Overwhelmed & confused about booster seats

[KathyJL]

My 3 year old son is 40.5" and about 36-37 lbs. He's at the verge of outgrowing his Roundabout and Triumph with his shoulders at the top slots.
I'm so confused about whether to get a PBP or Combination seat. My first concern is safety. Second is comfort, as we travel often.
Should I get a combination seat that allows for a higher weight limit with harness OR get a PBP that allows 30-100lbs (like Graco TurboBooster)?
If the combination seat is the answer, do you have recommendations? The primary car is a '97 4-Runner, and second car is '03 Nissan Maxima.
Thank you for your help!
Kathy

[wendmatt]

My DD is about the same size at age 4 and I just bought a Radian and a Regent (that should be arriving tomorrow, yippee!). Everything I have read here says a 3 year old is way too young for a booster and they should be harnessed as long as possible.
I think the regent would be hard to travel with as it is heavy but I guess if you checked it, it would be OK, I haven't done it yet. The radian folds up so is a good choice for travelling but it can be difficult to install in some cars. It fits well in DHs Ford Escape in the middle but in my Toyota it only fit outboard with latch. So it's a good idea to try it and be able to return it.
I believe another option is the Apex. which harnesses and then turns into a bpb.
Hopefully someone else will chime in and give you better advice, but I know exactly where you are coming from, I stressed about it for months!
I like the radian and DD loves it, we've had it for a few months now, I can report back on the regent after the weekend!
Good luck with your decision.
Check over on the BBB car seat board, it gets lots more traffic and there are lots of q's similar to yours.

[avd3875]

I agree with the PP about sticking with a harnessed seat. My son outgrew his Roundabout at 2.5 and I was planning to put him in a Regent, but my car doesn't have tether anchors (required for the Regent). Julie suggested the Radian. I LOVE it. It fits perfectly in the center of our two RAV4s. The installation is rock solid with the lap belt and because the seat is narrow we can once again fit passengers in the back seat (we couldn't with the RA). Another nice feature about the Radian is that the shoulders are wide, for those future football players. My mom did get a Regent for her 2002 Sienna, and we're very pleased with it as well, but for our small car the Radian is perfect. Oh, one more thing... I moved our Radian to my in-laws' car the other day (2007 Sienna). I was able to get a solid install with LATCH in less than 3 minutes. I thought the leather interior would make the Radian slide, but it did just fine.
As for being ovherwhelmed about this, I understand completely. This is a very important decision and you are being a great mom for taking it so seriously.

[momtoB]

The only combo seat currently on the market (one that harnesses to a certain weight, then converts to a high back BPB) is the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex. This seat requires a vehicle headrest behind it so it's not compatible with every car. It harnesses to 65lbs, and has 100lb limit as a booster seat. Top slots are 17".

If you're traveling frequently then I'd recommend the SK Radian 65 (18" top slots), or the Britax convertibles (MA/DC 17.5" top slots, BV 17" top slots). These are all approved for use on airplanes. The Britax Regent will last the longest as it has 20" top harness slots and has an 80lb weight limit. It requires the top tether once the child reaches 50lbs, and it is not airline approved. Honestly, I would not want to travel with it as you would have to check it.

Another option that might work well as a back up seat (doesn't get rave reviews as a primary seat) is the Safeguard GO seat (www.safeguardseat.com) this seat folds for travel, weighs 9lbs, has 17" top slots, harnesses to 60lbs, then converts to a backless booster seat. You can read reviews of seats at www.car-seat.org under the car seat forum, there's a review forum. hth!

[KathyJL]

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone! We're going to start with the Apex to see how it fits in our car and with our child. If it works, we'll get a second for the other car. Plan B is Radian; Plan C Regent (due to costs). I'll be heading out to buy it today.

[Scatterbunny]

Make sure the seating position the Apex will be in has headrests. It is required that the vehicle provide head support at least to the tips of the child's ears with the Apex because the carseat's own headrest is not reinforced to withstand crash forces and provide adequate head support.