High Weight Harness Seat

I've been very impressed with this seat. We've been using the seat for 4 months now and I only have a few complaints about it. We bought this for our tall torsoed 5 year old son. We wanted to keep him harnessed longer since he didn't have the maturity to sit still and upright in a booster 100% of the time (most kids don't until around age 6). He actually prefers the 5 point harness in this seat over his booster seat that is in our second vehicle. I would like to preface this review with the idea that I didn't buy this because it's the `most expensive' seat. All car seats in the US must meet the same safety standards.

Pros:
- Highest 5 point harness height on the market (19.5" top harness height): Due to my son having such a tall torso, this was one of the only car seats that we could keep him harnessed the longest in.
- 9 year life span
- Ability to use it as a high back booster after the harness is outgrown

Cons:
- Installation: Since I've never owned a Britax before I was unfamiliar with the long belt path installation. Due to my sons weight being over the 40 pound maximum that our Kia Rondo allows for LATCH, it had to be installed with the seatbelt. The seat was very loose with the short belt path, so I was able to just barely install it with the long belt path. Needless to say, I had a certified CPST double check my install (even though I am one myself).
- Mesh seat material snags easily
- Possibility of armrests breaking when too much weight is put on them: This hasn't happened to me, but I've heard it from others. Britax will replace these for free if this occurs though.

Overall, I really like that this seat will keep my son in a 5 point harness as long as it's needed. He also finds it very comfortable, more than his booster. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a high weight harness car seat that has the budget for it.

Fits in a Sienna!

I love this booster seat. It's comfy,you can match it to your interior- but most important, you can keep your child SAFE longer. There are a lot of reviews that the original frontier didn't fit in the Odyssey except the third row, but I didn't have any problems in my Sienna. Fits nice and snug in the second row captain chairs in my Toyota Sienna. Installation only took a couple of minutes. Buy this!!

Great seat for extended harnessing

This seat is wonderful and great for extended harnessing. Most children outgrow convertible car seats around age 4. However, even though most booster seats say children can begin using them at age 4, that is the MINIMUM age. Most children at age 4 do not have the capability to sit and stay properly in a booster seat. A combination booster seat like this one will allow your child to stay harnessed until they are older and ready to start booster training (around 5 or 6).

We have 5 carseats and my son's Frontier 85 is by far my favorite. We tired several other combination booster seats before purchasing this one and this seat had the most growing room. The harness has 20" top slots and an 85 pound harnessed weight limit. Other seats like the Graco Nautlius only have a top harness slot of 17 1/2" and a 65 pound harness weight limit.

My son loves the built in cupholders. I thought the the fixed arm rests might be annoying, but they don't bother me and my 3 1/2 year old son can climb in and out himself. I love Britax's LATCH hooks and installation is a breeze. It seriously took me about 2 minutes, if that. The seat is on the large side, but that is what you get when you are looking for a seat that your child can grow in. If you are in the market for a seat around ages 3 and up, do yourself and your child a favor and buy this seat!

Great Car Seat

Overall, this is a great car seat. I bought it because the buckle strap placement is adjustable and it has solved our problem (the strap on the buckle of our old car seat was too short and made the seat uncomfortable for my son). I like that the seat converts to a booster and is as big as it is. I am definitely happy with the seat - it is much more comfortable for my son. The one (minor) complaint that I have is that the shoulder straps are close enough together that they were irritating my son's neck occasionally - the fix for this is easy though, just velcro some fabric around it and then it doesn't rub. I definitely would recommend this seat.

Must Have Item

Very happy with our decision to purchase the Britax over the Graco Nautilus.

My 7mo outgrew the carrier and needed to move into the Britax Boulevard CS that my 2yr was using. I originally thought why spend the money on another Britax when we can buy a Graco Nautilus. So we went to the store and had him sit in the Graco. I was first turned off by the lack of padding...I could only imagine how that would feel after a 2hr ride to Grandma's house. So I started my research and found myself agreeing with everything I read. The Graco is a less expensive seat so I couldn't expect the Britax wow factor. I could have overlooked the wow factor but what I wasn't going to overlook was the safety factor. Britax has treated us good for 2 years so why chance it with a less expensive seat. Afterall, if I'm willing to spend money on a handbag I should be willing to spend money on my child's safety.

We just received the seat this week and my 2yr LOVES it! After seeing him sit in the Britax compared to the Nautilus I know we made the right decision.

In my opinion, this is s must have item.