Car seat convertible

[desiney]

Crossposted in new parents and beyond the bump so I can get as many opinions as possible, sorry to anyone who has to see this several times!

Help me choose a car seat

Going to copy/paste from notes so hopefully the format is okay. Anyone have recs for a convertible car seat? We have a civic and a CRV. Preferably that doesn’t squish the people in front, we’re tall-ish. I have gathered the following based on other posts but they’re older posts so I’m not sure if anyone has updated opinions or recommendations!

••Nuna Rava (most compact/high rf limits) $499••
••Britax Blvd $369••
••Maxi Cosi Pria all in 1 $299••
••Maxi cosi pria max all in 1 $349••
••Chicco cleartex next fit $299••
••Chicco cleartex onefit $299••
••Graco Slimfit 3 lx $279••
••Graco Slimfit 3 in 1 $175••
••Extend2fit (most compact/ high rf limits) $249••
••Graco 4ever dlx $329••

Ruled out:
••Diono- too big for civic••
••Britax marathon- can’t machine wash fabric••
••Clek fllo- difficult install••

Important features:
••Comfy enough for riding in on longer trips (like 2-6hours, not necessarily like long road trips)••
••Cup holders and machine washable fabric••
••Easy to install••
••Easy straps••
••High rf limits, baby is already and likely will continue to be tall. 88th percentile for height, she’s 12 weeks right now.••
••Fits in car w/o squishing us in front (we’re 5’9”)••

ETA: We do plan to stop by BBB and see if we can test some, but it’s not super close to us so if we can get it narrowed down ahead of time that would be really helpful. Plus the Rava isn’t sold there so if I choose it I’m taking a chance on fit unless anyone can confirm it fits their CRV or civic!

 

[fredric777]

@desiney The Rava is not compact. It’s super wide, and it is a tight fit even in my compact SUV (Volvo XC40). He’s 6’2” and we have to keep it behind my seat. He drives a small sedan and it doesn’t work at all- I don’t think it would be functional in a Civic, especially with tall adults.
Check out the convertible guide from Safe in the Seat, there’s a lot of details on the most compact seats.

 

[blazingstarblossoms]

@fredric777 I am looking for a convertible car seat, I have the XC40 and am about the same height so Heating the Rava doesn’t work makes me sad. Did you keep the Reva or any other recommendations?

 

[fredric777]

@blazingstarblossoms We actually wound up getting an XC90 to accommodate baby #2, and keeping the Rava. There’s more space in the 2nd row and we needed the trunk space (we usually leave the 3rd row down). Very happy with it so far, and plan to get the Nuna Revv for the new baby. It swivels, making it easier to load them into the car.

 

[blazingstarblossoms]

@fredric777 Dang. I have been considering that or the xc60, but was hoping I could find a car seat that would fit. A little cheaper than getting a new car! Haha

 

[fredric777]

@blazingstarblossoms It’s worst when they’re rear facing- I think it would be okay once they face forward. Unfortunately the first is a pipsqueak (not even 25lbs at 2.5), so we’re going to be rear facing a long time since we’d like to max out the seat. Lots of people turn forward facing earlier so if you choose to, it could be a short period of being uncomfortable for the driver.

 

[sonyeondan_ello]

@desiney Graco Extend2Fit for sure! I’ve bought 4 of them over the years for my 2 kids. My ginormous (99th+ percentile) oldest boy was able to rear face until 4.5 in it.

 

[ellse]

@desiney I absolutely love our Britax Blvd. easy to wash, easy to install properly, kiddo has done many long long trips in it (one day 10 plus hours!) I am not sure I would call it compact, it was pretty average. My mom dad have the graco slim seat and my son says it is uncomfortable , also the buckles are tough.the britax does fit our CRV, which is an older model.

 

[richking58]

@ellse Seconding Brtiax. Make sure you get the anti rebound bar too.

 

[richking58]

@desiney So this is just me being honest, and some thing I’ve started to notice about most cars - Unless you get a large sedan, A full-size pick up truck, a mini van, or some large SUV, it’s going to be cramped in the backseat, and suck up most of the front space as well.

whoever is designing vehicles, and this is just my opinion, is really not taking families with children still in car seats into consideration. the car seats have gotten huge, I assume it’s mostly a safety thing in order to keep the seat made out of steel, adequately protect a child during a crash, and to rear face for longer. Either way, a single car seat is going to suck up the majority of your room in the back seat and squish the front as well, especially in your civic (my husband previously drove a civic before buying his truck).

I LLOOVVEEDD the Nuna Pipa, so does my husband, and we are currently using it for child number two. however the other Nuna car seats have been kind of a letdown (we have an Exec) Personally I prefer the Britax, specifically with an ARB. It is a wide car seat, so it’ll take up half the width of the backseat of your civic. However my daughter has been extremely comfortable in it.

 

[reinar]

@desiney I love our Extend2Fit. It’s incredibly easy to install and adjust and has one of the highest rear-facing limits on the market.

 

[camperjen]

@desiney I love our Rava, but wouldn’t describe it as compact. Very wide seat. High weight limits for RF, but kids max out of the seat for forward height earlier than other seats. I just had to move to a Diono because my 5yo is too tall for the Rava now.

 

[cath]

@desiney we have the rava and I bought the pria for my parents. the quality of the rava is far and away better than the pria and I felt like the rava takes up way less space. my parents have an xc60 and the pria was a tight squeeze. my two cents: get the rava it’s totally worth it.