I think I hate the MA harness!

mamaofthree

New member
I've tried so hard to love my MA, but I seriously hate the harness system. The seat is really a quality seat, everything seems so sturdy and comfy, and the cover is nice and plush, but I hate strapping ds in. I don't loosen it very much to get him out, but that doesn't really help in tightening it since it's the last few tugs that are the hardest to get snug. If it is really loose, I've used someone's suggestion of pulling the harness slack in the back of the seat (he's RF) first, which does seem to lessen the number of times I have to tug at the harness because the first few inches pull through smoother, but I still just can't seem to get the harness snug enough without some serious elbow grease. Even when I think it is snug, I notice the straps in the back have differing amounts of slack- is that normal? I mean, they look flat against the back of the MA, but if I put my fingers behind them and pull out, one side has way more give. It drives me nuts, especially because I am used to my 3.5 yo's Triumph that just cranks tight. I don't know what other seat I would have purchased, but I am really regretting this seat and feel like I'm stuck with it. :(

Kimberly
 
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Melizerd

New member
Are you pulling HARD or are you pulling and releasing several times? The MA harness tightens like a ratchet, you need to pull, release, pull, release several times, not one hard pull.

If the harness is tight at the shoulders and you can't pinch the fabric it's tight. It's not like a lot of other harnesses and does take some getting used to.
 

mamaofthree

New member
I'm pulling and releasing a lot, but it still takes a lot of strength to get it to move much. I really do think it is just a diff kind of harness that I'm having trouble getting used to. I've read that as long as there isn't pinchable slack then it's fine, but there is just a lot of adjusting going on to get it that way. It could be tight at the shoulders and will still be way loose on the hips for example. So I have to pull on both sides of the harness at the hips and then do some more tugging, which doesn't seem to want to make a diff. Its those last few tugs that don't want to cooperate. It always slides back out.
 

CandCfam

New member
I'm pulling and releasing a lot, but it still takes a lot of strength to get it to move much. I really do think it is just a diff kind of harness that I'm having trouble getting used to. I've read that as long as there isn't pinchable slack then it's fine, but there is just a lot of adjusting going on to get it that way. It could be tight at the shoulders and will still be way loose on the hips for example. So I have to pull on both sides of the harness at the hips and then do some more tugging, which doesn't seem to want to make a diff. Its those last few tugs that don't want to cooperate. It always slides back out.

You don't need to check at the hip, just the shoulders.:)

Oh, and I almost always have to manually push the lever down to clamp the adjuster strap so that it doesn't loosen on ours.
 

mamaofthree

New member
You don't need to check at the hip, just the shoulders.:)

So I should leave it loose? That doesn't make sense at all.

Oh, and I almost always have to manually push the lever down to clamp the adjuster strap so that it doesn't loosen on ours.

Thanks, I'll try that. :)
 

Chameleon

New member
My trick is to tighten before buckleing. First buckle the chest piece then tighten the straps as much as you think you need, THEN buckle the harnes straps. It flows much easier that way.
 

amy919

New member
Is your MA brand new? I'm asking because I never had a problem with my "old" MA, which had a DOM of 3/06. Britax replaced it with a brand new seat with a DOM of 11/07 because the seat would not lock in the upright position. I have the same problem with the new MA, but like I do what everyone else has already suggested and am able to get it tight. I don't if there was a minor redesign of some sort or if my old was just "broken in", but if you do what was suggested here, you should be able to get it tight enough. It just takes a little getting used to :).
 
You may also want to check the harness slot height. If it is in the lowest position, but could be moved to the second position up (as long as it is still beneath baby's shoulders), it can be difficult to tighten the harness. With a Britax seat, you want to use the harness slot that is closest to baby's shoulders as long as it is still at or below his or her shoulders rear facing.
 

mamaofthree

New member
I will try the trick of doing the chest clip first and pulling the harness snug before doing the buckles- haven't tried that one.

Yes, I got it this summer- I think it was made in July?

The harness is at the second slots already, so it isn't that issue, but thanks for the suggestion. :)

Kimberly
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
How much difference is there in the tightness of one strap vs. the other? Could one have been threaded on one slot height and one on the other? Maybe they're both right with the cover, but not the actual seat shell itself? The other thing to check - especially if the harness has been removed, & if the straps are both definitely through the same slots, is that the straps are attached properly to the seat shell. If one was done properly and one wasn't, that could cause the harness straps to be different lengths and the harness wouldn't tighten evenly on both sides. I'm not sure how much of a difference you're talking about between the 2 straps though....

In regards to the tightening, I always buckle, pull up on the straps directly above the buckle to get any slack out of the hip straps, then while holding the straps upwards, I pull the adjuster strap.

One other thought - if he's rf'ing, you can remove the HUGS. I find the harness so much easier to adjust rf'ing without the HUGS on, just make sure you keep them for when you turn the seat ff'ing as they're mandatory when the seat is being used ff'ing.
 

mimieliza

New member
I'm pulling and releasing a lot, but it still takes a lot of strength to get it to move much. I really do think it is just a diff kind of harness that I'm having trouble getting used to

I am having the same problem with my Boulevard. It just takes a lot of tug, tug, tugging really hard to get the straps tight.
 

singingpond

New member
Oh, and I almost always have to manually push the lever down to clamp the adjuster strap so that it doesn't loosen on ours.

Yes, I do that also; otherwise it just doesn't hold on the last few pull-and-release cycles. We currently have a Wizard (several years old), and a MA (May 2007 DOM), and they both act like this. Both seats are installed RF, so I reach behind and push down on the splitter plate while doing the initial tightening. I also pull slack up in the front of the harness (i.e. grab straps up by child's chest and tug upward toward the shoulder slots). Still have to manually rock the adjuster down onto the strap to hold the harness tight enough at the end.

In fact, I've found the process annoying enough that I recently switched to not loosening the harness when the child gets out of the seat. Now I have the hassles of fiddling their arms in and out carefully, but overall I'm finding it faster and less aggravating than adjusting the harness every time.

Katrin
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
To be honest any rf'ing seat that has a front harness adjuster will be harder to tighten then a ff'ing seat. It's the angle your having to pull at (up instead of down). Pulling the slack from the back of the seat and then pulling the harnesses adjuster is going to be your best bet with any front harness adjuster while the seat is rear facing.
 

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