Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, Matrix
by Graco Baby
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List Price: Our Price: $137.50 You Save: $52.49 (28%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $136.95 (click here) Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, Matrix
Customer Review: Hoping for truth in advertising
Summary: 5 Stars
I am hoping that Graco is right and that this will be "the last car seat you'll ever need". My daughter is 14 months old and we got this for her when she turned 12 months. I didn't want to have to keep buying seats as she grows so this one seems like a good affordable answer to that problem.
It was easy to assemble and fits her well. It seems like it will continue to grow with her (weight and height wise) and eventually will end up as a booster until she is big enough not to need one.
Padding is good, the 5-point harness is like the one I'm used to from her rear-facing seat (also Graco). It is big, but not as big as other seats that aren't as versitile. We have one for us and one for my mother who watches the baby in the day. The car seat fits well into her sedan and our SUV and doesn't block rear-view in either car. It is very secure with LATCH and the tether system adds extra stability. I'll need to use a seatbelt in my car (an older model without LATCH) but I think the seatbelt routing will be easy and secure as well. The head proteciton does not 'blind' my daughter from looking out the window like the Britax one we tried in the store did.
I like the cup holder. She prefers to throw her sippy on the car seat, of course, but she's starting to get the idea of putting the cup back in the holder. Later I think it will be nice to have the little spaces in the arms for toys, etc. I also like the styling of the car seat. No cow print, obnoxious flowers or plaid (yuk!). It blends well with the gray and charcoal interiors of all three cars (mine, my mother's and my husband's). It also tends to stay pretty cool even when we are parked in the sun. No problems with hot components that need to cool down before you can put baby in.
I am quite happy with this purchase and (barring any unforseen recalls) hope to use it for years to come.
Customer Review: Great seat - 1 small problem
Summary: 4 Stars
Like most all the others who have reviewed this seat, I searched extensively on the net and in the stores to find a seat with a five point harness that would hold a slightly larger child. This is for my 3 year old, who is 41" tall and weighs about 37 pounds.
The seat seems comfortable and sturdy. It was simple to install and looks pretty good in the car. My son loves the cupholder (don't they all) and the storage cubby in the arms. He sleeps well in the car and does seem to have good head support while doing so. Overall I am very satisfied with the seat and think it will be a good purchase in the long run. (We have a younger one to pass it to when this one outgrows it)
I do have one major problem with the seat, and I have already contacted the Graco company about it, but they say there is really nothing they can do. Like others have said, the 5 point harness is a little harder to open and close than other seats I have used. My son can buckle himself in, but he can not get the buckles un-done, so that is a good thing. He can however put his little thumb in the hole and loosen the straps. I am not sure if this is a result of him being tall and having longer arms, or if the release hole is just closer to him in this seat. We went on a 4 hour trip last weekend and we buckled him in and pulled the straps snug, and when we had been on the interstate for about an hour, noticed that he was moving around alot. We stopped to check it out, and he had loosened the straps, until they were just hanging down around him. If we had been in an accident, he would have had no protection at all. Soooo, this is a problem that we will have to address, or get something else. Hopefully we can convince him not to do such a thing.
Again, overall I think this is a wonderful seat and I like the fact that it is made to hold larger older children. I would recommend it.
Customer Review: Gets the job done, but you'll wish it didn't
Summary: 3 Stars
We needed yet another car seat for once a week at grandma's. We own both a Britax Marathon and Regent, and very much like both of these seats but just couldn't justify the expense of a third Britax seat. The idea of a 5-pt harness up to 65lbs was the motivating factor behind purchasing this car seat.
I read the reviews and many people complained about the location of the strap between the legs. We tried out this seat at the store before ordering online and decided it should work for us if at the furthest back slot. Upon receiving the seat we discovered that moving that strap was virtually impossible. After several failed attempts and threats to return the seat, we finally were able to make the adjustment.
Overall, this seat is needlessly complicated and any adjustment you need to make almost requires the assistance of your young child because the clearance to do simple things like move the harness straps is very, very small.
I think the claim of a 65lb 5-pt harness is exaggerated. My son is 4yrs old, 40lbs and about 41 inches. I think he's pretty close to the limit of what the 5-pt harness can take. We can remove the comfort padding of the seat and possibly give us a bit more time with the tight fit of the strap between the legs.
I would not recommend this seat to a child under 3 years old. It sits low like a booster and a young child would be frustrated with being unable to easily look out the window. As for the 5-pt harness thing, I really think it will not last as long as I was led to believe. You'd probably be better off getting a high back booster where you can remove the back as your child grows. There is very little advantage to the 5-pt harness claim on this seat.
We'll keep the seat because, honestly, I won't have to deal with it, and it will be used very little. I would never want this as my main seat in my car.
Customer Review: Mixed Feelings
Summary: 3 Stars
I did extensive research on a car seat -- with online reviews as well as reviews from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). I had to buy two, one for each car. There are a few annoying things I can't get over.
Cons:
*Adjusting: This car seat is not easy to adjust. It's actually quite frustrating -- you have to change the strap size over the shoulder and the snap piece in between the legs and both are not easy to adjust. You have to pull all the straps out, and pull like 500 little elastic straps and pull the cover in order to make adjustments and then hope you hook everything back together. I had to take the seat cushion/liner out because it hinders buckling my son in when he's sitting on it--it seems to pull the straps down and I can't buckle it.
*Straps: The straps are just long enough for my son but if he grows any more before he's able to stop using the harness system, I'll be stuck because there's no excess strap. So although you can tighten the strap once the child is strapped in, I don't have enough to tighten. The part where the straps lock in that resides between the child's legs doesn't stay forward so you have to fish under the child's rear to get it and strap them in.
Pros:
*It's easy to fasten into the car. It has so many ways to fasten it that I feel confident it's secure. Once I figured out all the adjustments, I liked it.
*My son thinks it's comfortable. It has a cup holder, inside compartments for his toys and it reclines.
*It converts from a harness car seat, to a seat belt car seat and then to a booster seat so I'll have this until he outgrows a booster altogether.
*Relatively low price considering it ranges up to 100 lbs. Amazon definitely had the best price around and the shipping is free.
*Rated as one of the safer car seats according to the NHTSA.
Customer Review: Good, but a few drawbacks
Summary: 4 Stars
We had to buy this car seat even though I really wanted the Britax Frontier. I had a Britax Roundabout before this and really, really liked it. We actually did by the Frontier, but try as we might, we just couldn't get it to fit in my Honda Civic. The seat kept sliding within the seat belt even though it was tight as can be. Reluctantly, we had to look for something else. We ended up with the Nautilus.
The Nautilus is good, but doesn't have some of the conveniences of the Britax Roundabout. For example, the Roundabout has handy velcro on the seat belt and on the edge of the seat so that you can attach the belt to the seat so that the child doesn't end up sitting on the belt when he/she gets in. On the Nautilus, my child has hurt her back when sitting on the plastic clip. I might see about creating my own velcro for it. It's definitely convenient.
Another thing with the Nautilus is that my child's head flops forward when she falls asleep, even if the seat is in the recline position. This never happened with the Roundabout.
And the last thing is that I've noticed the fabric on the Nautilus just isn't as good as on the Roudabout. I already see evidence of wear on the seat and we've only had it about 4 months. We had the Roundabout for three years and still looks great. Not sure I'll be able to say the same about the Nautilus in 3 years. Plus it seems the fabric is also hotter and not as comfortable as the Roundabout. Britax just makes a really good product. Unfortunately, we just couldn't use it.
Overall, the Nautilus is good. And I certainly can't complain about the price. But if you can spend a little more, buy the Frontier because you'll have it a long time. Hopefully, you won't run into the same installation problems that we did. However, if money is tight, then you'll do fine with a Nautilus.