help me choose carseat for DH & IL's vehicles

[divabeadz]

My daughter is approaching 4 (in June) and is also approaching the 40 lbs mark. DH and I agree she needs to continue to be in a 5 pt harness as she is not ready to be in a regular booster quite yet. Incidentally, she was RF until today. The carseat in my car is a Safety 1st Complete Air which can RF to 40 lbs so we kept her rf as long as we could and only switched her now that she's almost 40 lbs b/c she started to have motion sickness on long rides and since we live in the boonies, most everywhere we go is a long ride.

So anyway, we want a spare carseat for DH's car...AND we want a carseat for MIL or FIL to use if they take her for the day. MIL has an Evenflo Chase but that's only 5 pt harness to 40 lbs and like I said, DH and I agree, she's still not ready to be in just a booster and MIL isn't of the income bracket to just go buy another seat so we want to have sometime on hand that she can use if she wants to take DD anywhere.

I'd been considering the Harmony Defender but it's not available at any of the Walmarts within an "hour-plus" drive so I'm looking for something else instead. I don't want to spend a bundle either, but I (obviously) want it to be safe in a variety of vehicles, affordable, have a high wt limit for 5 pt harness (65 lbs maybe?) Should I consider something like the Safety 1st Go Hybrid Booster so I can swap it easily between DH, MIL and FIL's vehicles or do you have another suggestion - my original plan was to get 2 Harmony Defenders, one for DH's car and one to set aside for either MIL or FIL.

If I buy 2 seats, I'd like to spend no more than $300 total for both. I don't mind spending that much on one as long as it's going to be EASY to move from one car to another. Any/all suggestions welcome!

[GirlFriday13th]

Where are her shoulders in relation to the top most position on the complete air?
I'd go with either two maestros, they harness to 50lbs which should get you to a reasonable booster age or one secure kid. The secure kid harnesses to 65lbs and will last longer as a booster, it also has the premium latch which makes it really easy to move.

[slimy72]

For under $300 you should even be able to get two secure kids by evenflo. I quite like that seat. I dont' have one but I installed one and if I needed a FF back up, it's what I would get.