Need second car seat (safe and good for plane)?

[whittyanne]

What would you all recommend for a second car seat? We have a Marathon right now that we love that we keep in my car. We haven't needed to use DH's car yet but we know we'll eventually need a car seat in his... we'd also like the second car seat to be one we can travel with.

We've flown with the Marathon and IMO it's a big old nightmare - barely fits in the plane seat and had to be installed upright if we wanted rear-facing. I saw other people with smaller car seats that fit fine.

What are some of the more affordable/safe car seats that people like here?

[Joolsplus2]

I think a lot of people have been happy with the Cosco Regal Ride ($39 at Target) or Touriva ($39-$49 at Walmart "tourvia" on walmart.com)...it's the same seat, different covers, and of course the 5-pt version. It's light, relatively easy to install, and has the same harness system as the Marathon, so there's no learning curve with the harness, except for the puzzle buckle, which most folks don't find to be a problem.
The Graco ComfortSport is also fairly nice and light and comes in a variety of cover options and prices. The Evenflo Vanguard and Titan and Tribute are also options you could explore, but the harness adjuster tends to be sticky and there are some issues with the harness on the back of the seat (making the straps fit rearfacing kiddos...if you happen to buy one, I'll give you more details on it).
Basically any light convertible is a good choice except for the century/graco 1500 ste, which has no front adjuster and a 22lb RF weight limit (I can't wait till they quit making these archaic little beasties, lol)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[lynettefrancois]

The Touriva is great- so light and easy to install. Was glad to get back to the Marathon after a 2 month trip, but hey, it's a Marathon... :) I agree the Marathon would be a nightmare to travel with. HTH!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Just as a point of reference . . . I fly with the Marathon all the time and have never had a problem fitting it in a plane seat in small planes or large, on USAir, American, or United.

I install it rear facing, maybe that makes a difference, I don't know.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/borntobebreastfed2.gif

[Joolsplus2]

I think the MA fits great even FF on planes, too :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[whittyanne]

I don't know how you guys got it to fit! We installed in rear-facing going down... reclining. Do you guys recline it? Nate still needs to be reclined... anyway, the guy in front of us couldn't put his seat back and it pressed against his seat the entire time. He was very nice about it but it was still a major PITA. On the way back, we installed it forward-facing and upright, and that fit fine but Nate was uncomfortable.

I'll check out the Touriva, that sounds like a good deal. We're not flying again until Nov. so we have some time.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

yes, I recline it and yes it rests against the seat in front of me. I'm not concerned about that. (it's actually safer for it to be braced right up against the seat in front anyway)

I've never had anyone complain. There are other rows in a plane that don't recline and if people are unlucky enough to be seated there, there is nothing they can do about it. (last row, row in front of exit row)

I don't think any seat would fit rear facing and still allow the person in front to recline. Even when we were in the infant seat, it took up all the space.

If you were forward facing, the child would be kicking the seat in front of him, so maybe not being able to recline isn't so bad. :)

I look at it this way. I paid for a seat for my baby. The airline allows this car seat to be used. So it's not my problem and not my concern that the person in front of me can't recline. I'm not doing anything wrong nor am I taking up any space that I did not pay for. If they have an issue they should take it up with the airline.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/borntobebreastfed2.gif

[Joolsplus2]

At least it has to be installed in a window seat...it doesn't matter so much, because they can lean on the window :). I'd rather sit upright and not have a kid kick me and put their tray up and down the whole flight, anyway (boy, some people can be SO rude when they have kids behind them...my poor kids had to sit behind some she-devil college students last time, and they reclined their seats the whole way and the kids' feet couldn't HELP but touch their seatbacks, and they were SO grouchy at me about it...sheesh!)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[whittyanne]

Karen, you are so right. I paid for a seat, the plane allows my Marathon, I SHOULD be okay with it!

I still feel badly though... anyway, this next flight down in Nov. (which is to visit my parents in Vero Beach, and their house might not be there after Frances is done anyway!) we have my sister sitting in the window seat the aisle in front of us. So at least I don't have to worry next time.

[jamsmu]

Whit, We used our RA forward facing last time. No problems at all... though Carson's feet are probably not as likely to reach as Nate's. I wouldn't rush to get the new seat if Abby is infront of you :) but... and I know it is a way off -- see #2--... but there are 2 reasons we got the RA as our second (and now more used) seat:
1. Your report about your first flight with Nate in the MA made me think I didn't want to deal with it, so I went for the smaller seat
2. We figured that both the MA and the RA are good for babies. So when there is a number 2, Carson will use the MA and the baby will use the RA. Of course, we'll need 2 more seats then for the other car but at least we'll be set with a set of seats.

See you tonight!