This seat is for children up to 65 pounds and 52″ tall with the 5 point harness, and 100 pounds and 57″ tall as a booster seat. It is important to keep a child in a 5 point harness as long as possible.

I was hoping that this seat would come in a pretty girly color, but it was only available in black, so we go that. When I got it home, it did require a little bit of assembly. Nothing hard and no tools were required. You just have to snap a few things into place. I did it in under 5 minutes. The seat seems quite sturdy once everything is snapped into place.

My 5 year old can buckle herself into this seat (although, I always check to make sure she is buckled in correctly.) The seat was easy to hook into our 1998 Safari van with bucket seats. There is a tether strap for the seat, which helps secure the seat.

My daughter likes the built in cup holder on the seat. She says it is very comfortable. We haven’t had any trouble with the straps twisting so far.

We are so far, very pleased with this seat, it was a nice alternative to buying another Britax. This seat is safe to use on a plane.

1)price (though it really wasn’t an object) but I am a big fan of bang for your buck,

2)sturdiness, i was never a fan of graco until i bought this seat. It’s got a nice weight, sturdy frame.

3)comfort, memory foam! DD loves it, she sleeps very comfortably in it without slumping over like she used to.

4)size, not gigantic like the regent but large it enough to have a big kid sit in it
I was concerned about its looks but it’s much better looking in person.

Finally, who can beat price here!
I highly recommend it, I think it will last my DD until she’s prob 7-8 yo (My average sized 8yo nephew fits!)

One of the reasons we chose it was because the coloring was good for either sex and we planned on having more kids. However, it turned out bulkier than I thought, and yeah it has a cup holder and head rest, but it wasn’t really worth the price that we paid (Almost $200 brand new).

Also the head rest doesn’t really fit properly. My son seems comfortable in it and it had great safety ratings. Generally, I love Graco brand because they have good quality but not to high of a price but I feel I was jipped on this one.

The other thing that drives me crazy about this car seat is the buckles in the front. I do love the way they fit, but they often get really stuck and then I can’t get the poor kid out of the seat.

I thought it was just me and my wimpy hands, but my husband complains about it also. It’s not a terribly car seat, but it’s not the greatest either. Avoid it if you have a small car.

#1 Frontier is more expensive (which is why I got the Nautilus for my spare)

#2 Frontier is SO much easier to adjust the shoulder height strap. With a simple
squeeze of a lever, the straps go up. The Graco needs to be rethreaded. This is BIG pain when you have another child who wants to use the seat. With the Frontier, it is no biggie to pull the lever.

#3 Frontier seat material is prone to wear where the child’s bottom and legs rub on the seat. It also shows WAY more stains and soaks up spills quicker than the Graco.

#4 Frontier has 3 crotch strap adjustments for easy fitting. The Graco only has 2 which makes the older kids sit on the strap. This can get uncomfortable. My oldest DD takes the pad off of the crotch strap on the Frontier (she says it makes the seat look like a “baby seat” with the pad), but she can not do this with the Graco, as the crotch strap rubs on her legs causing red irritation when wearing shorts. The graco pad is very thick and wraps the entire strap (between the legs) and then goes up to sit on the belly. She does not seem to mind sitting on it, but it does not look too comfortable to me.

#5 Padding on Frontier is WAY thicker (on both seat and seat back)and more comfortable to sit on. I can’t imagine that the Graco would be comfortable for long trips.

#6 Heads slump forward for younger kids when sleeping in the Graco. The “wings” around the head are very fat (giving the appearance of a “yonger child’s seat”) and are so close to the child’s head that it causes it to go forward when sleeping. The frontier has wider “wings” and are perfect for sleeping children. The “wings” are farther away from the head and are angled just right as to allow sleeping and looking out the window. The “wings” are thinner and have more of a “big” kid look. This thinner look in NO WAY implies that Graco is safer for the thicker “wings”, as Britax states that its wings are “true side impact protection”. Graco does not state this. The plastic around wings appear to be of stronger material on the Frontier, even though they are thinner. Frontier also has the “hugs” system on the harness to minimize forward head movement. Graco does not.

#7 The Graco has only a 12.5 inch seat width for the child to move around in. The Frontier has a 12.5 seat area around the tush, but opens to a spacious 17 inch wide seat. This may not be an issue for the younger kids, but the older ones need more space. This may, however, be an issue for small cars.

#8 Cup holder and “hidden” storage are neat in the Graco. The Frontier has 2 cup holders, but they can not both be out, as one hits the door when installed on far right or left. The cup holders also do not go smoothly in and out when installed in the vehicle, as the seat blocks the cup holder from retracting. This does not happen when the seat is not snugged down, but when installed….. This is not too much of an issue as we just leave them out. This is only an issue when I have a third child trying to walk to the back 3rd row between 2 Frontiers with cup holders out!

Bottom line. If you need a car seat around the time that Britax has a sale, I would get it over the Graco. The price difference at that time would only be $50. I think that your big kids will be happier in the Frontier. If you have a smaller child, remember, he/she will be a big kid soon!