End of an Era

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
I realized this week that my final Britax seat has expired.

When Roman was born, back in 1998, I received two used infant seats as gifts. One was a Maxi Cosi (back before MC had any seats in the US), and the other was a basic "institutional" infant seat that didn't even have a handle--no labels, so I couldn't tell you what brand. Neither came with instructions.

I don't remember when I switched him to a convertible, but when that time came, I took the gift cards I'd received at my shower to Baby Depot and picked a seat. I hadn't done any research; I thought people only cared about looks, and I wasn't that shallow. :D After I chose one, almost at random, my mom said I should get the one with the bar in front, so Roman could play with toys on it. I thought that was stupid (the bar was flat, but angled such that toys wouldn't stay put on it, so a lap would probably be better), but not worth fighting with my crazy mom over. And that's how my son ended up riding in an Evenflo Ultara I overhead shield seat. We turned it forward facing the Saturday after his first birthday.

Then I "met" Defrost online. She had done some research. She shared that overhead shields were less safe than 5-point harnesses, among other safety facts. When Eva was born, I bought her a Britax Roundabout. Holy cow! was it easy to use! Built-in lockoffs, a harness adjuster that worked, and yes, a 5-point harness. I could install that sucker in seconds, all by myself. I loved it so much I immediately ordered a Britax Freeway for Roman (for those who don't remember that far back, the Freeway was identical to the Roundabout, except it was FF only).

We were in Germany when Britax released the Marathon. I ordered one for Eva, so she could stay rear facing longer. Then I got a 2nd Marathon for Roman, so he could stay harnessed longer. Nadia rear faced in the old Roundabout.

When we flew back to the US in 2005, it took several weeks for our Honda Pilot SUV to catch up with us. We borrowed a small station wagon, but there was no way to fit the 3 harnessed seats in the back of it. Off I went to purchase two of the narrowest HBBs on the market at the time: Britax Parkways. When we moved into our new house in 2006, FIL bought two more Parkways for his car.

By the time Kira was born, in 2007, the original Roundabout & Marathon had expired, and Nadia was riding in the remaining Marathon. When I found a Roundabout on clearance at Sears, I pounced on it. Kira rode in that until she got too tall for it rear facing. It expired before I turned her FF.

Meanwhile, Roman & Eva outgrew their Parkways, Nadia's Marathon expired, and she moved into a Parkway. When the Parkways expired, I took one of FIL's (since I only had one kid in a booster, he didn't need two for his car). Well, that seat has expired.

Kira's almost 6 and still fits in both the Evenflo Symphony and First Years True Fit. I don't see myself buying her another harnessed seat. Nadia's Clek Oobr will be passed down to Kira when the time comes. If I have to buy a spare HBB, it will probably be something less expensive.

Over the years, my four kids have used a total of NINE Britax seats.

I know some people like to mock the "Britax Bubble". I think those who are new to CPS don't realize just how innovative and impressive Britax seats were back in the day. When I bought my first Roundabout, most convertibles had 20 lb or 22 lb rear facing limits! Compatibility issues were common. NO ONE else had EPS foam inside their seats. Harness adjusters were hypothetical; good luck accessing them and getting them to move once you do. Yeah, rear harness adjusters were the standard. No one made a seat that harnessed beyond 40 lb, and many of those were too short for the average 4 year old anyway. When the Parkway first came out, shield boosters were still popular. LATCh was nothing more than a gleam in some engineer's eye--an engineer who worked for Britax.
 
ADS

Suzibeck

Active member
Great story!

My oldest actually rode in a 5pt harness, it was a Century (some number). It was the one with the plastic accordion-like thing that held the buckle up and reduced the arch your back to make buckling difficult. I loved that part of the seat, but it was bear to install tightly and the harness was forever bunching up and twisting. For my second child, I got an overhead shield seat because I thought the harness being flat and tight would be safer than the ropes the other seat was always ending up in. When my 3rd came along, I got a RA and was amazed at how easy it was to install! I think it was shortly after buying the RA that I found the ivillage carseat board and I got a MA for my second to keep her harnessed longer. Eventually, I got a Parkway as well. I only had the 3 Britax because other companies had caught up with nice seats by the time my 4th came along. I traded my Parkway in less than a year ago at a BRU trade-in event and that was my last Britax. Trashing the RA was the hardest though, I loved that seat so very much!
 

Kel

Well-known member
I have 6 kids, 18 mos - 14yrs old. I bought my 1st britax when DC #4 was 7 mos. She was my 1st girl, and it was a classic MA in brook. I was in love. I bought it because it was pink, lol. It was so much easier to use! I thought I was spending so much. If I only knew then how much I'd spend on seats for the next two, lol.
I'm always sad that I no longer have the britax love. I like them. But I don't love them anymore. My new favorite is the graco my ride. Radians and prias being close 2nds.
 

krasota

Well-known member
None of my seats have installed so easily as kiddo's Blvd. It expires next month. :crying:
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
Great post. (This should have been published on CarSeatBlog!) I agree with what you said about how newer people don't understand how innovative Britax was. I didn't discover Britax until DD1 was born, but having had the typical early 2000s seats for DS (Evenflo bucket, Century STE, Eddie Bauer, etc.) I knew it was something special. These days, I know that there are lots of great seats that I can feel happy about using for my kids, and all but two of our Britax seats have expired (we've had 7, and our MA expires in January) but they still hold a special place in my heart.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Great post. (This should have been published on CarSeatBlog!) I agree with what you said about how newer people don't understand how innovative Britax was. I didn't discover Britax until DD1 was born, but having had the typical early 2000s seats for DS (Evenflo bucket, Century STE, Eddie Bauer, etc.) I knew it was something special. These days, I know that there are lots of great seats that I can feel happy about using for my kids, and all but two of our Britax seats have expired (we've had 7, and our MA expires in January) but they still hold a special place in my heart.

:yeahthat: Thanks for sharing your story! It was fun to read!
 

kaylamom

New member
When I was pregnant with my first in 1998, I had read the consumer reports saying that OHS were unsafe and that the Cosco 5 point car seat actually rated very high. I couldn't afford the Britax, though I liked them a lot! So I bought a Cosco 5 point. Then later, when I was pregnant with my second, I bought 2 century 5 points because I liked things "matchy matchy". Then bought one of the first evenflo 5 point harness for my older daughter. Then bought lbb for daughter and moved son into evenflo. There are good car seats out there at that time and was glad I found a safe car seat that fit my budget!
 

zactayaus

Well-known member
The original Britax Parkway was the most awesome booster seat ever. The fact that it didn't have armrests made it a great seat for grandparents and other people transporting your kiddo because they couldn't mess up routing the seatbelt wrong when buckling your kid in. Oh how I wish with all my heart that they'd bring that seat back to life.
 

Phineasmama

New member
I loved my classic Britax seats! The first convertible I bought for DD1 was a RA40. At BabiesRus, no coupon or sale or anything :eek: I didn't know much back then LOL, I just thought it seemed like the nicest one! I didn't even know about the Britax Bubble! That was in 2007.

I wish I had kept my Regents too :( They were a beast to install but so NICE!



The original Britax Parkway was the most awesome booster seat ever. The fact that it didn't have armrests made it a great seat for grandparents and other people transporting your kiddo because they couldn't mess up routing the seatbelt wrong when buckling your kid in. Oh how I wish with all my heart that they'd bring that seat back to life.

The new Maxi Cosi booster is not going to have arm rests. Pretty expensive though!
 

carseatmama007

New member
My sister had my nephew in 2005, and I remember her telling me all about how the new Britax Marathon she bought was the best of the best (I believe she got it in 2006). That was my first exposure to carseats, so it always stuck in my mind that Britax was in a class all its own. I had to get a Graco when DD was born, and I remember thinking oh how I wish I could afford a Britax! When my sister gave me her Marathon (her son had moved onto a booster), I was all "OMG I feel so special!" lol. Turns out I didn't really like the Marathon, at all. But it's what got me looking into car seats because I was on the hunt for something I liked better. That's when I found ERF and Radians, and I never looked back:) So I guess thanks Britax for turning me to Radians?? haha.
 

Phineasmama

New member
I saw that! And yeah, too bad it's so darn expensive!:(

My only hope is that it will be less on amazon lol. Not sure at this point if I will end up with one, but the locking shoulder belt guides look like they might work well in my van so we'll see.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I can't even remember how many I've had, but I'm sure at least a few of them were because of Ulrike's (and a million other peoples', lol) sparkly heart love posts about her Roundabout.

Back in the day, it was the only convertible seat with all reinforced harness slots... that meant instead of HAVING to use the top slot for an FF wee one, you could use a lower slot that actually fit them more snugly. And of course the RF tethering was awesome, and the velcro to hold the harness up was nice, and it was the first seat with a belly pad (instead of 14 floor models, they used to have a key ring with all the cover options...just the belly pads! It was a cool thing to play with in nice stores :D)

And when the Marathon came out, it was like heaven to find it and turn my 29 pound 3 year old rearfacing, and to have it to recommend to people as a legal option to keep their kids harnessed longer (in most cases, we just recommended Century and Graco and Evenflo seats with 40lb weight ratings in the US but 47/48 pound ratings in Canada *with the top tether*).
 

cookie123

New member
Awwww, a sad day for sure.:)

I know I loved my original RA. It expired long ago. The Marathons, not as much. If only they could have been a bigger, exact version of the RA, it would have been perfect!
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
:sad: I miss my original Roundabout. And having kids young enough to use one.
 

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I realized this week that my final Britax seat has expired.

When Roman was born, back in 1998, I received two used infant seats as gifts. One was a Maxi Cosi (back before MC had any seats in the US), and the other was a basic "institutional" infant seat that didn't even have a handle--no labels, so I couldn't tell you what brand. Neither came with instructions.

I don't remember when I switched him to a convertible, but when that time came, I took the gift cards I'd received at my shower to Baby Depot and picked a seat. I hadn't done any research; I thought people only cared about looks, and I wasn't that shallow. :D After I chose one, almost at random, my mom said I should get the one with the bar in front, so Roman could play with toys on it. I thought that was stupid (the bar was flat, but angled such that toys wouldn't stay put on it, so a lap would probably be better), but not worth fighting with my crazy mom over. And that's how my son ended up riding in an Evenflo Ultara I overhead shield seat. We turned it forward facing the Saturday after his first birthday.

Then I "met" Defrost online. She had done some research. She shared that overhead shields were less safe than 5-point harnesses, among other safety facts. When Eva was born, I bought her a Britax Roundabout. Holy cow! was it easy to use! Built-in lockoffs, a harness adjuster that worked, and yes, a 5-point harness. I could install that sucker in seconds, all by myself. I loved it so much I immediately ordered a Britax Freeway for Roman (for those who don't remember that far back, the Freeway was identical to the Roundabout, except it was FF only).

We were in Germany when Britax released the Marathon. I ordered one for Eva, so she could stay rear facing longer. Then I got a 2nd Marathon for Roman, so he could stay harnessed longer. Nadia rear faced in the old Roundabout.

When we flew back to the US in 2005, it took several weeks for our Honda Pilot SUV to catch up with us. We borrowed a small station wagon, but there was no way to fit the 3 harnessed seats in the back of it. Off I went to purchase two of the narrowest HBBs on the market at the time: Britax Parkways. When we moved into our new house in 2006, FIL bought two more Parkways for his car.

By the time Kira was born, in 2007, the original Roundabout & Marathon had expired, and Nadia was riding in the remaining Marathon. When I found a Roundabout on clearance at Sears, I pounced on it. Kira rode in that until she got too tall for it rear facing. It expired before I turned her FF.

Meanwhile, Roman & Eva outgrew their Parkways, Nadia's Marathon expired, and she moved into a Parkway. When the Parkways expired, I took one of FIL's (since I only had one kid in a booster, he didn't need two for his car). Well, that seat has expired.

Kira's almost 6 and still fits in both the Evenflo Symphony and First Years True Fit. I don't see myself buying her another harnessed seat. Nadia's Clek Oobr will be passed down to Kira when the time comes. If I have to buy a spare HBB, it will probably be something less expensive.

Over the years, my four kids have used a total of NINE Britax seats.

I know some people like to mock the "Britax Bubble". I think those who are new to CPS don't realize just how innovative and impressive Britax seats were back in the day. When I bought my first Roundabout, most convertibles had 20 lb or 22 lb rear facing limits! Compatibility issues were common. NO ONE else had EPS foam inside their seats. Harness adjusters were hypothetical; good luck accessing them and getting them to move once you do. Yeah, rear harness adjusters were the standard. No one made a seat that harnessed beyond 40 lb, and many of those were too short for the average 4 year old anyway. When the Parkway first came out, shield boosters were still popular. LATCh was nothing more than a gleam in some engineer's eye--an engineer who worked for Britax.

After sitting here thinking for a while, I'm trying to remember when I "met" you. It was definitely when you were in Germany because I thought you were German, lol! I remember reading all your posts with a German accent. :D

Yeah, everyone can laugh about the Britax Bubble now, but they weren't around back then. We used to dream about our Roundabouts and cried when they expired. And there was no denim cover like the original denim cover for the RA.

I can't even remember how many I've had, but I'm sure at least a few of them were because of Ulrike's (and a million other peoples', lol) sparkly heart love posts about her Roundabout.

Back in the day, it was the only convertible seat with all reinforced harness slots... that meant instead of HAVING to use the top slot for an FF wee one, you could use a lower slot that actually fit them more snugly. And of course the RF tethering was awesome, and the velcro to hold the harness up was nice, and it was the first seat with a belly pad (instead of 14 floor models, they used to have a key ring with all the cover options...just the belly pads! It was a cool thing to play with in nice stores :D)

And when the Marathon came out, it was like heaven to find it and turn my 29 pound 3 year old rearfacing, and to have it to recommend to people as a legal option to keep their kids harnessed longer (in most cases, we just recommended Century and Graco and Evenflo seats with 40lb weight ratings in the US but 47/48 pound ratings in Canada *with the top tether*).

Oh yeah! The belly pad ring! I remember being so excited when the MA came out and I bought one for my dd. I think they came out right around when she was born. Sigh.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
And there was no denim cover like the original denim cover for the RA.

My original RA and FW both had denim covers. I still have them, all sun bleached from sitting in the car all those years.

Julie, I'd forgotten about the (un)reinforced slots! Man, carseats sucked 15 years ago!
 

Chila88

New member
I bought my first Britax, a BV, when dd1 was outgrowing her infant seat in 2008. I'd found this site, heard about Britax and loved the sip the BV offered......then realized you couldn't get it in Canada (I'm *pretty* sure the MA was here then though). But low and behold they announced its impending arrival and so I waited anxiously, preordered, and picked it up the day they hit the shelves. It is currently wearing a gloriously girly Lauren cover...for a few more months until it expires. :( It is SUCH a pleasure to install and use (although it's ff now, the HA did drive me batty rf!) I will dearly miss popping it in and out of dh's vehicle ("what? You had to drive guys at hockey last night? Sweet, I'll go put the car seats back in!" :p)

I bought dd2 a gen2 MA when they came out, but it's moved onto a new home....too squishy!

I'm always trying to buy Britax seats because of how much I love that BV, but it just hasn't worked out (Britax, will you please give the b-safe a 30lb rating up north?!)

It's going to be a sad day next spring when\if I can bring myself to destroy it.
 

msg221

Well-known member
My friend Theresa was the first to introduce me to Britax seats 11 years ago, when she had her son. This was long before my godchildren and grandchildren came along so I had no clue about car seats. Anyway, I remember her having a Britax infant bucket for her son and then later on, I think it was the Marathon that had the soft blue cover with the dog paws all over. I loved that cover - it was so darn cute!

I remember one night trying to help her install that seat in her Honda Pilot and I don't know why we couldn't get it in there tightly, especially now that I am very familiar with Britax seats and know how easy they are to install. She ended up taking it to the store she bought it at (a baby store in Sacramento that just closed a few years ago and whose name escapes me) and they helped her install it (not sure if their employees were techs or not). Well, she only had that seat a few months because when her son was 8 months old, she was in an accident that totaled her Pilot (other driver's fault), destroyed the stroller I bought her, but thank goodness, her son Connor came out without a scratch!

When my godtwins came along, I did all of the research on car seats and helped their mom pick out seats for her shower registry (Graco SS1). When I got them convertibles for my car, I bought two BLVD's: one in Cowmoo and one in Madison. And we have been through LOTS of seats since then with my current set up being a FR90 and a Graco Argos. I do have a love for Britax seats and I've been through a lot of other convertibles!
 

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