The Beast Regent has arrived

Not to be confused with the Beast Rabbant
(sorry, geeky Dune reference there, couldn't help it. )

Ironically, the UPS dude arrived while my garage was open and I was perched on my folded rear seats installing the top tether rigamarole in the Camry. Egads, it's hot! I was sweltering. I just checked the weather -- it IS 98 degrees in the shade!

It's the Sahara style. I thought -- ooh nice, as I felt the top suade border, then --Ewww, when that funky nylon inner area appeared. I ended up taking it inside to read the manual, play with the recline bar, and scare the cat with the huge monster.

DD saw the seat and started asking questions. She thought it was BOOTIFUL -- until she felt that inner material. She couldnt' get away from it fast enough. I explained that Mommy was trying it out to see how it fit and if we like it enough, then this:

will appear someday. Now she's REALLY IN LOVE

As I was reading the very short manual -- The perpetual question of the universe again reared its ugly head.

Why do they always start with the installation procedures and not how to adjust the harnesses?

DD eagerly came over and allowed herself to be sized. She's soo tall in her M-C and SO TINY in this thing. She's still under the 2nd to the bottom slots. She admitted it was "OK", but wouldn't allow herself to be buckled in. That's only reserved for REAL Trips!

Even though I now have a top tether hook, I went ahead and installed it Long belt with the recline bar in rear center spot. That thing (recline bar) really ticked me off. I have pinched fingers and bruised hands from pressing it into the poorly fitted slot ... OUCH! Then to get it all the way pressed up against the back seat. It wasn't too bad to get the connection really tight though. Only 15 minutes of wrestling with the belt and balancing everything out. I'll test it again in the morning as everything gets used to it in the car.

I'll take photos in the morning. I tried to sit in the outboard seats and unless I was exactly half of me, there's no way the door will close. I'd have to move it outboard before anyone around here would sit back there. I'll drive around with it for the day and play some more with seeing how it fits in the outboard seats before I box it up & get a return slip.

There's just no way either of us could handle that slippery nyony material esp. in the TX heat. :thumbsdown:
I'm thinking that the Madison is regular cotton/poly and pretty smooth? It looks it from the images.

It was fun playing with it -- only if it weren't so danged hot! I'm exhausted :crying:

Ok I admit, I could never figure out the recline bar LOL..it always folded under when I tried it so I installed them both without it. It seems fine that way though.

The Madison is very soft and plush, no nylon material at all...she'll love it

TxMomma said:

The Madison is very soft and plush, no nylon material at all...she'll love it

Click to expand...

Okay, is in softer and more plush than the other covers?

I don't think it's softer or more plush than the others, it's the same as my MA. But I'm sure it's better than both the Sahara and Onyx.

Yep, the madison is like the cougar, it is ALL plush.

The onyx and the sahara are scratchy in the middle..

ETA: I almost got a madison for Jackson, RFLOL!

The Madison is soooo much softer than the Sahara. I have both and the Madison has mucho more padding and is just as plush as "normal" marathons. Sorry you're having such a hard time with the installs. It takes a while to master the whole recline bar thing. i didn't install it with the Sahara, but I did with the Madison and it wasn't as hard as i thought it was going to be.

I hated installing with the recline bar until I got my Windstar, and now for some reason it's a snap!

I hate that scratchy nylon stuff in the middle of the Onyx and Sahara, too. I honestly don't know what Britax was thinking with that stuff! What child would like that feeling? Not my sensitive kid, that's for sure!

Hayley was in the second-to-bottom slots on the Husky when we first got it, too (38 inches, 35 pounds, 2y8mo).

I hate that scratchy nylon stuff in the middle of the Onyx and Sahara, too. I honestly don't know what Britax was thinking with that stuff! What child would like that feeling? Not my sensitive kid, that's for sure!

Click to expand...

Maybe the same thing Graco was thinking with a lot of a similar kind of fabric on the SS1s? It's also in their Quattros and Mosaics. I wanted a Quattro stroller, but not with scratchy (to me anyway) nylon material, especially since it's not exactly cool here in the summer :thumbsdown: .

That is exactly why I got the classic fabric. I wasn't crazy about the pattern/color but the whole thing is plush/velvet material and it is so cozy. It isnt bad looking now that I have it. I wished I woulda known about the madison or I would have waited. Anyway I don't know what they were thinking with the other 2.

I got my Marathon in Onyx. I liked the looks of it. Then I took it out of the box and touched it.

I am now wishing I had ordered the cowmoo or something. What should I do? Can you order covers separately or just private sales? I don't want to return the seat because I ordered on-line and the shipping would be too much. I guess I could use it for the time it takes to order another and sell this one, though the market on a seat that expensive is probably not so huge in my area. *sigh*

Jordynsmama said:

That is exactly why I got the classic fabric.

Click to expand...

I noticed a recall notice on the Britax website yesterday regarding the Classic Regent covers (the wrong label was put on some covers). If you have a cover with the wrong label, and registered your seat, they should have automatically sent you a new cover. If you think your cover is part of the recall and you haven't gotten a replacement cover, you may want to give Britax a call!

http://www.britaxusa.net/support/recall.aspx

My thoughts now that I've used it a little.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why my photos won't upload from my reader device to my computer. It's just not a good day for techy stuff. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

So I've tried out the Regent for the past 2 days. Total about 20 minutes for dd to be in the seat. She did NOT LIKE the material at all. She had a very mild rash after returned home on the backs of her legs. I'm not sure what that was about.

This morning she begged me to put the Maxi-Cosi back in the car just before we left. BUT she does like the seat size. She's not thrilled about all the fussiness with the hugs, the chest clip, and the separate buckles (we're used to a single puzzle buckle.) We both think that the neck protector pads are flimsy and nigh on useless to keep the rub out.

I'm also not pleased that there's a distinct lack of 'snap' feeling or sound whenever everything is fastened together with the chest clip & the harness buckle. Already I discovered the buckle not clicking in when I thought it had.
I also experienced the male clip having difficulty with the harness straps folding over inside the slot that keeps it on the harness. It's as if it's too big for the material. I sure hope that makes sense to someone out there

There's definitely not a lot of space in the Camry when the recline bar is used. DH severely pinched dd's foot as he slid the front passenger seat back to its normal position. She wears a toddler size 9, if that gives you an idea of how space is at a premium. Not a large foot at all.

The Regent is almost 2 inches past the back seat. DD has her feet resting on the back of the center console and there's not a lot of room. I'm also not crazy about all the dead space between the Regent & the car's seat back. I couldn't get it any closer.

I just reconfigured the Regent for 3pt seatbelt + top tether. No more recline bar. What a difference! It now ends at the same edge as the back seat. I'm sure it will make a huge difference for dd's legs. I really couldn't see her growing and still remain comfortable as time went by.
I realize Britax is concerned with head excursion, but the Regent sits so much securely without the recline bar. The top tether is a nice precaution, but the 3pt was darn solid and didn't allow any top movement. I'll see how well the natural recline of the Camry suits dd for comfort tomorrow.

So far, other than the fussy tangling harness with the hugs & chest clip, I like the overall style of the beast. If the new Recaro doesn't pan out, I'll get the Madison

It's definitely out of the running for EVER taking on an aircraft! It's so bulky with that long back. Raidian is so much easier to lug around than the Regent. Unless I had it in the original box, there's no way I'd even want to gate check it. It would be an expensive loss.

So basically, I'll try out the non-recline bar position for dd's comfort tomorrow and return it Sunday. If only Target had the Madison, I'd probably keep it. But dd's body and asthetics cannot stand the material of the Sahara. Hmmm... now that I think about it, we're just not desert people

Re: My thoughts now that I've used it a little.

What are the Sahara neck protectors made of (material)? I think we'd hate the Sahara scratchy fabric, too. As long as we keep the chest clip and HUGS at a certain spot, the neck protectors stay positioned perfectly for Hayley.

In my old Accord I could NOT get a satisfactory install with the recline bar at all, and I didn't even try using it in my mom's Camry. Lap/shoulderbelt, long belt path worked beautifully, carseat ending right at the edge of the vehicle seat, so dd had plenty of leg room.

The buckle will only make one audible click, when you insert the second buckle tongue. The first buckle tongue makes no click at all. Very different from many other buckles, definitely.

I've heard the complaint of the harness folding over in the buckle tongues, but never had it happen with our Husky. I wonder if the buckle tongues are different on the Regent? Or if it's a different harness weave/material?