Noob Convertible Help

My 9 mo son is about done with his infant car seat (too long). I've been reading tons of info online, and gone to the store to get a hands-on test, and now I have my shortlist:

Eddie Bauer 3-in-1
Britax Decathlon
Britax Marathon
Britax Boulevard

We need to buy 2: one for our 1999 Dodge Durango and one for grandparents 2001 Ford Expedition. We may be getting a 15 year old c class Mercedes, and who knows, we may even buy a hybrid (I hate my gas guzzler!).


Last week I was pretty sure I was going to get the Eddie Bauer basically because it can turn into a booster later, and the Babies R Us staff recommeded it. We took our boy up to the store and sat him in it, and probably would have bought it, but they didn't have the color we wanted.

This week I've done a ton of research and can't find much about the Eddie Bauer, and if I do it's usually negative. So, I started looking at alternatives. Britax brand seems to be far and away the favorite among the online people, safety test, critics, and kids.

Enter the Marathon, Decathlon and Boulevard. Now, I think I finally have it straight on the differences between these 3. Marathon is older, Decathlon and Boulevard are latest models, the later having wing with straps you can adjust on the fly. The Decathlon is basically a Marathon with a removable pad for smaller kids. Correct me if I'm wrong there

I'm leaning away from the Marathon because its older, and I read that the torso is "slightly" longer on the Decathlon . Also, MA lacks the extra padding, which my little boy would benefit from for now. If I can just pull the padding out and have the MA, then that's +1 for Decathalon.

What I like about the 3-in-1 and the Boulevard is the super-easy adjustable shoulder straps (on the fly, no threading). The 3-in-1 is a lot less money, and it has a cup holder. My son seemed comfy in the 3-in-1 in the store (babies r us has a car seat so you can install it and see how he fits). I didn't even bother putting him the Britax because at the time I was set on getting a convertible that becomes a booster. They both have wings though, and I think that would be annoying to my boy later. He's 9 mo and loves looking out the window. If these didn't have the adjustable harness straps, I'd nix these and go with the Decathlon.

So, there's my long winded dilemma. What would you say? One Decathlon & one Eddie Bauer? Boulevard? Two of same?

Run far, far away from the Eddie Bauer. It's not worth the money, it's not easy to use, and it doesn't perform any of the multiple functions well. The harness slots are very low, and your child will outgrow it by height long before being ready to use it as a booster, the harness tops out at 40 lbs anyway, and you would still need another booster because 1. it's not nearly tall enough to get kids to the point of not needing a booster and 2. it will expire before your child is ready to be out of a booster.

The Marathon is a current model, not "older". The MA, DC and Blvd are all current models. The extra padding is just for tiny, tiny babies.

Well, I'll give a short reply:

The biggest difference that you didn't mention between the 3in1 and the Britax models (other than price LOL) may be one you haven't thought of. Because the harness slots on the 3in1 are low, he could outgrow the harness by height before he is 40 and before he is ready for a booster seat. That is the biggest flaw with the 3in1. My DD is almost three yrs, 32 lb, and just barely fits height wise in the 3in1, but she's less than 36" tall! The seat is okay other than that, but if you are looking for a seat less expensive than the Britax the Cosco Scenera (Cosco makes Safety First and Eddie Bauer) will last longer harnessed and with the money you save you can buy a nice dedicated booster when youi need one. It's a GREAT option for a second car or Grandparent's cars.

The Decathalon is like a Marathon with extra padding and a different adjuster button, I believe. Personally, at 9 months you don't need the extra padding, but if you want it, yes, that's the main benefit.
The Marathon is an "older" model, but they are still making them and there are more cover choices available than the other seats.
The Bouledvard has the SIP wings. I have a Wizard which is the discontinued version of the Boulvard and the wings are even closer together and larger and my DD loves that seat and the "pillows" for her head. I bought it when she was 15 months and VERY opinionated. She still likes it even though she rides in other seats without the wings. The adjustable harness is nice, but you'd be oaky without it too.

Hope that helps some! Feel free to ask more questions.

I'd cross the 3-in-1 off your list. They SAY its the only seat you need, but its just not so. It makes a nice enough rear facing seat, as a front facing seat - its slots are very low 14.5" vs 17.5" of the big Britaxes. That three inches translates to approx 6 inches in overall height. Its huge. Additionally, as booster, I hear its pretty subpar. BRU employees though, they do love it, everywhere you go. Their profit margin must be pretty high for them. (eyeroll).

Most kids will outgrow it by height far before they are ready to be boostered (anywhere from late 2's to 3 years old), so add *another* seat purchase into the equation if you choose it!

The main structural difference between the Britaxes is that the Blvd has "side impact protection". The rest is fluff/personal preference. The infant padding is nice, but really, for a 9 month old, probably not at all necessary. My son was in an MA from 4.5 months and was happy as a clam. They have slightly different adjusters, the Decath has three crotch strap positions (which might be good for really large kids, not that exciting for most kids). Moving the strap height on the fly would be nice, but you have to change the heights so infrequently.

Basically, if the child is in the center, I'd go with any of the Britaxes. Pick the one with the "options" you like best.

I do have the MA's for two outboard kids. Blvd's weren't available when I got them, but I'd probably go that route today. (But, I really like my cow covers best!!)

wow, thanks a ton for such quick & helpful replies! That was pretty unanimous about the 3-in-1.

What about the vehicles? One thing I'm not really clear on is how to know which car seat is best for our car without just buying one. Is there a resouce that describes/charts cars and "most compatable" seats?

We don't have LATCH in our car, but grandparents do. We use outboard in our car, and center in grandparents. Grandparents actually travel with him often (grandma is the weekday nanny).

Also, I read somewhere (iVillage maybe?) that the Britax models require the durango front-passenger seat to be all the way forward when the carseat is in the RF position.

I'll have to find my Durango manual to double check, but I think it said outboard is best??

Thanks again!

A rear facing big Britax can be installed "braced" against the front seat. Its said that if a Snug Ride fit, a RF big Britax will as well. Also, for older babies/toddlers, they don't need the 45 degree angle. Its totally fine to put them pretty upright. I give my MA just enough angle so that he can still sleep comfortably. He's been happily RF in that seat from 4.5 to 22 months.

Britaxes are pretty easy to install. I do prefer LATCH for RF if possbile, but with seat belts is A-OK too. (I'm not a fan of their RF lockoffs, they require some fiddling in some cases, but they aren't necessary either if you have locking seat belts). FF, I actually skip LATCH, I love their FF lockoffs!

I've had my MA RF in a Audi A6 (mid-size sedan), an 1997 Acura (granny's) and in a TWO door older Honda Accord (its about the size of a modern Civic). It fit well in each car. It was a bear to get the kid in the seat of the 2-door Accord, but the seat itself fit and a passenger could ride in front of it!

Also, check on the Ford, I THINK they allow use of inner LATCH's in the center seating spot with certain brands of car seats. It should be in their manual, or call their 800 (or Britax's).

Here's a compatibility database to check.
http://www.carseatdata.org/database.html

Since all the Britaxes are the same size and on the same base, they should all fit "the same" as each other in any car. So, check the database for all of them with your car. Also, check for the Britax Wizard if you don't get enough entries, its a discontinued seat, but same shell as the others.

Totally agree with the previous posters!

Personal testimony here:

We bought a Cosco Alpha Omega (exact same seat as the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1, with different cover choices, and doesn't have the Eddie Bauer name, so it's cheaper--the same company makes all Cosco, Safety 1st and Eddie Bauer seats) when my dd was 9 months old and had outgrown her infant seat.

It was an awesome seat for rear-facing, nice and roomy for her, comfortable, and it has the highest rear-facing weight limit on the market, 35 pounds. Unfortunately I wasn't informed on the great safety benefits of rear-facing to the limits of the seat so dd was turned forward at 13 months and 25ish pounds.

She outgrew the harness on the 3-in-1 at 2.5 years old, 38 inches tall and 33 pounds. She was too tall (a forward-facing seat is outgrown by height when shoulders go over top slots or tips of ears go over top of seat shell, whichever happens first). That meant I should convert the seat to booster mode for my 2.5 year old, 33 pound child. NO WAY. Kids need to be at least 4 years old and 40 pounds before moving to a booster, and lots of kids are not even mature enough at that point to move to a booster. They can't sit still properly behind the lap/shoulderbelts and wiggle around. It isn't safe unless they can sit properly at all times--not something a 2-3 year old is capable of, and lots of 4-5 year olds aren't.

In doing my research (too late) I learned that the 3-in-1 seats have 14.5 inch top harness slots. The only other 40 pound weight limit harnessed seat to have lower top slots is the Graco ComfortSport.

It's VERY common for most kids to outgrow most 40 pound weight limit harnessed seats by height before getting to 40 pounds. This is because the top slots are too low to get most kids to 40 pounds before they get too tall (shoulders over top slots).

Most parents then buy another harnessed seat, a combination seat, because some of these have taller top slots than convertibles, and the combinations turn into boosters. The 3-in-1 is a nice concept because it combines the convertible and the combination, but the downfall is the darn low top slots.

Combination seats by Graco and Evenflo have tall top slots, but still a regular 40 pound weight limit. That's fine for some kids, but lots of other kids hit 40 pounds at 3ish years old, too young for booster mode. That's why finding a seat with tall top slots AND a higher harnessed weight limit than 40 pounds is a very frugal thing to do. These higher weight limit harnessed seats may be a bit more $$ in the beginning, but they save another harnessed seat purchase later.

Having said all of that, my dd will be 5 next week and is in the 95th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight at 46 inches tall and almost 50 pounds and would STILL just fit in a Britax Marathon, Decathlon and Boulevard (remember she outgrew the 3-in-1 at 2.5 years old, 38 inches tall and 33 pounds).

Every step up in carseats is a step down in safety, so it's great to buy just one convertible and be able to keep kids harnessed to age 5-7, ensuring they are mature enough to move to a belt positioning booster when the time comes (and bpb's range in price from $15-$300, so there's something in every price range).

You have the differences between the Britax models correct. The Decathlon also has a push-button harness adjuster instead of the typical lever adjuster.

The Boulevard's wings are there for side impact protection, so that's a big point in favor of it (along with the no-rethread harness). It also has a padding insert similar to the Decathlon.

Only you can decide if the extras those seats offer are worth the extra $ over the Marathon. Incidentally, the MA is very nicely padded as-is.

How often will your baby ride with other people? If the majority of his rides are in one vehicle I would consider a less expensive option for the lesser-used vehicle. The Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe is a Marathon clone (made by Britax). It does not have a rear-facing tether like the Britax and it harnesses to 55 pounds instead of 65, but most kids outgrow the MA's top slots around 55 pounds anyway. Same top slot height, same seat shell. There's also the Sunshine Kids Radian, ultra-narrow, no big base, same RF and FF weight limits as Britax, slightly taller top slots. And a real bargain seat is the Cosco Scenera, one of only two Cosco/Safety 1st/Eddie Bauer seats I routinely recommend. It's only $40-$50 but makes a great second seat. Only 40 pound weight limit and lowish top slots, but for the price it's not so bad to need to buy a combination seat later.

Hope to help!