Chicco nextfit convertible car seat?

[sunny]

We're switching to a convertible carseat soon, since my little guy is starting to outgrow his baby seat (Graco snugride click connect 35). I've been doing big research on all these convertible carseats, and I keep reading excellent reviews about the Chicco Nextfit. It looks like a great seat, but it's $300! Do any of you use it? Is it really worth that much? What's another good convertible seat for when you outgrow the infant carrier?

[erinkay]

I highly recommend checking out Car Seats for the Littles at csftl.org to see comparisons of recommended seats. If you join their facebook group, you can post your child's stats, your specific vehicle, and budget. Then experts (CPSTs) can recommend seats for you.

My parents and my ILs both have the Nextfit. I thought it was heavy (until I bought a Britax Clicktight), but I like the number of recline options, the harness-tightening mechanism, and the amount of legroom for rear-facing. For my own car I went with a different seat that fit my car better.

[mom2boxers]

If you like the NextFit and it fits your car, I believe you should be able to use a 20% off coupon at Buy Buy Baby or BRU but you would have to double-check the exclusions to make sure.

ETA: We use the NextFit and it's really easy to install with either the LATCH system or the seat belt, the multiple recline options are nice, and I like how compact it is. 

[jil]

We've been using the nextfit for a couple of years now and love it! It is pretty heavy (we use a lighter seat for traveling) but it is so easy to use.

Also their customer service is wonderful. Somehow in our first seat the bar that adjusts the recline randomly went off the track and chicco sent us a new one! They were really helpful through the whole process.

The replacement seat hasn't had any problems and it has been 18+ months.

[sunny]

Thanks so much for your advice everyone!

[kelle017]

I'm a little late but we have it in my car and it fits in the middle (I have a chevy cobalt).  It is a big seat, and it can be tough to tighten, but I like that it was easy to install and will last for a long time.   This picture is from a few weeks ago (she's about 23lbs and 31 inches)

[sunny]

Awesome picture! Thanks so much for your advice! Gives me something to work with for sure.

[catspajamas]

We use this seat in my husband's car. It is easy to tighten and comfortable for my DD. The only downside is that the sides are very high, making it difficult to put my daughter in and out of the seat without bumping her on either the door or the seat itself. My husbands car is low (Mazda 3) which exacerbates the issue. Not a deal breaker just something to consider. We have a peg perego for my car which I prefer.

[sunny]

Guys thank you so much for your help! Ultimately, I decided not to spring for the nextfit. I got the Graco Contender 65. The big appeal of that seat was the cost, of course, because I got 2 of those for what I would have spent on one Nextfit, and I realized if I saved money here I can splurge more in other places, so I went with that. I also realized I didn't need all the features the Nextfit has. But maybe I'll keep it in mind for the next baby...

Again, thanks!