If Britax Marathon's did not exist...

Okay, we are shopping for car seats to purchase in the next month or so. We just can't afford to buy two Britax's, although I know everyone loves them, there must be other great ones...LOL. What did you buy that you like? I have done some research but now I need candid opinions from parents who are using them daily. I am looking for the $100 range and a little less would be great. My girls are small but tall. Thanks in advance. We go on a 2,100 mile roundtrip drive for Labor Day and would like to purchase them by beginning of August.

 

The Graco MyRide car seats!!! We bought 2 Britax Marathons for my van. Then we needed a second set of car seats for DHs RAV4. I really like the Marathons but we just didn't want to pay $400 for another set of car seats. And I know many swear the Britax strap don't twist, but they do on me (just like most other straps). So for the second set of seats we got the Graco MyRide seats and we REALLY like 'em! We paid around $130 each for them, and their straps don't twist anymore than other car seats (I honestly don't recall them twisting at all, but that may be because I don't use that vehicle as much). And the straps click so easily in place, plus each seat as TWO cup holders! I like 'em lots and kinda wish I had those in my van instead of the Marathons And less than 2 weeks ago I saw that our local Target had the MyRide's on clearance for only like $110.

ETA: the MyRides also have great ratings for ease of installation at www.carseatdata.org. My DH installed them no problem (up until then we have only ever let the police dept install car seats), then we had the local police dept check them out and they said whoever installed them did a great job and that they were very secure. If my DH can install them quickly and safely anybody can!

 

We bought the Graco Nautilus Elite: Graco. The price tag is daunting-but look for sales... The one down from this one(without the "Elite" tag) was retail for$179.99. And it was on sale. However, it was out of stock. But there were a ton of the Nautilus Elite's. So-dh asked the manager if they would substitute(it would have taken over a week for the new ones to come in), the more expensive one for the sale price on the cheaper one. He said sure-and we were both shocked!

So-we got the $199 one for the $179.99 price, which was on sale for $159.99 or something like that. Add to that-the 20% off one baby item...then the twin discount, and $10 off for every $50 you spend... So-those carseats cost us $122/each. Couldn't beat it!!!!! We now have three of them, as Annabella has the Graco Nautilus as well. Good luck!

 

Ditto Mandy! I love the Graco Myrides! We too have more expensive seats in one car (though not the Britax...never really understood what all the hype was about). When I needed seats for my car, the ones we had did not fit. It is a durango with tall bucket seats in the front and the seats we had couldn't fit rear facing (my kiddos are built like yours!). I actually went to BRU, asked the associate for suggestions, then took it out to the car to make sure it fits. Now that we have them I wish we had bought them for both cars! The kids even seem to like riding in them!

I also agree on ease of install because I installed them myself! I also like that they are approved for rear facing till 45 lbs (although my kids will likely be 5 before they reach that, but I'm not ready to turn them around yet.

 

We have the Evenflo Triumph Advance, admittedly because they were on sale at BRU when we went, and also because they are rated just as highly as the others. Also I liked that you can adjust the straps from the front while the baby is in the seat and it is very easy...and also because the seat cushions are easily removable for machine washing. We're extremely happy with the seats!

 

We also got the Evenflo Triumph Advance (also on sale at BRU when we went) and we are pretty happy with the seats. They were easy to install, easy to adjust and easy to clean. I don't know how they compare to the Britax but I am happy that I got them!

 

Evenflo Triumph Advance! They ROCK!

 

We too are Marathon users but our second choice at the time was The First Years TruFit, it's about 1/2 the price of the Marathon. I've heard some good things about the Graco MyRide as well but haven't looked into it as it wasn't around when we were purchasing our seats.

 

we bought the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertable Car Seat. I lvoe them and the girls seem to be quite happy and comfy. The price was pretty decent and you can normally find them on sale at BRU or TRU. The only thing I don't like is that the straps will twist on you, but I think almost all of the other carseats do too.

 

Evenflo Triumph Advance!!! We had both Britax Marathons and ETAs and my girls like the ETAs much better. They say they're more comfortable, and I can tell you that the straps are much easier to adjust on the ETAs. Given that I adjust the straps every single time the girls get in the car, this is a big deal.

 

we had Triumph's as well (they didn't have the advanced at the time - I got them when the twins were 6 mos old and were still RF) and then at 3 we went to the Nautilus...now at over 4 I'm nearly ready to take the straps off the Nautilus's but probably not until after we go on vaca next week...

 

Thanks so much for posting everyone. Looks like I have 2-3 frontrunners. Going to go this weekend and test them out. I will be interested in what folks say about twisting straps as I do have small girls and they have to be adjusted every time we get in the car. Thanks again - I knew you would come through! :grouphug:

 

Another vote for the Evenflo Triumph Advance. These were the ones that we wanted and we found them on sale at Toys R Us. With the sale and the twin discount I think we paid 120 for them. I have loved them. They are extremely easy to adjust, and the fabric cleans up easily and comes off very easily for washing. We've had them for a year and a half and they look like new.