Britax- Safest? Or Self Proclaimed Safest?

My husband and i are looking for a car seat for our second baby. My father in law is a complete NUT and demands us to buy Britax because it's the best of the best... which it looks like a very good car seat, but is it REALLY the safest? or is Britax self-proclaiming their greatness? any websites to back up the info? i know there are no crash test ratings made public, but maybe a general safety rating among different carseats?

Every seat has passed the same national standard testing, so they're all safe. We don't know if one did better than another overall. However, a seat is only safe if it's used properly, and the thing about the Britaxes is that they are very easy to use properly. They install well and easily in nearly every vehicle, they last a long time, parents generally spend the money and therefore the time getting to know them. Are they the safest? No. A well installed Scenera is safer than a poorly installed Britax. But Britaxes do make it much easier to get the seat in, and then used, safely.

All companies are self proclaiming. The safest seat, the last seat you'll need, the only seat you'll need. It's part of their marketing. Take all of it with a grain of salt, they're all out to make a buck however they can.

Wendy

I think the seats are the best made, but have seen lots of kids that would be dead in an accident and they are sitting in a britax seat. Sad to me that parents find the best seat but don't tighten the straps or have them at the right height. Just make sure what ever you get that you read all directions, maybe even take some pictures and post them on here, and people can see if it looks correct.

The BEST seat is one that:
1)fits your child
2)fits your vehicle
3)will be used correctly 100% of the time.
Point number 3 is where the Britax seats really shine - over 80% of car seats are installed/used incorrectly and may not protect the kids in them. So anything you can do to make sure you install your seat correctly is great. I always thought the Britax seats were an elitist, rich people thing. Until I was given one to use. Then I got it. After years of struggling with various kids car seats and then my son's, I had learned to hate the thought of installing/uninstalling. First time out - I got the Marathon (MA) in in under 5 minutes! It was shockingly easy. And after a few tries, I could do it in under 2minutes. Just b/c of the way its made and attention to convenient details it was easy to install and use.

The MA has things I sure never would've thought of, even though not having those things has caused me to misuse seats in the past:
-thick harness straps. Ever get the straps twisted on your kiddo's seat? Can't use it that way, its not safe. The MA straps don't twist.
-ever been irritated b/c its such a pain to try and keep the straps outta the way so you can put your child in the seat? MA has velcro onthe sides to hold the straps out of the way for just this purpose
-soft covers. I wouldn't want to sit on lots of the covers at walmart. Britax is soft and plush, with a few exceptions.
-EASY to install. It was our only seat for several months, and was moved daily, sometimes several times a day. I can do it in less than 2 minutes its so easy to install.
-tethered rear facing for extra stability
-pockets to keep tether in when not in use
-pocket to keep LATCH strap in when not in use
-manual comes attached to the seat on an elastic so you can't lose it.
-built-in lockoffs NO MORE LOCKING CLIPS woohooo11
Their testing is supposedly ongoing as well, great customer service (after the wait time which can be considerable.) and they stand behind their seats. I totally think they are worth the cost - though I WOULD definitely try to get one during the twice yearly sales.

All that said - last summer the Evenflo Triumph Advance came out, and in my opinion, it is a great competitor to the MA. $130-$150, holds kids the same amounto f time or possibly longer b/c of its bowl shape. Easy to install (though no lockoffs), and I LOVE the knobs that adjust th eharness. Other major bonuses:
rear faces to 35lbs, forward to 50lbs, and you adjust the harness height without removing the seat. So it would be a tossup for me between the MA and EFTA.


There was a rousing debate about this on this board a while back, very interesting: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=37157 Some people really prefer Britax b/c of the continued testing they do on seats already on the market, and the fact that all their recalls are proactive, done before injuries happen, vs. some other companies who only recall when forced to b/c of lawsuits or injuries. But to be sold in the US all seats must pass the same guidelines. So technically all *should* be safe. Its the actual use of the seat that can change that. If its hard to use correctly then safety kind of goes out the window.

Great suggestions above. May I just also add that you should use a rear facing seat even after your baby gets older. It sounds like you're talking about a newborn but as our kid gets older, please keep rear facing as long as possible. Preferably until 4 years old. That's far more important than picking the right brand.

the ladies agve you GRAET info!

just my experience.....after using several different carseats & now owning 1 britax regent and a FPSVD- fisher price safe voyage deluxe (made by britax) i totally see what everyone was saying about britax seats. so the you never know til you own/use one is true. LOL
the major differences i noticed so far is how easy they are to use. we move the FPSVD a couple times a month (it's in my parents car) for whenever they need the back seat for anyone else but my DD. it takes me all of 2minutes to install correctly everytime. getting DD in & out is easy too. the regent we have in our van was fairly easy to install as well. it takes 5min to install! regent is known to having soem diffculties getting in tight. i had no problem. maybe its because i was used to working with diffcult seats. i actually needed a 2nd person to install the scenera & the intera we have. i could install the regent & FPSVD by myself. (the apex made by dorel was a cinch too tho).

britax seats are REALLY sturdy! even if that has no baring on the safety i "feel" better with it being that way

britaxs seats are comfy. not that comfy shoudl be more important than saftey but if your child is the seat for long periods of time i can see that comfy is important. you wan t the kids to feel comfortable & nto complain about being in there. my kids i don't think ever cared. they can sleep in any of our nearly unpadded seat just as well as padded britax ones.

i LOVE all the padding (not sure if it's that EPP or EPS foam) but basically bike helmet stuff. not all companies have all that padding just yet.

ok this turned into a LONG story.:blah blah blah:

Adventuredad said:

Great suggestions above. May I just also add that you should use a rear facing seat even after your baby gets older. It sounds like you're talking about a newborn but as our kid gets older, please keep rear facing as long as possible. Preferably until 4 years old. That's far more important than picking the right brand.

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I think six would be the ideal age, since that's when the bones in the spine finish ossifying, but it is the odd child here in the US who can rear face much past 3.5, just for the size of our seats. But rather than recommend a specific age here we advocate to the maximum limit of the convertible seat. Which here all new convertibles are coming out with 35 pound rear facing limits. Seats currently on the market are either revamping or retesting to higher limits (the Marathon and Boulevard just went to 35 pounds from 33, the Radian is being tested to 35 pounds), though there are a few that still have 30 pound limits (Comfortsport, the old Triumphs and Titans). I hope those seats will be off the shelves relatively soon.

Here in the US we also advocate extended harnessing, which I know is not done in Sweden. But again, because of bone strength (adult strength is not achieved until closer to 12) we believe it's better to have five points of contact against the body rather than just three. A minimum booster age here is 5-6 years old, preferably closer to six, if not older. By six years old the head proportion to the rest of the body is less than as an infant, and the bones are completely ossified, so the risk of the head moving without the rest of the body, IMO, is less than a small body being moved out from behind a seatbelt, or worse, a child without the maturity to sit still simply leaning out of position and being unsafe, or simply unbuckling themselves. After age six or so the decision to harness or booster is safely up to the parent and child based on size, maturity, maybe where they sit in a car, if it's a primary or secondary vehicle, etc.

While it's awesome hearing about what other countries do, there are differences here. Recommending rear facing to age four is just not feasible for most kids here. They won't fit, we have seats will shorter shells and lower weight limits here.

Wendy

Adventuredad said:

Great suggestions above. May I just also add that you should use a rear facing seat even after your baby gets older. It sounds like you're talking about a newborn but as our kid gets older, please keep rear facing as long as possible. Preferably until 4 years old. That's far more important than picking the right brand.

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I agree about Rf'ing but you must have some small kids. My son unfortunately will outgrow RF'ing at most at 3 yoa.

I LOVE our Britax car seats. We now have 2 blvds but had one MA before and i have loved them all. I like the SIP provided by the Blvd. but also love the features on the Britax's compared to other seats.

Britax seats are mostly easy to use (correctly installed seats are the safest!) and they have some features that we might guess would improve safety, but there is no proof that they are the "safest" seats.

littleangelfire said:

The BEST seat is one that:
1)fits your child
2)fits your vehicle
3)will be used correctly 100% of the time.

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Don't forget 4) Fits your budget. Someone who can't afford a $300 seat shouldn't be made to feel bad that they own a $45 seat. A Britax is only best for you if you can afford it. And when all things are equal -- fit to the child, fit to the car, and can be used properly -- the next we like to look at is cost effectiveness. The Scenera is more cost effective than the Comfortsport, so people with a limited budget should aim for the cheaper seat, not the more expensive. Conversely, people who can afford it should go for an EFTA or a Britax rather than a three in one because it will work better for the child for longer (contrary to Dorel's marketing). So while we all wish everyone could afford an easy and long lasting seat, budget does play into this and must be taken into consideration.

Wendy

aisraeltax said:

I agree about Rf'ing but you must have some small kids. My son unfortunately will outgrow RF'ing at most at 3 yoa.

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He's in Sweden where only the largest kids get turned before four years old. Their seats rear face to 40-55 pounds, and I believe they allow the head to go over the shell, maybe to the tips of the ears, rear facing. Plus they have added leg room, knowing that the child will be rear facing for years to come.

They're actually really cool seats. Some go from rear facing to boosters (they don't do forward facing harnessing due to the belief that it's better to have the body move forward during a collision and not just the head, that it adds stress to the neck that could be shared through the body). They have a little foot that comes down from the back to help support the weight of the heavier rear facing child, since the seat is further from the backseat. I think they also have some sort of tether system that goes kind of to both legs of the front seat? Not as sure on that one.

Wendy

aisraeltax said:

I agree about Rf'ing but you must have some small kids. My son unfortunately will outgrow RF'ing at most at 3 yoa.

I LOVE our Britax car seats. We now have 2 blvds but had one MA before and i have loved them all. I like the SIP provided by the Blvd. but also love the features on the Britax's compared to other seats.

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He doesn't have small kids, he has enormous RF seats :thumbsup:

I'm impressed by your accurate descriptions wendytthomas! RF is the best regardless of age. it would be better to also have adults RF but not very practical.

But i I look at regular growth charts, a "normal" 4 year old weighs about 35 lbs or so which is the upper limit for some convertible US seats. So i don;t think 4 years is unreasonable. I would say people over here turn teir kids around at 4 years of age despite using seats capable of 55 lbs RF. I just turned my son around, he's 4 years and 3 months. He only weights 35 lbs but he's head was sticking up above the rear of both our Britax Freeway (RF) and Britax Hi-Way.

We tether all our F seas under the front seat or when used in the front seat, in special hooks underneath the instrument panel. Works perfectly.

We only use three "seat classes" here. Infatn, RF, and then booster seats. Works very well and our child deaths in traffic are incredibly low. We don't recommend using the 5 pt harness for older kids because of the reasons you mention. I'm trying to find out more hard core facts about this but it will take a while longer.

Maybe our US seats aren't so small, after all Here's my dd pushing 33-35 pounds (I weighed her one day, 31, seemingly the next day she was 35, the weight limit on this seat was 33), her head was nowhere near the top at age 4.5 http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

(PS, yes, Britax was the safEST seat for my kid at the time...it was the tallest seat for rearfacing, I wanted her to go into a Cosco with a higher weight limit, but she was too tall...there are more choices now, but it's that sort of detail that kept Britax at the top of the heap for a long time).

Adventuredad said:

I'm impressed by your accurate descriptions wendytthomas! RF is the best regardless of age. it would be better to also have adults RF but not very practical.

But i I look at regular growth charts, a "normal" 4 year old weighs about 35 lbs or so which is the upper limit for some convertible US seats. So i don;t think 4 years is unreasonable. I would say people over here turn teir kids around at 4 years of age despite using seats capable of 55 lbs RF. I just turned my son around, he's 4 years and 3 months. He only weights 35 lbs but he's head was sticking up above the rear of both our Britax Freeway (RF) and Britax Hi-Way.

We tether all our F seas under the front seat or when used in the front seat, in special hooks underneath the instrument panel. Works perfectly.

We only use three "seat classes" here. Infatn, RF, and then booster seats. Works very well and our child deaths in traffic are incredibly low. We don't recommend using the 5 pt harness for older kids because of the reasons you mention. I'm trying to find out more hard core facts about this but it will take a while longer.

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A lot of times, kids get turned because they are too close to the top of the seat. There are some pretty tall seats on the market, but also some pretty short ones. We've had some that are sort of high-average (ETA and marathon) and my kid got too close to the top of these recently and he just turned 3 and he's only 33 lbs fully clothed. I could technically get a taller rf'ing seat for those last two lbs, but it's just not in the budget, considering he could pack on those last two lbs on a good-eating week.

We need taller seats!

Duh! Forgot that's not what the original post was about. LOL

I really, really love britax and I think they do go above and beyond many other seats with extra features that make it easier to use and probably safer.

BUT, I also think there are MANY wonderful seats now that are not Britax. I have an evenflo triumph advance that I love. I only don't like that the straps can get twisty, but it's not that big of a deal to untwist them, as long as you keep up on it and make sure they are right before you take off.

I'm very intrigued by the new true fit.

Graco is giving britax a run for their money with their new nautilus (for older kids).

Recaro and sunshine kids are doing well, although theirs are just as $$$.

Like everyone else said, get what you feel is right for you and your child.

Hi, welcome to the forums!

Unfortunetly, there is no perfect seat that all people will love and use correctly all the time and that fit in every situation.

However, Britax has a great track record. Most people adore the Marathon and find it so easy to use.

But in your individual case something else might fit better or you might prefer something else or your budget might not go so far.

For that reason, it is always best to to go to a BabysRus or ToysRus or local baby boutique, etc and try to get a feel for these seats in real life before purchasing or at least purchase from a reputable seller that has a good return policy.

Good Luck!

EVeryone else has gone over the standards part really well already, so I'm not really going to go into that. What I'll do, is relate my experience.

We started out with an AO for dd when she outgrew her bucket seat. I had wanted a MA even then, but couldn't justify spending $349 for it (this was before the price drop in CAnada.)

When I was pregnant with ds I knew that the 2nd convertible to buy would be the MA. The price dropped to $299 and I bought one, and immediately used it for dd since I figured no sense in having a nice seat in the house and an AO in use.

When I first used and installed the MA, I was blown away. It does have a lot of features other seats didn't at the time, and installed so much easier than the AO. This was back in 06 though... new seats have become available since then, mainly the Radian and EFTA here in Canada.

I have both, and have used all 3. Prior to the arrival of the EFTA, I always recommended the MA first (length of use, ease of use) and the Radian 2nd (length of use, but sometimes difficult to install.) Now my top 3 chocies are EFTA, then MA, then Radian. Reason being that I don't see a huge difference between my MA and the EFTA, and I don't think the MA is worth double the price of my EFTA. Both install well in my vehicle, the EFTA fits ds with more room than the MA as well, which is another plus for it.

The MA remains #2 for ease of installation and extended length of use, but I don't think Britax is alone in the top of the field anymore.

ALL companies do ongoing crash tests on their seats. How often they repeat crash tests varies from company to company, but they all do it. The reason they repeat crash tests is because in the event a defect is found, they need to know the last time they did a crash test that that defect wasn't present. It saves them money and gives a more specific recall period. They also need to be able to continually know that the seat meets standards.

Regardless of which manufacturer you decide on, the best seat is going to be one that fits your child, fits your vehicle, and is used correctly every time. They all pass the same minimum standards, and all manufacturers do ongoing crash tests. Most seats are coming with either EPP or EPS foam now, which is about the only thing I truly consider important when speculating from a safety standpoint...

One other thing to throw into the mix - the primary protection to the child will come from the vehicle itself. The carseat is designed to allow the child to have ride down time while the vehicle absorbs some of the crash forces, and then it distributes the forces along the entire body of the child instead of just chest & pelvis. Rf'ing seats cradle the neck and head as well, which is another important aspect.... but anyways, my point being that pretty much any carseat that is installed and used properly, and is the appropriate seat for the age and weight of the child, is going to perform the same job and will protect the child. Some manufacturers are more vocal about sharing their "successes" from kids who were protected by their seats in a crash. But that doesn't mean that the child wouldn't have been as equally protected in another seat. :thumbsup:

At one time I think Britax could've clearly been called cream of the crop, just because they had a lot of features that other manufacturers have now incorporated. They are safe seats, but not necessarily safer than any others, and aren't alone in the ease of installation category anymore, so I certainly don't fall into the camp of "only ever consider a Britax."

Are they safe? Yes. Safest? Impossible to say. And I'd say the same about any other seat you asked me about - that it's safe, but no way to know if it's safest. Carseats when installed and used correctly to a very good job of protecting kids in crashes regardless of what brand you buy. So choose one based on fit, ease of use, and right stage of travel for your child - and if you have other personal factors like budget, or needing to buy from a specific store because of gift cards or whatever, throw those into the mix too. :thumbsup:

One other, possibly nothing more than peace-of-mind factor, is that Britax seats are not made in China, whereas many other seats (nearly all others) are. Dorel (manufacturer of the EFTA among many others) has had a really crummy reputation as far as recalls, injuries, and that sort of thing.

Raechel

Momof4Girls said:

One other, possibly nothing more than peace-of-mind factor, is that Britax seats are not made in China, whereas many other seats (nearly all others) are. Dorel (manufacturer of the EFTA among many others) has had a really crummy reputation as far as recalls, injuries, and that sort of thing.

Raechel

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Dorel DID NOT manufacture the EFTA.

It was manufactured by Evenflo.