Looking for the golden trifecta of travel carseats

[YouAreTheFocus]

My son is 18 mo, avg wt & ht. In our one car he has a Britax Blvd 70. We are coming up on our first plane trip since he has been in this seat (last flight he was still in the bucket). I'd rather not tote the Blvd along w/ us on plane trips.

So, I am looking for the golden trifecta of travel careseats--lightweight, long-lasting RF, easy to install. Does any seat check all these boxes?

I apologize if this has been covered in previous threads--I've read through a lot, and it seems like all of the lightweight seats are nearly impossible to install RF and/or have low RF wt limits.

Any suggestions?

[AnnieW625]

You are pretty much stuck with the Cosco Scenera now, and maybe the Evenflo Triubute if you want something really light. The good easy to install small seats like the Britax Roundabout, and Evenflo Triumph 5 are now discontinued:(. The Britax Roundabout 55 is suppose to be good too and it's definitely lighter than the Marathon 70 or Boulevard 70, but it's essentially the same shell height as the other two so it's not that small. I believe that all three seats I mentioned all rearface to 35lbs or greater (I think the Scenera is 40lbs, and can't remember on the other two).

[YouAreTheFocus]

Thanks Annie. I have searched and searched, and like you said, it seems that there are only a few options in the lightweight travel carseat category. The 2 you mentioned plus 2 others I have encountered:

Safety 1st Uptown/Avenue: ~12 lbs, RF 35, FF 40
Evenflo Tribute: ~12 lbs, RF 35, FF 40
Combi Coccoro: ~12 lbs, RF 33, FF 40
Cosco Scenera: ~11 lbs, RF 40, FF 40

Given these options, can anyone weigh in one which has the easiest RF install? We will have to install on the plane and several different cars.

I'd also appreciate any input on shell height--any of these better in terms of the 1 in below shell rule?

Thanks!!

[elektra]

We have the Safety 1st Uptown/Avenue. However, it was one of the recalled models and it seems like Cosco/Safety 1st has been sketchy lately with their harness issues, being investigated and all that.

You could also think about a Roundabout 55. I have a Roundabout 50 and it's not exactly a travel seat or as lightweight as the Avenue but you get the Britax quality, easly installs, higher seat limits.

[Smillow]

I have the Safety 1st Ave & did not find it easy to install RF in a car (not too bad on the plane). I even had pool noodles in my suitcase - the bottom is a really weird shape.

[bearwithme]

Not the longest rear-facing seat, but I use the cocorro and I love it! It will last about the same rear-facing as the old roundabout, from what I've heard. It's worth the convenience and it's easy to install rear-facing. It's 11 pounds.

I'll probably switch to another RF when needed and back to the cocorro when she's forward facing.

[jjordan]

If you're not going to be traveling often, I'd just bring the boulevard and deal with it. Even a light car seat is big and awkward to travel with. If you strap the seat to a stroller then the weight only comes in to play when you're actually carrying it down the airplane aisle and moving it from the stroller to whatever car. If you're going to be using a bunch of different cars, I think the easy install on the boulevard makes it worth carrying that extra weight for the few times that you're actually carrying the seat.

Now, my answer might change if you travel often. But for a couple of times a year, I wouldn't bother with a "travel" seat.

[Joolsplus2]

I think the Tribute is really easiest to install RF, and I don't have a toddler to show RF in it, but Leah is just barely too tall/heavy for it now FF at 5... https://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/LeahInCarseats#5576283192696917378

Dealing with a couple of Sceneras at a carseat check this weekend was almost painful, they needed noodles, and the LATCH install was too much of a pain, we had to use seatbelts and locking clips... bleh.

[Multimama]

I have the Safety 1st Ave & did not find it easy to install RF in a car (not too bad on the plane). I even had pool noodles in my suitcase - the bottom is a really weird shape.

We have the Safety 1st Avenue too. It is really light with a nice tall shell. I have found it much easier to install once I took three pool noodles and actually taped them into a pyramid with duct tape. Now I don't have problems, but it is a pain to carry around 3 pool noodles when you travel!

If you don't plan too travel much I would just bring the Blvd though.

[vonfirmath]

We have the Safety 1st Uptown/Avenue. However, it was one of the recalled models and it seems like Cosco/Safety 1st has been sketchy lately with their harness issues, being investigated and all that.

You could also think about a Roundabout 55. I have a Roundabout 50 and it's not exactly a travel seat or as lightweight as the Avenue but you get the Britax quality, easly installs, higher seat limits.

I traveled (and would do it again if my child had outgrown the infant seat) with my Roundabout 50. I MUCH prefer this seat to the Scenera because of install issues RFing.

[Beth24]

I just got a Roundabout as a second seat/travel seat. I am comfortable with the Britax install and didn't want to have to struggle too much!

[YouAreTheFocus]

Thanks all. After reading about your difficulties/issues w/ the Safety 1st & Scenera seats, and the small-ness of the Coccoro, I was leaning towards the Tribute. Then I saw Jool's pic of Leah in the seat, and I was sold! Great visual in regards to longevity/shell height. Thanks, Jools!

I had no idea it is so reasonably priced--$40 at walmart.com, with free site to store or $4.97 to have it shipped to your home. :thumbsup:

[Joolsplus2]

Thanks all. After reading about your difficulties/issues w/ the Safety 1st & Scenera seats, and the small-ness of the Coccoro, I was leaning towards the Tribute. Then I saw Jool's pic of Leah in the seat, and I was sold! Great visual in regards to longevity/shell height. Thanks, Jools!

I had no idea it is so reasonably priced--$40 at walmart.com, with free site to store or $4.97 to have it shipped to your home. :thumbsup:

Good deal :thumbsup:
It used to be a truly awful seat, it only had three harness slots (the bottom two were like 6 inches apart, so RF the 'at or below' was way, way below most kids' shoulders!), and it had a weird metal flap adjuster, like the strap was threaded around and through it or something very odd, just a loose metal plate...hard to describe, but bad, lol. They spiffed it up with some EPS foam and better slot heights and a nicer adjuster, and a higher RF weight limit, but it gets ignored compared to the always-easy-to-find-really-cheap Scenera. Wish they'd pouf up the padding a bit to make it more appealing to parents than the ComfortSport and Titan (which both have lower top slots/don't last as long/cost twice as much).

Oh, hold the phone, I do have a picture of a *huge* (I mean, this kid is just enormous, but has all the cute in the world to match :love-retry:) 2 year old modeling the Tribute.. http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=165731