Britax Boulevard - 70 vs. 70 CS vs. 70 G3 XE

RRL2012

I'm a FTM and about to order our car seat and deciding between (1) Britax Boulevard 70, $289, which is the basic model, (2) Britax Boulevard CS 70, $319, which has the "Click and Safe" component which helps you make sure the straps are the right level of snugness, or (3) Britax Boulevard 70-G3 XE, $329, which comes with a 7 year warranty, a cup holder attachment, and a snack pouch attachment. Do any of you have a Britax Boulevard, and if so, which one?

I've heard that if you are competent with car seats, you don't need the CS, but if other people (like grandparents) are using the seat, it's good to have the CS so the harness is fitting properly each time. The extras with the G3 XE sound nice, but I'm not sure how necessary they are.

jennyann28

I'm looking forward to hearing the responses too, as I think we're going to go with a Boulevard when DD is ready to move up to a convertible. 

Are you skipping the infant seat?  If not, I'd hold off on ordering a convertible just yet. Car seats expire. You don't want yours sitting around for over a year before you even use it, it will have a much shorter life for you.  

RRL2012

jennyann28:

I'm looking forward to hearing the responses too, as I think we're going to go with a Boulevard when DD is ready to move up to a convertible. 

Are you skipping the infant seat?  If not, I'd hold off on ordering a convertible just yet. Car seats expire. You don't want yours sitting around for over a year before you even use it, it will have a much shorter life for you.  

Yes, we're skipping the infant seat and going straight to the convertible. I don't want to lug the infant one around. I am super short and whenever I've done it with other people's kids it's really uncomfortable for me to carry. So we decided to forego the infant one and just do convertible. I plan to use my Moby, Ergo, and Stroller a lot

gimmietimmies

Well, I'd be inclined to go with choice Number 3 would be good too - only because the cupholder is designed for the seat. I opted to wait for the cupholder with our Radian and they don't make the cupholder that fits my seat anymore!

Don't forget to also order the infant positioning insert, a must for newborns unless you give birth to baby elephants (like my dd). It'll help get the straps below shoulder height.

https://www.britaxusa.com/store/details/accessories/advocate-65-cs/gray

kthappy76

We have two, a regular 70 and a CS, and really like them.  They are basically the same, I don't use the CS feature, but wanted the cover that only came in CS.  I can't speak to option #3, but I think you would be fine to go with the basic ones and add options later if you need them.  GL!

mbgreenwalt

I have a 70 and 70 CS.  I got my 70 CS on clearance or else I would have just bought the 70.  The "Click & Safe" is a pretty worthless feature in my experience.  It will click telling me it is tight enough, but it's not.  I always have to tighten it more.  I know nothing about the third option.

MamaAllison

mbgreenwalt:

I have a 70 and 70 CS.  I got my 70 CS on clearance or else I would have just bought the 70.  The "Click & Safe" is a pretty worthless feature in my experience.  It will click telling me it is tight enough, but it's not.  I always have to tighten it more.  I know nothing about the third option.

 

This, I have the 70 CS and I actually think it is dangerous for grandparents, etc. to use since it so often clicks before it is tight enough. It could make someone think it is safe when in fact it is not. 

GirlyGirl319

We have the Boulevard 70cs, got a great deal on amazon.

sherripuerta

We are on our second child and having two cars, what we did with our first (and are doing again with our second) is that we had an infant car seat as well as a convertible seat right away.  The infant seat is a much better bet in the winter in terms of getting around because you have the ability to put the baby into it while in the house, as opposed to fiddling with a car seat in the snow or when it's very cold.  I also like the option of seeing the baby in the stroller with it when they're younger.  As for the Boulevard, we opted both then, and again now, for the Roundabout, which goes up to 55 pounds.  I'm not sure what car you have, but when we had our son nearly 6 years ago, we had a Hyundai Tucson and it was too large to put into the car.  We ended up buying a booster seat a while ago anyway, as it's easier and more comfortable for him to get into and out of (and he is way taller than his peers and is still under 55 pounds anyway so we decided that we will probably not use it up to 70 pounds anyway). 

Good Luck!  Remember that whatever works for others may not always work for you, so ultimately do what you're comfortable with. :-)  

JKTTC1

We have the britax 70 cs. We love it. However the click and safe is not worth it. You can get this seat for$219 AT albeebaby.com. 

Weneedanotherseat for dhs truck.  We are looking at the same seat or themarathon but it's only about $15 cheaper so w will probably get the boulevard 70 cs.  

babyzep

We just ordered the Boulevard 70-G3.  I got a great deal on amazon for it $218.