In regards to convertible carseats

CharMaeK

I've done a little bit of reading and it seems the Britax Marathon gets high safety ratings and also high user / comfort ratings.  A few questions for you all.  What other carseats should we look into that compare to the Britax Marathon?

We will need two seats, one for each car.  Do you think we should just suck it up and buy 2 Britax Marathon seats?  Or is there a cheaper option out there that rates well on the safety side?  Perhaps this 2nd seat is just for the ride to or from daycare and does not have all the comforts needed for a long car ride...

What have you all done for your convertible carseat stage?

cocojack10

Britax just came out with their new models, and I'm sure you can find the older models still in stores for great discounts.  MIL got us ours at BBB on sale plus 20% discount coupon... awesome deal.

From all that I read, I personally really liked the HIGH ratings Britax received.  Plus, since the child does use the chair for a long time (technically since birth up to past 3 yrs old, depending on size), the investment IMO is worth it.  GL

Mystery2B

We have a First Years True Fit - has great safety ratings, a tall shell, fits well rear-facing in small cars and goes 35 RF 65 FF, and is nice and comfy for C. Very happy with it - I'd buy another if I need a 2nd seat.

laurel22

Britax has a couple different models, all at varying price points (although they're all pricey).  The Marathon is just one of them.  There's also the Advocate, the Boulevard (which is the one we purchased), and I believe one other option.  They are all very highly rated, and like a PP mentioned, you can find last year's Britax models on sale all over the place right now, since they just released a new line of seats.  There are a few extra features on the new seats, but the previous models are still excellent.

slwprincess

Personally, I'm a huge Britax fan b/c of the ease of installation.  We travel a lot and need to be able to get a good install in a hurry on different model rental cars.  The Britax is great for that.  However, I also think that seeing is believing so you should go to BRU and have them install a few different brands on their practice seat.  That was what sold us on the Britax.  I also had them install a Graco, Evenflo, and one other that I can't remember.  I wasn't satisfied with the RF stability on the Graco (although it is fine FF and we actually have one of these as a spare for the grandparents) and I felt like the other 2 took too long to install properly compared to the Britax.  He put that Marathon in RF in less than 2 minutes and that thing was rock solid.  All the others wobbled at least half an inch RF.  Now, with that said, this was 2 years ago and there are newer models out now.  I have heard good things about the True Fit mentioned above as well as the Graco MyRide so I would include those in your comparison as well. 

Lux_Diva

I think other quality car seats include TrueFit, Graco Myride, Recarro and Sunshine Kids Radian.  I actually liked the Britax but when I realized how narrow my back seat area is on my Passat I had to go with the Radian.  However I looked at all of the brands I listed.

ablou

We have a Boulevard in our car, and my mom has an Evenflo Triumph in hers.  The Evenflo is actually the highest rated on Consumer Reports, and the Boulevard is #2.  I prefer the Boulevard, actually.

Coleslawcat

There is no magical Britax bubble that will protect your child. It is a car seat, a well designed one, but just a car seat. There are lots of competitors that make just as good or better seats depending on your needs. Many of these seats cost less. They are easy to install, although the new line of Britax seats is actually harder than the earlier ones.

Sunshine Kids Radian (cost about same but higher limits)

First Years True Fit (cost less, higher height harness)

Graco MyRide (cost significantly less, higher weight limits, about same height)

Evenflo Momentum/Evenflo Triumph Advance 65 (cost less, higher weight limit)

Britax seats are fine, but don't limit yourself, there are a lot of very good seats out there.