Any thoughts on Britax car seats?

[SnowWitch]

I am needing to purchase a 2nd infant car seat for my 6 week old daughter and I was considering this brand. I know they are pricey but they appear to have an excellent safety rating. Any thoughts?

[akrake]

we love our roundabout...babiesrus carries all the covertable ones plus the infant seat. you may want to check them out. also, consumerreports rates them high also.
akrake

[yeahdisney]

We have two britax car seats. Love them. The kids do not complain in them. Best of all, when I lock them (the seats) into place they do not move. It took me forever to find a car seat that when I slapped the side on it near where their knees would be, that the car seat would not pivot away from me (like in an accident). When it was time for the second child to have one, I bit the bullet and paid the price. It did save me time shopping cause I knew what I wanted. For what I pay for everything else for the kids, preschool and education stuff, I figured if they are not the safest I can have them....... My child is now 6 and she rode in hers forever and it lasted.

[mmb]

We have a Roundabout for our little girl and I love it! They are rated very high for safety and they are easy to install. We bought ours online and got free shipping. The price ended up less than what we would have paid in stores, so I would suggest you look online too.

[SnowWitch]

Thanks!!! My logic says by the time you purchase an infant seat, toddler seat, and a booster seat until they reach 60lbs (Ga Law) then you will easily have $200+ in those products. I found the floral print Britax for $200 with free S&H so I will jump on this. Almost all places want at least $249 including babies R Us for this seat!!!! YEAH, I have decided!!!!!!!!!!

[D,L and K's Mom]

We have 2 marathons and we LOVE them. I only hate them when we are lugging them from the airplane through the airport to catch our connection!!They are very very heavy.

[TinkerbellMama]

We have two Britax car seats, a Roundabout and a Marathon. Love them both! You really can't go wrong with Britax, IMO. Excellent safety ratings and very comfy for the little ones! And such cute patterns! :flower:

[akrake]

We have 2 marathons and we LOVE them. I only hate them when we are lugging them from the airplane through the airport to catch our connection!!They are very very heavy.


true, they are heavy...but we got a carseat carrying bag and it really helps! (babiesrus)
akrake

[Rowlf]

I have a Marathon and I've been extremely happy with it. As far as carrying it through an airport, a friend gave me a tip one time. She said to let out the straps all the way and wear it as a backpack - I did it on our last trip to WDW and it worked like a charm. I hardly even knew I was carrying it!

[skuttle]

We have a marathon and really like it. DS seems to love it, too...he always falls asleep in it.

[D,L and K's Mom]

Great idea about the straps! I am going to try it! We have a stroller with DD and a wheelchair with DS and then the carry ons, the 2 diaper bags and then the car seat. It isnt to bad if we get a porter but on the last trip we didnt have time we were dashing through to catch our connection. I am going to try the backpack idea....well, DH is going to try the packback idea :goodvibes I never thought of it , thank you!!!

[Brina]

They are the only seats I use - my two 5 year olds and my 2 year old are all using Britax Marathons. They can be used rearfacing to 33 lbs and forward facing with a 5pt harness to 65 lbs. LOVE THEM!

[javaj]

I also love our Britax. We've used the Roundabout for my 3 year old since he was about 5 months old, when he got too big for the infant carrier.

[justhat]

We have a Roundabout and a Marathon and our daughter loves them. She HATED her infant carseat and from about 4 weeks old, she would literally scream from the moment she was placed in it till we arrive at our destination (yes, even on 4+ hr. drives from DC to NJ!). Once we switched her at about 10 months it was like we had a new baby. Incredible difference. If I had known she simply did not like the infant carseat I would have gotten rid of it long ago, but who knew!?! We got ours from www.bestbuybaby.com which had great prices and no tax and free shipping.

Oh, I will say I like the Roundabout better cause it's so much easier to tighten the straps. The Marathon isn't the end of the world, but just more time consuming.

[lulugirl]

We have three Britax carseats, Roundabout,Marathon and a Husky. The Roundabout is my favorite, but I love that the Marathon has a higher weight limit, great for heavier children.
Dd (5 1/2 yrs, 53 lbs) is currently in the Husky, it's huge, heavy seat, but I love that I can keep her in a 5pt. harness this long. It can't be used on an airplane.
I think Britax seats are worth the expense.
Good luck!

[SpoonfulofSugar]

We love our Britax. We tried about 4 others with our DS1 because they didn't carry Britax in the stores near us but with DS2 all the stores carry them and the easy of use and installing them is well worth the cost.
Oh how I hate twisted straps!!!!

[cinjam]

We have three narathons and truly love them. Easy install & no twisting straps, plus they harness up to 65lbs. At first DH thought I wasted money, but within one week he was singing their praises! Money well spent.

[AngieWin]

We have a Britax Roundabout in my vehicle and a cheaper seat in dh's. Since I drive the kids 99% of the time I wanted something good. The difference in the seats is amazing. DS is so much more comfortable in the britax and it is easier to install/clean (unfortunately had to do this more than once)/tighten.

When we traveled, I strapped the carseat in the stroller and put DS in a sling. I sent DH on the plane first to install the seat and on the final boarding call, DS and I boarded the plane.

[SnowWitch]

Thanks everyone!! I ordered mine this morning in the Ashley Floral pattern. Cannot wait to recieve it. $199.98 no taxes and no S&H!!!!!

[Windy City Heather]

Your going to love it. I have the Britax Marathons. I only have one complaint sometimes. My daughter gets so hot in it from the velour fabric.

[akasleepingbeauty]

We have had 2 Roundabouts and just ordered our first Marathon last week. I absolutely LOVE Britax carseats and have decided after battling with a vastly inferior Graco for the last year that I will not buy any other brand. They are so easy to install - no locking clips etc. and my kids really seem comfortable in them as well. Of course the safety ratings are the primary reason to purchase but the other features sure do help. My daughter is 5 and although many if not most kids can easily use a booster at this age she just doesn't fit in them well; we tried several ones (including the Britax ones) but she is just too petite (very narrow through the hips and shoulders) and I did not feel she was adequately protected in them. Thus the purchase of the Marathon -hopefully she can use it for a couple of years (she is only 35 pounds but is 44 inches so she'll probably outgrow the height before the weight) and then we have a couple of years for ds to use it.

Anyone considering a Britax purchase should definitely do price comparison shopping online. I ordered my Ashley floral Marathon for $185 total including delivery (no tax either) and the stores around here want $250 (w/tax $270+) so I really really saved doing it this way.

Also remember that carseats should only be used for 5 years from date of manufacture (not date of purchase) because the plastic in them begins to degrade at that point which compromises their stability in an accident. The manufacture date is clearly printed on a label on the carseat so please check any hand-me-down seats to make sure they are still safe for your little one!

[JennsBabySky]

I have a Marathon and I've been extremely happy with it. As far as carrying it through an airport, a friend gave me a tip one time. She said to let out the straps all the way and wear it as a backpack - I did it on our last trip to WDW and it worked like a charm. I hardly even knew I was carrying it!

Sorry, but I'm going to be a nag here. Don't carry the carseat by the internal harness. It is a big no-no according to Britax -- too much extra strain on the straps, so it might not perform properly in a crash. Yikes! They have given their nod of approval to carrying it by the top tether or you can buy a carrier made to attach to the carseat so you can carry it like a backpack (PacBac I think, I have it and it works quite nicely).

[JennsBabySky]

Also remember that carseats should only be used for 5 years from date of manufacture (not date of purchase) because the plastic in them begins to degrade at that point which compromises their stability in an accident. The manufacture date is clearly printed on a label on the carseat so please check any hand-me-down seats to make sure they are still safe for your little one!

By the way, Britax allows carseats to be used for 6 years. I just found this on their website. But thanks for pointing this out. I had thought it was 7 years and my seats are 6 next year. I was just thinking about this today (how we are going to be changing the carseats around next so that everyone has a safe seat in all the cars), so it is a strange coincidence to see it posted her!

From Britax website:
Q. How long can my seat be used?
A. We recommend that the use of a restraint be discontinued if older than six years of age or has been in a severe crash. After six years, technology has changed, components degrade from the environment depending on how and where they are stored, parts get lost or installed incorrectly, instructions and labels may not be available to read. The restraint may be unsafe and should be thrown away.

[long4disney]

We have the britax roundabout and the marathon. The best carseats out there. My dd was always so comfortable in both seats. I would probably purchase just the marathon since my dd outgrew her roundabout quickly. She is very tall for her age. The marathon is a lot bigger and very soft and padded for them. She sleeps so well in it!!! You won't regret the purchase.

[akasleepingbeauty]

JennsBabySky - thank you for that information. I am almost positive that when we purchased our first Britax (way back in 99) that they were said to last 5 years. Perhaps they have upgraded their materials or done further testing but whatever the cause I am very glad to hear it as it means another year for one of our seats.

I am always surprised at the number of people who are not aware that there is a limit on how long you can use a carseat - I guess it is not something that everyone thiinks about. I am glad Britax puts that info on their website - hopefully someone who hadn't thought about it before will read this and not use a carseat beyond its safe age.

[WDWorBUST]

We have 2 marathons - one for my car and one for my moms. I love them. I never thought about the materials degrading and them having a "shelf" life.

[pkgman]

I would say that the length of use limit is more a liability than safety issue. The same materials used to make a car seat and straps is the same products used to make "car" seats and seatbelts. No one would think that car is unsafe because it was six years old.
I could see a problem with use if a family had three kids spaced 2-3 years apart. The youngest child could be using it 12-13 years after the oldest was born.
We got a Marathon fromBabyAge (http://www.babyage.com) for $190 with coupon from NaughtyCodes (http://www.naughtycodes.com).

[disneymom3]

Love them love them love them! They are fab to install and worth every single penny! Thankfully my kids are almost out of the 5 point age and size, at least so I don't have to buy another one, but if I did, I would buy a Britax. Hands down, no question about it.