Cars Seat

My kids are older now but with my first child I so wanted the britax and didn't get it because of the price. When I was pregnant with my 2nd I saved up for it and bought it before he was born, honestly I loved it. It fit in my car and my husband's if we moved it perfectly. I've never seen other car seats fit so tightly, when installed properly (easily) it doesn't budge. My son who was a big boy had to go into it at 4 months and he stayed in it until he was 4 yrs old.

Hope this helps

I have the Britax Marathon that I got for my daughter when she outgrew the infant seat. It was pricier, but I am so glad I got it. It is:

1- One of the safest on the market
2- Lasts until the child is 65 lbs or 49". I have already had it one year and my daughter is only 26 pounds. This car seat will last years.

I LOVE this car seat. I love feeling safe and know it will last years.

Every fireman I know recommended the Britax, as well as Consumer Reports. I have a Britax Roundabout and love it. Frankly, it does cost more and I have friends that love their Graco and Cosco brands, but the Britax safety ratings were worth the extra $100 to me. I also like that they are made in the USA.

I cannot say enough good things about the Britax. I have had the Costco and use a Britax now. The Costco, as all other brands, will move around(ALOT)and slip around the car interior(ALOT) and the buckles/straps entangle(ALOT) and are a big pain. The Britax has a weighted pulley system. When installed, you cannot move the seat at all, it is like it has been fused to the car interior. It does not matter what kind of interior your car has, the pulley system will adjust for it. The Britax buckles and straps are tangle free, due to a patented strap sytstem.
The Costco buckle was like trying to put a puzzle together every time we got in, and really hard for me to unbuckle. I had to use towels under the Costco to help it stop slipping around so much.(I even had the fire dept help me, to no avail!)
The Britax is the #1 in safety for a reason. I wish I had just started out with the Britax. If I were you I would go ahead and get a Britax.
$200 seems like alot, but you will have this seat for four more years, and it is worth every penny in quality and safety.
To give you some perspective on how highly I recommend Britax, I paid $500 for my used car, and $300 for a new Britax to put in it:)

I didn't read all the responses, but I wanted to say that we have had a Britax Roundabout for 4 years and will be moving our next child into it soon. It is a great carseat! In retrospect, I wish that I had bought the Marathon because it has a higher weight and length than my Roundabout. Although, I love how small the roundabout is in my car. It fits really well in a car rather than a van or SUV.
It is really important to check and see how well the seat fits into your car. We have a 1999 Suburu Outback without latch and have found that several carseats do not fit well in it at all. We also have a minivan and pretty much everything fits in that!
I have been looking at a 5-point booster for my daughter and we bought a Graco Nautilis for Grandma's car. FOr us, the Pros of this seat were:
Great safety rating
reasonably priced
cute
my daughter says it is comfy
good side impact pretection

The Cons for me were:
difficult instalation compared to Britax
would only go in one seat (the center) with our older(latchless) car and too wide to fit the infant seat next to it.
really stiff harness - difficult to adjust and snap in/out
made in China

One reason Britax carseats are more expensive is the name brand, another is their extensive testing and a third is that they are made in the USA.

I read one post that said the salesperson at BRU said that the difference between a Britax and any other carseat is that the Britax is teated for safety in all of North America and Europe and the others are tested just for the USA. The reason that is important is that the USA does not require side impact testing on carseats like Europe and Canada do. If you purchase a carseat that has not met European safety standards, make sure that it has been crash tested for side impact protection.

I haven't decided which new carseat to get for our car yet, but if I can afford it, I will get another Britax!

If I was getting a carseat for my younger child and couldn't spend the money on a Britax, I would consider the Graco Nautalis and the True Fit (I think it is by Safety First?). I have read great things about them on the carseat websites!

Hi S.,
I never had a Britax but I did interrogate the salespeople. The biggest difference is they have foam padding on the sides, or more of it. I bought one with the same padding but less expensive. Sometimes the more expensive ones have better design on the straps, buckles (latches) and so forth. Take your baby and try them out, because if you get one you end up hating (I did), it's hard to justify spending that much money on another one.
J.

Carsafekids.org is a great resource. They aren't allowed to recommend which car seats are safest, but when pressed, they will confirm that Britax is the gold standard. My take on it has been that I would rather spend the extra $$ now for the best/safest seat I can rather than wish I'd spent it later. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/template.MAXIMIZE/...) also has a TON of info!! We have a Britax Boulevard and love it. Aside from safety (it has extra head supports that others don't), we also appreciate that it has higher weight and height limits. My daughter is tall and skinny so we're not worried about the weight limits, but since she's long, we need a seat that will last her. We don't want to move her into a booster before she's developmentally ready just because she's tall. I'd also really recommend going to Babies R Us or The Right Start and testing different seats in your car to make sure they will fit.

We have had THREE kinds of convertible seats before settling on a Britax. First we got the Evenflo Triumph based on Consumer Reports recommendations at the time (2005). That seat was a nightmare - truly the worst seat. Ever. It was hard to get our little girl into, hard to tighten and then would slip off her shoulders before we would get home (basically not protecting her at all)! I actually stopped subscribing to CR after that car seat because they really got it wrong. I've also talked to other mothers and professional car seat installers, and they too hate that seat. I only know 1 person that didn't have the same problems with the straps that the rest of us had.

After a few days of that seat, we switched to the Graco Comfortsport. Graco and Britax are the only two seats that pass safety standards in all countries and are also airline safe. We had used the Comfortsport for over a year and mostly liked it. We didn't have latch in our car and left our little girl backwards until she was almost 3 (after doing tons of research and finding how much safer it is for kids to be backwards as long as possible). We would have waited to turn her forward until her 3rd birthday, but we got a new car the month prior to her birthday and figured it would be best to make the transition then.

The thing that really bugged me about the seat is that the seat-belt would pull on it and it would soon be leaning to the side so we had to re-install it often (which was never easy). Also, our little girl is SMALL and she was already too tall to keep her backwards even though she was only 24 pounds. So, we gave that one to my dad when he moved up here and got that Britax that we always wanted but didn't want to spend the money on. I want to point out that we never could get the Graco installed in my dad's Suburban facing backwards (in fact, my dad sliced his knuckle on the edges trying to get it in) so it was always forward in his car. After using our new Britax, he ditched the Graco and purchased a Britax Marathon.

So I clearly recommend spending the money on a Britax. They're FANTASTIC! We checked out the different styles at Babies-R-Us and purchased the larger, Boulevard (which is the same as the Marathon, but with extra side-impact protection). Go test them out, put your baby in the seats and try them in your car. Choose the largest style that will fit your baby and your car. Then order it from www.AlbeeBaby.com (the best price around, always at least one color on sale, FREE shipping and no tax to WA). :-D We lucked out, we ordered ours the week before Christmas 2007 and they happened to have a Boulevard for $10-20 more than the Marathon so we went for it. But the Marathon is almost the same, just as nice, safe and easy to use. Oh, and installation is a dream - whether or not you have LATCH. My husband and I would be at each other's throats trying to get the other seats tight enough in our car. He can install the Britax by himself because there are clips on the side that hold the belt tight once you've tightened the belt.

Our daughter is way more secure, it has extra side-impact protection (on our model) and it has never loosened, slipped, etc. It also fits her better than any of the other seats. We have had it for over a year (it still looks new - well, expect for the crumbs ;-) ) and we plan on using it for quite a few more years.

Also, I would like to point out that I know 2 other mothers who have done the same thing and we all wish we had just saved the time and money and started with a Britax. Our daughter will be in this seat years longer than she would have been in the Comfortsport (saving money) and when we move to a booster down the road, it too will be a Britax. Go Britax! ;-)

Ugh...I have to second how awful the Evenflo one was. Thanks Consumer Reports :P :P :P We've used a couple different brands...but...

Britax is worth it. 100%

We love our Britax Roundabout and surprisingly, for such a substantial looking seat, it is super easy to install and remove -- so easy in fact, that sometimes when our toddler falls asleep in it, we'll bring him into a restaurant, seat and all! It's no problem reinstalling the seat afterwards and like someone else mentioned, it is super stable and "sticks" to the car so well that it really makes me feel very secure about it!

Britax does consistently rate #1among convertible carseats. We bought one after a bad accident then had another worse accident after and it held up fine! The single most important thing is to get a seat with high weight and height limits, that way you save money in the long run by not having to buy another seat at 40 lbs. The britax marathon goes up to 65 lbs! Our four year old is big and she still fits in it, since she was 7months! Do a lot of comparisons online and in stores, you're paying for your childs safety!!

I think you should get what you think you can afford. As others have mentioned there are many good seats out there that are not as expensive as the Britax.

That said, I love my Britax seats, I find them so easy to install and remove, we don't have extra seats for our second car, we just move them around when needed. And I love the buckling system, they're the best out there. A small feature I love is the velcro on the side that holds the straps out of the way so they are easy to slip over your child's arms adn don't get twisted. They're also very soft and comfortable for sleeping in. I felt the higher price was justified as my 3 kids are so close in age that they are all using the seats, just moving up through them. Our Roundabout will have been in use for 6-7 years by the time we'll be done with it. I wanted something that was made really well and would last. And the Britax seats definitely are.

I don't think that you necessarily need to spend hundreds of dollars in order to keep your child safe. We have an Evenflo and a Cosco brand carseat for our toddlers. However, we recently had to buy another car seat because our 2 1/2 year old is in the 95% and already weighs 40 lbs. We went wiht an Apex 65, I think it is made by Safety First. I have been happy with all of these car seats, but I wish that we had considered my son's height and weight before we bought the first seats. We could have avoided having to buy a second car seat for him.

For our three year old, we have a Britax Marathon for one car and a Graco booster seat for the other. I love the Britax Marathon- the straps are easy to get him in and out, it's comfortable for him to sit in, and when he falls asleep his head doesn't usually fall forward and cause him to be uncomfortable when he's sleeping.
My love of the Marathon was proven when we we were hit by another car in December. Our five year old was in a Graco booster seat, and the three year old was in the britax. the 5 year old complained about a headache and ear pain from hitting his head against the hard side of his booster seat. The 3 year old had no complaints at all. We replaced both seats the same day of the crash and bought another Marathon for the 3 year old. It's totally worth it!

First of all, I have two Britax car seats and love them both. The reason I went with the Britax is that they are really well made and therefore their safety rating is great. Also, they last for a long time because of the height and weight limits. You can get car seats that are cheaper, but most only go until your child is 40 pounds. That is about a 5 year old. Being that they need to be in a car seat for much longer than that I chose to pay more to get a car seat that will last longer. you will end up paying the same amount, if not more, by having to replace the car seat in a few years with a booster seat. The models I have go up to 65 pounds. I also have small children so they won't reach the safe height for a booster for a long time. This way I can keep them safe in their car seats until they are tall enough to safely use the lap belt. Another bonus with the Britax is that they are super comfortable. Check around for discontinued patterns. you can get a really good deal on them. I found my first Britax for $178, origially $300. Good luck!

Hi--

We also chose the Britax Marathon based on reports we had read. Most of our decisions were based from information we read in Baby Bargains. I highly recommend the book. It is like a consumer reports specifically for all things baby and saved us a lot of money in making better purchases and in not buying things we did not need.

One thing we really liked about the Britax Marathon was the ease of installation. It made switching cars and making adjustments a breeze.

Good luck to you!

Looks like many people feel the same but I love my britax!

Hi,

I didn't read through all the responses but if you have ever used a Britax versus another car seat you will know the difference. The straps on the britax are much easier to deal wtih than other car seats. We actually went to Babies r us and tried out 6 car seats in our van and in the store. The buckling systems on most were a nightmare to deal with. The britax buckles easily and smoothly. It is a nice plush car seat. We had a Britax roundabout (I would recommend buying a roundabout because it costs 200 and doesn't last past 40 pounds) for our second seat and a Britax Decathlon (supports up to 65 pounds) or our main seat (that I use in the van most often). We love both seats and they are safe and it is important that the buckling is so easy and consistent because you don't have to fight to get your child buckled and you know they are safely buckled.

Also the Decathlon goes up to 65 pounds which is a wonderful thing knowing that our child will be in a 5 point system as long as possible.

Our daughter is almost 4 and she has a long ways to go in out growing her seat. So yes you pay alot but it lasts you a long time and I really think it is very comfortable and its very high in safety ratings.

We recently bought a second car seat because the roundabout only goes to 40 pounds and we bought a Sunshine kids radian. I love the seat but the buckles just aren't as nice as the Britax. We bought the sunshine kids because it goes to 80 pounds. It's another option to consider. It's expensive but it lasts a long time.

Hope this helps.

D.

S. ~ I went through the same dilemma (as do all parents) when buying my first car seat and now when I needed to move up to a booster. I first checked consumer reports to find there recommendations especially when it came to safety tests. Anyway, at the time Britax Roundabout was on top at number one and an Evenflo model at number two. I ended up with Britax for our primary vehicle and the Evenflo for my husbands car (at $100 cheaper). I am glad I did. #1 - The Britax is much easier to get your baby in an out with closers I can do one handed (which really comes in handy especially later). #2 - It also has the Velcro on the sides to get the straps out of the way so I could put my baby in. #3 - It reclines back just a little more so my baby's head is not flopping down to an uncomfortable position. #4 - the latch system is set up like a seat belt latch instead of a clip (as so many other brands have). Now since I'm using it for baby number two, I am so glad I purchased it! Unfortunately, I bout the cheaper brand for my son's booster and am looking to return it.
Good luck! ~ M.

PS The Marathon didn't rate as highly as the Roundabout when I was purchasing my car seat.

S.,
the best car seat is the one that works for your car, your child AND your budget.
Britax is a brand that tests well, but you do have to pay for the brand name and the cute covers. If that's not in your budget there are plenty of safe alternatives, as ALL car seats have to meet the same gov't mandated standards.
We have an evenflo triumph, which tested the same or ahead of the Britax seats in crash tests, but comes at half the price.
Make sure you test the installation in your car before you buy any seat, it is going to be worthless if it doesn't fit properly in your vehicle.
Good luck!

Britax, Britax, britax...I am so tired of hearing Britax. That car seat is not the only good buy out there. And all of their seats are rated different their is only a few that really have good ratings. Don't waste the money on the looks. If you want good safety and don't want to spend the money on looks. go to the nhsta web-site and take a look at safety ratings.

From experience The Alpha Omega Elite is a wonderful car seat (a little higher price then a lot of them but not as high as the britax). Saved our daughter from getting injured in a bad accident. I wish I had an adult size one so I didn't get hurt. Rated high for Rear facing and forward facing but not good at all for Booster (there are none that are rated high for all three positions at once).

We now have the Safety 1st Summit with is rated high for forward facing and booster position. We didn't need rear facing option anymore so that is the reason why we changed. Made from the same company. Safety 1st and the alpha omega elite use the same foam padding that is really effective.

Check out car-seat.org for all the information you could ever want in deciding on which seat to get next.

I like the Cosco Scenera seat. It has great safety reviews and is only $40

After I bought the Britax.. I saw the one at Costco and wondered the same thing, I would ask the staff they are really helpful.. I've heard that the Britax went through european standards which are better than ours.. I would research the one at costco and see what standards it went through.. I wanted to go with the best since if in a wreck it would be worth the extra money. I like the Britax alot.It is really easy to use.

Wow! I've never had a Britax, but sure sounds like they're worth it! We have the Alpha Omega elite which I think is the one Costco is selling right now and love it and have had no issues with it. Also had similar one with my now 4 1/2 yr old. Good luck with your decision!

We bought a Britax from amazon for less than other places advertised. It does seem more solid than a lot of them.

When we were choosing a car seat for our son - I had never heard of Britax. We got a car seat from Target - it was the higher end but not the most expensive. I didn't even know about the types of crash test ratings. I just looked at the 5 part harness and the fact that it was a 3-in-1 where it could change through my sons growth. I didn't want to keep buying car seat after car seat. Also one of the things that I also wanted from a car seat were those anchors that hook onto in your car. I have a 2002 and it has these hooks that you can anchor your car seat down and it prevents it from moving all over. Anyway - good luck on your choice.

S.,

Until I found this site I'd never heard of Britax. When we went shopping for carseats, we wound up going with the Evenflo brand. It has worked well for us. My son is 5 and in a booster seat with a removable back, and my daughter is in the conversion type carseat that will last her until she's in her own booster seat. Evenflo is on the less expensive side of things, which is another reason that we went with it, we just can't afford $200+ carseats that my kids will outgrow before it wears out.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

we LOVE the sunshine kids car seat. It is VERY stable in the car, it looks great, it folds so you can travel with it, it goes from infant to booster. It was highly rated by consumer reports as well as in the Baby Bargians book. I think it is a bit pricy, but well worth it! I don't recommend the one at costco, it wasn't well rated by consumer reports or by baby bargains. Good luck!

Britax, you've heard it before, and will hear the name again. However, I swear by it! Our son was 2, and strapped in the Britax Marathon when we were involved in a rollover crash. He slept through the whole thing, and was fine. The police officers at the scene were equally impressed with the performance of the seat, and took photos of it for educational purposes. Of course, we replaced that particular seat (since you are supposed to after major accidents!) with another Britax Marathon, and now have the younger sibling in a Marathon. Of note was that the insurance company paid for the replacement as well as the car! Okay, so they are pricey, but they are sure worth it. The seats are big, but very comfortable for the kids, and last forever since they go up to 65 pounds and a tall height.

HI there-

Britax has the highest safety ratings of all car seats. However, they are bulky and heavy. ALL car seats have to meet specific guidelines and ratings insituted by the government. So, I believe you should get a car seat that works will for you and your child and is in your price range.
We have two car seats. We have a Britax Decathalon as our main one. It just had all the fetures I was looking for. It was a convertible seat, that went up to 65lbs, had an adjustable crotch buckle, very comfortable for our daughter and a few other things. We travel in car quit a bit, so I was looking for something that lasted us a long time and was very comfortable. Our second seat is a Cosco Scenera. We use that for my husbands car and traveling. It is lightweight and no hassle. It also has an adjustable crotch buckle but only goes up to 45lbs. I love that Cosco seat a lot.
So, I love both my expensive one and my less expensive one.

I think you just need to find what works best for you and your child and honestly, I almost got the costco one too, but my husband said I should get the pink cute Britax one instead. At that time we had the money. If I was in the same situation today, I'd be buying the Costco one.

Good luck

There was actually a study done a few years ago and the Britax was not #1. I have an evenflo and I love it!! It is easy safe and comfortable. you do not have to spend a lot of money on a carseat to be safe.

I have the evenflo triumph and I love it! It rates very close to britax in safety but is quite a bit cheaper. If you really like the costco carseat then just remember that all carseats on the market pass certain testing, and all carseats are a step up from our generation (I never even wore a seatbelt as a child). I recommend going to the store and trying them out and seeing which one fits your child. Good luck!

So, someone else just asked a very similar question, and this is what I wrote to her:

My recommendation: get the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 carseat. You can keep a child in the 5 point harness up to 65 pounds! I just switched my 14 month old into it, and I love it. It's easy to install, and looks nice also. The head rest part of it can be adjusted, so that it will also suit taller children. I did quite a bit of research on carseats before I purchased one, as my son was ready to upgrade from his infant seat. I found a lot of great reviews on this seat, even compared to the Britax. In fact, most reviews said that they had gone with the Britax FIRST, because of it's "reputation", but that their child grew out of it too fast. Once they purchased the Nautilus, they wished that was the one they had gotten FIRST. I don't have any complaints about this seat. You can get it at Burlington Coat Factory, Walmart, Babies R Us, Fred Meyer and Target. What I did though, was purchased it off Walmart's website and had it shipped to the store (that doesn't cost extra). After taxes, it cost about $140. If you purchase in the store though, BEFORE taxes, it's around $170-$180. Check it out here http://www.gracobaby.com/Search%20Results/Pages/Search.as...

Good Luck!

The guy at Babies R Us told us the Britax is safety rated for all of North America and Europe and that's the only difference between it and other seats. We're very happy with our Evenflo Triumph, which cost $100 less and is very safe and comfortable for our son!