# Infant Bucket vs. Convertible



## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

DD is 12m 30 inches tall and 20 pounds. She uses a Graco SafeSeat 35 infant seat. We recently installed our Britax Diplomat rf in our nanny's car.

I've been thinking about replacing the bucket with a confertvible because she seems old to be in the bucket. DS was so much bigger he was out of it much earlier.

Is it true that an infant bucket is safer than a convertible?

What are the current convertibles with the highest HEIGHT limits. She is not on track to be a heavy kid but she is fairly tall and I am still annoyed about the height limits for the Diplomat-- worst purchase ever.


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## mama2mygirl (Dec 14, 2005)

My dd is seventeen months, an inch shorter than your girl, and 19lbs. She's still in her Snugride32. I'm going to use it until she outgrows it.
DD2 is in a Frontier and will switch to using it like a booster soon. But they have to be 2 yrs and 25lbs, I think, to be in a Frontier. She was in a Marathon until it expired when she turned six.
For this baby I will probaby get another Marathon or possibly a MyRide just because of cost.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Safety wise, a convertible is very safe. The seats with the tallest shells, that will accommodate the tallest children, are the Safety 1st Complete Air, Radian, True Fits, and then the My Ride and big Britaxes.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Any ideas about which of these car seats might be the most compact rear facing? We have a Prius and a Bug.


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## susank (Mar 13, 2006)

Sunshine kids seem the best to me....affording it is another story.


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JudiAU* 
Any ideas about which of these car seats might be the most compact rear facing? We have a Prius and a Bug.

The Complete Air can install very upright RFing in most cars, which saves front-to-back space.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *susank* 
Sunshine kids seem the best to me....affording it is another story.

Radians are very nice seats, but there's no reason to believe they are "better" than others.


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## calihannah (May 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JudiAU* 
DD is 12m 30 inches tall and 20 pounds. She uses a Graco SafeSeat 35 infant seat. We recently installed our Britax Diplomat rf in our nanny's car.

I've been thinking about replacing the bucket with a confertvible because she seems old to be in the bucket. DS was so much bigger he was out of it much earlier.

Is it true that an infant bucket is safer than a convertible?

No -- it is not true. The seat that is safest is the seat that fits your child and your car best and will be used properly every single time you're in the car.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JudiAU* 
What are the current convertibles with the highest HEIGHT limits. She is not on track to be a heavy kid but she is fairly tall and I am still annoyed about the height limits for the Diplomat-- worst purchase ever.

The Sunshine Kids Radian series has some of the highest harness slots for a convertible, but they do not do well in compact cars (unless puzzled between the two front seats). The Safety First Complete Air and First Years True Fit can both be installed very upright, and both have high harness heights. The Complete Air has lower weight limits overall than the other two options, though it does rear-face to 40lbs. The new Britax seats are also thought to have high harness heights (as listed by the manufacturer), but because they are so new to the market, there aren't a lot of "in the trenches" stories about how tall they really fit (some seats fit taller or shorter than specified because of how kids actually sit in the seats).

I've seen Radians install just fine in Priuses (center seat) but haven't seen them in a Bug.

Good luck with your decision!


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## WindyCityMom (Aug 17, 2009)

Just a note- the MyRide65 doesn't have a very tall shell. The complete air has a HUGE shell







Which is a must for us


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Yeah the My Ride shell is pretty short compared to the True Fit, Radian, and Complete Air. My 5 yo is too tall to RF in the Radian but has growing room in the CA both RF and FF.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Thanks all. This won't be installed in the center so that is helpful.


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## jillmamma (Apr 11, 2005)

We just got a Radian XTSL for my youngest DD. We have 3 across in a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the baby is in the middle RF. We chose the Radian for its high slots and since it is narrower side to side with 3 kids back there. Since it does fit between the two front seats, this works well for us in this configuration, but it probably would not work well to have it RF in one of the outboard spots. Another consideration if you want to extended RF a taller child is that the Radian, and from what I hear, the Truefit and Complete Air all have more leg room than the Britax seats too. My older DD was RF in a Britax seat till past 4, but she is very short, and even so, towards the end her legs were getting pretty tight, even scrunched up.


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