FF Inexpensive Carseat with higher weight limit

TxMoms2B

My 4 year old son is 42 inches tall and 45 pounds. The carseat my mom has on her car has a max weight of 40 pounds, so we need a new 1, but she only uses it maybe 1 time a week so it doesnt need to be fancy. We want sowmthing that will go up to like 60 pounds. Looking for under $100, preferably under $80. Any suggestions?

Shanny

The Nautilus is a little more than that but will grow with him. Don't know much about ease of install etc.

coryandamanda

Any seats I can find that are in that price range and go from harness to booster only harness to 50 lbs. Not sure how long that would give you in a harness but if he is already 45 lbs at 4 I would think he would reach that at age 5. If you go to about $140-150 you start finding deals on seats that harness to 65 lbs.

mel

First, I think it's great that you aren't just putting him into a booster.

The Nautilus is a fantastic seat with an easy installation, though my kids outgrew it (in harness mode - they could still use it in booster mode if I could fit it into my car!) before the weight limit because they are tall. My car seat tech friend recommended the Evenflo Sureride, which is around $90-100 depending on where you find it. The seat specs say it harnesses to 65 pounds and my friend said the belt guides are tall, so it should work for a while.

ETA: However, this is a convertible seat and not a FF to booster seat. Once you consider that you will need to buy a booster later, it might make sense to pay a bit more now for a seat like the Nautilus that you could use as a booster when he's ready for one.

TxMoms2B

I went with the evenflo sureride. I would've bought a radian, because I intend to keep him in a 5 point until he thinks I'm so uncool for doing it...and then some. He was RF until 3.5. But the need came at a time where my finances were not all that, so I'm hoping to get at least 2 years out if the seat. It says it goes to 53 inches/65 pounds. He has room to grow 11 inches and 20 pounds.

coryandamanda

My seven-year-old is still been a five point harness and has never complained. She knows that we plan to use it until she is 8 or if she had outgrown the limits. I think the key is that we have never had her in a car with a child near her age that was not also in a five point harness. With those limits you should have absolutely no problem making it through at least two years. Our seven year old is about 48 inches and 49 pounds so even if he is above average he should still be fine for a good while

horton

My six year old is in a 5 point harness in my car and rides in a high back booster in the van I drive while working (I'm a nanny). She has never once complained about either seat and she knows that the 5 point is safer and I'll be keeping her in it until she's 8 or outgrows it too. We do the booster in the van because with six kids, the seating arrangements are less than ideal and we have to compromise a bit. I haven't measured her in a long time, but she was 48 pounds, 49 inches when she turned six last summer. She's big (tall) for her age and fits well in either seat. I'll bet he'll make it for awhile in his next one!