Opinions on Graco Platinum or Ultra CarGo???

[millerpjm]

Hello everyone,

I would like to ask if anyone out there has either of these two seats and what their opinion is? DS turned 3 in February, and his shoulders are almost even with the tops slots on his Roundabout. He is nowhere near the 40 pound weight limit - he's a skinny little 29 pounds. So, I am trying to figure out what's next, and I know it's not a belt positioning booster yet. I would love to get a Marathon or Regent, but we need to buy 3 seats, and we just cannot afford it. I don't think the APEX 65 will work either because they need a high back (does anyone know how high the seat back needs to be? I drive a 2005 Ford Focus wagon.). If anyone has these seats and could post, or has another idea, that would be VERY much appreciated. I highly value the opinions I see here - especially from the CPS techs. TIA!

Jen

Proud Mama to Thomas

[kellyotn]

I'm not a tech ;), but the rule on the Apex is that the mid-point of the child's head needs to be at or lower than the vehicle's headrest or seatback. I'm not exactly sure how high the Apex puts the child, maybe 3 or 4 inches (??). So, if you sit the child on the car's seat and he doesn't have a lot of distance between where the midpoint of his head falls and the car's seat top, it won't work. TRU's have them if you wanna try it in your car.

He's so light, he could be rearfacing which is the safest way to go.... Just throwing it out there. ;)

The Cargos are very nice as a harnessed seat. They have EPS foam, etc. They aren't fabulous in booster mode, but you'll get so much harnessed use out of it that I wouldn't worry about it yet. (The problem is that they can keep the belt too far away from the body, and the option guides can leave the belts slack if the child moves forward, etc.)

Evenflo Generations/Bolero is another good choice. It has Evenflo's knob harness adjuster, which is a love or hate thing. The Bolero is a bit more skimpy on fluff, but is a great price at $80 Kmart/Walmart. It makes a good booster.

The Recaro Young Sport is an wonderful combo seat that makes an awesome booster after 40. Side impact protection, very plush covers, high quality. Its $250 though. I want one, but my 3.5 year old is bouncing around 35-38 lbs, so its not a good option for me.

HTH!

[momtoB]

We just got an Evenflo Bolero for my 35mos old ds to put in my MIL's car. He seems pretty comfy in it. I recommend it if you don't want to buy a dedicated bpb down the road. As the pp said, the other two you mentioned make decent harnessed seats but since they don't have adjustable headrests they won't be usable as bpb until your dc reaches the recommended height of 57". So you can spend a little less now and more later for dedicated bpb's, or get the Generations/Bolero (if you like it) and that should last you until your dc is out of car seats.