Recently, we published our Rear-facing Convertible Space Comparison blog, but it wasn’t an all-inclusive list and the primary focus was on how much room different convertible seats take up when installed in the rear-facing position. As part of that review, we listed the rear-facing seated height measurements and stated height limits of various convertibles. In the breakdown section for each seat, we included additional information such as RF weight limits and FF height & weight limits.
Now, we’re expanding that database and making an all-inclusive list, specifically of rear-facing convertible measurements, height and weight limits. We have data on almost every convertible seat currently in production. I have measured each seat personally because measuring is a bit subjective but I have done my best to be consistent in the way I measure each seat. Even then, measuring isn’t an exact science since the contours of these seats aren’t in a straight line. But again, I have done my best to be consistent in my measuring techniques.
Here are the results:
| Convertible |
RF Shell Height Measurement |
RF Child Height Limit |
RF Weight Range |
| Britax “Classic” Marathon 65 |
25.5” tall |
1” rule from top of shell |
5-35 lbs. |
| Britax “Classic” Roundabout 50 |
25.5” tall |
1” rule from top of shell |
5-35 lbs. |
| Britax Roundabout |
24” tall |
1” rule from top of shell |
5-40 lbs. |
| Britax Marathon, Boulevard, Pavilion & Advocate (G3 or G4 models) |
24” tall |
1”rule from top of main shell, not from top of HR |
5-40 lbs. |
| Chicco NextFit |
26” with HR fully extended |
1” rule with HR fully extended |
5-40 lbs. |
| Clek Foonf |
26.5″ tall with HR fully extended |
Child height 43” max and 1” rule from top of HR when fully extended |
14-50 lbs. |
| Combi Coccoro |
21.5″ |
Child height 36” max |
3-33 lbs. |
| Cosco Apt 40RF |
23” tall |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| Cosco Scenera |
23” tall |
Child height 36” max |
5-35 lbs. |
| Diono Radian R100 |
25” tall |
Child height 44” max and 1.5” from top shell |
5-40 lbs. |
| Diono Radian R120 & RXT |
25” tall |
Child height 44” max and 1.5” from top shell |
5-45 lbs. |
| Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1 /Comfort 65 |
26” with HR fully extended |
Child height 40” max and top of head below top of HR |
5-40 lbs. |
| Eddie Bauer Sport |
23” tall |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| Eddie Bauer XRS 65 |
24.5” with HR fully extended |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| Evenflo SureRide |
25” tall |
Child height 40” and 1”rule from top of shell |
5-40 lbs. |
| Evenflo Symphony/ Snugli All-In-One |
23” tall |
Child height 37″ and 1” rule with HR in 2nd lowest height setting |
5-40 lbs. |
| Evenflo Tribute |
22” tall |
Child height 37” and 1” rule from top of shell |
5-40 lbs. |
| Evenflo Triumph 65 |
23” tall |
Child height 37″ and 1” from top of shell |
5-40 lbs. |
| Graco ClassicRide |
23” tall |
1” rule from top of shell |
4-40 lbs. |
| Graco ComfortSport |
23” tall |
1” rule from top of shell |
5-30 lbs. |
| Graco Head Wise |
27.5” tall |
1” rule from red plastic actuator when HR fully extended |
4-40 lbs. |
| Graco My Ride |
24” tall |
1” rule from top of shell |
5-40 lbs. |
| Graco My Size |
27.5” tall |
1” rule from red plastic actuator when HR fully extended |
4-40 lbs. |
| Graco Size4Me |
27.5” tall |
1” rule from red plastic actuator when HR fully extended |
4-40 lbs. |
| Graco Smart Seat |
24.5″ tall |
1” rule with HR in third lowest height setting |
5-40 lbs. |
| Maxi-Cosi Pria (with TinyFit) |
26” with HR fully extended |
Child height 40” or less and head below top of HR |
4-40 lbs. |
| Maxi-Cosi Pria (without TinyFit) |
26” with HR fully extended |
Child height 40” or less and head below top of HR |
9-40 lbs. |
| Orbit Baby Toddler G2 |
25” tall |
None stated |
15-35 lbs. |
| Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP |
24” tall |
1” rule with HR in max RF height position (7th notch) |
5-45 lbs. |
| Recaro Performance Ride |
23.5″ tall |
Child seated height max 22.5” |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st Advance 70 Air + (Plus) |
29” tall |
Child height 40” max and top of head below top of restraint HR |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st All-In-One Sport |
25” tall |
Child height 36” max |
5-35 lbs. |
| Safety 1st Alpha Elite 65 |
26” with HR fully extended |
Child height 40” max and top of head below top of HR |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st Chart Air |
24.5” tall |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st Complete Air |
27.5” tall |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st Elite Air 80 |
29” tall |
Child height 43” max and top of head below top of restraint HR |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st Guide 65 |
24.5” with HR fully extended |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| Safety 1st onSide Air |
23” tall |
Child height 40” max |
5-40 lbs. |
| The First Years True Fit Premier C670 |
27” tall |
1” rule from top shell with upper headrest portion attached |
5-35 lbs. |
| The First Years True Fit SI C680/I-Alert C685 |
27” tall |
1” rule from top shell with upper headrest portion attached |
5-35 lbs. |
| www.CarseatBlog.com |
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For more detailed information please see our list of Carseat Reviews and our list of Recommended Carseats. There is also a similar database of Carseat Measurements database at our Car-Seat.Org forum. Unlike this chart above, the database measurements are mainly contributed by members, so some of the numbers may vary slightly from those I’ve measured. The database is also easily viewed on the Car-Seat.org app for Apple and Android, on the iTunes and Google Play stores!
The rear facing height limit for the safety first elite is 40″ not 43″, as stated on their website for this seat
And I believe the rear facing weight limit on the Britax Marathon 70 (not the classic) is 40, not 35.
I’m new to all of this and looking to buy the longest lasting rear facing car seat for height restrictions. I don’t think I understand this chart. For example, how can the The Safety first alpha elite have a maximum child height is 40” max as long as top of head below top of HR when the shell height with HR fully extended is 24.5″? Wouldn’t the maximum height then be 24.5″ not 40″ in sitting position? Based on your analysis, which are the longest lasting rear facing brands for seated height?
Hi Jon, that is a good question.
The short answer is that the first column is our measurement of what is relevant to a parent. The bigger the number, the more likely the model will offer a higher usable height for your child to remain RF longer. The second column includes any additional limits imposed by the manufacturer. These limits may cause your child to outgrow the seat rear-facing earlier than expected, depending on the stature of your child. It’s not an exact science, because every child’s stature is different, both in overall growth, height vs. weight and in the proportion of height that is in their legs vs. their torso/head.
What makes this more confusing is that manufacturers often quote standing height limits, rather than seated torso or seated head height. The latter is generally more relevant to the carseat’s actual usable height limit for rear-facing. The second issue is that manufacturers often put this standing height limit in their manuals for rear-facing. This published maximum height can often seem arbitrarily low and may not correlate to the maximum usable rear-facing height limit based only on the shell measurement. Compounding the issue is that some models have an internal head restraint section that can rise above the outer shell. Different manufacturers may reference their height limit for only the top of the shell, while others reference the top of the maximum head restraint height setting. Still others reference some intermediate head restraint setting. For example, the Evenflo Symphony and Safety 1st Complete Air models are good examples of carseats that may have their potential rear-facing height limits effectively reduced by other limits in the manual.
Right now, my opinion is that the Graco Size4Me, MySize and Headwise offer the highest *usable* height limit for rear-facing, based on instructions and limits given in the owners manual. These models are all based on the same shell. They also offer exceptionally good front-facing height limits (see our review of the Headwise 70). The Clek Foonf offers the highest weight limit at this time along with a better than average height limit.
Other models are very competitive and also offer a nice balance. The Safety 1st Elite Air 80, Chicco NextFit and Diono Radian are all popular for extended rear-facing as well. Any of these models should get all but the tallest kids to their 4th birthday rear-facing. Many kids could go even longer.
Hmm, I feel like I should be more able to tell which car seat my DS (12 months: 75th percentile in both height and weight) can stay RF the longest in. I get that it depends on whether he will first exceed the height or the weight limit, but even still, shouldn’t it be clear (and maybe I am missing it, so help me out here) which seats he can stay in longest, if for example he meets the height limit first, as well as if he meets the weight one first? Actually, I guess the weight limit is easier to tell: there’s one that he could stay in until he was 50 lbs, two that will last until 45 pounds, and then a bunch that will last until 40, 35, etc. That seems pretty clear. But for the height, it looks pretty messy. And again, I get that total height is relevant in some cases, but most of the time what matters is the length from the seat to the head in seated position, but it still looks fairly messy. Is there an easy way to organize these seats to show (similar to the example I gave regarding weight) something like: this one he could stay in until he was such and such a height (or “seated height”), then these two he could stay in until he was such and such a height, etc…?
Additionally, is there another chart somewhere that shows this information in conjunction with the FF limits. That way, you’d be able to see not only approximately how long a child could stay RF in each seat, but also how long they could stay in that seat in general.
Thanks for this amazing resource!
headwise mysize size4me is 28″. its 29″ to the red part so 1″ from that is 28″.
This chart would be even more awesome with top harness height measurements added…..those really matter and finding them is very difficult even on the manufacturer’s websites. 😉
The correct Graco Smart Seat RF height measurement is now listed. The Evenflo Symphony and Triumph stats have been updated to reflect the new 37″ standing height limits for RF (due to their labels being harmonized with Canada and CMVSS 213 requiring a RF height limit). Also, the measurement for the Combi Coccoro shell height has been added. The only thing I’m still missing at this point is the measurement on the new Recaro Performance RIDE convertible and I’ll get that while I’m at ABC in less than 2 weeks.
Hi Nedra,
Yes, the RF Height measurement is bum-to-top-of-head and uses any limits listed in the owner’s manual for the maximum height, if stated.
For a long time, the Radian had the highest rear-facing weight limit of any USA convertible and was probably second only to the True Fit for rear-facing height limit as well.
In the last couple years, there are a lot of new contenders for both rear-facing weight and height limits, so we have a lot more choices that will accommodate most kids well past 2 years of age rear-facing. For kids who are below average in height for their age, even some of the shorter models on this chart may fit them until around 4-years old rear-facing!
So if the “RF Height Measurement” column is for bum-to-top-of-head, does that mean that the top of it ends where the manufacturer’s maximum limit (1.5 inches from the top for Radian, for example, or 1 inch from the top for most others….)? Or is that column the total shell height (from bum to the top of the shell)?
I’m confused because I had heard that the Radians are best for tall rear-facing kids, but from what I am seeing here, it looks like there are several others that are better. Is the Chicco Nextfit, for example, really better than the Radian for a tall kid?
Thanks!
@Carolyn, it’s seated height, from bum to top of head.
So is the height referring to the child’s height, head to toe, or height from bottom to head, sitting in the seat? I’m confused because just from looking at some growth charts, most 2 year olds are way over 23 inches, which seems to be about what the RF height limit is for a lot of these seats. If I remember right my son was measuring 24 inches at his 15 month checkup.
@ Jennifer – yes, once your child has reached either the weight or height limit for rear-facing (whichever comes first) then the child should be turned forward-facing provided that he or she meets the requirements to be FF in that seat. If the child is still less than 2 years old then I would probably recommend a different convertible with higher rear-facing limits. HTH!
so once your child meets one of these requirements you should turn them around? I’m sorry I’m all confused!!
@kaylee18 – the 2nd column is the measurement of shell height. As for which will come first – it’s too hard to predict in most cases. Obviously the seats with lower height limits and very high weight limits will most likely be outgrown by height. And the seats with very high height limits that only go to 35 lbs. RF will likely be outgrown by weight. But for the majority of today’s seats, it’s really a toss up. For example many kids hit 40 lbs at around the same time they reach 40″ tall.
Lol. I reviewed the Smart Seat but totally didn’t remember anything about the headrest height restrictions. And I guess I missed that tidbit of info when I measured the seat last week. I will measure again and post the updated info as soon as possible. Thanks for catching that!
Do you think you could put another column in for shell height? The limit in inches from the top of the shell isn’t a very useful thing to know if there’s no indication of how tall the shell is. Some idea of whether the average child would hit the height or weight limit first would be helpful, too, for all your fellow carseat fanatics. 😀
I just wanted to point out that the Graco Smart Seat only allows RF in the bottom 3 positions. Since the seat has a no rethread harness, 1″ below the headrest is approximately 23″ in the third position.
I believe the information on the Graco Smart Seat is incorrect. The Smart Seat can only be used rear facing with the headrest in the lowest three positions. I am aware of this because I purchased the seat believing that I would be able to rear face my 3 year old in this seat the longest, only to find out that she is nearly to tall for it already.
Wow- HATS off to you guys! this took a lot of time and effort and is a great resource to parents! thank you!