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View Full Version : Joolsplus2 and others, please give input!



mediamaven
08-12-2004, 04:38 PM
Ok, after reading a bunch of reviews on booster seats and combo seats, I'm now thoroughly confused on what kind of car seat I should buy!

Here's my situation:

My 9 week old daughter is growing at a MUCH faster rate than I thought and predict she will be out of her infant seat in a couple of months if not sooner. This means I will have to bump my 2 1/2 year old son out of the convertible seats that we have and purchase some more! He is pretty tall (38 inches), but on the slim side (31 lbs.). Which seat should I buy? I want the safest, but we'll need to buy two seats as my husband and I both work full-time and take turns with daycare runs. We currently have an Evenflo Triumph and a Britax Marathon. We have two SUVs, a Buick Rainier and a GMC Envoy.

I'm thinking he needs a combo seat. I was looking at reviews for the Cosco Summit on the BRU website, but one reviewer said that she called the US Govt. Auto Safety Hotline and "they said this carseat CANNOT BE USED IN SUV'S and will not be safe in an SUV, because of the base and reclining feature on this seat. Cosco and Eddie Bauer failed to let you know that." HUH??? Is this true? Also, I'm reading that this might not be a good choice for taller kids. The Graco CarGo seat reviews had people and Consumer Reports complaining about the shoulder belt adjuster.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks! :-)

Joolsplus2
08-12-2004, 09:21 PM
The only authority about which seat cannot be used in which car is the seat's manual and the car's manual...I don't know what that reviewer was talking about (there are some freakishly bad reviews over there...scary!).
There's no reason you couldn't use a Summit, but you're right, it's a short seat, and will no way in heck last your child till 40 pounds.
Don't worry about the belt guides being not-so-hot on the Cargo (Ultra or Platinum, NOT Treasured, as it has no front adjuster, crummy paddding, and twisty straps), or the Evenflo Chase (also a great choice with tall top harness slots and a front adjuster). Just evaluate these seats on the harnesses, as that is what you are going to be dealing with. A couple years down the road, you will hand them down to the baby, use them harnessed, and get your DS a really nice dedicated booster, like the Graco Turbo, which will take him all the way to post-booster size and have nice belt guides.
So, ANY of these choices would be appropriate, depending on your budget and amount of time you want your kiddo harnesed:
Britax Husky: Harnesses to 80 pounds. Pricy, but nice, my 7 yo loves his.
Britax Marathon: Pricy but nice, will harness to about age 6, my 5 yo loves hers
Graco Ultra or Platinum Cargo: $60-$100 depending on cover and store, well padded, nice harness, tall top slots.
Evenflo Chase: same price and stores as Cargo, "on harness" adjuster, so make sure you like it. Well padded, nifty armrests, tall harness slots.
Of course make sure they fit your car and your child well, and that you find them easy to use properly for every trip.

Good luck!

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

luvbeinmama
08-13-2004, 01:29 AM
Just a customer review on the Summit as well. My DS had this seat for a while and his legs fell asleep in it constantly. Meaning anytime we were in the car for a decent length of time. I have since replaced it with the Cargo Platinum for my DD and have given my DS a TurboBooster. I haven't had this problem with either of these seats.

mediamaven
08-17-2004, 08:21 PM
Thanks both of you for the advice! I appreciate it!

trumansmom
08-18-2004, 10:29 AM
I'm so glad you asked this! My 4 month old is gaining weight like crazy and I'm having trouble carrying her carseat, and my 2 1/2 year old is the exact same weight and height as yours!

Thanks!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and Eleanor 4/14/04