Britax Boulevard vs. First Years True Fit--- Which one?

Hi there,

I've spent some time on the internet researching, and now I'm confused and was hoping someone here could help.

In the Britax Boulevard there is "true side impact protection" which the Britax Marathon and True Fit don't say they have. Is this worth the money for the extra side protection? We'll have her in the middle seat until baby #2 comes along (not for a long time!).

Also, if cost is not an issue, are Britax car seats any better than the True Fit? From what I see on the internet, there isn't really a difference.

Also, I've read that True Fit is hard to adjust when rear facing. But then I also read somewhere about there being a new model coming out (or just recently coming out) that is supposed to fix this.

Any help would be awesome! Thanks!

They are both great seats, but I would try the TrueFit. I currently own a Boulevard and did own a True Fit for a short while, and I think I actually preferred the TF. I liked how low-to-the-seat it was.

Try them both, though, to see what fits your car and your baby best. See which one is easiest for you to use.

There are no standarized tests in the US/Canada for side impact. Manfacturers can do their own testing, and declare that a seat has side impact protection. Does it have any more SIP than any other seat? Maybe, maybe not. We have no way of knowing.

Because of the was Britax markets two of their seats (Marathon and Boulevard), I think you can compare those two apples. But if you try to compare a Britax seat to a First Years seat (TrueFit), that's comparing apples to oranges.

Are Britax seats any better? Depends largely on how you define "better." Safer? We have no way of knowing that. Easier to use properly 100% of the time (which DOES make a difference in safety)--you'll have to be the judge of that. The best thing you can do to ensure your child's safety is to make sure that they ride in an appropriate restraint that is properly installed and used every.single.time.

Yes, one of the biggest complaints with the current TF is not being able to get to the harness adjuster strap when it's rear-facing. It does have a continuous harness, which means the harness is all one long strap. So you can borrow a bit of harness from the other side. Put kiddo in the seat, pull up on the hip strap to get some slack, put one arm through. Pull up on the other hip strap, which will tighten the first side and give you slack on the second side. Put the second arm through. Even out the straps by adjusting at the hips.

There is a new model coming out soon (I want to say end of April, but don't quote me on that, and of course release dates can always change) with an anti-rebound bar that will help keep the harness adjuster strap from getting buried.

ETA: The Boulevard and Marathon have the same shell height and same top harness position, meaning they will be outgrown by height at the same time. The Britax seats have shorter shells and top harness heights than the TF, meaning the TF will last longer by height. Kids often outgrow seats by height, not weight, so that is significant.

the boulevard is the marathon only with the side impact protection. So b/w those two, the blvd seems to offer better protection even though we can't call it "safer".

The true fit also has deep sides naturally, so seems to also have very good side impact protection, although you can't directly compare. It also has higher top slots and a taller shell than the blvd so you can use it for FF longer and also can RF longer. It also has 1 year longer lifespan than the blvd.

Even if you wait for the new version coming out in april/may, it will still be less than the blvd. People here tend to really like the TF for comfort and ease of use. So even if cost is not an issue, I would get a new TF with the anti-rebound bar, know that you are getting a very safe, comfy, and very very long life seat (longer than the blvd) for 50-100 less than a blvd (depending on where you buy).

But you should make sure it fits your car and your child! If not, all other info is irrelevant.

The Canadian certified Britax convertible carseats don't RF up to 35 lbs. like the True Fit, another safety edge in favor of the True Fit IMHO.:twocents:

We love our TF and wouldn't have anything else for now. I see that the OP is in Canada, though...will the new TF be released in Canada at the same time as the US? If so, the new one would be my pick. We love our regular TF, though, and the harness adjuster really isn't a problem.

krace said:

Hi there,

I've spent some time on the internet researching, and now I'm confused and was hoping someone here could help.

In the Britax Boulevard there is "true side impact protection" which the Britax Marathon and True Fit don't say they have. Is this worth the money for the extra side protection? We'll have her in the middle seat until baby #2 comes along (not for a long time!).

Also, if cost is not an issue, are Britax car seats any better than the True Fit? From what I see on the internet, there isn't really a difference.

Also, I've read that True Fit is hard to adjust when rear facing. But then I also read somewhere about there being a new model coming out (or just recently coming out) that is supposed to fix this.

Any help would be awesome! Thanks!

Click to expand...

Hello,

Are you shopping for a secondary seat? Are you thinking you'll move the TF to the car and get something new for the truck? Will this seat later be passed to baby?

The BV is marketed as having True Side Impact Protection, the Marathon is marketed as having Side Impact Protection. Whether the BV is safer is something we just don't know. We do however know that your child's best line of defense in a side impact collision is to be rear facing... regardless of what seat they're in. (meaning, having the BV with TSIP headwings does not make it a safER seat in terms of going ff early).

The issue I think most of us have right now with CDN Britax is that their seats still only rf to 30lbs. Other manufacturers have either changed their upper rf limits to 35lbs, or are designing their seats with a 35lb rf limit right from the get-go (the TF is an example of this). From what we understand, Britax has no plans of doing this for CDN customers anytime soon.

That said, if you have a smaller child you may not need the 35lb rf limit to get you to an appropriate age for ff. Most of us suggest an age 2 minimum to go ff... some of us prefer to rf for even longer, and it's then that the 35lb rf limit makes a huge difference. I recently upgraded Sophie's seat to one that allows for rf use to 35lbs. Meaning, I moved her from a Britax seat into something else (RadianXT).


The differences in the TF and the MA/BV are certainly there, but like someone mentioned above, it's like comparing apples to oranges. The TF has a few features that I wish my MA's had... the BV has a few features that the TF also has... the TF excels in things like rf leg room, taller seat shell, and taller top harness slots for when baby is ff. The BV and MA have a harness adjuster that is more easily accessed for rf... but the TF is more comfy for older kids when it comes to rf (this is a bit of a subjective statement, but in theory having more leg room is more comfy)...

The price increase on Britax seats is getting to the point of being ridiculous :twocents:. Yes, they've been around a loooong time, yes they are nice seat, but to be literally twice the price of a TF... I can honestly say that if I was just starting out buying seats today I probably wouldn't get a Britax. I'm a staunch believer in rf for as long as possible, and so the 30lb vs. 35lb rf weight limit would be a deal breaker for me.

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for your responses so far! Certainly helpful!

Canadiangie- You caught me! I'm asking this question for my friend who is just about to move her little one from a bucket to a car seat, so this question isn't essentially from me. I knew everyone on this site (you included) would be a great place to help me answer her questions.

Does anyone know for sure when the True Fit Premiere is coming to Canada? And where to get it?

I'm still a little confused about this whole anti rebound bar- How does it make the finicking with the harness adjustment better? What does it actually look like? I've noticed that some people have said it isn't a consideration if a child is FF, is this true? Why?

Thanks again!

Hi. As far as the new TruFit goes, I don't think it is coming here until 2010... so I wouldn't hold out for it at this point, where looking at a year min.

I'm not sure if they have repositioned the adjuster or if it is easier to get to because of the ARB... maybe it sits a little further off the seat?? (although this isn't the purpose of it, it is to prevent rebound). I have a TF and honestly, I don't find it much harder than any other seat to adjust when rfing and with the continuous loop harness I find it is a little easier than seats without this.

Just wanted to say I agree with canadiangie... if I was buying seats today I wouldn't being going for Britax, their prices have gone up by a lot and I think there are lots of other seats on the market that are just as good :twocents:.

I called the Learning Curve to find out when the new True Fit would be out in Canada and was told January 2010:thumbsdown: I really wanted one too, but coulnd't wait for it.

pixels99 said:

ETA: The Boulevard and Marathon have the same shell height and same top harness position, meaning they will be outgrown by height at the same time. The Britax seats have shorter shells and top harness heights than the TF, meaning the TF will last longer by height. Kids often outgrow seats by height, not weight, so that is significant.

Click to expand...

The BLVD is outgrown by height about 1/2" sooner than the MA. The adjuster mechanism used to raise and lower the headrest eats up some of the harness space, so in effect the BLVD is only 16.5" and because kids seem to magically lose torso growth room in the Britax convertibles it would likely be outgrown even before then.

canmom said:

Hi. As far as the new TruFit goes, I don't think it is coming here until 2010... so I wouldn't hold out for it at this point, where looking at a year min.

Just wanted to say I agree with canadiangie... if I was buying seats today I wouldn't being going for Britax, their prices have gone up by a lot and I think there are lots of other seats on the market that are just as good :twocents:.

Click to expand...

I've been told by First Years that the True Fit with the ARF won't be available until January 2010.

I'm in agreement with Angie and canmom - I don't think (personally,) that the Britax seats are worth the money. 3yrs ago there wasn't much choice. Now there are a lot of good comparable options - some of which excel past the Britax convertibles. And unless there's a redesign of the seat, we're not going to see a 35lb rf'ing limit on the Britax convertibles either.

So far as the harness adjuster, how hard or easy it is to access really varies on the vehicle and how upright the seat is installed. In my truck it's easy when it's close to a 45* angle, and useable when it's more upright. I tried one in a Mazda3 sport yesterday and with how upright it would be (10 month old,) the adjuster was usable. In vehicles with super flat back seats though, it can be very difficult to access when the seat is more upright and that's where the continuous harness that somebody else described makes things easier.

Being out in Hinton I realize your options are more limited (assuming your friend is out there as well.) Is your friend planning to drive in to the city to try seats, or order online? If you can post what type of vehicle she drives then we may know if there are any compatibility issues to take in to consideration before she orders. :thumbsup:

Here's an interesting thread about the ARB TF:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=60147&highlight=TruFit+pictures

I know it's not coming here for at least a year, but it's a really neat thread to read IMO, and you can see some pics, etc.


What vehicle does your friend have?

Let me know if I can bring a seat with me when I come. Saves her a trip to the city, or paying shipping, or whatever.

Hi everyone,

Again, thanks so much for the help.

My friend has a Torrent. She lives in St. Albert, so can probably go to TRU to try out both seats (assuming TRU has the BB?).

Yes, TRU has the BV. They may only have the "click safe" edition though, which is $389 I think? Maybe $369? I dunno, but it's uber pricy, and most parents don't need an audible click to know when their child's harness is snug enough. (the idea is that you hear a click once the harness is snug enough.. but in real life we find that the seat sometimes clicks too soon [harness is still too loose], or provides too many clicks which confuses parents).

If she decides on the BV, then advise her to get the regular edition... it'll look the same but won't have that particular clicking feature.


And then her TRU should also have the TF on display. Let her know she can leave her DL at the counter and then try each seat in her vehicle before she buys.

Hey! since she's in St. Albert maybe she can go into Trudy's (snowbird25) TRU in Edmonton and shop there?? Possibly Trudy can go outside with her and oversee the install and give pointers. :thumbsup:

edit to add: duh, forgot to mention, Trudy works at a TRU.

canadiangie said:

Yes, TRU has the BV. They may only have the "click safe" edition though, which is $389 I think? Maybe $369? I dunno, but it's uber pricy, and most parents don't need an audible click to know when their child's harness is snug enough. (the idea is that you hear a click once the harness is snug enough.. but in real life we find that the seat sometimes clicks too soon [harness is still too loose], or provides too many clicks which confuses parents).

If she decides on the BV, then advise her to get the regular edition... it'll look the same but won't have that particular clicking feature.


And then her TRU should also have the TF on display. Let her know she can leave her DL at the counter and then try each seat in her vehicle before she buys.

Hey! since she's in St. Albert maybe she can go into Trudy's (snowbird25) TRU in Edmonton and shop there?? Possibly Trudy can go outside with her and oversee the install and give pointers. :thumbsup:

edit to add: duh, forgot to mention, Trudy works at a TRU.

Click to expand...

Hehe, yep, if she happens to come in on a night I'm working and I'm not having some crazy thing going on I often go out with customers to do a test fit in the vehicle. One of the employees always accompanies customers out when they try seats.

The west end store has the BLVD, BLVD Click'n Safe (which I agree, huge waste of $40 for a parent who is already properly tightening the harness,) and the True Fit in stock right now.

The click'n safe BLVD is up to $399 now, with the regular BLVD being $369. Crazy prices.

I'm just going to throw another vote in for the True Fit. I think it is the best way to go; excellent value for money. I cringe at all the people paying big bucks for BVs because of the Britax reputation; they lost all their appeal for me when they didn't come out with a 35 lb RF limit on their seats. I bought a Marathon last year because it seemed like the best option at the time, but I recently replaced it with a True Fit.

As previous posters have mentioned though, the best seat is the one that will be installed and used properly at all times. My only concern with the True Fit is that some people may not adjust the harness properly because of the access issue when RF. I can see people getting frustrated early on when getting used to the seat and deciding it is "tight enough" when it really isn't.

Other than the price and 30 lb RF limit for the BV, it is a nice seat. The only other thing I don't like about it is that it seems really hard to tell when it is outgrown by height RF. That big headrest makes it tough. At least for me so far.

Thanks Canadiangie and Snowbird. Do you work at the WestEnd store? I'll let her know to go check it out there!

krace said:

Thanks Canadiangie and Snowbird. Do you work at the WestEnd store? I'll let her know to go check it out there!

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm at the west end store. I'm usually in Friday and Saturday evenings. (5:30 to close)

Everyone's advices has been very helpful for me. I Googled this converstaion and have been reading the responses.

The only thing is that no one has talked about the car seat being used during accidents? Has anyone, or does anyone know, from experience how the TF holds up in a car crash?

I appriciate all of you for being honest about your experiences with the TF and the BLV/MA. You can't get info like this from the companies.

Hi, and welcome to c-s.org!

I will try and answer your question the best I can. All we know is that every seat on the Canadian market is safe because it is required to meet the Canadian standard of testing (CMVSS). The answer as to which seat holds up better, really isn't known.

There are a lot of factors at play in a collision (speed, point of impact etc) so every crash is different. What we do know is that a child's best line of defence in any collision is being rfing, so we advocate children rf as long as possible. The other important thing to mention is no matter what seat you have is that it is installed and used correctly. The best seats (which ever ones they are) aren't going to perform as intended if they aren't used correctly each and every time.

Not sure if this was part of your question, but I just thought I should mention car seats need to be replaced after any collision in most cases.