How did you decide?

tsk_mum

New member
Which Britax to get? :eek:
I mean between the Marathon, Decathlon, Boulevard?

I know I dont want the Roundabout b/c it goes only to 40 lbs.
The Marathons have cuter fabric choices of course:p
 
ADS

arly1983

New member
OH, BOY, you really don't want me to go through that thought process with you...IT WAS LONG!

Ulitmately I went with a Marathon because it had a natural fiber choice cover (freedom, new blues, etc). Jackson's eczema is severe and welts up as he gets hotter. For that reason, I rejected the BV because of its extra head pillows (TSIP). At the time, the DC wasn't out. There is a condensed version...

Since then, we have owned a DC which we sent back due to harness problems. These problems seem to occur more so when RFing. Some people love their DCs though.

At some point, I actually made a pros and cons list..
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Play with them in person, let kids sit in them -- if there's no obvious indication of which you all prefer, then just go by cover option :rolleyes: They're really so similar I don't think you'll be unhappy with either model....
 

mominabigtruck

New member
I had a marathon before I got my blvd and decided on the blvd because of the infintely adjutable harness and the tsip. I wouldn't buy a decathalon because I think its too much money when its basically a marathon with a baby insert.
 

amy919

New member
I went with the MA because after playing with all three seats, I found it the easiest to use. I just liked it the best. The cover options were a nice feature, too. I didn't think the added options on the other two were worth the extra money.

And even though you didn't ask about the RA, I went with that for my infant because at 6 weeks, she fit best in that seat and I knew I had a MA to pass on to her when the time came.

Truthfully, Ijust don't think you can go wrong with the MA. It's such a simple, easy, almost foolproof seat to use. And, my daughter LOVES it! I let her to try all three seats and she also chose the MA hands down.

Amy
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
I've owned all 4 Britax convertibles. :eek: The only one I don't own anymore is the BV. The only thing I miss about the BV is the infinite harness positions.

I LOVE all my seats. Each serves their purpose. Baby B (my 8mo old foster son) rides in the rf RA. Baby W (15mo old daycare boy) rides in the rf MA. C, S, E all ride in ff DCs or MA. I have 2 DCs outboard and one MA in the center of my 3rd row for the big kids. I LOVE the push button harness adjuster on the DC...at least ff. I haven't used it rf, so can't comment on it's ease of use (or lack of!). And while it's a 'glorified MA'...it does have it's advantages besides the infant insert (which is awesome BTW). Again, the push button harness adjuster is impossible (or at least much harder) for kids to figure out compared to the MA/BV (this is a HUGE plus for me). It doesn't have the rigid latch bars (they get in the way trying to configure a 3 across for me) and it has ever so slightly taller harness heights then any of the other Britax convertibles at about 1/2" taller then MA, and while I never had an issue w/the fixed position crotch strap on the MA/BV...the DC does adjust to 3 positions giving you a more customizable fit.

All that said...I'd go w/what ever cover you like best! :D
 

oxeye

New member
The Decathlon didn't exist when I first needed a convertible for DD1. The Wizard did but it had just come out from what I recall and was difficult to find. Plus I'd read reviews of the babies not liking the head wings and DD1 was a very difficult baby so I didn't want to risk that at the time. So we went with the Marathon.

When it was time to get a convertible for DD2, I went with the Decathlon because she was a little baby and I thought the infant insert might be nice. Yeah, we used that for all of two days. :rolleyes: I really liked the Boulevard and was willing to deal with a baby who didn't like the head wings at that point but I felt weird having one kid better protected than the other (silly reason, I know).

Then we needed two seats for the second car. I was all set to buy the FPSVD but then found a great deal on some Marathons so I went with those. If the great deal had been on the Boulevard, I would have bought those in a second and put them in the primary car, with the Marathon and Decathlon in the second car.

So as it is - we have 3 Marathons and 1 Decathlon. The Decathlon was not worth the extra money except I do like the Tiffany cover. I have two Marathons in the primary car because I like how they install better and the Decathlon is in the secondary car now.

So that was long - but you asked. :D
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
For me it was easy at the time we bought our 1st MA b/c that was the only higher weight limit seat on the market at the time (back in '02). Then dd 2 I couldn't put her in a Wizard/Boulevard when big sister was in a Marathon. You know I couldn't choice one to be in a safer seat then the other. And dh wasn't going to let me replace the perfectly good MA we had. So, We bought another Marathon.
 

jessclear

New member
I love my DC! My DD is a peanut, only 17lbs at 1 yr. she is tall and thin, so the infant pillows help her fit in the seat a lot. I also like the push button release and the 3 position crotch strap. All of these extras have come in handy for us. I did not choose the BV because I thought my daughter would hate the TSIP wings. We have had trouble with her crying in the car since birth and it got better with the DC. I think she would still cry if she were in the BV and couldn't see around the wings to look outside. Good luck deciding, I know it's difficult, but you really can't go wrong with the MA or the DC in my opinion.
 

sixboys

Member
I choose the Blvd. because it seems to be wider through the shoulder area than the other two. I think due to the TSIP, Britax doesn't need to make the sides on the Blvd. with the extra EPS foam, making them wider through the shoulder area.

When I tried my 3 year old in all three big Britax seats side by side at Babies R Us, he fit in the Blvd the best through the shoulders, the DC was the narrowest. This surprised me, as I thought the DC would have been the widest! So, I peeled back the covers where I could and found the Blvd to have the narrowest sides of the three seats, the MA to have the second widest sides, and the DC to have about a 1/4-1/2 inch more foam on the sides. I never actually measured them, but just eyeballed the distance between the sides across the top slots of the seat.

We have 3 Blvds right now, and may wind up with a 4th if Recaro doesn't get their seats out soon! I wanted my 4 year old in a Regent, but I can't fit it between the 2 Blvds. on the back bench, so I either need a Recaro or another Britax seat.
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
We have two Britax seats, both for the same child to use in different cars. We chose the Marathon because we needed it to RF at the time and fit in the car between two booster seats, and I was already in love with the Roundabouts we had for the older brothers. :D

When I got tired of moving it back & forth, we chose the Husky because my daughter was FF, and her growth rate (slow) meant she could stay harnessed it in (most likely) until it expires, AND because it was going in our van its ginormity wasn't an issue.

I like the suggestion to make a list of pros and cons, too! Have fun choosing!
 

tsk_mum

New member
I love my DC! My DD is a peanut, only 17lbs at 1 yr. she is tall and thin, so the infant pillows help her fit in the seat a lot. I also like the push button release and the 3 position crotch strap. All of these extras have come in handy for us.

Can you tell me what you mean by push button release? How does this differ from the Blvd.
Is the crotch strap position only on the DC & is it necessary?
:cool:
 

Melizerd

New member
a coin flip :D

Really DH made the final decision between the Blvd and the MA

I ruled out the DC because of the adjuster issues. I just didn't want to take that chance. DH didn't like the TSIP wings on the Blvd.

The crotch strap is only on the DC.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
The Decathlon is having more and more problems with the adjuster...so many people have had to send theirs back to be replaced or repaired, and I know a mom who's reported hers to NHTSA and there've been other complaints about the entire front plate popping off now... It's great if you get one that works, but if you get one that doesn't, it's a huge headache to deal with :( The Marathon and Boulevard adjuster has already been tweaked to perfection (well, as good as they are going to get, anyway...better than most seats, harder than a Roundabout).

:)
 

oxeye

New member
Can you tell me what you mean by push button release? How does this differ from the Blvd.
Is the crotch strap position only on the DC & is it necessary?
:cool:

You push a button to loosen the harness rather than pull up on a lever.

The adjustable crotch strap position is only on the DC and probably only necessary with an extra sensitive boy. My DDs have never complained about it but I've heard of lots of boys having crotch strap issues in the MA/BV.
 

broken4u05

New member
For me the kids are not mine and the MA was on sale so i got that for my goddaughter/ one of the twins. My goddaugher is 2 weeks younger than the twins. than i had to get the BV because of the harness adjuster because the other twin shares with my godson who is 3 so i didn't want to take out the seat each time. The twins share seats. Whoever comes to the car first gets the BV because that is closer. I would have gotten 2 MA if i didnt have to shares the seat with 2 kids so far apart in age (i don't ever call them the twins other than on here because it is hard to know who i am talking about my godsons who i call the boys and the twins who i call the boys as well. I hate calling them the twins though because they are soo different)
 

tsk_mum

New member
So am I right in assuming I wouldnt use the adjustment knob on the Blvd that often since its for one child ... and thats really the only plus other than TSIP?
I really thought I had decided on the Blvd b/c it has extras but are they worth it considering I dislike all the Blvd fabrics:p
 

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