My two cents... Britax Marathon vs. Radian XTSL RFing (LONG)

Marvin711

New member
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.
 
ADS

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Does your Marathon require the LATCH connectors be flipped before installing forward facing? In the past they've come out of the box set up for rear facing, though I think I heard they were doing away with directional ones and going with ones that don't need flipping.

If the Radian could take up as little room as a Britax, and be installed as easily, I think it'd be the only seat we'd recommend. :)

Wendy
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
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.

I agree that the adjuster access is great, but I would never describe it as "smooth." Well...I guess it is until you get to the tug-stop-tug-stop point.

Also, off the top of my head, I can only think of three convertibles with less than a 35-lb RF weight limit. There might be more, but I'm tired. Anyway, I'd say 35 is definitely the standard now.

While I agree that the Marathon is easier to install, I'm not sure it's typically a better choice overall vs. the Radian, just because the Radian has the longevity factor, but a lot of the other issues are matters of personal preference.

Other than that, though, I'd say your assessments are pretty much in line with what other people have found. :thumbsup:
 

stephcali

New member
Having used a RF Marathon and a RF XTSL at the same time up until a few days ago I completely agree with your assessment. If the Marathon had the higher weight limit I don't think I would even consider the Radian to use, unless I had a tight 3-across situation. Probably my biggest complaint with the Radian was that no matter how upright we got it to begin with, it would always recline more and more every time we put her in it because she was so heavy. And so we would end up reinstalling it every week or so which was a huge pain. And there is no way I could get that seat tight enough by myself, it was definitely a 2 person job every time. But the Marathon I can install by myself in less than 5 minutes and have a rock solid install every time. I think if the Radian came with a different boot that installed it more upright I would definitely have more love for it ;)

Having said all that, I really am grateful for the 45lb RF limit on the XTSL. So although I don't love my Radian the same as I love my Marathon it has definitely filled a need in our house.
 

2BunniesMommy

Well-known member
I would say that the MA is a smooth adjuster...but only because I got on after fighting with a Decathlon for 3 years!
 

Jennifer mom to my 7

Well-known member
I just wanted to comment on the resting on the front seat part. Is it that your vehicle doesn't allow it? Because, as far as I know, as long as the seat is installed at the correct angle first, you can push the front seat against the radian after. Techs?
 

amyd

New member
I just wanted to comment on the resting on the front seat part. Is it that your vehicle doesn't allow it? Because, as far as I know, as long as the seat is installed at the correct angle first, you can push the front seat against the radian after. Techs?

Yes, the Radian allows this. Many newer vehicles do not, however. Info on it would be found in the vechicle's manual in the airbag section.
 

cookie123

New member
I would not call the MA a smooth adjuster. I hate it and the Radian's. They, only of course, IMHO, both difficult to adjust to a desirable tightness. Maybe on a small baby? I don't remember.
 

vonfirmath

New member
I have never had problems with the adjuster on the Marathon or the Roundabout50. Maybe there's a smoother one out there? I would consider these smooth, having not used that other adjuster.
 

dhardawa

Active member
I totally agree with your assessment. My biggest problem with the Radian (bigger than the Mighty Tight and the fact that it is impossible to install in many vehicles) is that Sunshine Kids never says "no". No matter what we ask, the answer is always "yes". They have told us it can be used with shoulders over the top harness slots, when other seats came out with higher rear facing weight limits they immediately said their seats could too, etc. The seat has limits and I don't feel that they have been honest with us with regards to what those limits are. After all, they will sit and tell us the Mighty Tight is safe too and I have seen first hand the damage that POS can do.

I work in a job where we often are involved in software selection and we have vendors who come in and no matter what we ask of them, they will tell us their software can do it. That is a huge red flag and when we dig deeper we typically find that their software can't do nearly what the sales people would lead us to believe. I'd much rather have a vendor come in and tell me exactly what the software can and can't do so I know going in what the limits are. Sunshine Kids is the vendor whose product can do anything.
 

Maedze

New member
Dana, that's an interesting point of view that I hadn't considered.

OTOH, I think their 'yeses' are reasonable. As far as the straps are concerned, the child must also be under 53" and have the ears contained within the shell to continue using after going over the top most harness slot, which means, practically speaking, that the child isn't going to go very much over the top slot, particularly because at that point the kid just isn't going to be comfortable. I'm not sure a few centimeters is as dangerous as the inches and inches manufacturers originally had in mind when creating that rule, back when seats just didn't go that tall.

They've been threatening to raise the rear facing weight limit for years. I don't think it was spontaneity. I *DO* think they planned to introduce the SL with the 45 pounds in the fall of 2009, and then quickly approved the other seats to 40 in spring of 2009 when the My Ride was released :twocents:

They have insisted the boot is mandatory when we've asked about installing without it.

They've shown a lot of innovation in the last few years, which impresses me.

The Mitey Tite, in the interest of fairness, is not made or marketed by the team that designs the Radians.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
My biggest problem with the Radian (bigger than the Mighty Tight and the fact that it is impossible to install in many vehicles) is that Sunshine Kids never says "no". No matter what we ask, the answer is always "yes".

Not always I can't use my radian rear-facing to 45 lbs. :whistle: Even though they have stated that the changes to the SL were done only to the latch and the harness and the harness was made thicker for forward facing. My seat is rear-facing and installed with the seat belt.

The radian has much more rear-facing leg room so I would recommend it over the MA for that reason alone.

Here is Elizabeth in the MA compare that to my siggy.

DSC02242.JPG
 

purplemama

New member
I have both and like them both but for different reasons. I agree installing the MA is super easy. The radian, not so much. With LATCH outboard I did fine but installing in the center with the seatbelt (RF) I hurt my back to the point where I couldn't walk for a few days. The harness adjusters are about the same but I think I have an easier time with the RNXTSL. I like the MA for the ease of use which is why it's in DH's car. He loves it and recommends it to everyone he knows with a baby. I like the leg room in the RNXTSL.

That said, I would love it if these two seats would mate and produce a seat with all the features I love of both.
 

Maedze

New member
How about double LATCH straps that don't need to be rethreaded, a la, the My Ride? Trying to thread things through the Radian's lower belt path is just ridiculous :thumbsdown:
 

arly1983

New member
How about double LATCH straps that don't need to be rethreaded, a la, the My Ride? Trying to thread things through the Radian's lower belt path is just ridiculous :thumbsdown:

Oh, yeah, try getting the crotch strap off. Its interesting...

I have to agree with the assessment. In situation where the child fits the MA, it is easier to use overall but it just will not take most kids as far RFing or FFing as the Radian.

In an either/or situation unless there is an installation issue the radian will always be recommended BUT if you can have both....:whistle:
 

Marvin711

New member
:D"That said, I would love it if these two seats would mate and produce a seat with all the features I love of both" LOL - purplemama I would so be with you!!

Wendy - Yes, I do have to switch my connectors to FF. That would be a nice upgrade!

LISmama810 and Cookie123 - I promise my adjusters are smooth! I don't think I've ever experienced a tug-stop-tug-stop but none of my Marathons are the CS ones just the regular if that makes a difference? I haven't ever put an really small babies in them either though...both of mine were 5-6 months before we moved them.

LISmama810- The Radian does have longevity both in weightlimit and in years. My kids are lightweights even though they are tall, DS didn't hit 40 pounds until after the age of 5. And I like the idea they last for 8 years...and use that in talking to DH...but realistically I've never kept a seat more than 3! :whistle: It is just too fun to try out the new ones as they come out!

Stephcali - We bought dd Radian to fill my need of carseats needing to
match so she got a Flora to complement DS new Bentley! LOL Our main
attraction to the Radian was SuperLATCH because our almost 5.5 year
old finally broke 40 pounds and we didn't like seatbelt installs with
our Frontier and Regent. I think we are the opposite of norm since we weren't really concerned with RF weight when purchasing. We also hoped to gain enough space in between the seats for an adult passenger but that did not happen. Bummer.

Amy and Jennifer - Glad you brought up the resting/bracing issue. First, no, DH's car doesn't allow it or at least recommends not doing that when the passenger seat is occupied. (2010 Accord)
It is my understanding that the Radian is allowed to gently touch/rest on the back of the seat but shouldn't be braced...is that right? I normally define bracing and resting differently...maybe I am incorrect in doing so? But if so, knowing that the recline on that seat seems to get greater with use by a bigger child - if you start out just touching/resting on the seat and it continues to recline then it is very possible that eventually the seat will be braced/depending on the seatback to maintain its' angle... follow me? or that is my thinking at least? I haven't owned and used the seat long enough to see if that holds true.

I definately don't think the Marathon is the best choice for every situation BUT I do think it is more likely to be installed and used correctly every time by the "average joe" than the Radian...for the record I consider most of the parents on here generally more skilled/experienced with proper use/installation than "average joe"... that said I sure do love to look at the our Bentley and Flora in the backseat and probably won't take them out anytime soon - such coordination! :D
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,897
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top