Britax Vent

Jonah Baby

New member
I own/have owned 3 Britax convertibles in my carseat experience.

In general, I've noticed that they are obnoxiously big and just don't fit in the smaller cars well. When the seat takes up the entire space from vehicle seat to near roof, installation is quite difficult, you see.
Installing the top tether? Pfft. The tether adjuster ALWAYS makes its way behind the shell JUST as you tighten the thing down.
I've never paid for a Britax, so at least I can't complain on that regard. :rolleyes:

Crotch buckles. WTF.
I swear the crotch buckles on these things get sticky if you look at them funny. Maybe it has been my seats, but none of them have ever "clicked", they just kinda "smoosh" and lock in...sometimes. I always give a few pulls on them as every 1 out of 3 uses a clip will come back out.
Who decided to make the damn crotch strap so short? I have to LOOSEN the harness to buckle him because I don't have enough space for my hand AND manipulating the teeny little crotch strap to get it buckled.

Headwings.
Aren't these supposed to help prevent head slump? Or, in the least, help surround a child's head in the event of a crash?
So...why does J's head slump to his chest as soon as he falls asleep? If we got in a side-impact accident like that, his neck would totally be snapped against the headwings. It is truly annoying to pull over and flop my kid's head back where it belongs every 5 miles.

Expiration.
I swear, my Wizard just hit its last 3 weeks of life, and EVERYTHING on this seat began to malfunction.
The headwings/harness will no longer raise properly. I checked the track, it's fine. It's like it stripped out or something all of a sudden.
Neither crotch buckle wants to lock. I've soaked this plenty of times with no luck.
One LATCH clip has decided it no longer wants to latch.
One FF lock-off completely snapped off, the other no longer locks for some reason unknown to me.
The seat is junk and I don't understand how it KNEW it was expiring (two weeks ago I used the thing to get A home from the hospital and it was working fine!)

:mad:
 
ADS

TXDani

Senior Community Member
I have loved every single one of my Britax seats...I think I have had over 7 or 8.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
I own/have owned 3 Britax convertibles in my carseat experience.

In general, I've noticed that they are obnoxiously big and just don't fit in the smaller cars well. When the seat takes up the entire space from vehicle seat to near roof, installation is quite difficult, you see.

That's the trend with all these new models going up-up-up in age, height and weight limits. When a smaller convertible seat comes out, it usually gets panned because it won't realistically keep a kid FF past 40 pounds or RF past 30. I wonder if the Roundabout/Diplomat will ever be replaced for the smaller shell market?

Installing the top tether? Pfft. The tether adjuster ALWAYS makes its way behind the shell JUST as you tighten the thing down.

Lol that happens to me a lot. Sorry to hear about the rest!
 

judesmommy

New member
In general, I've noticed that they are obnoxiously big and just don't fit in the smaller cars well. When the seat takes up the entire space from vehicle seat to near roof, installation is quite difficult, you see.

I totally agree!

I love my Britax because for me, it is easy to install. But, I also totally see what you mean about it being obnoxiously big. It is so HARD to get in and out of my car. That base is way ridiculous! It's a "big" seat with little actually seating room IMO.

While I like my Britax Marathon... It does make me fantasize about the Radian. haha :whistle:
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
That's the trend with all these new models going up-up-up in age, height and weight limits. When a smaller convertible seat comes out, it usually gets panned because it won't realistically keep a kid FF past 40 pounds or RF past 30. I wonder if the Roundabout/Diplomat will ever be replaced for the smaller shell market?

It's possible to make seats that take up MUCH less space and last longer than the Roundabout or Diplomat. Witness, the Coccoro.
 

TheQueenMother

New member
I have only had MAs, roundabouts and a regent. At one point I owned 9 Britax car seats. Despite the fact that I own other seats now, my MAs are still my very favorite for ds. Installation is super easy for me and they install in anything without any trouble.
Both kids were in marathons when we had a severe car accident. Dd's seat was at one point of impact and due to expire in 18 days. She didn't have a mark.
I'm sorry you are unhappy with yours, but there are some features that I love and I am keeping my new marathons until they die.
Amanda
 

jourdysmom

CPST Instructor
I have only had MA's (3) Still have 2, and have loved them for over 3 years... love them for sleepy DD4, but have moved to a RN for DD3 for space issues in the new van...still deciding what to do with her MA...keep for DS or sell to pay for the RN I just got her... decisions decisions :whistle:
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
Well Jonah Baby - I am going to agree with you on this one. My kiddo is 3 and when I bought my MA, there weren't as many options out there.

When I see the word Britax, I want to yell OVERRATED, just like they chant at sporting events.

I don't think it is a horrible seat, but also can't see the premium price compared to radian 65, true fits or nicer evenflo seats.

I specifically bought this seat because it was known to be a seatbelt-friendly seat and I have a vehicle with low latch limits. My lock-offs don't work and my seat is far from being expired. They aren't broken - they just don't stay locked. The malfunctions I am experiencing could never happen with a true fit or graco style lock-off.

However, I am cheap, so I am going to deal with it until I conclude that there is no other option but to get rid of it.
 

twinsmom

New member
I've loved mine. I've owned 3 (well...x2), and I'm planning on buying a 4th. But I have a van so size doesn't matter so much.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Um... perhaps this is why they are redesigning their whole line?
OP, what other big seats have you owned? Is the Triumph or True Fit or Radian (for example) really that much easier to install and use, smaller, and higher quality?
:confused:
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
Um... perhaps this is why they are redesigning their whole line?
OP, what other big seats have you owned? Is the Triumph or True Fit or Radian (for example) really that much easier to install and use, smaller, and higher quality?
:confused:

Here's the difference:

True Fit: $147.00 - Amazon
EFTA: $119.00 - Amazon
Radian 65: $179 - Baby Catalog
Marathon: $198 - Amazon

While I know the Radian is *close* in price, it also has a 5 lb higher RF weight limit than a MA, a much higher harness height, and two years longer life, all for $20.00 less.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
But she got her Britaxes for free... which is why my questions about size, install, and quality were the relevant queries.
 

Jonah Baby

New member
The Radian is actually easier to install in my car (maybe I got lucky?)
The MR can get a tad tricky installing in a tiny car, just because it is a bit difficult to get your weight in it when there is car in the way, but I much prefer it over the Britaxes I've owned.

I've owned MANY MANY seats and have never had issues with parts breaking or otherwise malfunctioning besides the occasional need to soak a crotch buckle. It astonishes me that these things cost so much compared to obviously higher quality seats.
Hell, the expired OHS I used for J withstood more abuse.

I seriously hope the re-design will compare closer to the MSRP placed on these things.


And Maedze, you're welcome to your Wizard as soon as I get my crashed seats replaced. It is obvious I shouldn't leave a seat with my parents (where the Wizard was going to go, replacing the expired one.) I almost died when I saw how my Stepmother had J in it the other day.
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
I just wanted to respond because the seats you specifically called out were the brands I said were of a similar quality but more affordable.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
As most people know, I'm no Britax fan.

But OP, you write that people mistreat your seats (which is another topic for another thread), and both your seats are secondhand. It's not fair to expect any seat to stand up to repeated mistreatment.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
These are pretty much the reasons I won't rush out to buy a Britax convertible. They're huge, they're awkward, and I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE the harness adjuster. (Granted, DD will be moving into a Radian, which seems to have an even worse adjuster, but it has a lot of other things going for it.)

I liked my Wizard, but I was secretly thrilled to get rid of it. With the options available now, I don't think that would even be on my list.

As for a seat starting to break after nearly six years, though...meh. Stuff happens. If it started falling apart after a year, that would be a different story.
 

krasota

Well-known member
I don't see how the headwings in the blvd could prevent headslump in anything but an infant install.

With a more upright install for my 3yo, headslump. He rarely sleeps in the car, but when he does--headslump. Headslump is an issue for babies because of breathing/airway issues, but that's not a problem for older kids. And I think it must be comfortable for older children, but I worry that it's not safe to have that head lolling about everywhere, swinging to and fro when I take a turn or have to hit the brakes for the sudden illegal u-turn in front of me.

A FF install = headslump. In fact, this is why we no longer do a FF install for the long drive vacations--we tried it once this summer, but he fell asleep after playing at lunch and his head was just bouncing along back there. We do sometimes do a FF install so that we can install the DVD monitor on the front passenger headrest. He can't see out the windows because of the headwings, so if we're doing a lot of daytime driving, he needs something to see. (The only places upper tether points could be retrofitted were on the sides, not the center.)

The headwings push the upper torso/head forward ever so slightly. Headslump just seems natural for a sleeping kiddo with a more upright RF or FF install. Maybe it's just more noticeable because my kid is a lightweight. I dunno. It's annoying.

As for the buckle--do your kids eat in the car a lot? We eat in the car a lot--it's one way we addressed the constant screaming (he didn't outgrow screaming in the car until close to 2y). I find that putting a rag, prefold, or towel in his lap helps keep the buckle free of crumbs. He's willing to keep it there while eating, too.
 

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