Roundabout vs Marathon

As many of you know, my in-laws and I have been having a hard time finding a seat that works for them. We have finally settled on a seatbelt install with the Roundabout as being our best option. So the question is, when the baby moves up to a convertible do I get them a second Roundabout or do I get them a Marathon?

The Roundabout is significantly cheaper and it is most well-known to the in-laws, but the Marathon is taller and very similar except for the harness adjustment being no-re thread. I would like both girls to get to 4 years old RF. DD1 has about 3 inches above her head in her Roundabout and is about a month shy of 3 years old right now. DD2 is following a similar growth pattern so far, but of course it's difficult to predict this far in advance as she is only 7 months old.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?


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What about handing the Roundabout down when DD2 needs it, getting DD1 a Marathon, then handing that down when DD1 is booster ready? Best of both worlds and you know for sure they'll make it to 4 in the Marathon

Keeyamah said:

What about handing the Roundabout down when DD2 needs it, getting DD1 a Marathon, then handing that down when DD1 is booster ready? Best of both worlds and you know for sure they'll make it to 4 in the Marathon

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Yes, this is what I am thinking. The only concern is whether there are any unforeseen differences between the marathon and roundabout that might make it harder for my in-laws to use.


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It seems as if your in laws are comfortable with the roundabout and from previous threads it took you a while to figure out the best seat for them, so I wouldn't mess with it. It should get both girls to age 4 rear facing and if it doesn't then you can re-evaluate. But in the meantime is stick with what they know, I'd rather risk not getting to 4 then the in laws not feeling comfortable with the seat. Proper use is more important than rear facing after age 2, especially if the child is close to 4 years old. But if you don't feel comfortable with them forward facing before age 4 you can see if s newer better seat is out at time.

Yeah. I just feel like the Marathon is SO close to a Roundabout. It doesn't have headwings to get in the way of loading/unloading...it should install the same since the belt path is the same.... It has the same buckles, infant insert, and harness adjuster (right?)

And we haven't changed the strap height on the Roundabout since we bought it -- so it feels like the fact that the Marathon has a different type of harness adjustment shouldn't really make a difference, right? Plus, we would have to buy an easy buckle pad for the Roundabout (this is a big selling point for my FIL) but the Marathon comes with one...

Has anyone noticed any ease of use differences between the two seats? I feel like I should go play with them side-by-side...


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Would your in laws be open to going to a store to try it out? Or you can buy it off Amazon and if they seem intimidated you could return it. I know the differences seem small to us, but to your in laws it might be just enough to confuse them... Coming from a generation that barely used child seats at all, the small differences can be confusing to them.

They are weirdly hesitant about trying seats out in a store. But I think if I just bought one and told them we could return it if they didn't like it, it would be ok. The trouble is, they have a history of not realizing a seat's problems until they've owned it awhile (which I totally understand -- it happens to me too).

I am leaning back towards the Roundabout. I just wish I could guarantee that it wouldn't be outgrown before 4 years old. I love the idea of having a Marathon in the mix to provide that little extra wiggle room for the last year or so of RF.


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I've had both, not any Click Tight versions, G4 versions. The Marathon is taller and has HUGS. The Roundabout does not have HUGS, so if you want to use FF, the HUGS reduce head excursion even more. The wings don't get in the way, they are barely wings, they aren't like the Boulevard. The MA fits longer FF. My youngest fit in the RA until 4 RF, well she still had some height room but she has long legs and wow it was hard to get the harness tight on her as legs crossed pushed the hip straps out, and legs up pushed the hip straps forward; so it was never actually tight. It's forward now and I think she has an inch to outgrow it forward? and sleeping is okay forward, but there are no wings so her head tips more to the side than she likes. She likes her Pegs better due to head wings.

Probably no help as you likely are talking about different versions of the seats. If it is any help, let me know if you have more questions.

She just turned 4 though so she's at your target age for RF. She's 40.5" tall and 33 pounds, but long legs and shorter torso. She had more room left in the RA RF than she did in the Peg (which was about a half inch I think?), but her legs were way more cramped in RA. Even in the Peg we would get home after she had fallen asleep after work and she would scream because her legs were asleep. And her older sister RFed to 4y8m in a My Ride and we had no complaints; that kid had a more average torso to leg ratio.

Techno, if the ones you have owned are G4's then I think they are basically the same as the current version. My roundabout is a G4, and so I am looking at a G4.1 Roundabout or Marathon. Do you think there is any difference in the difficulty with tightening the harness?


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Nedra said:

Techno, if the ones you have owned are G4's then I think they are basically the same as the current version. My roundabout is a G4, and so I am looking at a G4.1 Roundabout or Marathon. Do you think there is any difference in the difficulty with tightening the harness?


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No, both are easy. I find loosening them a pain in the ass because they are the reverse from our Pegs. Can't remember but the RA is push or pull on the lever, and then the pegs are pull or push; anyway, the reverse so it bugs me. haha. The RA is a bit harder to find the release lever than the Pegs and pretty sure the MA is the same. But if you don't have other seats to compare to, then once you know it, it's all good.

And no-rethread harness is great, but really, I have barely adjusted the RA. She stayed on the same one RF from age 2ish to 4. And I had to move it for FF. So once, in 2ish years. The Peg I moved more often, but it had more adjustment and it didn't need re-threading.

ETA: if you want pics of the RA let me know. I can only get FF right now as that is how it is installed and I don't have time to uninstall and reinstall tonight. I no longer have the MA.

Thanks Techno! No need for pics. The info about adjusting really helps. It sounds like -- at least for RF when the straps will barely move -- the MA is pretty much the same as the RA. I think I will just play with them both in store and then make a gut decision.


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