Is there a Britax convertible car seat that you would recommend?
What factors affected your choice?
Have you seen any good deals lately? (I want to buy a seat ASAP so that my sister doesn't need to bring my nephew's seat with her when she visits. My LO is going to need a new seat soon enough, so if I can make up my mind, I'll get one now. Eventually, we will need to buy two though).
25 votes
papaya / 10560 posts
We have the marathon 70 gs. I love it mainly because you don't have to retheead the straps who lo grows. It's a great carseat!
honeydew / 7303 posts
I voted marathon gs. Thats what I have and I love it! Its pretty narrow, but has a good weight limit and is sturdy. I got a pretty good deal on mine from diapers.com with free shipping. I think it was around 180. I just looked and they're around 217 on there now, but watch out for deals!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
LO isn't here yet so I have no opinion on which is best, but NBD has an Advocate for $193.99
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
We also had a Marathon GS. Loved it. But don't get it if your LO is tall and you want to potentially RF past 2.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@Mrs. Yoyo: Hmm, my LO is only 7 mo but so far she is super tall. Do you happen to know which would be best for a tall baby?
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@lawbee11: That's a great price. What do you think about an opened/resealed box for a carseat? It sketches me out a little since it's a safety item... but am I just being paranoid?!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@78h2o: We ordered our Maxi Cosi infant seat from NBD and it was in perfect condition--still wrapped and everything. I am assuming someone just changed their mind and returned it. NBD does have free returns for 30 days, so if you got it and it looked like it had been used, you could return it. I know other bees have gotten their car seats from NBD and have been pleased, too.
honeydew / 7303 posts
My LO is very tall and the rf height and forward facing height on the marathon is the samr.. 49 inches. My LO is 31ish inches at 10.5 months. No problem at all so far.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@78h2o: We got a Radian RXT to replace the Britax. Also a great seat! It is very tall, though, so you would need a car with decent space to accommodate.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
We have 2 Advocates!
My DD has always been in the 90+% and she still has lots of room to grow. She's 27 months old and 37 inches tall!
pear / 1849 posts
We have the Marathon 70 GS. Only been using it for about 2 weeks (LO is 10 months), but so far so good. He's very tall (probably about 32 inches right now) and his feet do touch the seat, but he doesn't seem at all bothered by it. And I find the straps SO much easier than the straps on our Britax B-safe. We got it on Amazon a while ago during a sale.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Is this going to be a primary seat?
We went with the boulevard.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@yellowbird: you're supposed to turn them FF in the marathon when their head is within an inch of the shell. See page 5:
http://www.britaxusa.com/uploads/products/user-guides/120.pdf
For my LO, he was really pushing that at about 21 months.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@SeptMomma12: Oh that is good to know about the straps... I do find the ones on the bsafe annoying!
@chopsuey119: that's good! My LO was ~30" at 6 months! I bet she's 30.5-31" right now!
@lawbee11: okay, maybe I will try it. I think I am going to order one via Amazon, since I need it by Saturday, and then maybe get the NBD one two as our 2nd seat...
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I need to buy 2. Mine will be primary, the one in DH's car with be used somewhat less. However, I think she can be in the middle seat in my car (SUV) but will be on the side in DH's smaller car. So I'm leaning towards the Advocate for his car...
So seems like the Marathon is popular? Is that becuase it's cheaper than the Advocate and Boulevard? Do you feel it's as safe?
grapefruit / 4681 posts
We have the Marathon 70.
We just switched it 2 days ago to FF at almost 27 mo and only because it needed cleaned and I didn't want to take it out again in a few months when I was majorly pregnant and it was 100 degrees outside. We could have gone RF for awhile yet in terms of height though.
ETA: We have the marathon in the center of my car. DH's care we have an entirely different seat/manufacturer and it's behind the passengers seat. DS is rarely in his car though. I feel the marathon is plenty safe for LO. I'm still getting used to him FF though.
pear / 1849 posts
@78h2o: Yes, the ones on the B-safe got twisted all the time! It's only been two weeks with this one, but no twisting yet.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
I've confused by the reviews of the Britax seats in Baby Bargains... it says the height of the Advocate is short, so the child will likely outgrow it by height long before hitting the 70 lb limit... however, the height limit for the Advocate is 49", same as all the other Britax seats except for Roundabout, which is 40")... so are they (advocate, marathon, boulevard) all the same height? BBs doesn't say anything about the others being short...
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@78h2o: Yes, it was my understanding that those three higher end britax are all the same height shell.
Marathon - Base
Boulevard - Side Wings (for baby)
Advocate - Side cushions on outer part of shell (good for if seat is near a window or if another passenger or baby will be next to this seat).
That is how I understood the differences.
here is a chart: http://www.thewisebaby.com/convertible-car-seat-review/
pineapple / 12526 posts
@78h2o: The best for a tall baby is NOT a Britax. Their RF height limits are really not very high. C is extremely tall and that's why we passed on the Britax and are getting her a Radian.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
We have the Pavillion and so far, I LOVE it! It looks comfy and is nice and big.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
We have a Boulevard, I bought it before I knew about Radians. I went with them because I was familiar with the brand and I could use a 20% off coupon to buy it, so we did.
We are still rear facing at 30 months, my son is about 36 inches tall and 32 pounds.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@zippylef: @Mrs. Yoyo: Can you tell me more about the Radian? How does it rate in terms of safety?
My LO has always been in the 99th percentile for height. I don't know if that trend will continue, but maybe I need to look at other brands...
How did you know it would fit before buying it? Did you measure? Seems like even with measuring it would be hard to tell. DH has a 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX that I am worried a out it fitting in. The Bsafe barely fits if I still want to ride in the front passenger seat.
Sorry, usually I do all my own research but I am pressed for time and I'm not feeling well.
pineapple / 12526 posts
@78h2o: It's an extremely highly rated seat. Here are all the size measurements of it:
Radian RXT:
Lowest harness height: 9 in.
Highest Harness Height: 17.5 in.
Shortest Buckle Position: 3.5 in.
Tallest Buckle position: 7 in.
Crotch buckle length: 5 in.
Internal seating depth: 13 in.
Internal seating height: 25 in.
Internal bottom width: 13.5 in
Internal Shoulder width: 14 in.
External Shoulder width: 17 in. at shoulder area, 16.5 in. at thigh area.
Seat weight: 26.5lbs
RF weight range: 5-45 lbs.
FF weight range: 20-80 lbs.
RF height range: up to 44 in. with at least 1.5 in. of shell above head
FF Height range: up to 57 in.
FF age range: 1 year and older (recommends 2 years)
Lock-offs: Does not have Lock-offs
Rebound control: RF tether
Seat Modes: Rear facing/ Forward Facing/Booster
Expiration Limits: 8 years as harness / 10 years as booster
Lowest Booster belt guide height: 23.5in
Highest Booster belt guide height: 23.5in
Booster mode weight range: 50-120 lbs.
Booster mode height range: > 40 in. and shoulders above the 4th harness slot
Booster Mode age range: none listed
Booster LATCH capable: yes
Manual: manual
Other info: * RTX has adjustable head wings with the booster guides on the headrest.
* Seat folds
* SafeStop load-limiting device must be used when installing the seat
forward facing with LATCH or when using the top tether, and the child
weighs between 20-40 lbs. The SafeStop device is not used when the seat
is installed rearfacing.
honeydew / 7917 posts
We have two Boulevards and love them. I recently bought the second on NBD for $150 shipped.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@zippylef: so your LO will use that seat until she mo longer needs one, is that right? It looks like the rear facing height limit is lower than the britax but the ff height is higher?
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@yin: how did the Boulevard from NBD look when it arrived? I did buy the Advocate last night that @lawbee11: linked to on NBD. It came out to $182 shipped w/ a coupon. I'll have to see how it looks when I get it and whether or not it fits. Hopefully i can return it if it doesn't work out. Unfortunately it won't get here in time for my nephew to use, so I need to get the 2nd seat from Amazon or diapers.com.
pineapple / 12526 posts
@78h2o: The thing you want to look for is internal seating height, not just height limit. The Clek Foonf and the Radian have 2 of the highest in terms of that (Along with seats like the Graco MySize and related models).
C is 15 months and 32" tall already, so I did a considerable amount of research. I was steered way clear of the Britax seats because of her height. We plan to RF as long as we can.
But yeah, the Radian is good until you're done. It's a 3-in-1 convertible and works as a booster as well.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@looch: I love hearing that you are still rear facing at 30 months. 
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@78h2o: I think you'll be fine with the advocate. We plan on keeping DD in hers until she's 4ish. Then we'll move her to a Clek Oobr booster seat.
Up until her first birthday she was 95-98th%. She's currently 90th% for height.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@mediagirl: Thanks! I thought we'd switch at 2, but there was no resistance, so we just kept him rear facing. He does well in the car, so that's helped tremendously.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@78h2o: the rf height limit on the radian gets you about 10 inches more than the Britax. Britax doesn't specify a number in their manual, but in my experience, once my LO was 33-34 inches, he was within an inch of the top of the shell. Radian limit is 44 or 1.5 from shell, but he's got a while before he gets there.
They do have an angle adjuster to make the seat take up less room RF, but I think I read somewhere that you're not supposed to use it until a child is 1?
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
So the official rec for the angle adjuster is one, but it seems that most people think it is ok as long as your kiddo sits well and has good head control.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=238848
Also, as a data point, we did not need the adjuster in our Sonata, but did in our CRV for the person in front of that seat to have enough leg room.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@lawbee11: wow, thanks again for the NBD suggestion. The Advocate I ordered from there came today and it looks perfect. The manufacture date is 4/2013. I hope it fits! I think it will.
I did also order the Radian RXT from Amazon and it came today as well. I'm hoping it will work the other car.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@78h2o: I'm sure you're prob clear on it by this point, but you'll face the same issue with the RF height with the Advocate. All the Britax seats have the short shells, which is such a bummer. Of course, all they tell people is weight limits, which obscures the issue.
grapefruit / 4441 posts
@Mrs. Yoyo: Haha, no, I'm not clear 100% clear on it. I'm going to compare the Advocate and the Radian side by side tomorrow.
When I looked up the specs on the Advocate, this is what it said:
RF Ht Range 49" / at least 1" shell above head
Highest Harness Height 17"
Internal Seating Height: 24" to top of shell/27" to top of headrest
The specs for the Radian RXT:
RF Ht Range up to 44" with at least 1.5" of shell above head
Highest Harness Heigh 17.5"
Internal Seating Height 25"
So what I get from that is that with the Advocate, there is 23" of internal seating space and with the Radian there is 23.5. That may be close enough for me to be okay with having one of each, esp. because the Advocate I bought was not full price.
The Advocate claims a higher overall RF height... maybe it is better for a LO with long legs, short torso?!
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@78h2o: ok, I can def tell you that your tall LO will not be anywhere near 49 inches with one inch of shell left above the head -- especially since that is the FF limit, too!. I am almost 100 percent sure that the shell is the same height as the one on the marathon (the difference is the advocate has more side protection). And note that the adjustable head wings dont count -- it is the non adjustable part at the back. I truly think Britax obscures this because fewer people would buy their seats if they knew they weren't good for tall kids.
Anyway, I just wanted to say something again in case you could still return if you were concerned!
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