# Cosco Scenera recs?



## moxygirl (Jun 23, 2009)

So I STILL haven't decided. I was thinking of going with an Evenflo Triumph Advance since my 6 mo old has outgrown his Graco Snugride (heightwise) but I'm reconsidering. Honestly my husband doesn't see the point in buying ANYTHING but the cheapest because they're all required to meet certain safety standards and who cares if it has the cow print cover or whatever.









So now we're thinking about the Cosco Scenera which is _Really Cheap_, has as high a safety rating as Britax Roundabout, BUT - and this is a big thing for me - it doesn't look very comfortable at all.

Anyone use this and have any opinions? Did your kids find it uncomfortable?

(BTW, I know it's not rated very high for weight. But honestly I'm not sure I want to spend a fortune on a higher rated seat and then have my son either outgrow it too soon anyway, or not even come close and realize I "wasted" all that money for, say, a Radian 80SL. He's likely to outgrow the straps before he does the weight since he's tall but slender. So I'm leaning toward just buying whatever's relatively cheap and when he outgrows it, going from there.)


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## Katie T (Nov 8, 2008)

I have the triumph advanced and love it! Worth every penny. I also have 2 seneras ( they are my back up cars eats). They are ok, but I wouldn't have them as my everyday car seat for 2 reasons. They are outgrown before the Triumph Advanced and 2 they have no padding and we will 30 minutes away from everything. I think their little bums would be numb by the time we got there lol.

I know people are on a budget (as am I, a tight one) but car seats need to not be thought about in a how much it cost manner. I would never waste my money on a Britax as they will be outgrown before many other seats and are not a good choice but I would look into the The First Years True Fit, it can be found for $160.00 it is good for tall skinny kiddos (that is what I have and have a True Fit as well, for DS).

You want to find something that he can rear face till at least 3yo in. He will be in the seat for several yrs. I don't know for sure but I think the harness straps on the True Fit are taller than the Evenflo as well.

Good luck, it is a hard decision but in the end worth it! You can't put a price on safety. Also if money is too tight to buy a car seat with higher limits you can always get a senera now and when he outgrows it go from there.


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## ~Charlie's~Angel~ (Mar 17, 2008)

I have the coscos for my moms car and mother in laws car. Since i needed to buy FOUR extra carseats, I needed something affordable. They are OK for every once in a while, which is how often they get used. But for ALL the time, I went with the even flo titans. Very coimfortable, decent rating, and relativly affordable. Ive been a bit of a black sheep today, so I am sure someone will chime in and say how AWFUL those carseats are. But they are working for us!


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

The Scenera is a fine seat, but I don't understand what you mean by it's as "highly rated" as the Britax seats. There is one standard and it's pass/fail -- all seats that pass are safe.


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## moxygirl (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the info.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Katie T* 
You can't put a price on safety.

In response to this, yes, I agree. That's why I said my husband understands that ALL car seats are required to meet certain safety standards and that the Scenera is as highly rated in crash tests as the Britax. http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats/cosco-scenera


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## moxygirl (Jun 23, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chickabiddy* 
The Scenera is a fine seat, but I don't understand what you mean by it's as "highly rated" as the Britax seats. There is one standard and it's pass/fail -- all seats that pass are safe.

I didn't realize this. According to some of the research I've done, some are more highly rated than others according to places like Consumer Reports. I'm certainly no expert though.


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Those are not crash tests, they are reviewer's opinions. (And the Consumer Reports crash tests are severely flawed and no tech/advocate takes them seriously.)


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## moxygirl (Jun 23, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chickabiddy* 
Those are not crash tests, they are reviewer's opinions. (And the Consumer Reports crash tests are severely flawed and no tech/advocate takes them seriously.)

Thanks for posting this! I didn't realize that the CR crash tests weren't valid. Then I guess ALL seats are equally safe? Because I'm getting some flak for not spending more money on a "safer" seat...


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

All seats pass the same tests and are held to the same standards.

There are features, such as energy-absorbing foam or anti-rebound bars/tethers that could possibly improve performance in a crash.

Sceneras, Titans, ComfortSports, and other inexpensive seats are fine to use as far as they go. The safety issues, IMO/IME, is that some of those seats (especially the ComfortSport) will be outgrown RFing before a child is ready to be turned FFing, and most children will outgrow them FFing before they are ready to use a booster.


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## AfricanQueen99 (Jun 7, 2008)

My daughter's seat for my mother's car was a Scenera. I *hated* that thing. It's not comfortable. The straps get too twisty. It's difficult to pull and tighten the harness. Needless to say, I was thrilled when she finally grew out of it.


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## SativaStarr (Jul 16, 2007)

We actually had Scenera's as DS2's primary seat up until a few weeks ago. He's in a Marathon and roundabout50 (both Britax) and honestly he HATES the things







He was for whatever reason MUCH happy in his $40 Scenera!

And FWIW, we were in a serious crash (rearended a semi at 35 mph) in Dec of 2008 and our then 2 year olds were both FF in Sceneras (they had reached the 35 lb weight limits). Both were completely safe.. can't say the same for the car though.. it was totalled!


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## greenemami (Nov 1, 2007)

We just put dd (3) in a Scenera, and she has no problems with it. She was in a Marathon before, so much less padding in this one and no problems. We needed a seat for ds (3 months) to move into, and I wanted him to have more of the padding while he is little. I don't like the low weight restriction on the Scenera, but that was what we could afford for now. Also, we haven't had any problems with the straps twisting, although it is a little harder to buckle (the top one, and really just for dd to buckle, I don't have any trouble with it). Honestly, I wish I would have saved my $300 on the Britax three years ago and just bought a Scenera then too, lol.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

There are more things to consider than price and weight limits. Seats are usually outgrown by height well before weight, and seats with taller top slots will last much longer than those with shorter ones. For comparison's sake, Sceneras have a top slot of about 15", the Titan is about 14.5, the Britax Marathon is 16", the Evenflo Triumph Advance, True Fit and Radian is 17" and the Complete Air is almost 18". Kids grow an average of about one inch of torso height a year, so a difference of 3 inches can mean an extra 3 years of FF time, and RF-wise some of those seats last until 40 or 45 pounds.

ETA: Keep in mind too that the Scenera doesn't have any EPS foam.


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## urchin_grey (Sep 26, 2006)

I posted this in your other thread, but I'll post here too.









If you are looking for something super budget friendly, I would look at the Safety 1st Avenue. Its only a bit more expensive than the Scenera, around $60 (Kmart and Sears carry it). If your DS is indeed long and skinny, it may last him a bit longer RF'ing than the Scenera because the shell is a lot taller. I'm pretty sure the top slots are a wee bit higher too. Also, the Avenue has EPS foam and a bit more padding than the Scenera (well, the Scenera has ZERO padding, just a cover).

I will say that I have a Scenera as our back up seat (started as our primary seat years ago when we had next to no money and I needed to keep DS RF'ing) and if I had to do it over again, I would have got the Avenue because DS is only 25lbs, but getting close to outgrowing the Scenera RF'ing by height.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

We have a scenera for our travel/extra seat. And it is fine for that, but I would never use it as a primary seat. I've never, despite hours of trying, pool noodles, the help of two strong men and in 4 or 5 different cars been able to get a successful RFing install that I felt comfortable putting DD in (we got the seat after she turned 1). It is just a cheap and flimsy feeling seat. And the straps DO twist and that is a major PITA.


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## urchin_grey (Sep 26, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *snoopy5386* 
We have a scenera for our travel/extra seat. And it is fine for that, but I would never use it as a primary seat. I've never, despite hours of trying, pool noodles, the help of two strong men and in 4 or 5 different cars been able to get a successful RFing install that I felt comfortable putting DD in (we got the seat after she turned 1). It is just a cheap and flimsy feeling seat. And the straps DO twist and that is a major PITA.

The trick to getting a good install with the Scenera is to pull the cover back and pull the LATCH strap/seatbelt from the inside of the belt path. You get a much better angle that way and can get much more slack out of the strap/belt.

ETA: (And this is true for many seats when installing them RF'ing.)


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *moxygirl* 
Then I guess ALL seats are equally safe? Because I'm getting some flak for not spending more money on a "safer" seat...









No, all seats are not equally safe. They all meet a certain *minimum* but that does not mean that one cannot be much better (or another only a tiny bit better) than that minimum.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TiredX2* 
No, all seats are not equally safe. They all meet a certain *minimum* but that does not mean that one cannot be much better (or another only a tiny bit better) than that minimum.

That _might_ be true, but we have no way of knowing how they perform in relation to each other. Thus, we have to assume that one is as safe as the next, since they all pass the same minimums.


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## vrclay (Jun 12, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *urchin_grey* 
The trick to getting a good install with the Scenera is to pull the cover back and pull the LATCH strap/seatbelt from the inside of the belt path. You get a much better angle that way and can get much more slack out of the strap/belt.

ETA: (And this is true for many seats when installing them RF'ing.)

I have never gotten a good RF install either. Can you give me a better idea of what you mean when you say pull from the inside fo the belt path?


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## tabrizia (Oct 24, 2007)

Just a quick review of the Scenera. It works, and both DS and DD have never had any trouble with it. That being said DS was 23 months old when he outgrew it rear-facing and 2 1/2 when he outgrew it forward facing, based on height not weight. So I am really glad it was not our main seat but only a backup seat.

DD used it from about 4 weeks old until 6 months when she was finally tall enough for the Marathon. I hated using it every day, using it for a week at my Mom's once every few months didn't bother me, using it once every week or two as our backup seat didn't bother me, using it daily was a pain. The straps were twisty, I almost always had to readjust them from one side to another because they would always get pulled. It was just an overall pain to use day in and day out. We did because DD hated her infant seat and was to small for the Marathon and we had it so there was no sense in buying her a new convertible car seat, but it was not a fun 5 months with the car seat.

That being said, the price can't really be beat and I love it as a backup seat, seat I don't use often. I am not a fan of it as an every day seat, because it is a rather annoying seat with the twisty straps, and the fact that it is outgrown fairly early.


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## moxygirl (Jun 23, 2009)

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the info. I'm still researching like crazy, sigh.








I'm sure I'll be posting a billion more questions about carseats before the saga is done.


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## PoppyMama (Jul 1, 2004)

The Scenara was our first carseat but at about 6 months we got a more padded one and kept the Scenara as the backup. Car rides were a lot more pleasant after that so I guess some babies really do mind the discomfort. The nice thing about Scenara's is they fit tiny babies so they can be good to get first and then go to a nicer convertible and keep the Scenara as backup.


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## MangoMommy (Oct 20, 2008)

Amazon has the Evenflo Triumph Advance for $105 shipped. That's what I am thinking about ordering for my DD. We are on a supertight budget (seriously, I've been saving up my swagbucks and getting amazon g/c's to use towards it!). The Triumph is nicely padded. I've seen the Scenera in Target and it is barebones for sure, no padding at all. Looks like just a plastic frame with cheap thin fabric over it. Several friends have the TA and rave about it.

Good luck!


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## Polliwog (Oct 29, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AfricanQueen99* 
My daughter's seat for my mother's car was a Scenera. I *hated* that thing. It's not comfortable. The straps get too twisty. It's difficult to pull and tighten the harness. Needless to say, I was thrilled when she finally grew out of it.

My tiny three-year-old still fits in her Scenera (with room to grow.) Her straps are never twisted, adjusting the harness isn't difficult, and she's never complained that she's uncomfortable. Her next seat will likely be a Nautilus (or something similar.)


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## moxygirl (Jun 23, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MangoMommy* 
Amazon has the Evenflo Triumph Advance for $105 shipped. That's what I am thinking about ordering for my DD. We are on a supertight budget (seriously, I've been saving up my swagbucks and getting amazon g/c's to use towards it!). The Triumph is nicely padded. I've seen the Scenera in Target and it is barebones for sure, no padding at all. Looks like just a plastic frame with cheap thin fabric over it. Several friends have the TA and rave about it.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info!!

We looked at carseats today and decided to go with the EFTA. After all the research you guys helped me with







it only took literally a few minutes to decide. We tried it out in our older compact car (no latch), it fit beautifully and is super easy for my husband to install (he'll have to remove it once a week so he can put the seats down in order to get shipping supplies for his business). I decided the EFTA is the best combo of cost (we'll get it either on sale or with a coupon so it will be around $100), comfort (we buckled DS in it in the store. He was fussy before we put him in and calmed down IN the seat!







), ease of use (straps are super easy to adjust, it's easy to recline), length of use (decent shell/harness height for my tall-but-slender son), and ease of installation (unclip the cover and slide it back to expose the belt path... voila!). We also looked at the - ur I can't remember - True Fit I think, and the My Ride. I know people rave about them but my thought was who in their right mind designs harness release levers on the front of a seat that's going to be RF?? I can't even imagine trying to access it. I like the release knobs on the side of the EFTA.

So, thanks everyone! I love this forum!


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## AfricanQueen99 (Jun 7, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Polliwog* 
My tiny three-year-old still fits in her Scenera (with room to grow.) Her straps are never twisted, adjusting the harness isn't difficult, and she's never complained that she's uncomfortable. Her next seat will likely be a Nautilus (or something similar.)

My kid went from the Scenera to a Nautilus in Nana's car and it's night and day. She looooves the Nautilus and thinks all seats should come standard with a secret hiding place! Plus the straps are a dream to pull.


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## Polliwog (Oct 29, 2006)

We're really fine with her Scenera. My almost-six-year-old has a Nauti and I've got a love hate relationship with it.


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