Recaro Booster Seat

[Andrea Riddle]

Hi- I'm considering purchasing the Recaro booster seat as the primary seat for dd who's almost 3. It is pricey but I'm impressed bu the construction as drive a SUV with high risk of roll-over (cheaper than buying a new car). Has anyone used or even seen this seat in person?

Thanks,
Andrea

[Joolsplus2]

I owned one. It's well-built, but I did not like it. It lacks head support for side impact crashes.
How heavy is your son? He is really way too young to be in a booster seat, and should be harnessed as long as possible for the safety benefits. There are a variety of seats that harness to 40 pounds, and a few seats that harness to higher weights, like 50/65/80 pounds.
How heavy is your son, that will help me recommend a better seat for him.
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[KNOWN AS MAMA2]

HI, JULIE, CHECK OUT THE NEW RECARO START! IT NOW HAS A REDESIGNED HEADREST. I WISHED OURS HAD THIS! YOU CAN LOOK IT UP AT ELITECARSEAT.COM. THIS SHOULD FIX THE "POOR" (COMPARED TO SEATS THAT COME WITH DEEP SIDEWINGS FOR SIDEIMPACT PROTECTION) PERFORMANCE IN SIDE-IMPACT CRASHTESTS.

[Joolsplus2]

Yeah, the new one does have the new headrests, but I haven't seen the crashtests, and don't know if it really is protective...plus, the mandatory shoulderbelt lockoffs are a massive pain, the required tether is a bother, and it's REALLY hard to lean over the kid to buckle the seatbelt, since the seat is so high, and kids won't be able to buckle the seat themselves till they are at least 6 or 7. I sold mine and put my ds back in a harnessed seat because it was SO much easier for ME to deal with, lol.
OK, Ok, I should have said all that in the beginning, huh? ;)
I can't tell you how much more I love the bodyguard, and I WISH WISH WISH Britax would lower the height and weight limits on it so kids can actually move straight from the roundabout into it (the minimum ht/wt on the BG is 43 inches and 40 pounds, and kids typically outgrow the RA at 35 pounds or 40 inches...Britax has left a bit of a protection gap for thin or short kids...)
Ok, sorry I got into a major diatribe here!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Libsmom]

Well, I went ahead a purchased the Recaro. I appreciate your advice. Thank you! The side impact protection it offered won me over. My daughter is 32 lbs. However, she fits in the shoulder strap great. I was sooo sick of the twisty straps on her convertible seat!! I do feel she is more securely restrained in my Xterra. I also loved that the seat came fully assembled. Because of the heighth of my car I've always had to climb in to buckle her in. I could see how that could be bothersome to others. We also bought the new Graco TurboBooster that Alan & Denise recommended for my husband's car.

[Joolsplus2]

Daughter, sorry...
Remember that the shoulderbelt clip MUST be clamped.
I would VERY HIGHLY recommend getting a seat like the Graco Platinum Cargo (the straps don't twist at all)instead, to keep her much more safely harnessed till the full 40 pounds...which she won't hit till age 5 or so...but of course you are following the guidelines for the Recaro (the minimum age on the Graco Turbo is 3, 30 pounds, and 38 inches, as long as you are aware you are using it against manufacturers instructions, it is your choice...but it's important for you know know it, you know?)
Hope you enjoy your new seats :)
I didn't mind the Recaro *quite* so much in my SUV as I hated it in our 323 BMW...leaning DOWN to buckle it was harder than just leaning over
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[uccomama]

I have, and am using, a Recaro Start which I am very happy with! Julie and I agree on most car seat issues, but I disagree with her harsh comments on the Recaro!:P I do agree with Julie on the fact your DD is too young and too small to be in a booster, be it a Recaro or a Turbo booster.

About the Recaro, I bought a Recaro Start over 2 1/2 years ago to use for my 3 3/4 year old DD who was probably 33 lbs at the time and around 38 inches tall, at a guess. I got it because at the time my options were far more limited that they are now and had I to do it over again, I would have got her a Britax Marathon or a Wizard, but they weren't available. The Britax Super Elite (now Husky) was just coming out, but they were extremely hard to come by and I had to fit three children in the back seat of my car (at the time a Toyota Avalon which is not a small car), but with two still in car seats, it wasn't doable. I never found it difficult to buckle DD into the Recaro, and the neither were the seat belt lock-offs or the tether a bother. It is a heavy seat, so not good for carpooling but that was never an issue, and I have found it to be extremely stable when installed in the car. When I got my Recaro it didn't come with the integral headrest, and as I felt the headrest was vital, I ordered one from the UK (they weren't available in the US), and I was very glad I did. It is, IMO essential for the safety of the child and for comfortable sleeping. The problem I had with the Recaro was not the seat but DD, she just wasn't ready to sit in a BPB, I was forever telling her to sit back, sit properly and it was very stressful driving. After just over a year of her being in the Recaro, I moved her into a Britax Husky because by that time I had a Honda Odyssey and space was no longer an issue. At two months shy of 6.5 she still rides in the Husky, although she does use a Britax Bodyguard in DH's car, she is still too wiggly for a booster and actually prefers the Husky. So the Recaro was mothballed.

Fast forward to last month, I discoverd that DH wasn't buckling DS (3 3/4, 33- 34 lbs and 41 inches tall) properly into his car seat (Maxi Cosi Priori) in his car (Volvo Stationwagon). He couldn't be bothered to deal with the puzzle buckle and was just doing up the chest clip. So out came the Recaro. Now best practice for a child of DS's age and size is a five point harness but the only other five point harnessed seat I had was a Britax Elite (discontinued) and that has a puzzle buckle and an inverted harness and DH finds it impossible to buckle DS in when he had it in his car, he managed to get he straps impossibly twisted and I am sure when I wasn't buckling DS in, DH didn't bother to even try and just fastened the chest clip. x( DH wasn't open to me getting a new harnessed seat which he would have used properly, so out came the Recaro. I choose the Recaro over the Turbo Booster (which we also own) because I need it for carpooling, at 18 lbs, I didn't want to keep lugging the Recaro in and out of my van; I also picked the Recaro because it is so adjustable, so I could get the fit just right for DS , also because of the ability to lock the seat belt, the recline feature and the fact it has the headrest, which incidently is about the same width as the one on the Britax Wizard, which is the seat I have in my car and which DS rides in most of the time.

The Recaro has proved to be totally the right choice for us in this particular situation. DS, at almost four, is much, much better at sitting in a booster than his six year old sister is even now. He is able to sleep in the seat without getting out of position. I have been so pleased with the Recaro I have bought a new one with the integral headrest because the add-on one doesn't stay in place as well, and I am concerned about the side impact protection, our new one should be coming tomorrow I hope!

Having waxed lyrical about the Recaro Start, I still wouldn't use it as DS's main seat and definetly not for your DD as she doesn't meet the manufacturer's requirements yet -- both seats state from three years. Even for my DS who does meet the manufacturer's requirements, it really isn't best practice to put such a young and light child in a BPB instead of a 5pt harnessed seat. But given DH 's reluctance to use a harnessed seat properly, the Recaro will, at least afford good protection in a crash because DS is mature enough to sit in the seat properly. I realize you have just spent a great deal on money on this seat, but in all honesty, I would go out and buy a harnessed seat like the Graco Julie recommended, or take a look at the Britax Wizard or Marathon and keep the Recaro back for a while or return it.

I also agree with Julie on the Bodyguard, it is the greatest booster and it is such as shame it is rated from 40 lbs and 43 inches, as DS fits it perfectly!


Sorry this turned into a novel but I don't get to talk about the Recaro often! :D

Deborah

Mom to three, two in seats: Sasha, 6, in a Britax Husky and a Britax Bodyguard, and Toby, almost 4, in a Britax Wizard and a Recaro Start.



http://pages.ivillage.com/uccomama/

[Joolsplus2]

Deborah, now that you're here...STAY! You are becoming a booster guru!
I'm SURE I would have loved my dear old Recaro more if my shoulderbelt clamp had worked better and the seat stayed adjusted...
Ah well, such is life ;)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[uccomama]

>Deborah, now that you're here...STAY! You are becoming a
>booster guru!
>I'm SURE I would have loved my dear old Recaro more if my
>shoulderbelt clamp had worked better and the seat stayed
>adjusted...
>Ah well, such is life ;)

LOL Julie! Boosters are my latest obsession! Now if I can just get down to BRU to see if they have the Evenflo Bid Kid, and come up with a good enough excuse to buy it. Then I need to force myself into Walmart (yuck!) to see if they have the Cosco Protek.

Deborah