FPSVD NOT The same shell?

"Hey ladies!

For anyone considering the FPSVD vs the Marathon, I wanted to share what I learned today.

I personally could not come to grips with the fact that 2 car seats with the exact same shell could have 1 with rear facing tether ability and 1 without. So, I finally got off my butt and called Britax to find out what specifically is the difference between the two that causes this phenomenon. Here is the info that I learned today.

1. The FPSVD is not even tested for rear facing tether. It's just an expense that they don't add in, keeps the cost down, differentiates it from the higher priced Britax name.

2. It is NOT the same shell as the Marathon. They would not tell me what specifically is different, all they would tell me is that it is not the same.

The difference in the shell coupled with not testing the rear facing tether is why they do not recommend tethering rear facing. I suggested that they remove the line about ensuring proper back angle when tethering rear facing to avoid confusion, but I think that suggestion fell on deaf ears.

I am still very happy with my FPSVD (my car doesn't have rear facing tether ability anyway) and the safety tests that were run on it. I still believe it is an excellent deal and an excellent car seat for the money. I just wanted to pass this info along since it was something that had bothered me all along. If you can afford it, the Britax is better. You are paying for more than just the name (which was my initial assumption).

Hope this info helps someone "

All of that is from a different board, where I had been telling people that the shell is basically the MA shell. So what do ya think?
I did tell her pretty much all cars can tether RFing even if there isn't dedicated anchors.

It is "basically" a MA shell. They have to say it's different to cover their butts, and if we're talking specifics, it is technically different. But "basically" the same.

It has a different base/recline mechanism, and it has three crotch strap spots in the shell, but not in the cover (which leads me to believe it's made from a Decathlon shell, not a MA shell, but they are basically the same).

See that's what I'd been saying, BASICALLY...I think people red what they want. I'm starting to get frustrated about the whole thing anyhow because people get mad at me for things that I can't control ya know.

Just because you read "EXACTLY the same" when I said basically isn't my fault ya know?
(end rant)

Totally. "Basically" means there are slight differences, but they are mostly the same.

I guess it's the same as manuals. People read what they want to read, just like my dh hears what he wants to hear! LOL

It's not an MA shell, it's a DC shell . It's got three crotch strap positions, like the DC, but has a sticker over the inner two saying not to use them. The base is way different, that'd be my clue that they are way different and would make me think RF tethering isn't ok....

JennasMommy said:

I guess it's the same as manuals. People read what they want to read, just like my dh hears what he wants to hear! LOL

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I think that's a lot of it. People want to think they can get the Britax features without the price. So they hear what they want to make it seem that way to them.

joolsplus3 said:

It's not an MA shell, it's a DC shell . It's got three crotch strap positions, like the DC, but has a sticker over the inner two saying not to use them. The base is way different, that'd be my clue that they are way different and would make me think RF tethering isn't ok....

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:yeahthat: especially the different base.

yep i would say that they have to be very close but no they are not identical. they have to be very very close as the ESP foam that is used when you pull it off and flip it to the back it says "marathon pad" so i'd say the "shell" has to be pretty much the same... except for the crotch strap holes and thoes are like the DC. So it's kinda between the two! Although yes the base if not as easy to use and can be used with noodles or rolled towles.

becca011906 said:

Although yes the base if not as easy to use and can be used with noodles or rolled towles.

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Britax seats can be used with noodles or rolled towels, too! (I just found this out recently, for some reason I thought I always heard NO to levelers, to just use the RF tether).