We have a tall 3.5yo (wears 5t) who outgrew the Cosco Scenera and we just bought the Cosco Finale 5 point harness booster. The Finale is a touch taller and heavier than the Scenera but still fits fine in our generic car seat bag. We’ve checked the Scenera multiple times when flying and it’s held up fine. Our preference is to check the car seat normally rather than lug it through the airport when we already have slightly more carry-on bags than what 2 adults can conveniently carry. I can’t remember seeing gate checked car seats, just strollers. Multiple car seats and boosters usually show up in the oversized luggage carousel.
The thing with boosters, including the wearable harness, is that they’re for kids who are old enough to sit upright on their own, and our 3.5yo is still squirmy and slouchy when she’s tired and fussy aka travel days, so while technically she fits in a wearable harness, my understanding is that the seat with the 5 point buckle is still safer.
Highly recommend going as lightweight as possible when traveling. There’s just so much stuff to lug around when traveling with kids. We had the Cosco Scenera and recently moved up to the Cosco Finale with our big 3.5 yo (wears 5t/xs regular kid sizes).
It sounds like your kid is on the smaller side if they’re still in the Doona at 16 months. My kid had a massive growth spurt and sized out of her infant car seat well before 1 year. Growth rate also slows way down during the toddler years. You can make an educated guess on your child’s weight and height by following those growth curve charts.
You need 51" of rear hip room and the narrow base car seats. I fit 3 in the back of a Prius. The cosco finale for instance is 17" wide so will fit 3 across in most vehicles. I've currently got 3 across including a carseat with click in base in an e class
We used the Cosco Finale car seat (from Walmart) for travel around age 5 for my daughter. It’s the lightest weight and cheapest out there (but still fully tested and approved safety wise.) My youngest just outgrew the cosco scenera so he’ll be using the finale our next trip.
The Cosco Scenera is typically outgrown by age 3 via height.
It requires 1” above the head rear facing and the harness must come out at or above shoulders when forward facing. So I wouldn’t recommend it for either of your kids.
And their Cosco Finale seat now has a 40lb minimum on the harness.
Look at Graco Tranzitions. It’s narrow for 3 across. Just be sure to buckle and tighten the harness when carrying it around an airport etc, it can convert to a backless booster and you don’t want that to accidentally be done while traveling.
3 year old is 37” tall right? That’s about when a Scenera seat is outgrown. Many car seats don’t fit until their published limits. Plus if you’re shopping new the Scenera Extend is 19” wide, not narrow for 3 across.
A child cannot use a new Costco Finale at all until they weigh at least 40lbs.
Cosco changed both seats in the last 12 months, so if you’re seeing otherwise it’s the version that isn’t sold anymore.
Put kiddo in a lightweight forward facing car seat instead, fits better and feels more like the car so kids behave better. Then use at destination. Cosco finale or Evenflo maestro is super light.
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