LATCH question

[marcfj60]

I don't think the Regent was available at the time.

The Regent is not easy to find. Most retailers won't carry it because of the price. There was a single baby/kid supplies store in town (metro population of ~800K) that did when I bought the first one 4 years ago. They went out of business so the second one I bought 3 years ago I got from an online vendor. I paid MSRP but it was shipped for free, which was not trivial considering it weighs about 25 lbs.

The original reason I went with the Regent was because my '87 FJ60 had only lap belts in the rear at the time. You cannot use a booster with lap-only belts. My son had outgrown his toddler seat and I needed a solution for the Cruiser. My wife discovered the Regent and we knew that we would be able to secure the seat properly with the seat belts in the Cruiser. Not having to sell the truck just because of the seat belts and knowing how much better the 5-point harness setup is than a booster made it easy to justify the cost of the seat. And now that my wife was in the accident with neck injuries (still severe a year later) and both children didn't even have a bruise, those seats were a bargain.

 

[marcfj60]

But, what are your opinions on this which is supposed to go 80 lbs? It feels much like a booster-hybrid, but I am holding off on getting it:

That was not available when I bought my previous two. I think it could be better than the Regent. It allows you to use the 5-point harness up to 80 lbs & 53" and then switch to a booster for the next 20 lbs and 7" more of height. You won't have to buy a booster for the year or two between outgrowing the Regent and being tall enough to not use any booster.

This is the perfect seat for someone who's 2-3 year old is about to outgrow their toddler seat. This will be the last child seat they ever have to buy (at least for that child).

 

[schow]

I just got my son a Recaro Young Sport. From their user manual, the most ideal attachment is with 2 base latch (2 point at lower seat cushion) and 1 rear latch (1 point to the back of second roll seat). Sounds like the latch system is what the MFG prefer for child up to 40lb.

Here is the link: Info is on page 11.
http://www.recaro.com/fileadmin/extensions/rec_usa/pdf/Child_Safety_Manuals/Young_Sport.pdf

Steve

 

[Atticus]

We have 4 of these suckers (three in the 80) that set us back a few mortgage payments:

But, what are your opinions on this which is supposed to go 80 lbs? It feels much like a booster-hybrid, but I am holding off on getting it:

We have that. It was a pain in the balls to get set up, but it seems to be a great seat. My 2 year old really likes it.

 

[Jim_Chow]

I prefer the latch over belts. The other drawback to the belt is on more than one occasion when using the belt in the middle seat, after you buckle it in, tension up the belt, and yank on the belt until it locks, it locks at the position in such a way that you can't easily remove the seatbelt (not enough slack in it before it locks to remove the buckle!). I almost had to cut the seatbelt to remove the seat! I think this was using the Britax seat. I ended up having to pivot the seat forward as if I was going to fold it up meanwhile pulling on the belt so it wouldn't retract any further. With the latch system, you won't have to mess with any of that. IMHO, the latch holds the seat more securely than the seatbelt. I'm not even sure there's enough mass (child's weight plus weight of seat) to get the belt to lock unless the impact is huge, whereas with the latch, the seat is taught; it's not going anywhere. Another nice thing about the LX/100 is the adjustable height on the rear shoulder belts (outer seats). Not having a height adjustment (95% of cars) is really why older kids still need a booster seat/height shim to keep the shoulder belt at the proper height.

For my 3 yr old, I have a recaro booster seat that is rated up to 80lbs. It's a lot more comfortable than the Britax, which is basically like sitting on a piece of styrofoam with a seat cover on it. The recaro has the spongy foam. It's a heavy seat (steel frame, maybe 30+lbs), so don't plan on carrying it around the airport.

 

[dclee]

I'm not even sure there's enough mass (child's weight plus weight of seat) to get the belt to lock unless the impact is huge, whereas with the latch, the seat is taught

You have to pull the seat belt all the way out until it locks, then as it retracts (as it tightens on the seat) you can hear it ratcheting. It will not move once it's tight, it is already locked and therefore impact load to lock is taken out of the equation. In this manner, I have been able to get more secure mounting than with LATCH. Never a problem unlatching the seat belt, either, certainly no more than similarly tightened LATCH buckles. If anything, our LATCH buckles have been harder to unbuckle when properly tightened. I guess YMMV.

 

[NMuzj100]

it locks at the position in such a way that you can't easily remove the seatbelt (not enough slack in it before it locks to remove the buckle!). I almost had to cut the seatbelt to remove the seat!

This sounds like a design flaw in the seat more than problem with the belts.

Keep the kids in a 5-point as long as possible and a booster that covers the back and neck for as long as possible.

OTOH, Any seat ($20 Walmart special) that keeps the kid anchored down will be extremely safe in the the 100.

 

[100 TD]

Keep the kids in a 5-point as long as possible and a booster that covers the back and neck for as long as possible..

X2

My last is still in a polystyrene full height booster seat with standard seatbelt. the booster seat provides height so the OEM belt conforms around her properly and is not too high on the neck, she is still supported by the wings at her shoulders and down her torso as well as hips/thighs. I can't remember how long ago she came out of the seat with full harness, not too long ago. She is nearly 6 and weighs about 60 lbs. I fitted all my other seats into the locking OEM belts, much stronger than the straps on the seats, sometimes it was a problem removing the seat (as mentioned in a previous post) and getting the belt unhooked, but that meant it was really in properly and there to stay.