Droolicious

7 Days of Car Seats: Graco Nautilus 3-in-1

Posted by Chris Ford

When I'm thinking about what makes the perfect car seat, I'm thinking about three things. How safe is it? How many years will I be able to use it (reasonably)? And does the color match my car? Since Erin already took my favorite Britax car seat for toddlers, I'll tell you about my other favorite - the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat.

So for the first criterion, I'm convinced it's very safe. The five point harness works up to 65 pounds, it's steel reinforced. and has a high back. It also lets the child sit more upright than a lot of toddler-only car seats out there which I like too.

As for how long it will last, the cool thing about this seat is that it's a convertible seat. It converts from a toddler seat (with the 5 point harness) to a high-back booster to a backless booster. You'll be getting use out of this one until your kid is old enough to sit up front, which is pretty cool.

And the colors are happily neutral. In my world, kid-stuff like car seats shouldn't match the kid, they should match the car. So if you're looking for ducks and bunnies this might not be for you, but for my car it's perfect.

Check out the Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat (it retails for around $150) at GracoBaby.com


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Comments

 

divrchk said:

We bought this car seat for my 3 year old and it is amazing.

May 10, 2008 9:14 AM
 

Susan Walker said:

HI . I just bought this car seat for my granddaughter. It is really nice. Really I have a guestion. There is a small hook on each side at the top of the padding torwards the back of the seat suronding the base.. They don't hook to anything.Do you know what they are for? Silly but it bugs me.  If you know my email address is  swdl@comcast.net. I thank you for your time. Susan

May 28, 2008 2:25 PM
 

Chris Ford said:

If I'm understanding your question correctly, I think you're referring to the lower anchors that you use with the LATCH system in most newer cars. Those hooks are attached to the top-back of the seat just when they aren't in use. If you're not using the seat belt to secure the car seat to the car, then you have to use the LATCH system. Your car (of course) has to have lower anchors to attach those hooks to. I hope that helps - your manual should have much more information.

Thanks for reading!

May 28, 2008 6:43 PM

About Chris Ford

Chris Ford is a raconteur, musician, technophile, Certified Sommelier, and modern design-obsessed stay-at-home dad in Las Vegas. He has also recently grown a beard, which he thinks is awesome but his wife thinks is a sign that he's finally cracked. When he's not busy traveling the world looking for cool products for children and parents, you can find him shuttling his two daughters to and from casinos.

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