Rec your convertible car seat

SusieBW · August 2011

I registered for a Britax Marathon 70. MIL is buying it for us, and has me ordering it for myself from Amazon tonight, and she'll give us a check for it later (This is a whole other story, but whatev).

Now that I'm actually about to pull the trigger and buy a $200+ car seat, I'm questioning the decision. According to Baby Bargains, this is a cream-of-the-crop car seat, and I should be psyched about it, but I'm still looking for other opinions. We already have an infant seat - this will be for when LO outgrows that - we're not planning to use the convertible when LO is an infant, if that makes a difference.

What convertible seat do you have/are you registered for, and what do you love/hate about it? Am I making the right decision with this one?

mabma80 · August 2011

Our two boys are in the Graco Nautlilus 3-in1 and we love it! We plan on buying one when DS3 gets to that point. It's easy to adjust for each stage and easy to move from car to car. Don't have any cons on it really.

I honestly can't see anything special about the Britax. The ones we have cost $240 each, so it's not the price of the Britax. I just don't buy into the hype of them I guess. I've always bought Graco everything and so has my family, so maybe I'm just a loyal customer. : )

Cheryl162 · August 2011

We've decided on the Recaro ProRide, and are actually planning on using it from birth. Haven't gone and picked it up yet, we're waiting on a BBB 20% coupon. I really like the safety reputation with the company, plus it seems like the baby will sweat less in it compared to other seats (a major concern here in MS).

I've heard good things about Britax, it is our second option.

Mereou12 · August 2011

We have the Britax Marathon and LOVE it! It's so easy to install, easy to change the settings, easy to adjust, and fits beautifully in both of our cars RFing. I can't say enough good things about the Marathon, and Britax gets stellar reviews.

But remember that carseats do expire, so if you're planning on using the same seat for a future LO, it would be best to wait on buying the convertible, otherwise you're losing months on the seat without it being used. If your MIL wants to get it right now, go for it, but that's just something to think about.

Have you checked Albeebaby.com or Diapers.com? We got our Marathon for around $185 because it was a closeout pattern.

SusieBW · August 2011

It's $217 plus free shipping on Amazon, which is part of the reason that I am ordering it there, but I will check out Albeebaby and diapers.com before I put the order through - thanks for the tip.

I'm going to quickly check into some of the others that you guys have recommended before I order this one, too.

Maybe I should add that I registered for this seat online, sight unseen, based wholly on reviews I read and Baby Bargains' recommendation. I've still never seen it in person, actually.

Traycee1242 · August 2011

Mereou12:
We have the Britax Marathon and LOVE it! It's so easy to install, easy to change the settings, easy to adjust, and fits beautifully in both of our cars RFing. I can't say enough good things about the Marathon, and Britax gets stellar reviews.

But remember that carseats do expire, so if you're planning on using the same seat for a future LO, it would be best to wait on buying the convertible, otherwise you're losing months on the seat without it being used. If your MIL wants to get it right now, go for it, but that's just something to think about.

Have you checked Albeebaby.com or Diapers.com? We got our Marathon for around $185 because it was a closeout pattern.

This totally. Also, the "hype" about Britax is they constantly have above and beyond the standard safety on their seats that is required... I don't want to get a seat with just the minimum safety required. They are popular and people rave about them because they are that awesome.

I personally dislike Graco... Years of nannying I've seen/used a lot of different brands.. I found Graco to constantly be hard to use, made cheaply, etc. It's all about preference really and opinion of course ; ) But the Marathon is hard to beat in terms of amazing convertible seats! And definitely check albeebaby.com..they have the best prices by far.

TheFannins729 · August 2011

definitely a good seat. i second the not ordering it yet. biggest thing to think about is the height of the back of the seat. you want something with a tall enough shell to last until they are 4 or you will be buying a new one (we made that mistake once. it's ok because now we have two convertibles and will need them both at the same time, but it was an extra expense for us that could have been avoided). You shouldn't have this issue with the marathon. we have the boulevard, which is pretty comparable to marathon.

cje1982 · August 2011

We ordered the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 SL Sport Convertible car seat. The reviews were good online and in Baby Bargains (I think it got an A). We registered for it at BRU, and then I ended up seeing a great deal on Diapers.com and got it for $200 - reg $269.99. Diapers.com does free 2-day shipping and free 365 day returns (I think Amazon does too) - and I there are always good coupon codes available on websites like retailmenot.com, etc.

mrsmikey · August 2011

I'm not a Britax fan. It's not that I don't think they're good seats, I just don't think they're better enough to justify the cost. Not trying to convince anyone otherwise, just wanted to throw that out there because it's an unpopular opinion around the bump.

For a good convertible, I would recommend the Graco MyRide 65 or Evenflo Triumph. (The Graco Nautilus is not convertible, btw) Both seats have been tested above the minimum safety standards and IMO are just as good as the Britax. They're also both easy to use, at least for me anyway. And they both have a 65 lb weight limit and a high height limit as well. DS still fits in his Evenflo Triumph at 3.5 years old and he's in the 90% for height.

But I also think you should wait on getting it if you don't plan on using it anytime soon, unless you come across a deal you can't pass up.

marriedtoeric · August 2011

We got the same one (marathon 70) for each of our cars because it's supposed to be awesome. Britax is always at the top of the safety ratings, and we'll be using it from birth. It was easy to install, and even reclining, fits well into both of our civics (one 4-door, one 2-door).

italnprncss78 · August 2011

We purchased the Britax Marathon for Justin when he turned 1. He will be 3 in October and it is the best car seat out there! The safety rating are amazing and it is quite comfy for the kids. I would def go with the BM!