Britax Marathon. How Long Did You Use It Before Switching to a Booster Combo?

Updated on March 09, 2011
S.J. asks from North Hollywood, CA
9 answers

As my toddler gets older I realize she is bound to out grow her beloved Britax Marathon. I also am in desperate need to get my one year old out of the infant seat! So I am debating on getting the Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster car seat. Has anyone tried this one? Or a booster combo of any type? I know she will really dislike leaving her seat. But I would hate to buy another Marathon and have to get her a booster in a year or so. What are your thoughts? If you have the Marathon how long do you plan to keep your toddler in it? Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone!

I am going to order the britax frontier 85. I looked up the height limits on the Marathon and my daughter only has 3 more inches! So on to the new seat. I showed it to her online. She is VERY excited to have cup holders! Oh, the little things in life.

Thank you again! I am constantly blown away at how every shares their experiences and thoughts on this website. Very thankful to have a network of moms to get advice from. Thank you!

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S.C.

answers from Milwaukee on

My kiddo outgrew the Marathon by height when she was 3 1/2. I got the Graco Nautilus. It let me keep her in the 5point harness as long as I needed /wanted to before moving her to the high back booster. And it had so much room for her to grow taller in!!

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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

We got our son a Frontier just before he turned 3 because we needed the other seat for our almost 1 year old. He is now over the age of 4 and we still have him in the 5-point harness, mostly because I've been too lazy to figure out the belt positioning booster. He's still happy in the 5-point so I'll likely keep him in that until he needs to move up.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I moved my oldest into a booster at age 4, and he had definitely outgrown the Marathon. It worked well, because my youngest was almost 2, so he went right into the Marathon. I put my oldest in a regular seat booster. He's really tall for his age, so with the seat booster his seatbelt fits him perfectly.

J.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

I was goin to swtich out y daughter but thankfully we didn't b/c we got hit by a dunk driver, car was totalled, everyone in the car but her was hurt, we J. got the britax 70 to replace the britax boulevard we had...worth every penny!

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B.C.

answers from Phoenix on

I have a 5 year old in the marathon and 6.5 year old in the Regent (old version of Frontier). I know it is probably time to switch the older on to a booster, but he really does not mind the Regent and I feel so much safer having them both in 5-point harnesses.

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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

My son is turning 4 in May. He is 42" and weighs 42 lbs. He still sits in the Marathon in my husband's car. In my car, he sits in a Frontier. Both are great seats and he is happy in either one. He liked switching because the Frontier has cupholders and armrests, which he thinks are pretty cool.

We also have a Graco Nautilus for my MIL's car. It's very similar to the Frontier but half the price and easier to install. It's a great seat.

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao - great toys for kids of all ages!

E.S.

answers from Dayton on

I have a Marathon(70?-the new one) and a Frontier.
How big is your toddler? I know the Marathon should seat a child for a long time.
I had a...shoot what is it called...Roundabout for my first...she sat in it till she was 3.5-but she is very tall. Outgrew it heightwise long before weight.
She has a little friend who is still in her Marathon and she is 5-she's just shorter.
We switched to the Frontier and are very happy w/ it. It is a really sturdy seat. A lot of ppl recommend the Radian-it's a good seat too.
When I was researching them the Frontier seemed to have the highest limits on it (2 yrs. ago) so I went w/ it.
DD is 5.5 and still in the 5 pt. harness. :)

We also have a Nautilus and I really wish we had just bought another Frontier-it is just not as nice. Decent. But frustrating-I have a really hard time getting it unbuckled and I am pretty sure DD is going to grow out of it before the Frontier.

Hope this helps a little! :)

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

My lanky just turned 4YO is about to outgrow his Marathon. He'll be moving into a Britax Regent- that's the older version of the Frontier. Ours has a few more good years before it expires, so he'll have that until he's ready for a belt-positioning booster.

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M.W.

answers from St. Cloud on

We have 3 Frontier85 seats and LOVE them! We also have a Regent (now discontinued). The Frontier85 is great. We highly recommend that seat.

And it's so much safer than a booster. Our daughter will be 6 at the end of the month and I wouldn't even CONSIDER putting her in a booster! Her safety is not worth compromising for $220!

Get her one. She won't be disappointed! Let her choose what color! (We have red, tan, and cowmooflauge. Like all but the tan.)

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