Comments about the Intera?

[madia]

Hi there. i am new to the forum, but i have been visisting often and enjoy the input!

my sister was involved in a car accident yesterday. thankfully everyone, including her 11 month old son, is fine. however, the car seat was confiscated and she needs to buy a new one asap.

i recommended buying a britax, as that seems to be the consensus around here. (And it makes a whole lot of sense when some families are buying an infant carrier, a RF and FF facing seat until 40lbs, a bigger seat when the kiddo outgrows that height wise, and then a booster). however, she just doesn't think she can afford it, which i can simpathize with too!

so, in her search, she found the Safety 1st Enspira and Safety 1st Intera. of course, i needed the opinions of the experts, so what do you think? i did a search on the board and found comments going both ways with this one~ what can you add? any comments about install RF and FF are great, including comments about harness slot height and the use of the booster features.

her son is a little above average in terms of height and way below average in terms of weight, if that matters at all! the car they currently drive is a 2000 accord, which may or may not be totaled out by the accident.

thanks so much, and have a great day!

madia

[SusanMae]

Do you know the weight and height of the child? Also she will have to get a seat that Rear Faces since the baby is only 11 months. Rear Facing is best and should be done for as long as the car seat will allow. The bare MINIMUM is 1 year AND 20 pounds.

Also for the cost--total up the cost of a convertible seat, combo seat(forward facing only with a harness that converts) and a seperate booster. For that she might as well get a Britax.

Here's a link for a Marathon on Sale for $199.99
http://www.babylove.com/cgi-bin/Soft...135+1136865540

I will say---be VERY picky about which Cosco, Safety 1st, or Eddie Bauer seat you choose. Stay away from 3 in 1's completely. Cosco has notioursly LOW top slots which are out grown very early. I'm really starting to believe that seats are better when they are dedicated to no more than 2 jobs. More than that is just too big an order to fill.

Susan

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

If your sister can not afford a Britax i would reccomend the Cosco Touriva/Serena. This is a seat that is RF to 35 lbs and ff to 40 lbs. If you make your sister aware that this is NOT the last seat you will have to buy she will be ok. The 3 in 1 seats are not really 3 in 1 because they have very low slots and children often outgrow them before they are old enough for a bpb. This seat is between $40 and 50 depending on what store you buy it from. After the child is too big for this seat they will most likely need a combo seat which is ~ $70 and when the combo seat is outgrown you will most likely need a hbbpb which is between 50 and 200 depending on the model. With this money you could almost buy a MA/BV/DC and then when the child outgrows that they can go into a $20 backless booster but it is your choice how to spend the money. Also you may be able to get insurance to pay for the carseat....

HTH

Ilana

[madia]

Thank you so much for your comments. This is my sister's first child, and I would really like for her to gain from what I have learned during my years of parenting. Like you mentioned, so many times parents buy an infant car seat, a RF/FF up to 40 lbs seat, another seat until the kiddo is ready for a booster, and then a booster. By the time you add all of those purchases up, you could have bought a more comprehensive seat, like a Britax and saved! I did the same thing with my first baby, and now we have to purchase the more spendy seats anyway so the kiddos can stay harnessed until an appropriate age.

I know that she wants to keep her son RF for as long as possible, so the Serena may be a good option because the 35lb limit, which is greater than other car seats on the market. How does this seat do with the top harness slot? her son is in the 75th percentile for height and the 25 percentile for weight (I don't know know exactly what the measurements are--it is silly how easily I can forget what is "normal" for an age range).

the good news is the insurance may pay for a Britax replacement. If so, which Britax would you recommend?

Thank you so much. You are so very helpful!

Madia

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

I do not know what the slots of the serena are. If you pop over to the BB car seats board i am sure someone there knows, they are very smart ladies.

If insurance would pay for a Britax i would go for the gold and get the BV. It has the extra SIP around the head, the harness goes up and down with a knob rather than rethreding and if price is no object that is what i would do.

Ilana and Avi~ RF in a MA and DC at 28.13 lbs and 33.8 inches~ hope to make it to 2 years RF!

[madia]

do you know the link for that board? i have a terrible time navigating these boards~

thanks~

[momtoB]

Here's a thread about the Safety 1st Intera (from the Babycenter Car Safety board) that has a lot of good info:
http://bbs.babycenter.com/board/baby...thread/2762177

Safety 1st/Cosco/Eddie Bauer have notoriously low top slots. My ds rides in a Cosco A/O currently and has almost outgrown the harness by height at 32months. I am now getting a Britax Blvd which I wish I would have started out with in the first place.

If you sis can't get over the sticker shock of a Britax seat the only Cosco seat I would recommend is the Cosco Scenera which retails for approx $50 at Walmart, Target, & Kmart (different fabric choices at each one so you might want to check them all out). This will keep her dc rear-facing to 35lbs. The top slots are not as much of an issue in rear-facing mode because they should be below the shoulders in that position anyway. The shell is pretty high so most kids can get to the 35lb r/fing weight limit in this car seat. Then if he's outgrown the carseat heightwise for forward facing before 40lbs your sis could buy a good combo seat after that which will convert to a bpb after 40lbs (or 65lbs if she get the Cosco Apex which is the only combo currently out there with a higher weight limit - unfortunately the top slots aren't as high as the Britax MA).

But you never know what's coming down the line with car seats either. Could be by the time she's ready for the next one there might be more choices on the market by then.

hth,
Cheryl
ds-4/21/03

*******************************************
ETA: just read through some of the other posts.

Here's a site that gives car seat measurements including harness heights: http://www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html
Have the child sit with his back flat against a wall and mark where the tops of the shoulders are then measure from the floor to the mark and you'll have his torso height to compare with the data on this site.

The Touriva has 15" slots (which I can verify since my ds rides in one in MIL's car) and the Scenera which replaced the Touriva recently has 14.5" slots according to this site. You might still be able to find some Touriva's if you look, however I'm not sure about that. Just make sure you *don't* get the one with the overhead shield - get the 5-pt harness (much safer!).

Marathon Marathon/Blvd/Decathon's (same seat shell with different features) all have 18" slots (33lbs r/fing, 65lbs f/fing limits). The MA is the most basic one and thus is the least expensive one. BRU was selling the BLVD - w/the "Park Avenue" cover for less than an MA at $229 but it looks like they're out of stock right now. All three are great seats.

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

The Scenara has top slots that are about 15" tall.

it has a good tall back... taller than the roundabout... almost as tall as the marathon.

with 40lb limit convertibles I prefer to think of them as I would infant carriers... rf only seats. After Ruthie (my third and last) I have finally come to grips that 40lb limit seats simply won't make it past the rf limits for kids unless they are turned at the minimum requirements

Now, to defend your relatives speach that she can't afford britax... if her child is on the small side for weight, she can do cheaper...

Britax Marathon - online at babylove.com - 199.99 - considering she needs it right away, though... at a store would cost her about 269.99 without tax
Cosco Scenara - 50 dollars max... usually less... without tax

Evenflo Bolero - 90 bucks max... also without tax... it has the tallest top slots of combination seats (same height as the top slots on the marathon) and makes a great booster

so even with the sale, 140 max versus 200 dollars...

here is the link to the scenara: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A91365%3A91368

blue at target: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000A3YIWS

and this is my daughter, at 29lbs and 35-36" in her Scenara taken at my mom's townhouse... she's 22mo old... yes, I'm thinking of making her their poster child as I've been posting her pics in it on the bbc boards so much lately.... that shiny stuff is clear tape that I used to mark where the height limit is... 1" below the shell.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...srfscenara.jpg

Kat

[Joolsplus2]

He's only 11 months, so the Bolero is out :(
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joolsplus2]

If insurance is buying, go for a Boulevard, Decathlon, or Marathon.
Honestly, though, the Intera is actually a very nice seat, it's totally out of the other 3-in-one's leagues, it has TALL top slots, it's great for extended rearfacing, it has an open belt path for when it's used as a booster...really, it's a fine choice, IMO. The Enspira is yucky (low top slots, weird flimsy headrest, discontinued), and the Alpha Sport is actually not bad (it's a stripped down Alpha Omega, and it's lost all the money-wasters that are on the AO, so basically it's a fancy Scenera that becomes a booster). For a bargain seat, you can't beat the Scenera, though, it's really a great choice for $50 (NOT the overhead shield model, ONLY the 5 point harness model is acceptable).

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