The First Years B530 (Compass??) at Costco--opinions?

[sariana]

Any opinions on this seat/price?

http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductSet.aspx?Prodid=11485461&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|48022|63708&N=4040785&Mo=10&No=10&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=63708&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

I remember there was discussion a while back about the various model numbers for this company. Was the B530 one to seek or one to avoid (or neither)?

Thanks!

[Joolsplus2]

Here's a review of the B540 http://carseatblog.com/?p=3453, but the 530 has less deep headwings, it won't be as protective in a side impact crash.
The seatback is kind of short compared to taller boosters (Parkway, Monterey, Vivo), and the back is actually too tall at the shortest setting for small kids (and kind of too wide for good fit, too). It *may* cause the lapbelt to ride too high on the tummy, depending on the car and the child, so it's not usually top of my list for that reason lately. For the quality of the product, that's a good price, but only worth it if it fits your kid safely and for that model, I'd want to use it in a car with good side impact ratings and curtain airbags, personally.

[sariana]

I'm not planning to move DS to a booster until he turns 6 this summer. Right now he is just shy of 44" tall (mostly in his legs) and just under 40 lbs. He is still in his MA, with one more slot for the shoulder harnesses. So he definitely does not seem to be long in the torso. He is long and skinny, with long limbs (pants and sleeves get too short well before the clothes are too small).

For at least six months the seat would go in DH's '08 Mazda 3, which does have side air bags. Once DH returns from deployment, we'll likely get a new SUV, which also will have them. He would be in a side seat, as we also have a DD, and they CANNOT sit right next to each other, even if the seats were to fit that way.

My biggest concern with this seat is that it seems to be a clearance item, which makes me think the DoM might be too long ago. We would like a seat that DD could use eventually, too, and she is tiny (<32", ~24 lbs at almost 2). So it may be a long time before she is ready for a booster.

But it's Costco, so I could return it to a warehouse if I don't like the DoM or if it doesn't fit DS well.

Thanks for your input, Jools!