus $15 shipping. However, she said they were selling fast.

[Joolsplus2]

That's good, I'm glad it fits (the base on the WZ is smaller than the Airway)...if it's any consolation, the Airway is the pits as a booster, and since you'll have to have her outboard to use it, you will probably want something that has side impact protection by then, like the Bodyguard or whatever else comes out. Lots of 7 yo's still fit in the Wizard, so you should get plenty of bang for your many bucks :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Elizasmom]

I think my daughter may outgrow the Wizard in another year (even though she is almost 4 now). She only has another inch or so until she's at the top slot in it's highest position. I really wish they would pay more attention to the slot heights and not just the weight limit when they design these seats.

[Joolsplus2]

I hope you end up being surprised by how long she lasts in it. I know my almost 5 yo only has what looks like an inch to go in her MA, yet her much taller almost 7 yo brother still fits in it (*just* under the top slots). Here are some other kiddos to compare:

http://www.geocities.com/protectwhatulove/6_year_old_in_MA.html,

http://pages.ivillage.com/momika/carseatphotos/id32.html

And I don't know if you've seen this one where the Wizard is taller than the MA, but here's another http://home.earthlink.net/~broderick/id2.html

My fingers are crossed for you :)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Elizasmom]

That's encouraging. Trouble is, my daughter has a really long torso. She is not yet for but wears a 6-year-old swimsuit!

By the way, the picture of the 6 year old (Andrew) doesn't seem right. His shoulders must be above the slot for his head to be that high. It seems to me he has outgrown that seat. Britax's instructions are confusing and make it seem like a child can go up to 65 pounds even if shoulders are above the slot. However, I called them about it and was told that this is not what they intended. It seems like a lot of people misunderstand this.

[Joolsplus2]

The way I understand it, with the Wizard, they way to use it properly is to adjust the headrest so it works well with the child's head, and let the straps fall where they may, which is going to always be sort of "snugly" at the shoulders (not really under the shoulders, but just barely cupping around them). Since his head fits fine in the headrest, he still fits. (This is according to his mom, who tests products for Britax...check out the rest of her pages, she has all of them, lol). If the straps were to be much lower below the shoulders, than head excursion would be significantly increased, but since they are snugly at the shoulders, you can see his head isn't going to be flying further forward in a crash than they would if it were a standard seat and the straps were in the slots well above his shoulders.

Yeah, I don't get that "when the child is in the top slots, keep using the seat till the tops of the ears are even with the top of the seat", and they never agree with that when you call them.... :P

Julie
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Elizasmom]

The instructions say "The child is too tall when the tops of the ears are above the top of the headrest or HEIGHT EXCEEDS 49". It also says that the straps should be "even with the child's shoulders", which is what they have told me on the phone. The website says that Andrew is 51" and I would think from the position of his head in the "wings" that he is at least an inch or so above the slot. Putting this info together, it seems to me that Britax has an error/contradiction in their instructions. Here's why: Any child who has the top of their ears at the top of the headrest has got to be WAY above the slot, which contradicts their earlier statement that the staps must be even with the shoulders. Also, a child whose ears are that high within the "wings" is obviously not getting the side-impact protection the wings are intended for (I personally think such a child would be safer in a Bodyguard). It seems to me that a child has outgrown this seat when there shoulders are above the slot significantly enough that their entire head is no longer contained within the wings, or, to be more conservative, when their shoulders are above the slot regardless of their head's position in the wings. When I have specifically asked Britax this question, I have been told that the slot must not be lower than the shoulders, period. I told them the interpretation I had been reading on this site, and they said it was not correct. Maybe there are kids out their with REALLY long necks who outgrow seats by the ears before they get above the top slot!!!! I don't get it. Don't almost all mfrs. state that the shoulders should not be above the slot FF? I thought it was because the straps slip off the shoulders if they were below them.

Another thing I just noticed about that picture of Andrew. There is no room for his shoulders to get any higher than they already are in that seat because the wings are in the way. The winds are already resting on his shoulders. How could his ears ever possibly get to the point of the top of the seat (unless he is a giraffe)? Britax really needs to clarify this I think.

[LBW]

Are there any of these left anywhere?

My 22-month-old is closing in on 40 lbs quickly -- the limit of his RA. I just started researching options. It seems like I need to choose between the MA, Husky, Wizard, and Nania Airway.

[Elizasmom]

Yes, I believe those are your only options. I have no regrets about going with another Wizard instead of the Nania. It sounds like your child might need that 65 pound weight limit (vs. 55 pounds in the Nania) or you could be going through this again before he's three.

[LBW]

You're probably right. The Husky is just so darn BIG! But, we love Britax, so that's what we'll most likely end up with. I just wish I could see the Airway in person. I'm about a month late, I guess.