Believe it or not, though we are a 2 vehicle family - up until this past December (around my son's 3rd birthday) we were pretty much a one carseat family. My husband drove a Jeep Wrangler which we couldn't justify as being safe for kid transport so my Subaru Outback was the primary vehicle and the only one my son rode in. When my husband's Jeep died and he replaced that with a Chevy Suburban then, our needs changed. Since my husband is pretty much only home on weekends, at first we would simply move the carseat from vehicle to vehicle as needed. But, then he drove off out of town with my carseat in place forcing me to purchase a spare. The spare, a Graco TurboBooster 8493 then became the seat for his truck. However, we soon learned that our 3 year was simply not mature enough to sit safely (and remain seated) in this belt positioning booster and had to look at other options.

This narrowed our options down to just a few:

Britax Marathon - A convertible seat that can be for rear facing for children 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing up to 65 pounds. $249

Britax Wizard - A convertible seat that can be for rear facing from 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing at least one year old and 20 to 65 pounds, up to 49 inches. $269

Britax Husky - This is a forward facing only youth seat for children from 22 to 80 pounds. $239

Nania (Car Seat Specialty) Airway or Airway LX - 2 carseats in one, this seat has a 5 point harness for children up to 50 pounds and then can be a booster seat afterwards. $100

I have the Britax Husky in my Subaru which as mentioned above is the primary vehicle and the primary carseat my son rides in. Since we don't need the rear-facing ability for this seat purchase that narrowed us down to 2 seats - the Husky and the Airway. Being a huge fan of Britax seats, I actually was fully ready to purchase a second Husky for the Suburban since we'd tried the Husky out in it and it fit really well. But, as luck would have it I wasn't able to locate one that day locally and didn't have the time luxury of being able to order one online. The carseat safety specialist at my local Pillings Baby to Youth store suggested we try out the Nania Airway LX Booster Seat, and after doing research on the seat and trying it out in the Suburban we purchased one for just under $100.

About the Nania Airway LX
If you've not heard of the brand Nania, it is probably because it is not a US brand. Nania is a well-known and reputable European (French, I believe) manufacturer of baby gear. Carseats manufactured in Europe are held to more rigorous safety ratings and standards and are considered the cream of the crop on the market. We've used several Britax models and have been very impressed. And so far, I can say that I've been just as equally impressed with this Nania seat too.

The Nania Airway LX is a forward facing seat that can be used with its 5 point harness or as a booster seat. The 5 point harness system is for children from 22 to 50 lbs and 29 to 48 inches tall. When they've outgrown the harness, it can be removed and the seat can be used as a booster. As a booster it can be used with your vehicle's lap/shoulder belt for a child 33 to 80 lbs and 33 to 51 inches tall. My 3 1/2 year old son is 36 pounds and around 40 inches tall and is in this seat with the 5 point harness and plenty of room to spare.

The Nania Airway LX can be installed using the LATCH system or your vehicles seatbelt (either a lap/shoulder belt or just a lap belt). When you install it with the vehicles seat belt, the manufacturer recommends that you use the top tether to get a solid installation. Our Suburban is an older model and doesn't have LATCH so we've used the seat belt & tether combo. It should be noted that the belt path for installation is fairly straightforward but that the slots for the seatbelt are on the narrow side. My husband had a bit of a time installing it due to his larger hands and trying to maneuver the path.

Our Nania Airway LX is in the Malt cover - it is red and black and very atrractive. I've seen the seat at online retailers with different covers on it, though the only choice we had at our local retailer was the red/black combo. The seat cover is made of a very spongy material making it extremely cozy yet not too bulky or padded. There's also additional padding on the harness and around your child's head/neck, and a "belly pad" aka groin protector. I like this as my son is very comfortable in this seat, though the seat is not extremely bulky. The cover on this seat does come off and is machine washable (must be hung to dry).

The five-point harness has a 2 piece chest clip which easily snaps together and a 2 piece buckle with sides that click in place independently. The crotch strap seems to be a bit longer than some other seats we've used but doesn't present a problem for us in terms of proper belt placement. Regarding the 5 point harness, it is very adjustable - but, not as easy to adjust as some other seats I have used - like the Britax. There are 3 sets of harness slots on this seat so that the harness can be adjusted for height. In order to tighten the harness the adjuster is down under the pad of the seat (near the crotch strap). I should note that our harness came threaded 'backwards' - which I guess is the European style of threading. There are directions included in the manual to reverse the way the harness is threaded - it does not impact the safety of the seat.

One thing I noticed about this seat right off is that though it later can be used as a booster seat with your car's seat belt it does not have any loop guides built into the seat. The design of loop guides has been rather controversial among carseat manufacturers and consumer report ratings. In a nutshell, most of the combo harness/belt positioning booster seats out there were declared not to be safe because of the way their belt positioner loops were designed. Narrow closed loops, as found on seats like the Graco Platinum CarGo 8489 Booster Seat were reported as resulting in problems with seat belt retraction and too much slack. Seats like the Graco TurboBooster 8493 with their open loop guides are more preferable. The Nania Airway LX has neither style of loop guide. Instead, it comes with a clip on loop guide that is on a nylon strap - similar to what they market with backless booster seats. If the shoulder belt doesn't fit your child properly then you use this belt guide, otherwise no belt guide is needed.

Overall
We've have been very pleased with our Nania Airway LX Booster Seat. My son enjoys riding in this seat and rides very comfortably. My husband and I are quite confident that he is riding safely, as safe as in his Britax seats. While the cost of the seat was not an issue, of course we are thrilled that this seat cost us approximately 1/2 of what a Britax would have set us back -and has comparable features, good safety ratings with a respectable European name. Unlike our Britax Husky, this seat is approved for use on an airplane with the 5 point harness mode. This seat also has more compact styling, and takes up less space in your back seat than the Britax models - especially when compared to a Husky. With the Nania Airway LX we'll be able to keep our son in it in the 5 point harness until 50 pounds, and by then hopefully he'll be mature enough to handle riding with the vehicle seat belt in booster mode. If you are looking for a harnessed seat with slightly higher weight limits, consider this Nania Airway LX.


My Other Carseat Reviews

Britax Roundabout
Britax Expressway
Britax Husky
Graco TurboBooster 8493
Graco Platinum CarGo 8489 Booster Seat
Evenflo Secure Advantage I Convertible Car Seat
Century Bravo LX Deluxe 5-Point Newborn/Toddler Car Seat with Leather Trim
Graco SnugRide Infant Carseat

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 99
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years