Cheap Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat

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List Price: $189.99
Sale Price: $139.00
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

I own 2 Britax Frontiers in Pink, and the Graco Nautilus in pink as well. As a Mother who owns both models, I will tell you the major differences between these two seats from my point of view.

#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!

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The crotch strap.

This seat looked ideal in every way. I liked it right out of the box, and when I put it together. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Then, I sat our average-sized 3 1/2 year old in it, boxed it up and sent it back, very disappointed.

The crotch strap, in the closest position, was beneath the back of my son's crotch. In the farther (and only other) position, it was even with, and slightly pressing against, the front of my son's crotch. In other words, no room to grow whatsoever. There is no way possible that this seat would allow my son to sit comfortably in a five-point harness all the way up to 65 pounds. At that point, the strap would be well beneath his crotch and be uncomfortable and dangerous. No way... and I really wanted it to. If there was one additional slot for the strap, an inch or so farther out, this seat would be PERFECT, in my opinion.

So, I gave this seat a 3 out of 5. For a younger child, or one just reaching my son's age and size (again, he is very average in weight, height), I would probably rate this seat a 5. But, since it clearly will not be able to do what it says it should do, up to 65 pounds, I cannot give it a 5. I honestly don't know how any child can be accomodated in this seat up to 65 pounds, unless they are a very, very skinny 65 pounds.

If Graco updates this seat to add one extra slot an inch or so farther out for the strap, I would buy it again immediately. I was, and am, a little angry that the seat won't work as advertised. Buyer beware; look up the few other comments on the crotch strap first. Then, please, go to the store and "test sit" this seat before buying, and please consider how big your child will be at 3 1/2, or older. Otherwise, you may find the same disapointing fact I did.

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Many reviewers have commented here that the crotch strap is incredibly short. I spent some time agonizing before I finally ordered, since I did not want to have to return it. But it turns out, the crotch strap is plenty long. I even bought a second one for my other child. Here's what you need to do.

1. Once your child is too large for the smallest setting on the 5 point harness, follow the instructions to REMOVE THE BODY SUPPORT. This is the thing that looks like extra padding in what would be the lumbar region if you could somehow squeeze an adult into the seat. In my copy of the manual it is shown on page 6 under "Features". If you fail to REMOVE THE BODY SUPPORT, yes, indeed, the crotch strap appears to be ridiculously short. So, in conclusion, REMOVE THE BODY SUPPORT per the instructions.

2. Also, as many have commented, move the crotch strap to the second slot. Make sure you are using the second slot in the hard plastic base, not just the second slot in the fabric insert.

3. Congratulations, you now have a ton of space in the crotchular region. I have a 56 lb 43 inch tall son who, even while wearing ski pants, fits just fine in the seat when configured according to points 1 and 2. He is not 'sitting on' the crotch buckle as so many have alleged. I think a child who doesn't have enough room is likely too large for the weight limit on the harness anyway, in which case you remove the harness and migrate to #2 of the "3-in-1" scheme and secure the child in the booster with the vehicle belt.

PROS:

The kids love them.

The price is right. They are quite a bit cheaper than the corresponding Britax model.

A consumer research magazine, which I'm not sure if I can name here, rated this seat highest among convertible seats for safety and usability.

Looks better than the Britax, at least in my car.

CONS: Not many, but here they are.

-Straps feel a bit flimsier than the Britax.

-Clips/buckles are a bit harder to operate than the Britax. Maybe they will get better with use.

-In my opinion, the metal junction plate is too small compared to the width of the straps. The metal junction plate is shown on page 38 in my copy of the manual. It looks sorta like something Batman or a ninja might throw at a villan if it was sharpened. It is there to hold the loop ends of the shoulder straps behind the seat. The slots in the plate are only about 3/4 as wide as the straps, thus the straps get bunched up a bit, which is a weaker configuration than if they had enough space to lay flat. But that consumer magazine rated it tops for safety, so it probably doesn't matter. Again, the Britax does not have this issue.

I don't feel the cons are worth paying another $100 or whatever for the Britax, but that's my budget. The main thing is that the crotch strap is not an issue. Go try it in a store if you don't believe me.

Edit: After a month of use, the clips/buckles on one of the seats has loosened up a bit and is easy to operate. The other one is still a bit stiff. However, the flimsier straps tend to twist up so they are not flat in the buckle slot. That's a little disappointing. I'd knock off a half star for that.

Honest reviews on Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat

My Wife, a Pediatrician, did a ton of research with the first priority being safety, safety, and, I'll say it again, safety.

We were Britax users for our first car seats and found it a fine car seat, though pricey.

So, this time around, with our son growing too long for the Britax seats that we had, we decided to look at all the options.

Price was not part of the equation.

Design was not either.

Safety was it.

We highly recommend this Graco car seat (We have three now)

1) The price blows Britax away.

2) The design is very nice. Our son loves the drink holder as well as the toy "compartment" in the arm rests. He "hides" toys in the arm rests and has a lot of fun fooling us.

The installation was simple.

The headrest is extremely easy to use and to "fit".

The five point harness is critical to our son's safety and it is very easy to use. Though, it is slightly different than Britax, so there is a few days of getting used to a "new" system. After that, there is no problem.

Overall, we are very happy with Graco.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat

So I did a LOT of reseach before buying this, read multiple message boards, then to the store to look at them, etc. This replaced a britax that was passed down to DD #2 for my rather large 4 yo girl(40lbs, 40inches)I want to keep her harnessed for as long as I can. I finally decided to go for it b/c of

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 amazon's price!

I highly recommend it, I think it will last my DD until she's prob 7-8 yo (My average sized 8yo nephew fits!)