| shogan |
Thanks everyone for your recommendations on car seat fit/performance/ease of use. Based on the glowing reviews of Britax seats posted here (and almost everywhere else), my wife and I just purchased two Britax Galaxy seats from www.elitecarseats.com, where they are $159 or $149 if you buy two or more. It is a great deal on a Britax seat.
For those of you not familiar with the Galaxy, it is basically a Roundabout (good for 5-40 lbs.) with a 6-point harness instead of a 5-point (the lower buckle is anchored at 2-points instead of the usual 1 point). It also has a stabilizer bar which presses against your seat in the rear-facing position, and retracts in the forward-facing position. It also has a "super-recline" position, which I think will be necessary in the MDX due to the angle of the 2nd row seat. It is a difficult seat to find. We sort of wanted the Advantage with the easily adjustable harness position (no rethreading). But at $250-260 we decided to spend the $300 and get 2 Galaxies.
According to the folks at elitecarseats.com (I went to their warehouse because it is a few miles from my office), Britax had decided to discontinue the Galaxy, but are reconsidering it based on the huge sales volume elitecarseats.com is doing with that seat (probably due to the killer price).
If you order from their website they only have one of two fabrics available. There is a "Thunder" pattern and an "Alexandria" pattern, which is listed as out of stock. They are both dark blue. The Alexandria is a softer "velour" type fabric with multi-colored dots on it. The Thunder is a tapestry type fabric with embroidered zig-zags. They actually have a handful of the Alexandria seats in the warehouse waiting for new boxes (the boxes got wet/damaged, but the seats are unscathed). So if you want the "softer" of the two fabrics, you can find their phone number on the website and call to get one. I only know all of this because I stopped by the warehouse. We got one of each.
Sorry for the long post, but it is all good information...and if I was checking this site for info (which I did), I think I would've found this great information.
Thanks again and good luck to you all...I will follow up with a post on fit of the Galaxy in the MDX, though I am sure it will fit like the Roundabout.:2: |
|
|
| wmquan |
Congratulations on the good deal on the seats. The Galaxy is every bit a Britax and has plenty of safety features. I've seen a number of people get good deals on leftover Galaxy's.
Britax's problem is that they muddied up the market with too many 40 lb-limit convertible seats -- Roundabout, Roundabout with LATCH (at one point the ones without LATCH were going for low prices), Advantage, and the Galaxy. I think they confused a lot of buyers.
Having to rethread the straps won't cause too many problems for you since when rear-facing, they just have to be either right at or below the child's shoulder (as I'm sure you've probably already read). It's when they start growing fast and go forward-facing that you have to re-thread the straps to at or above their shoulders. Realistically, you will not do it very often at all -- twice at most.
The rear stabilizer bar is a very interesting feature and is sound in theory and in Britax's tests. I was excited when Britax announced an infant seat with a rebound bar, but, as is typical with Britax, they cancelled the seat before it was even released in the U.S!
As it is, there is a growing movement among certified Child Passenger Safety technicians to keep children rear-facing as long as possible (to the capacity of the seat rear-facing, usually 30-35 pounds and subject to height limits). This is something that we in North America are totally not used to, we look forward to turning the child around forward-facing. Even most pediatricians will tell you "it's okay to turn them around now, their neck is strong enough now."
But crash tests clearly demonstrate that there is considerably less stress on the neck for rear-facing children, even older ones. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics now says that "babies be kept in rear-facing seats until they reach the maximum weight and height allowed by the maker of the car safety seat."
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
Apparently in Sweden, most children are kept rear-facing in (much larger capacity) rear-facing seats until much more advanced ages (4-5). Supposedly the child fatality rate in crashes is much lower than in North America.
With our first kid, we turned him around after 12 months (though the pediatrician said he was ready even before 11 months). With our daughter, we might try to keep her rear-facing for as long as she (and we) can stand it. |
|
|
| wmquan |
Just found this on the message boards for www.babybargainsbook.com.
www.BabyCenter.com is offering the Galaxy (Thunder fabric only) for $132.94 shipped. The price is actually a bit under $115 but that doesn't include oversized shipping, unfortunately. |
|
|
| XStatic |
quote:
Originally posted by wmquan
Just found this on the message boards for www.babybargainsbook.com.
www.BabyCenter.com is offering the Galaxy (Thunder fabric only) for $132.94 shipped. The price is actually a bit under $115 but that doesn't include oversized shipping, unfortunately.
Direct Link to the Galaxy:
http://store.babycenter.com/product...nd_toddler/4585
Through midnight on Thursday, November 20, save up to 15% with these coupons:
- 10% off orders of $75 or more (code 17715764)
- 15% off orders of $150 or more (code 17737086)
Get free shipping every day on orders of $99 or more with coupon 13974425.
With the free shipping coupon
$114.39 Oversize $8.00 = Total: $122.39
With the 10$ off coupon
$114.39 - 10% off ($11.44) + Oversize $8.00 + shipping: $10.55=Total: $121.50 |
|
|
| XStatic |
quote:
Originally posted by wmquan
Apparently in Sweden, most children are kept rear-facing in (much larger capacity) rear-facing seats until much more advanced ages (4-5). Supposedly the child fatality rate in crashes is much lower than in North America.
Kinda like that rear facing 3rd row in our Volvo V70.... |
|
|
| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by XStatic
Through midnight on Thursday, November 20, save up to 15% with these coupons:
- 10% off orders of $75 or more (code 17715764)
- 15% off orders of $150 or more (code 17737086)
Get free shipping every day on orders of $99 or more with coupon 13974425.
With the free shipping coupon
$114.39 Oversize $8.00 = Total: $122.39
With the 10$ off coupon
$114.39 - 10% off ($11.44) + Oversize $8.00 + shipping: $10.55=Total: $121.50
Interesting. Looking at the coupon, it says "coupons may not be applied to products from Britax, Maclaren, Inglesina, Kidsline, or Peg Perego" so it probably couldn't be used. Dunno if the checkout system stops you, however -- did you go that far?
The free shipping coupon is totally valid, however! So $122.39, nice deal. |
|
|
| XStatic |
quote:
Originally posted by wmquan
Interesting. Looking at the coupon, it says "coupons may not be applied to products from Britax, Maclaren, Inglesina, Kidsline, or Peg Perego" so it probably couldn't be used. Dunno if the checkout system stops you, however -- did you go that far?
The free shipping coupon is totally valid, however! So $122.39, nice deal.
I didn't notice that, I did cave in and buy one of these though. I have the Alpha Omega in use now, if I like this better than the A/O will go to my truck to replace the carrier I am still using, otherwise this will go into the truck. My main concern is the reports that "thunderbolt" fabric is too rough.... How bad can it really be and I wonder if a couple runs through the wash with fabric softener would fix it up... Any feedback?
I also bought a couple more items so I used the 15% and it worked fine...
1 202321 Galaxy Convertible Car Seat - Thun $114.39
15% off $150 or more -$17.16
Oversize Charge $8.00 |
|
|
| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by XStatic
Kinda like that rear facing 3rd row in our Volvo V70....
I think that Britax makes a seat available in Sweden called the "Two Way Plus." It's a convertible that goes to a whopping 25 kilograms (about 55 pounds) both forward and rear-facing! I'd imagine some children outgrow it in height before outgrowing it in weight. Still, 55 pounds rear-facing is a long way above U.S. seats that only go rear-facing to 33-35 pounds.
I believe that Volvo first developed the rear-facing child seat back in 1972!
A number of cars in Sweden have a deactivation feature for the front passenger airbag so that many children ride in the front (probably helps with rearfacing since a big rear-facing seat won't fit as well in the back of smaller European vehicles).
Finally, I do know that with some vehicles in Sweden there is some kind of brace used to prop up the back of a rear-facing seat. The idea being that such a braced seat will have less motion toward the front in a frontal collision.
Regarding the Volvo V70's third-row facing the rear -- Volvo claims to have crash-tested it (rear-ender) at 30mph against a flat barrier and found no injuries measured by child-sized dummies. Nice touch. |
|
|
| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by XStatic
Hmmm, continued research after the purchase... This one may have been a better choice and a little less...
http://store.babycenter.com/product...nd_toddler/4755
The Evenflo Triumph 5 is a very good convertible seat. However, given the price delta, and assuming that the Galaxy is about equivalent to other Britax seats in safety features, I think the the Britax is worth it. A Galaxy for about $115 is a steal.
The main complaints I've read about the Galaxy is that some parents think that when it's rear-facing, it's too close to the seatback (they worry about a larger child going rear-facing, e.g. well past the one year mark). However, there's no evidence that it causes more injury, as much as it may eventually make the child uncomfortable. The only other complaint I've noted is the rougher seat fabric of one of the patterns. Supposedly washing it with fabric softener once or twice goes a long way toward addressing this.
The bottom line is that for the very small price difference you're buying a seat that's made to sell at double the list price of the other. While some of it goes to pay a Britax premium, you do get back a lot in a costlier, higher-quality design than an Evenflo.
The advice I usually give friends to understand where the money goes in a more expensive car seat like a Britax:
- Grab the harness straps in your hand and make a tight fist and hold it for several seconds. The cheaper seats usually have a lot of crumbling and some signs of wrinkling in their nylon-blend straps. The Britax seats use a polyester-based, very tight webbing closer to car seat belts. You notice the difference after a year or a year and a half. The Britax straps show little sign of wear (except for any urpings-ups onj them) and very little twisting. Many competitor's straps look like they've been through a war, they're all creased and are twisted badly.
- Handle, hold, and adjust the LATCH attachments of the seats. The Britax LATCH components are very solid, heavy, strong and durable. Many competitor seats feel a lot lighter and flimsier.
- Look at the lock-off clips for the belt. Many other seats, if they have them at all, have pretty flimsy ones.
- Strip off the fabric cover of the seat and look at the construction of the plastic shell and how it's injection molded. It's likely the Britax will be a lot more sturdy, better reinforced, etc. I think some Britax seats use a metal plate to help reinforce the harness as well. |
|
|
| Emerald01 |
We just bought a Britax Roundabout this past weekend from BabiesRUs for $199. I'm not totally convinced I picked the right seat for my daughter. She just turned two years last month and is about 27lbs and about 35" in length. The seat is rated for 40lbs but I'm afraid she might out grow it in a few months. She seems to fit nicely in it for now but I'm not sure if it will last. Length might be the issue.
I really like the Britax Roundabout. Seems real comfortable for my daughter. She sits a higher and can see out the window better. Easy to use and mounts very well. The overall size and design is nice for other passengers as well. Since it is higher and slightly more forward (mounted in middle 2nd row), the other people in the second row have more shoulder room. I'm 6' and 175lbs and the seat doesn’t bother me when I tested sitting in the back with the new seat. And I like the reputation that Britax has as being a safe seat.
This seat is our second seat that we are using in the forward facing position. The first was an Eddie Bauer/Cosco. This seat is rated up to 80lbs but it lack support for her when she fell asleep and did not rest on the seat very well in the MDX. Had issues with twisting straps and didn't like the puzzle buckle. And it was pretty wide. Other than that, it's okay.
I kind of figured that if she out grew this one we could go back to the other one and use this one on our second child -eventually.
But I'd like to hear your opinions. Did I pick the right seat for my daughter and our family? Size, price and color did affect my final decision on the Roundabout but it shouldn’t have. Should I have gotten the Marathon or Racer or something else?
Maybe there’s anther seat that is perfect for us. I guess what I’m looking for is a safe, comfortable for daughter, last long, works well in the MDX, comfortable for other passengers, a matching color and at a good price too (pretty much in that order). Am I asking too much? |
|
|
| shogan |
Now my great deal is looking like not so great. I think $150 is still a great price, but $122 is better. Especially when you're buying two! $244 instead of $300....hmmm...may be a return in my future. Plus the fact that I had to pay sales tax because elitecarseats.com ships from a Michigan warehouse, so I'm at $318. When you have a baby and the wife (who made as much money) quits the corporate job, $75 is significant cash, man!
Regarding the Triumph, I agree with all of wmquan's comments. We have friends who bought that seat trying to save a few bucks and are cursing themselves everytime they use it. The Britax's have many nice little touches you don't notice until you have to do without them.
Regarding the Thunder fabric...I don't know what everyone is so up in arms about! It's just fabric....no one sewed sandpaper to it or anything. I worried about the same thing because I saw so many comments on it, but now that I have the seat I don't know what the fuss was about.
Regarding rear-facing, we are going to keep our son rear-facing until he outgrows/outweighs the rating for the seat.:roadtrip: |
|
|
| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by shogan
hmmm...may be a return in my future. Plus the fact that I had to pay sales tax because elitecarseats.com ships from a Michigan warehouse, so I'm at $318.
...
Regarding the Thunder fabric...I don't know what everyone is so up in arms about! It's just fabric....no one sewed sandpaper to it or anything. I worried about the same thing because I saw so many comments on it, but now that I have the seat I don't know what the fuss was about.
...
Regarding rear-facing, we are going to keep our son rear-facing until he outgrows/outweighs the rating for the seat.:roadtrip:
Did EliteCarSeats have any terms on the purchase, e.g. "final sale?" If not, you can return them (after verifying with BabyCenter that they still have models), or at least ask EliteCarSeats to match the price (you'd still have to pay sales tax but some of that is offset by the $8 oversize shipping you'd have to pay at BabyCenter). I'm sorry we didn't find out about these deal earlier, someone posted about this only yesterday.
I'm glad you find the Thunder fabric fine. You're right, some people make it sound like sandpaper! A lot of infant seats (e.g. our Graco SnugRide cover) have a coarser, embroidered type fabric. Realistically unless someone's sticking their kid in it without their shirt on and wearing shorts, the infant/toddler really does not care! I guess some people are always looking for the plush, softer, velour-type fabrics. Our Marathon and Husky have that type of soft cover.
I have to admit that with my son, we didn't keep him rear-facing after he was 13 months. But now that there's more information available, I'm a convert and will keep our daughter in it for as long as she tolerates it, or she outgrows the rear-facing rating, whichever comes first.
It's simple physics. In a front-end collision, the forward-facing kid flops forward dramatically, putting a lot of stress on the neck (and sometimes hitting the back of the front seat), and then the head rebounds hard back into the seat. Rear-facing, the head/neck is well-braced in a front collision, and the rebound isn't as severe as in a forward-facing seat because there wasn't much forward travel. Some will ask, what about a rear-ender? But rear-end collisions are apparently only 10% of all collisions, and typically aren't at the speed of front-end collisions. |
|
|
| shogan |
Elitecarseats.com gave me the price match. About a $71 or so refund....sweeeeet. They didn't want to have to deal with a return any more than I did, I guess. Policies like that will bring me back when I'm looking for a jogging stroller, baby-backpack, etc.
Thanks for all the input again, fellow MDXers!
:20: |
|
|
|
