Vent: Marathon harness adjuster :(

ninejr · Oct 21, 2010

I am seriously fed up with the Marathon (we have an old style) harness adjuster. I am an adjust every time kind of person, especially with RFing. I hate that it is so difficult to get the harness tight enough

. DH threatened to turn B forward facing today because I told him that he didn't get the harness tight enough (don't worry he wont turn her - but I can see how parents who don't know why RFing is better would :thumbsdown

. I showed him again what we have to do to get it tight enough (pull from the back and ratchet the adjuster strap). He got all mad and said it was a design flaw and we shouldn't be having these issues with a $300 car seat

. I have taken to not adjusting the harness every time because it is easier than trying to get it tight enough, but that is annoying as well. Anyway, that is the end of my vent.

mrswh · Oct 21, 2010

I can totally empathize. Let me just say that it's no easier FF. I got so tired of wrangling with that thing (and still never getting it tight enough) that I just replaced all 4 of our MAs with Frontier 85s. (My kids are 4 and 6 and both FF.) They are a DREAM!! The whole ratchet thing is for the birds, and I wound up fraying all our straps which really just seems wrong. As an aside, for RF I found the Roundabout to be MUCH easier to deal with, but that probably doesn't help you now. Does the release latch thing (that you pull up to loosen the harness) stick in the up position when you tighten? Mine did that sometimes (i had to manually push it down) which I assumed to be unsafe. I called Britax and they sent me a new seat. :thumbsup:

cookie123 · Oct 21, 2010

The Radian is just as bad. It's frustrating. I finally gave in and began to not adjust it each time anymore. I just let Matthew get the arms in himself, and fix it before he buckles the chest clip, then do the crotch.

2BunniesMommy · Oct 21, 2010

What I do to make my rear facing MA easier to tighten (tighten and loosen each trip here too!) is pull the slack out from over her legs and up over her shoulders and then reach around the back of the seat and pull out the slack then pull the harness. Sounds like a long process typing it out but it is really quick and easy.

Chila88 · Oct 22, 2010

I feel your pain too! I just bought a MA65 and made my old style BV our 'spare' for this very reason. It SUCKED rf!!!!! I did however find it much easier ff, when I used it for my older dd. The new generation seats have a fantastic, smooth harness, as does our FrontierXT.....so obviously Britax knew how much we all hated the harness on our older seats and fixed the problem....but it doesn't help those of us with older seats out much!!!! I find pulling from the back really is the best way to help....but it still is hard, and super annoying. We still have at least 18mos rf for DD2....so I figured it was worth the investment for something that didn't make us want to scream everytime we used it! And we needed a spare seat for our other vehicle anyway....

SavsMom · Oct 22, 2010

That is part of the reason I got rid of my BV and got the Symphony65 - its harness adjuster is a dream

ninejr · Oct 22, 2010

mrswh said:
Does the release latch thing (that you pull up to loosen the harness) stick in the up position when you tighten? Mine did that sometimes (i had to manually push it down) which I assumed to be unsafe. I called Britax and they sent me a new seat. :thumbsup:

No the release latch thing goes down, no new seat for me, but a safe kid

Chila88 said:
We still have at least 18mos rf for DD2....so I figured it was worth the investment for something that didn't make us want to scream everytime we used it! And we needed a spare seat for our other vehicle anyway....

I keep trying to think of ways to justify a new seat, but other than being annoying it is a good seat. We have a way to go RFing as well (she is only 8 months old). It will expire before she outgrows it, but that isn't a reason to get a new seat now, it is a reason to get a new seat in a few years.

Mingie · Oct 22, 2010

It doesn't so much bother me but it really bothers my dh. No matter how many times I explain how to tighten it, he still doesn't listen. For me I usually don't adjust it much if at all. My dh says he can't get dd in unless he loosens it. We only have a few more pounds before dd reaches the rfing limit and I will be replacing the seat with something dh friendly.

Vent: Marathon harness adjuster :(

ninejr

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