So I was bored tonight...it is ok if you don't agree, just my personal experience that I wanted to share. In the process of comparing my experiences with Regent, Frontier, and FF Radian XTSL next.
LATCH installation on a Marathon is cake. Dare I say -remove from box, install, and go for a ride in under 15 minutes! Rock solid installation that is easy for most people to do correctly in a very short amount of time. No anxiety if I need to move the Marathon to a grandparent or babysitter car because I know it will be a cinch to reinstall. A bit short on leg room for older children who are still rearfacing but I think it provides ample room for the average sized child up to the age of 2-3. Harness adjustment is smooth and easy to access. The 35 pound rearfacing weight limit surpasses many seats on the market but does fall short compared to seats like the Radian. My oldest (5.5) outgrew this seat by height well before he exceeded the rear or forward facing limit, and I think DD (20 months) will follow in his footsteps.
Radian XTSL, another great seat, that rearfaces to higher than average weights. Installation is tough. Trying to get an upright install for an older child is even tougher. Not impossible though, just takes a bit more time and practice than the Britax. Regardless, I might break down in tears if Grandma asks me to install it in her car for an afternoon adventure! While it may be a narrow seat, it is a tall seat and takes up a lot of room add that to the fact it seems to have a tendency to recline even more with a heavier child and cannot be braced on the seatback - the potential for problems using the seat in front of it exist. We noticed the seat seems to vibrate/bounce more while in use than the Marathon does something our daughter wasn’t accustomed to and isn't happy about. She does have more leg room, or at least more leg room in different places, if that makes sense. The harness adjuster is stiff and hard to tighten – this seems to be a common problem as we found many tips and tricks for easier adjustment online.
Overall they are both great seats, but the ease of use and installation makes the Britax Marathon my top choice for rearfacing average sized children in vehicles where width of the safety seat is not an issue.
LATCH installation on a Marathon is cake. Dare I say -remove from box, install, and go for a ride in under 15 minutes! Rock solid installation that is easy for most people to do correctly in a very short amount of time. No anxiety if I need to move the Marathon to a grandparent or babysitter car because I know it will be a cinch to reinstall. A bit short on leg room for older children who are still rearfacing but I think it provides ample room for the average sized child up to the age of 2-3. Harness adjustment is smooth and easy to access. The 35 pound rearfacing weight limit surpasses many seats on the market but does fall short compared to seats like the Radian. My oldest (5.5) outgrew this seat by height well before he exceeded the rear or forward facing limit, and I think DD (20 months) will follow in his footsteps.
Radian XTSL, another great seat, that rearfaces to higher than average weights. Installation is tough. Trying to get an upright install for an older child is even tougher. Not impossible though, just takes a bit more time and practice than the Britax. Regardless, I might break down in tears if Grandma asks me to install it in her car for an afternoon adventure! While it may be a narrow seat, it is a tall seat and takes up a lot of room add that to the fact it seems to have a tendency to recline even more with a heavier child and cannot be braced on the seatback - the potential for problems using the seat in front of it exist. We noticed the seat seems to vibrate/bounce more while in use than the Marathon does something our daughter wasn’t accustomed to and isn't happy about. She does have more leg room, or at least more leg room in different places, if that makes sense. The harness adjuster is stiff and hard to tighten – this seems to be a common problem as we found many tips and tricks for easier adjustment online.
Overall they are both great seats, but the ease of use and installation makes the Britax Marathon my top choice for rearfacing average sized children in vehicles where width of the safety seat is not an issue.