Car Seat Options for the Savvy Shopper (Under Construction)

Because I've been shopping for a car seat (or two or three) for a couple of weeks now, I figured this was a good place to put all my thoughts down so I can review them any time I want.  Could I use a document and save it to my desk top? Yeah, but where's the fun in that?!  I also felt like a lot of lists I was finding online were out dated or incomplete.  I hear about the same handful of seats over and over, and I wanted to know all my options and not feel limited to only a few choices.
So here is a lovely list of car seats and options, in case you need to go shopping.

***I've included every brand I could think of, but I'm sure there are some missing.  If you see one missing, let me know.

***I've included what specs I could find on the seats, like height limits and top slot harness heights, but didn't check manuals or anything so I'm not 100% certain on some of them.  If you see something incorrect please let me know so I can correct it.  Thanks!

***I've divided the seats into categories:
Rear facing infant carriers
Convertible Seats
A section for all the seats that rear face to 40 pounds or more
Seats that harness for more than 40 pounds
Booster Seats

***Some seats will show up in more than one category (lots of convertibles have extended length harnesses), with the applicable specs listed for that section.

***Prices may vary.  Many of the prices listed are direct quotes from the website, but the seats can OFTEN be found much cheaper.  So if it's a little above your budget, shop around and you may find you can afford it. Sometimes I just did a search with Google Shopping and picked a popular price at the time, and it may have gone up or down.

Infant Bucket Seats 

(the ones that detach from the base so you can carry them around)(seats are ordered by price, lowest to highest)

Evenflo Enbrace (22 pounds and 29in) - $55
Evenflo Discovery 5 (22 pounds and 29in) - $60
Safety 1st Comfy Carry Elite (22 pounds and 29in) - $78

Safety 1st Designer 22 (22 pounds and 29in) - $85

Safety 1st Comfy Carry (22 pounds and 29in) - $90
Evenflo Serenade (35 pounds and 32in) - $100
Evenflo Embrace 35 (35 pounds and 30in) - $100
Baby Trend Flex Loc (30 pounds, and 30in) - $115
Graco Snugride (22 pounds and 29in) - $120
Graco Snugride 30 (30 pounds and 30in) - $130
Safety 1st onBoard 35 (35 pounds and 32in) - $140
Graco SnugRide 32 (32 pounds and 32in) - $150
Combi Shuttle (33 pounds and 33in) - $150
The First Years Via (35 pounds and 30in) - $160
Grago Snugride 35 (35 pounds and 32in) - $160
Evenflo Secure Ride 35 (35 pounds and 32in) - $170
Safety 1st onBoard 35 Air (35 pounds and 32in) - $170
Chicco KeyFit (22 pounds) - $170
Chicco KeyFit 30 (30 pounds) - $180
Britax B-safe (30 pounds and 32in) - $180
Safety 1st onBoard Air SE (35 pounds and 32in) - $190
Maxi Cosi Mico (22 pounds and 29in) - $180
Cybex Aton (32 pounds and 30in) - $200
Peg-Perego Primo Viaggo (30 pounds and 30in) - $220
Graco Snugride ClickConnect 40 (40 pounds and 35in) - $220
Britax Chaperone (30 pounds and 32in) - $230
Maxi Cosi Prezi (30 pounds and 29in) - $290

Convertibles

(Rear face and forward face)

Graco Smartseat (Rf to 40 pounds, FF to 65 pounds)(shoulder height 11.5in RF and 18in FF) - $280
Cosco Apt (RF to 40 pounds and 40in, FF to 40 pounds and 43in)(shoulder height 13in) - $55 (Note: The Apt has low top harness slots, but the shell is sufficiently high enough that it's a very good rear facing seat for the price)
Graco ComfortSport (RF to 30 pounds, FF to 40 pounds and 40in)(shoulder height 14in) - $100
Combi Zeus 360 (RF to 33 pounds and 36in, FF to 40 pounds and 40in)(shoulder height 14in) - $400
Evenflo Tribute (RF to 35 pounds and 36in, FF to 40 pounds and 40in)(shoulder height 14.75in) - $50
Cosco Scenera (RF to 35 pounds and 36in, FF to 40 pounds and 40in)(shoulder height 15in) - $40
Safety 1st onSide air (RF to 40p and 40in, FF to 40 pounds and 43in)(shoulder height 15in) - $80
Evenflo Titan (RF to 35p and 36in, FF to 50 pounds and 47in)(shoulder height 15in) - $80
Combi Coccoro (RF to 33 pounds, FF to 40 pounds and 40in)(shoulder height 15in) - $200
Britax Roundabout 55 (RF to 40p, FF to 55 pounds and 46in)(shoulder height 15.75in) - $200
Safety 1st Alpha Omega 3-in-1 (RF to 35 pounds, FF to 50 pounds)(shoulder height 16in) - $100
Evenflo SymphonyE3 (RF to 40p and 36in, FF to 65 pounds and 47in)(shoulder height 16in) - $230
Britax Boulevard 70 (RF to 40 pounds, FF to 70 pounds, and 49in)(shoulder height 16.75in) - $320
Britax Marathon 70 (RF to 40 pounds ,FF to 70 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 16.75in) - $290
Clek Foonf (RF to 50 pounds and 43in, FF to 65 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17in) - $450
Safety 1st Guide 65 (RF to 40 pounds and 40in, FF to 65 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 17in) - $80
Evenflo Triumph 65 (RF to 40 pounds, FF to 65 pounds and 47in)(shoulder height 17in)- $130
Evenflo Momentum (RF to 40 pounds, FF to 65 pounds and 50in) - $150
Graco MyRide 65 (RF to 40 pounds, FF to 65 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17in) - $150
Britax Marathon Classic (RF to 35 pounds and 49in, FF to 65 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17in) - $170
Safety 1st Complete Air 65 (RF to 40 pounds/40in, FF to 65 pounds/52in)(shoulder height 17in) - $190
Britax Roundabout 50 (RF to 35 pounds/40in, FF to 50 pounds/49in)(shoulder height 17in) - $150
Graco Size4Me 70 (RF to 40 pounds, FF to 70 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $180
Graco My Size 70 (see Size4Me for stats) - $180
Graco Head Wise 70 (see Size4Me stats) - $200
The First Years True Fit (RF to 35 pounds, FF to 65 pounds/50in)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $200
Britax Advocate 70 (RF to 40 pounds, FF to 70 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $380
Recaro Signo (RF to 35 pounds, FF to 70 pounds and 50in)(shoulder height 17.5) - $280
Diono Radian RXT (RF to 45 pounds and 44in, FF to 80 pounds)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $250
Diono Radian R100 (RF to 40 pounds and 44in, FF to 65 pounds)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $220
Diono Radian R120 (RF to 45 pounds and 44in, FF to 80 pounds)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $250
Maxi Cosi Pria (RF to 40 pounds and 40in, FF to 70 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 18in) - $290
Evenflo SureRide (RF to 40 pounds/40in, FF to 65 pounds and 54in)(shoulder height 19in) - $100
Recaro ProRide (RF to 35 pounds, FF to 70 pounds and 50in) - $230
Recaro Como (Rf to 35 pounds, FF to 70 pounds and 50in) - $280
Peg-Perego Primo Viaggio SIP (RF to 45 pounds, FF to 70 pounds and 49in) - $300

Seats that Rear Face to 40 or more pounds

(If you have a taller child you'll need to pull from the bottom of the list - the seats with the taller shells)(Seats are ordered by height of shell, from smallest to largest)

Safety 1st onSide Air (shell height of 23in)
Evenflo Symphony e3 (shell height of 23in)
Evenflo Triumph 65 (shell height of 23.5in)
Britax Roundabout 55 (shell height of 23.5in)
Britax Marathon 70 (shell height of 23,5in)
Britax Boulevard 70 (shell height of 23.5in)
Cosco Apt (shell height of 24in)
Peg-Perego Primo Viaggio SIP (shell height of 24in)
Safety 1st Guide 65 (shell height of 24.5in)
Graco My Ride 65 (shell height of 24.5in)
Evenflo Momentum (shell height of 24.5in)
Evenflo SureRide (shell height of 25in)
Diono RXT (45 pounds)(shell height of 25in)
Diono R100 (shell height of 25in)
Diono R120 (45 pounds)(shell height of 25in)
Britax Boulevard 70 CS (shell height of 25in)
Clek Foonf (shell height of 25.5in)
Maxi Cosi Pria (shell height of 26in)
Graco Size4Me/MySize70/Headwise (shell height of 27.5in)
Safety 1st Complete Air 65 (shell height of 27.5)

Extended Harnessing

(Kids should stay harnessed until they can safely be boostered, and sometimes that means they won't be ready at 40 pounds. Seats that have a harness height less than 16in were left off the list, because they likely won't accommodate practically any child to booster readiness.)(seats in order by height of top harness slot, when known, from lowest to highest)

Britax Marathon (65 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 16in) - $200
Evenflo Symphony 65 e3 - (65 pounds and 47in)(shoulder height 16in) - $230
Britax Roundabout 50 (50 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 16.25in) - $160
Safety 1st Rumi Air (65 pounds)(shoulder height 16.5in) - $150
Britax Marathon 70 (70 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 16.75in) - $290
Britax Boulevard 70 (70 pounds, and 49in)(shoulder height 16.75in) - $320
Britax Boulevard 70 CS (70 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 16.75in) - $340
Safety 1st Guide 65 (65 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 17in) - $80
Evenflo Triumph 65 (65 pounds and 47in)(shoulder height 17in)- $130
Graco MyRide 65 (65 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17in) - $150
Evenflo Momentum 65 (65 pounds and 50in)(shoulder height 17in) - $150
Safety 1st Complete Air 65 (65 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 17in) - $190
Diono Radian RXT (80 pounds and 53in)(shoulder height 17in) - $300
Graco Size4Me 70(and clones) (70 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $180-$200
The First Years True Fit (65 pounds and 50in)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $200
Diono Radian R100 (65 pounds and 53in)(shoulder height 17in) - $230
Diono Radian R120 (80 pounds and 53in)(shoulder height 17in) - $270
Clek Foonf (65 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17in) - $450
Britax Adcovate 70 CS (70 pounds and 49in)(shoulder height 17.5in) - $380
Maxi Cosi Pria (70 pounds and 52in)(shoulder height 18in) - $290
Evenflo Maestro (50 pounds and 47in)(shoulder height 18in) - $85
Evenflo SecureKid 300  or 400 (65 pounds and 50in)(shoulder height 18in) - $130
Recaro ProSport (90 pounds and 57in)(shoulder height 18in) - $200-$300
Graco Nautilus (65 pounds)(shoulder height 18.5in) - $180
Harmony Defender (65 pounds and 57in)(shoulder height 18.5in)
Evenflo SureRide (65 pounds and 54in)(shoulder height 19in) - $100
Britax Frontier 85 (85 pounds and 57in)(shoulder height 20in) - $300
Safety 1st Go Hybrid (65 pounds) - $200
Peg-Perego Primo Viaggio SIP (70 pounds and 49in) - $220
Recaro ProRide (70 pounds and 50in) - $230

Dedicated High Back Booster Options (most convert to No Back Booster)

(a booster seat lacks a harness and requires the car's safety belt.  For info on when to transition to a booster seat see my post called Harness Good; Booster Bad)(seats ordered by price, lowest to highest)

Cosco Pronto (30-100 pounds and 34-57in) - $35
Graco Highback Turbo Booster (30-100 pounds and 38-57in) - $50
Evenflo Big Kid Deluxe (40-100 pounds and 38-57in) - $50
Safety 1st Boost Air (30-100 pounds)- $66
The First Years Compass B505 (30-100 pounds and 38-57in) - $70
Britax Parkway SGL (40-120 pounds and 38-63in) - $150
Sunshine Kids / Diono Monteray (30-120 pounds and 63in) - $150
Chicco KeyFit Strada (33-100 pounds and 38-57in) - $170
The First Years Compass B830 (30-100 pounds and 57in) - 70
Recaro Vivo HBB (30-100 pounds and 37-59in) - $90
Clek Oobr (30-100 and 38-57in) - $280

Dedicated Backless Boosters

Graco Backless Turbo Boooster (40-100 pounds, 40-57in)- $20
Cosco Highrise  (30-100 pounds) - $20
Cosco Ambassador (30-100 pounds) - $20
Sunshine Kids / Diono Santa Fe (30-120 pounds) - $70
Clek Olli (40-120) - $95

Harness Good; Booster Bad

Okay, so booster seats obviously aren't a BAD thing, but lately I have seen SO many kids in booster seats that should still be in harnesses.  The minimum requirements of a booster requirement are as follows:

40 pounds
40in tall
4 years old

Almost four is NOT four. 

And truth be told, four is too young for a booster.  Why? Because a child in a booster seat needs to be able to control their impulses.  They need to be able to sit still.  They need to be able to not fall asleep.  They have to be old enough and mature enough to resist the urge to lean forward to get a toy, or especially to unbuckle their seat belt to get to something they can't reach otherwise.  They need to be able to NOT do all the things we do as adults.  Generally speaking, the minimum age that kids can do this is 6, sometimes 5.  Rarely four, and never three!

Reasons you may want to use a booster

I know it's convenient to use a booster seat.  There's no harness adjustment, the kid can buckle themselves in.  Getting in and out of the car is so much faster!  Trust me, I have to harness three kids under four (read: squirmy / sticky kids) in car seats every time I go somewhere.  I have to get them out of their harnesses when we get where we're going, and I have to put them back in when we're done.  This does in fact make quick errands a total pain in the butt.  I either suck it up or make my husband run those errands sans children (or make him watch the children while I do it myself).  Like all three year olds, mine is willful, defiant, and has an over-developed sense of independance.  Honestly, this just means he has all the more reason to stay in a harness!

And of course a booster seat a milestone that means out babies are growing up. *bitter sweet tear*  But just like every other growing up milestone, reaching it too early isn't a good thing.  Would you make your 6 month old learn to walk, or feed your 2 week old baby strained peas?  No, probably not, because you know they aren't ready for that kind of development.  Likewise, your 3-4 year old kid isn't ready for the kind of development it takes to sit safely in a booster seat, and you shouldn't make them.

Reasons you should use a booster

The ONLY reason to use a booster seat is that your child has outgrown his five-point harness by either height or weight.  Since the average, cheapest, forward facing car seat harnesses to 40 or 50 pounds, I find it hard to believe that an average three-year-old has outgrown it.  Some three-year-olds, yes - of course.  Every child is different.  But if that's the case, then the correct decision is to buy an expensive car seat.  I know it's tight on a lot of budgets, but being unsafe isn't a valid option.  Sorry, but it's not, and boostering a child that's too young for it is unsafe.

Examples of Booster Positioning

This is MY 3-year-old.  He is 43in tall, and he weighs 63 pounds.  I am hard pressed to find another 3-year-old that is as tall or as heavy as mine.  I'm sure they exist, I've just never met one.  Here is Luke in a booster seat.

The shoulder strap should be across the middle of his shoulder - in this picture it's too close to his neck.
The lap belt should be across his thighs, but in this picture it's across his soft belly, which encases his soft internal organs.  Do you think that the seat belt forces during a collision should hit him in the stomach?

This is NOT a good Booster seat fit at all.

Point I'm making: ff my enormous 3-year-old doesn't fit in a booster seat yet, then your average sized 3-year-old most definitely doesn't.  And proper fit is only the first requirement.

This is what a correct fit looks like:

Side by side for an easy comparison:

High back booster good; No/low back booster bad.

Again, not always bad, but bad if the child isn't ready.  A high back booster (like both pictures above) provides protection in the case of a side collision.  Instead of an outbound seated child's head hitting the window of the car, his head will hit the nicely padded, soft cushion that is part of his booster seat.  And if your child is belted in the middle position, then his head, neck, and spine have a much shorter distance to travel to one side before being stopped.  Why would you ever NOT give them that as long as possible? The only reason to use a low back booster is if the child has outgrown the back.

Reasons to stop using a booster seat

"I'm going to be laughed at" isn't sufficient.  While it is heartbreaking to think of our children being teased, and while instinct may tell us to prevent it at most costs, this is not one of the costs to risk.  Giving up the booster seat too early could mean the life of your child - they still need to be protected even if it's potentially embarrassing.  The only valid reason to take your child out of a booster seat is if the safety belt fits them better without one.

Don't believe be yet? Want some crash test videos? Here you go!

Side impact with a high back booster:

Backless versus high back:

Submarining: The motion of an occupant when one or both hips slide under the lap belt, so that the belt applies crash forces to the soft abdominal area between the pelvis and ribs

 

Last but not least, here's an ad from Britax for their booster seat.  All marketing aside, they have some informative drawings detailing the issues with booster seats if not used correctly.  And if your child is too small or not mature enough, the seat won't be used correctly.

 Had enough? Here's one more.  Meet Kyle.  He was in a booster seat, but the buckle on his seat belt failed.  Had he been harnessed and installed with the seat belt, it still would have failed, but he would have been tethered with the top anchor.  The seat would not have been ejected.  And if he wasn't tethered, the seat would have been ejected WITH him, as opposed to just Kyle being ejected.  It would have still provided a bit of protection, and while he would have been seriously injured, he may have survived.

 There are few decisions we can make as parents that come with guarantees of safety or happiness, but we still do the best we can.  Don't let a booster seat be a bad decision.