What carseat/booster to use after 40 lbs

[rawheid]

So DS has about 7-8 lbs left in his carseat. Quite a bit in height yet though. But I want to be educated for the next step. I don't want to break the bank for his next seat, but I do want him to be safe. I see all these boosters that are just boosters and I just think I can't put a 2 year toddler in a shoulder belt. DS will be 2 in May so I don't know how long we'll have in his seat. I suppose it could be another year and I'm thinking about this for nothing. What have others used after your child reaches 40 lbs?

FYI: I'm in Canada

[Calideedle]

How much does he weigh and how tall is he?

And it is UNSAFE to put a 2yr old in a booster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Calideedle]

Here is some (got this list from www.car-seat.org in the Canadian Section)

For booster combo seats in Canada that harness past 40lbs are:
*Graco Cargo with upfront adjust(48lbs) makes a ok booster (17" THS)
*Evenflo Chase(16.8" THS)/Vision/Tradition (16" THS) (47lb limit) makes a ok booster
*Evenflo Bolero/Generations (47lb) makes a decent booster (Bolero is $120 at Walmart) (16.5" THS)
*Cosco Apex (65lb) makes a decent booster ~ (17" THS)

For Higher Weight seats:
*Britax Marathon (65lbs) (17" THS)
*Sunshine Kids Radian (65lbs) (18" THS)
*Evenflo EFTA (47lbs) (17" THS)

THS=Top Harness Slots

And the Frontier which will be released in Canada soon - it harnesses to 80lbs but in Canada, I think, the max FFing harness is 65lbs so it will harness to 65lbs! THS=19" or so

[LilyGrace]

Out of the list above, I think the Radian 65 would be your best choice. It's pricey (-$200), but with a steel frame you don't have to worry about a headrest (like the Apex) and it'll last you a long time - by the end of that one you may need a backless booster and that's it. Or wait for the Frontier! TSIP + high slots + booster makes it *the* last seat you'll need.

[mcpforever]

I have no clue what's available in Canada, so if the seat I'm thinking about isn't, please forgive me and just disregard this.

If it were me, right now, and I had to choose from the seats presently out on the market, I think I would choose the Graco Nautilus. From what I've read, the highest harness height goes to around 18-19 inches/65 pounds and after can be used as a belt positioning booster and then a backless booster. It runs $150-$180 so it's not terribly expensive-especially when you take into consideration that you won't be spending $ on a booster later.
There are other seats that cost less but none of the less expensive ones have a harness height/weight as high, and many have the booster option, but not the backless booster option.
And IMHO, it looks pretty cool and somewhat high tech.
With 7-8 pounds to go you have a good bit of time before you have to make the switch and something else could come along that's even better.

[mcpforever]

Originally Posted by calideedle *Britax Marathon (65lbs) (17" THS) *Evenflo EFTA (47lbs) (17" THS)

I know this is quoted from elsewhere, but there are 2 things that bug me:
1) All of the EFTA's I've ever run across (in the USA) have a 50 pound FF limit. Are they selling a different variety in Canada?
2) I have looked up THS's and got frustrated since there seem to be so many different answers to this question out there. So I went to BRU with my tape measure and did my own measurements. All of my THS measurements were consistant with the most common measurements I could find online EXCEPT for the Marathon. No matter how I tried to measure it, I could only get that THS to get to 16.5". This was with the cover ON and me pushing the padding down as much as I could. I realize that most online measurements posted are withOUT the padding, but who puts their kid in a seat without the padding?
Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.
Now, back to your regular discussion....

[mom2riley]

Canadian seats do have lower weight limits usually. I would definitly go with a Radian 65.

[rawheid]

Thanks, for all that info. DS is currently 22 1/2 mths, 33-34lbs (haven't weighed him in a while) and about 34" Tall. Our seat goes to 40 lbs and 40". So you're probably right he does have aways to go before out growing it.

[Calideedle]

In Canada their are different guidelines. You can only RF to 30lbs and 32" tall and FF to 65lbs. And there is a booster limit too, I think.

Its just different guidlines in Canada.

With the THS they usually measure before everything is on, it stinks because it isn't accurate but what can ya do?