Not impressed with Britax Marathon...now what?

tzrbug

So I guess i was suckered into thinking this carseat was SOMETHING, but I went to check out, touch & see for myself and this thing shoudl be a lot less than what stores are charging. Still best deal I found in the last 2 wks of checking was travelingtikes.com for $199, the gray one. What I found when actually viewing this seat is there's not one bit more padding ANYWHERE on it than say Evenflo or Eddie Bauer's seats. In fact the Marathon was missing ALL the head supports and bottom backsupports, it was just a "shell" of a carseat. I couldn't believe it, the "bmw" of carseats was not all I had intended it to be. The straps yes that was a pro, but because it has about 4-5" of hard rubber covering the strap. So..is anyone else feeling like its just a "brand name" that gets people buying this seat like hotcakes? I feel fooled after seeing & comparing to $100 or more less seats. Tell me what you found & what you ended up buying, feel like I'm back to square 1 on my search.

ABMcKinney

I got my Marathon for $194 and I feel like it was worth it. We love it! My DS is comfortable in it and the straps are secure and tight.

tzrbug

See that's the thing is people say "they are comfortable" but is taht b/c they don't cry I mean my 11 month old can't tell me anything. The ones w/ pads around him seem "more comfortable" I just wondered what all the hype was about it, the new Evenflo Symphony I can get for still $30 less, or Triumph or Eddie Bauer one for about $50-$60 less than the best $199 price of Marathon. WHY did you buy it other than name status?

trizzie

I love my Britax.  I liked the safety ratings.  DS is very comfortable in it and I like knowing he is safe and secure.  That is not to say that there aren't equally safe seats out there, but I am happy with the Marathon.

renogaw

I bought the Britax Roundabout.  It had better ratings on Consumer Reports than the Marathon (81 for Roundabout, about 60 for Roundabout).  I got two for $330 total (including $20 for shipping).  I got one of the gray patterns because a.) it was cheaper and b.) it's gender neutral.  We haven't had them installed yet, but they scored as high as the Evenflo Triumph 5.  I couldn't find that exact Evenflo seat and I didn't know if the other Triumphs were the same or not.

tzrbug

Oh and the safety rating of COURSE I'd pick one that has best or 2nd best there is out there to get. The Evenflo (triumph & symphony which is new) both have side impact.

Conway714

I have based my baby gear decisions on the baby bargains book, and they gave the Britax Marathon and A-. They combine parent opinions with consumer reports and crash tests. The Marathon scored really high for ease of use and safety. The Evenflo seats got a B mostly because parents had a lot of complaints about usability. HTH!

Brit1017

We got the Triumph for the exact reasons that you mentioned- when we went and looked at them both, the Britax seemed a lot less comfortable looking and was way more expensive. The safety ratings on the Triumph are comparable to those of the Britax on crash tests. We did not have trouble putting it in the car, DS loves it and is comfortable enough to nap in there (which he doesn't usually do well outside his crib) and we paid $129 on sale at BRU.

SuperCuteBenz

FWIW, the rubber pads (HUGS sytem) can be removed for rear facing. We have ours removed right now, because we get a better fit without them. They are important for forward facing though.

I have a Roundabout and a Marathon, and I love them both. They were well worth the price. Also, the website says that the Marathon and Roundabout have side impact protection.

ascbride

I think people buy Britax for the name, the Evenflo Triumph gets just as high of a safety rating.

Heidi Lanigan-Potter

We love ours and bought it not only for DS's comfort, but for the safetly ratings that came along with it.  I have no complaints.

LoriFalce

Evenflo Triumph Advance Premier. I got mine on sale, plus my BRU registry discount, for just over $100. I've had no usability problems. It's actually easier to get him in an out of than his Graco carrier, which I practically had to go to grad school to latch.

LovingMyHubby

I bought mine for the safety ratings.  Even though the Evenflo Triumph has good ratings too, it seemed like too much plastic to me.  If I recall correctly, the place that the seatbelt or latch goes through is made of plastic, the Marathon it's metal.  Just seemed better made to me.