For those that care, a Car Seat review!

nanabanana06 · November 2014

As many of you know I'm a CPST technician. I've helped many people with car seat information and to pick out seats. One of my favorite things to do, I love helping other moms. I have been wanting to do a review of the new Britax Click Tight car seats. Well, here it is.

I will first say the install is as magical as it appears. It's super easy to install, has a no rethread harness, and has a much larger shell than other Britax convertibles. I only really cared about the Boulevard version of the click tight seats. The Marathon is still very small shelled, but is larger than a regular Marathon. What my real goal was to compare the seat against two of it's biggest competition, Chicco Nextfit and Graco 4Ever.

As far as install goes the award goes to Britax, followed by Chicco. Super easy installs focusing on seat belt installs and not LATCH. However, as far as longevity and shell height it all goes to the 4Ever. I was blown away by how much taller shelled the 4Ever is compared to the Britax and Chicco. Plus all the extra features of being a functioning booster, it's a pretty amazing seat. The Britax seat does have a larger sgell, but it's still a good 2 inches shorter than a fully extended Chicco Nextfit and a good 6 inches shorter shelled than a 4Ever. With that I think it's an acceptable ERF choice for a small to average sized child.

Anyways, I took pictures of the seats for you. All the seats are sitting upright and are fully extended to compare RF limits. I apologize for the potato quality photos and all the legs. I took these inside a BRU. Enjoy!

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

Wow. I thought I saw when they came out that the new britax would be the tallest seat on the market? But maybe that was for the next one up from the boulevard. Or maybe I imagined it.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

You imagined it, or it's awesome Britax marketing again. The Marathon is the tallest shell they offer. It is much smaller than the 4Ever, which is the tallest shelled seat on the market.

ETA I'm fairly certain it's Britax marketing. They don't like feeling inferior. They do have very tall shelled seats in foreign market, but not in the USA and Canadian markets.

Brandiewine11 · November 2014

Thanks!! How do these compare as far as front to back size? As in which is best rear facing for a smaller car? We have a vw jetta wagon. We have a britax b safe infant seat and it works well but only behind the passenger seat. We can fit anythinguch larger.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Of the 3 the Chicco Nextfit would be the slimmer choice. The Britax and the 4Ever are very similar in the front to back department, but aren't slouches either.

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

That makes me feel extra wtf at how pricey they are, then.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Yeah, that's always been my biggest beef with Britax. They market themselves as being the best car seats ever! which at one point they were. They just aren't anymore, but have a very die hard following. Which is why I'm always floored when you point out that they cost the same as many of the better ERF seats, like the 4Ever or Nextfit.

Brandiewine11 · November 2014

How do you feel about recaro seats? My h likes the brand but I don't see much about them.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

I do not like Recaro seats. More so since their price would make you think they are decent seats. Not saying they are terrible, but they have an average to below average shell height for RFing and are really small in the seat area. Which makes many kids uncomfortable and cramped when RFing.

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

We have a marathon for my daughter (she was little) and I do find it much more pleasant to use than my graco seats, but I've gotten my son a headwise and a size4me for under 125 a piece and even if he wasn't a giant I can't justify paying 2-3 times as much for minor conveniences.

Into+the+Kitty · November 2014

Any recs for a RF car seat with a weight limit of 40 or higher that doesn't adjust by pulling on a strap?

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Into+the+Kitty said:

Any recs for a RF car seat with a weight limit of 40 or higher that doesn't adjust by pulling on a strap?

Adjust how? Like with the harness?

Into+the+Kitty · November 2014

nanabanana06 said:

Into+the+Kitty said:

Any recs for a RF car seat with a weight limit of 40 or higher that doesn't adjust by pulling on a strap?

Adjust how? Like with the harness?

Yeah. My evenflo has a knob that turns to adjust the harness. A regularly bucks against the belts, and I've never been able to get a good fit by using one of the pull straps. It will seem tight and pass the pinch test, but them when I go to unbuckle her it's super slack. She has outgrown the RF limits now, so we're going to turn her tomorrow.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Yeah, Evenflo is the only one with that feature. However, that might of just been an issue with the mechanism inside the seat with the harness. Not necessarily that the pull strap seats get slack. I've never had that issue with either of our seats.

Into+the+Kitty · November 2014

No I don't think they get slack, it's the way she sits when I'm buckling her. Lol, with the knobs I can tighten it like a little straight jacket, but with the pull ones she arches her back and when we've put her in that kind of car seat, she finagles her body in ways so she's not buckled tightly, even when it seems like she is. I'd rather her be FF but safely buckled than RF and fly out of her seat in a collision.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Yeah, totally get what your saying. Hey, you made it to basically 3. That's a huge deal!

countrycotton · November 2014

I have a nextfit. Dd is almost one, I have the recline still more like a bucket, I think at a two. Should I sit her up straighter? How do I know what kind of recline to give?

bumpuser5078523 · November 2014

Our Nextfit is perfect for a small car. There is more room for the front seat, even compared to our infant bucket seat. We have the Britax B Safe.

Out of those three, which is more narrow?

nanabanana06 · November 2014

The Nextfit would be the more narrow seat.

@countrycotton‌ you can sit them more upright once they are that age. It all depends on comfort, but the more upright angle is more comfy the older they get.

bumpuser5078523 · November 2014

Thank you!

bumpuser10179393 · November 2014

We want to ERF in our Honda Civic. My daughter is only 2 months and has been measuring consistently in the 90th percentile in both height and weight. I was looking at the Diono Rainier/Pacifica thinking that would fit pretty well in our small backseat. I've also been admiring the Clek Foonf but I don't like how you have to wait until they're sitting unassisted. We were thinking of moving her to a convertible sooner than later because she doesn't seem to like the bucket seat. Do you have any recommendations for our little car? My husband is 6'4 so anything that wouldn't limit the legroom in the front seat would be great.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

The Fllo and Foonf have released and infant insert so you can use it before they are sitting unassisted and over 14lbs. I haven't touched one personally, but they did release the information on it at ABC expo. You wouldn't be able to use the angle adjuster with the Diono seats until she's much older, so the seat would take up TONS of space. With the angle adjuster it's super slim, without it the angle is very large. The other option would be to get a Nextfit. They only have a 40lb RF limit, but weight often levels as time goes on and she might not be 90th for weight once she's mobile.

countrycotton · November 2014

Thanks! Your great at this stuff!

nanabanana06 · November 2014

It's not a problem! I really enjoy these types of things. So there is that :P

EssJayCee · November 2014

Any advice on infant seats? I hear a lot of people rave about the Keyfit, but then I felt the neoprene type cover on I want to say was the Prezi and it felt so smooth and cozy. My husband balked at the price difference, though, so I'm still not sure what direction to go in.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

As much as I like the Nextfit, I do not like the Keyfit. It has some seriously huge flaws that need solving. For instance, it does not have a european styled no base installation option and it is pretty exclusive with accessories, typically you have to buy it's snap n go or special adaptors for other things. The Prezi is cool, but it's not very needed either. Really, if you want a cool car seat I really like the way the UPPAbaby Mesa or the Cybex Aton or Aton 2. If you just want a seat that is good and will last you the 6 months you'll use it then I like the Maxi Cosi Mico and Graco Snugride 30.

EssJayCee · November 2014

nanabanana06 said:
As much as I like the Nextfit, I do not like the Keyfit. It has some seriously huge flaws that need solving. For instance, it does not have a european styled no base installation option and it is pretty exclusive with accessories, typically you have to buy it's snap n go or special adaptors for other things. The Prezi is cool, but it's not very needed either. Really, if you want a cool car seat I really like the way the UPPAbaby Mesa or the Cybex Aton or Aton 2. If you just want a seat that is good and will last you the 6 months you'll use it then I like the Maxi Cosi Mico and Graco Snugride 30.

Thanks for the suggestions! I actually did like the Maxi Coso Mico and that was a potential compromise for us. Good to know its a good one!

nanabanana06 · November 2014

EssJayCee said:

As much as I like the Nextfit, I do not like the Keyfit. It has some seriously huge flaws that need solving. For instance, it does not have a european styled no base installation option and it is pretty exclusive with accessories, typically you have to buy it's snap n go or special adaptors for other things. The Prezi is cool, but it's not very needed either. Really, if you want a cool car seat I really like the way the UPPAbaby Mesa or the Cybex Aton or Aton 2. If you just want a seat that is good and will last you the 6 months you'll use it then I like the Maxi Cosi Mico and Graco Snugride 30.
Thanks for the suggestions! I actually did like the Maxi Coso Mico and that was a potential compromise for us. Good to know its a good one!

It's actually what we used for my son! We loved it!

freezorburn · November 2014

nanabanana06 said:

As much as I like the Nextfit, I do not like the Keyfit. It has some seriously huge flaws that need solving. For instance, it does not have a european styled no base installation option and it is pretty exclusive with accessories, typically you have to buy it's snap n go or special adaptors for other things. The Prezi is cool, but it's not very needed either. Really, if you want a cool car seat I really like the way the UPPAbaby Mesa or the Cybex Aton or Aton 2. If you just want a seat that is good and will last you the 6 months you'll use it then I like the Maxi Cosi Mico and Graco Snugride 30.

We had a Keyfit 30 for DS, and maybe it's a bit different from the Keyfit? We have been able to install it w/o base when needed and have also been able to secure it rear-facing in an airplane seat, also without the base. I seem to remember that it was compatible with some 3rd party adaptors, but confess I didn't look into it all that much.

unaveragejane · November 2014

Nana, thanks for reviewing these seats! I bought a Recaro for DS1 not realizing how quickly he would outgrow the RF height. It sounds like the 4ever is going to be a better bet for us for DS2.

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

There are different styles of baseless install, depending on where the shoulder strap goes. I think nana is talking about a specific one.

EssJayCee · November 2014

Rrrrrachel said:
There are different styles of baseless install, depending on where the shoulder strap goes. I think nana is talking about a specific one.

^^^wss

I had heard it mentioned before but didn't know much about it. Here is a good explanation:

https://carseatblog.com/24554/rear-facing-carseats-with-european-beltpath-routing/

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Yeah, I'm not saying the keyfit is a terrible seat. I think it's great for preemies as it has one of the lowest start weights. However, it has some serious flaws that consumer reports and such overlook. For that reason I like other seats better, but there is nothing wrong if you go with a keyfit. Infant bucket seats are one of those things where you can't really gi wrong, but there are things to look for.

freezorburn · November 2014

EssJayCee said:

There are different styles of baseless install, depending on where the shoulder strap goes. I think nana is talking about a specific one.
^^^wss I had heard it mentioned before but didn't know much about it. Here is a good explanation: https://carseatblog.com/24554/rear-facing-carseats-with-european-beltpath-routing/

Thanks for the link! I didn't know about this type of install.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

stringy813 said:

nanabanana06 said:

Yeah, I'm not saying the keyfit is a terrible seat. I think it's great for preemies as it has one of the lowest start weights. However, it has some serious flaws that consumer reports and such overlook. For that reason I like other seats better, but there is nothing wrong if you go with a keyfit. Infant bucket seats are one of those things where you can't really gi wrong, but there are things to look for.

Can you elaborate on flaws though? Cuz I loved mine and recc it to friends starting out. Besides the baseless install, which many people don't use often. Major flaws?

It's mostly due to the fact that it's exclusive with accesories. I don't like recommending seats that needs a 100$ snap n go or a different attachement for strollers. Plus no euro belt path, and it's one of the heavier seats. It's not a bad seat and your not doing wrong by reccomending it, it's more of a my opinion thing than anything.

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

I still see people on facebook trying to say the britax is the tallest seat on the market.

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

The picture is comparing the boulevard, right?

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

This lady is telling me the boulevard will last longer rear facing because it has taller top slots. That a kid won't get to the top of the head rest on the chicco or a 4ever because the top slots are too low. I think she must be wrong.

nanabanana06 · November 2014

The one I took a look at was the second tallest in the line, but the tallest is only a fraction taller than it. The harness slots do play a part in it, but less so RFing than FF as with RFing it's at or below the shoulder line. The reality is that these seats were all designed to outgrow weight before height, so in retrospect they all are great seats.

Rrrrrachel · November 2014

Yeah that's where I ended up. I still think it's confusing for people to say it's the tallest seat on the market when it's not!

nanabanana06 · November 2014

Eh, I'm not going to get too particular on it. It's a great seat in many ways and Britax is a great car seat company. If people want to be sheeple for Britax and fawn over these seats like Britax die hards do, who cares. I only care that babies are safe, and these seats accomplish that.

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