2Mar/10Off
Next Step Infant Car Seat- Britax Roundabout, Marathon, or Boulevard?
I am contemplating what car seat to buy my little girl. She has the Chicco key fit right now but will soon be over 30 lbs. Safety is important to me. Which seat do you feel is the best. I am contemplating the Britax Roundabout, Marathon, or Boulevard. What has been your experiences with any of the above or do you feel that another brand is better. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
March 2nd, 2010 - 15:00
I have the Britax Roundabout and have enjoyed it. It has been a great seat for both my kids.
We bought it when my eldest was about a year old and she used it until about 4 years. My second started in the seat at about 6 months because of size.
It is easy to care for and not hard to transfer from car to car. My younger baby didn’t flop his head around in it as much as the Graco.
I think it’s a great seat for kids just before moving into the booster and great if you plan to have more.
March 2nd, 2010 - 15:43
My 17 month old has the Britax Marathon (I think its the Marathon lol) and its ok…she will soon outgrow it though! I don’t recommend it for a child over 30 lbs! Seems it would be too small, even though the weight limit says otherwise.
March 2nd, 2010 - 16:00
Check out http://www.car-seat.org. The site is mainly run by car seat techs and they have great advice! After a lot of research we went with the Boulevard because of the extra SIP protection (our car does not have side air bags and didn’t test very well for side crashes).
EDIT: If you do decide on a Britax there is a sale on Britax in February so check around and look for a place that has them on sale (no everyone does). http://www.hipmonkey.com is great and they donate part of the proceeds, use coupon code hipmonkey and you will get an additional discount, I think it was 5% – 10%.
March 2nd, 2010 - 16:01
I have Marathon, but struggled between the roundabout and marathon. I went with the Marathon b/c my little one is tall. The marathon last longer than the roundabout if you have a tall child.
We also own the roundabout to keep in my husbands vehicle. It is more compact than the marathon. The Boulevard seemed to just have more padding than the marathon. I asked the same questions tons of time and finally decided that the marathon was the overall best choice, for my family!
This website right here helped me make my choice:
http://www.car-seat.org/
PS: I found the best prices on Albeebaby.com
March 2nd, 2010 - 16:57
we bought the boulevard, back and forth with the marathon, but went with it bc it seemed to have more side impact protection; it is big, but they are all, it does actually take up less space lengthwise then my infant carrier, although it is taller….they both have great safety ratings; i actually bought the one with the click it or something that is supposed to tell you when they are in correctly, but only bc that was the color i wanted, not to tell me when it was clicked..LOL
if not mistaken, the roundabout is a smaller version and i know it doesn’t have the weight limits of the other two..
March 2nd, 2010 - 17:11
I like the Marathon because it has a higher forward facing weight limit than the Roundabout. The Marathon is 65 lb and the Roundabout is I think 40 lb.
March 2nd, 2010 - 17:41
We have have the Chicco Key fit as well and my daughter absolutely loved it. She is super tall and is pretty close to out growing it length wise. We decided to go with the Britax Marathon; it fits great in my Honda Accord and she loves being able to see outside. I decided to go with the Marathon because my daughter is super tall and I didn’t want her to out grow the car seat too fast. She is only 6 months old and already over 28 inches!! I found a cute girly print at my local Target and I can buy a replacement cover online if we ever have a boy. Also, the Britax car seats have the really easy latch connectors like the Chicco, that was a huge selling point because we take the car seat out once & a while. I wanted a cup holder on the car seat but I can get one later that hooks on. We love the Marathon, it was easy to install once I got the hang of it, my daughter is super comfy, safe (#1), and it is a good looking car seat. I think it is worth every cent. I don’t think the extra padding on the Boulevard is worth it, my daughter is fine with out it. The other car seat that is rated pretty high is the Evenflo Triumph Advance but I didn’t like the knob on the side to tighten and loosen the straps, I just couldn’t get it to work in the store and I think my daughter would out grow it pretty quickly. I think you may want to go down to a place like Babies R Us and try the car seats out and see which ones you like best.
March 2nd, 2010 - 18:33
Here is a chart from Britax that compares them:
http://www.britaxusa.com/products/compare.aspx?&11=false&8=false&15=false&9=false&16=false&1=true&3=false&5=true&4=false&10=true&2=false
We ruled out the roundabout due to the lower weight and height limits . . . when comparing the Boulevard to the Marathon . . . we opted for the Marathon because it seemed to fit better in the back of our Honda Accords. We have twins so space is a concern.
Good luck!
March 2nd, 2010 - 18:46
Skip the Roundabout. Ditto the Diplomat. Definitely way too expensive for the length of time you get to use them. For just a littl more $$, the Marathon or Boulevard will last almost twice as long. The Marathon will fit the average sized child until 5-6 years old, whereas the Roundabout is outgrown by the average child at only 3-4 years old. Big difference for a small $$ difference.
Between the Marathon and Boulevard, I’d get the Marathon, hands down. As would many car seat afficionados (check out http://www.car-seat.org they’re called car seat geeks, lol)
You get about a half inch more growing room out of the Marathon, and the adjuster strap is easier to work. The Boulevard has the exact same shell as the Marathon – just different features. So same basic seat with different add-ons.
When shopping Remember these rules:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money!
2)children need to stay rear facing as long as possible.
Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child’s life!
A)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
B)A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
C)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
D)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can’t sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs.
So…knowing all that, here’s some about specific seats. Don’t get a Graco Comfort Sport. Car seat techs call it the ‘crappysport’. LOL Its a crappy seat that won’t last your child very long b/c it has a really short shell. The straps twist all the time, and if they’re twisted they won’t support your child in a wreck properly. They’re hard to install. There’s nothing good about these seats except perhaps they’re cheap sometimes. Ditto the Safety1st 3-in-1/Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in1 seats. These are all the same company – same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That’s what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too short a shell to really go to 40lbs. And that’s another misleading thing the box says – 5-100lbs. What the box fails to mention (you don’t find out until reading the manual!) is that the harness only goes to 40lbs, NOT 100lbs! After 40lbs it must be used as a booster.And they do not make good boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they’re at least 8 years old. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you’ll ever need to buy…Had to edit this part now, b/c Dorel has revamped the 3-in-1s, and if make sure you get an ALpha Omega Elite or 3-in-1 that specifically says up to 50lbs, its not a bad seat. The Triumph Advance and Britax Marathon install a heck of a lot easier, but the AOE is an ok option as long as its the new one.
The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different features. The Marathon a wide open easy to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot easier, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years old, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years old. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years old.
The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. Top slots 17″, harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. Wide open belt path, easy to install. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don’t have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. It can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode.
The Compass True Fit, same as First Years True Fit, is great too. 16.5 inch top harness slots, half inch shorter than the Britax Marathon and Evenflo Triumph Advance. Rear faces to 35lbs, forward faces to 65lbs, has built-in lockoffs, and you never have to rethread the harness to change harness height. The headrest is removable to fit better in smaller cars.
WHY REAR FACING:
http://www.carseat.org/Resources/633.pdf
In the foreground is a forward facing seat, in the background a rear facing seat. You can see how much trauma the forward facing dummy has to endure. The rear facing child simply rides it out.
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg
Here’s another video. You can see how there is NO trauma to the baby, it simply sits there waiting for it to end.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/jen_nah/carseats/?action=view¤t=video06A_MGA_213_RearFace-Convertib.flv
The story of a child who suffered severe injuries from being forward facing when he could’ve been rear facing:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59783
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html