Pros: Safe for wide range of heights and weights, storage cubby and cup holder.
Cons: Wide base, short adjustment strap
The Bottom Line: Accommodates wide range of weights and heights without sacrificing safety or simplicity. Thrifty price, considering it might save you from buying two seats, if not three.
tjapkesg's Full Review: Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Car Seat
This is now the fouth seat we purchased for our son. The first was a typical Graco infant carrier. Due to his fast growth in height, we quickly progressed to an Evenflo Triumph LX. Then, for various reasons, the Evenflo was relegated to the less driven pickup truck and replaced with a Britax Marathon. Both seats have served us well, even if we have a preference for the Marathon, but our son outgrew the Evenflo last fall. While the Marathon now serves duty in the truck, the new Graco Nautilus sits in the family sedan that we drive daily.
"3-in-1 multi-mode Car Seat for longer use" This transition was one that we feared, since we once believed we would either end up having to shell out another $280 for a Britax that would only be used for a brief period, or we would end up compromising safety with a high back booster that was too big. Our son was too tall for many seats, but too light and skinny for others. This seat can support a child from 20 lbs to 65 lbs, and 27 to 52 inches tall, in the normal child seat configuration with the 5-point harness. Beyond that, it converts into a high back booster, then later into a backless booster, both good for up to 100 lbs and children 38 to 57 inches tall.It features energy absorbing foam, an adjustable head support, steel reinforced frame and extensive crash testing.
Installation Since we acquired this seat in the fall, I don't recall exactly how it came out of the box. I know the head rest had to be snapped on, but the rest was obviously uneventful and simple enough that my mind has dismissed it.
This is a forward facing seat and was originally installed in the center of our 2006 Chevrolet Impala using the LATCH system. It installs similar to other seats we have used, by simply hooking the LATCH hooks to the LATCH anchors and cinching things down. The top tether also hooks and cinches down in a similar manner. Watch for that top tether though. It likes to hide behind the seat, and, if you forget about it, you'll be undoing the bottom connection to retrieve it. I like to hook the tether first, even if only loosely, to avoid this.
Installation into an outboard position is the same if you are using LATCH. In our vehicle, installation using vehicle belts would be the same, between center installation and outboard, since this vehicle has shoulder belts throughout. Although I have not tried a vehicle-belt installation, mostly due to the shoulder belts, it appears that it too is fairly typical.
LATCH'ing The LATCH hooks themselves are the typical/standard spring loaded J-hook style. If you have ever had experience with the mechanical push-on latches on Britax seats, you might find these a little antiquated. The LATCH anchors on our vehicle are buried in the seat cushions. Getting them hooked on isn't generally a problem. Leaving yourself a lot of slack in the belt helps with installation, which allows you to slide the seat over and get a good vantage point to work from.
For removal, my trick is: - Slack in the belt, again, is your friend, so give yourself plenty - Pull out on the J-hook so it is positioned the same as if the strap was tightened - Push in spring on J-hook - Push in on the J-hook to unhook it from the anchor - Finally, turn the J-hook so that it can't re-capture the anchor and pull it out
I recently had this seat, and our Graco seat base, out of the vehicle for a spring cleaning, and had no problems with removal or re-installation. Width This seat appears to be fairly wide. I have not compared it to a lot of seats, but I can tell you that you aren't likely to fit 3 seats across in anything but the largest vehicles. So, if you have a sedan and two kids like us, and are hoping to leave a spot for Grandma in the back, you had better break out a tape measure.
LATCH Weight Limit? The manual warns to only use the vehicle belts for children over the weight of 48 lbs and that some vehicles may actually have a lower limit than that.
Usage and Amenities The 5-Point harness works like many others. The child's arms and shoulders get fed through the belts, which are both latched at the crotch and clipped together approx. mid chest. There does not seem to be as much slack available as with our other seats, which is most noticeable with bulky winter coats. Now, the manual says to avoid bulky clothing, but who actually makes their child take their coat off in sub-zero weather? At any rate, you simply tug on the adjustment strap between the kid's legs to draw out the slack and snug the harness down. If your child is wearing a heavy coat, there will simply be less strap to grip and tug on, and you might have to adjust their coat/clothing for a safe fit (i.e. straighten things up).
Extracting the child is of course the reverse. There is a release located where that adjustment strap comes out of the seat bottom. Pull the release, then pull on the shoulder straps to draw out slack. Release the crotch latch and unclip the chest clip, and you're done. Again, very similar to many other seats.
I wasn't sure I was going to like it initially, but decided I simply needed to get used to it. Now, getting our son in and out feels as mindlessly simple as any other seat we have owned.
Boost Mode! Since our son is our oldest, it will be a while before we get around to converting the seat. It does not appear as if it will be difficult. Cool Cup Holder and Cubby Holes While we avoid eating and drinking in vehicles as much as possible, it certainly does happen, particularly on road trips. The cup holder is large and deep, so drinks stay put. The cubby holes are a nice place to keep sun glasses, or the misc toys and trinkets that our son seems to always have in hand.
Machine Washable Fortunately, this isn't something we have tested yet, but the seat cover is machine washable (cold water / drip dry). It is a feature we have found useful on other seats, and it appears that this seat cover comes off relatively easily. More than that, since the top and bottom covers are separate, I see no reason why you couldn't skip washing the top if only the bottom were soiled (e.g. spilled drink).
Where did it go? Lost Toys Not unique to this seat, but rather something I'd expect from any booster-like seat, is the fact the sides under the arm rests are open. Where loose items would simply be lost in the seat itself on the old seats, some things fall under the arm rests. We recently had a toy slip through there and ended up lost down in the crevice with the vehicle seat belt latch.
Conclusion This seat accommodates a very wide range of weights and heights, and appears to do so without sacrificing safety or simplicity. It is also has a thrifty price, at least once you consider it might save you from buying two seats, if not three.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 160
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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