Inbuilt locking clip on Britax seats VS locking clips

  • Thread starter childrestraintsafety
  • Start date
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childrestraintsafety

Guest
What do you think is best? I personally love the inbuilt locking clips in the Britax seats (we have the same thing in my country) BUT someone else said to me that they think they are not very good at all, just flimsy plastic, do these inbuilt locking clips and the metal 'H' locking clips actually DO anything in an accident? Or are they just to keep a more firm installation for normal travel?
 
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Jewels

Senior Community Member
I do not even know what a locking clip is or what it is for. So, I'll be waiting for the responses....

You would use a locking clip on a seat belt that doesn't lock. Often the shoulder belts don't lock in mini vans as well as in other vehicles. Most car seats (if not all) come with a locking clip that looks like a H and is usually on the back of the seat.

Britax seats have a built in locking clip to use after you have threaded the seat belt and have the seat in tight, then you can clip closed the locking clip.

Hope that helps

As for which one is better, I don't know. I have heard that the built in ones don't always work as well. The first time I used mine the seat belt locked and I just closed the clip anyway but forgot it was there; when I went to uninstall my seat and it took a minute to figure out why I couldn't get my seat out! It held the seat belt in there tight!
 

Morganthe

New member
After battling both the "H" shaped locking clip and the built-in locking clip from the Maxi-Cosi, I'll take the M-C anyday of the year! I didn't realize that Britax also had a lock-off attached to the carseat.

I think it's just as safe, in fact perhaps safer. The seat belt is always kept in the correct spot, no slipping. So when the car's belts automatically lock during sudden stops or an accident, there's no slippage or incorrect positioning.

I don't know if the Britax is exactly the same as the M-C. The child's seat is reclined, a lever is pulled open which opens a flat press where the lap part of the seat belt goes. Then in the space between the child's back and the seat frame back, you slip the entire car belt in and close the buckle. Everything is in the same position as if there was a person in that seat. Snug everything down, snap down the Internal lock-off clip. And then imo, the best happens -- when you pull the lever back into place, it automatically secures the entire connection by pushing the 'wide press' into the lap part of the car belt, so that carseat is tight in its spot. Imo, the locking clip doesn't really get much pressure on it. It just keeps the belt in the right spot. All this maybe takes 4-5 minutes to do the first time and quicker each successive time. It's easy.

With an "H" clip, there's a minimum and maximum distance from the buckle. Weak fingers need not apply. A pain to do if you have a long stalk to get it just right. It has to fit with the carseat -- not sitting on or against the edge of the car seat. It can take a lot of routing through over and over trying to get the belt tight or loose enough. To me, it needs to be as tight as humanly possible since it's only going through the bottom area of the car seat, if there's any give, the seat can tip forward. (It's a major reason that top tethers are so important, imo) The shoulder part of the seatbelt is nigh on useless because of where it's located. It goes up alongside the seat instead of across it.

There's basically one correct method to attach the H clip and countless ways that are incorrect.
I cringe remembering the rare times I asked my spouse to hook back up the Evenflo Triumph in his own car after he had removed it. No matter how often I showed him, gave him the written directions, walked him through the installation where he was doing it, he was extremely creative in finding ways that the H clip could not have a hope of working properly. It was a complete nightmare. Thankfully, I always stopped him before he drove off with our daughter in his car to check it out. He would be upset that I didn't trust him, but every single time, that car seat was dangerously loose or attached so horribly wrong, the carseat would have been ejected if there had been an accident and the door opened.

LATCH was invented to stop mistakes like my husband continually made with the H Clip. Too bad they can't be retrofited in the older cars we can afford to drive. :(
 

abacus2

Well-known member
My understanding is that locking clips are just pre-crash positioners, so as long as they hold the belt tight during normal use, they're doing their job. Clips are slightly less safe than built-ins as they might fly off during a crash. I love the Britax lock-off; they're way easier to use than locking clips. Britax: pull belt tight, close lock-off. Locking clips: pull belt tight, release buckle while holding belt in position, apply locking clip, fight to buckle an already tightened seat belt, start over if it's not tight enough.
 

Kellyr2

New member
H-clips and lockoffs hold the seat in place when the seatbelt doesn't lock. Without locking seatbelts, they're essential in order to get proper installation. I love built in lockoffs and think they're probably safer just due to the fact that they're much easier to use than the H-clip.
And the new lockoffs on infant seats are WAY easy to use. I haven't actually used the lockoffs on my marathon yet because I have it installed with LATCH. 8 more pounds, and I'll be using it.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
People just have the wrong perception of 'plastic' and 'flimsy' and don't generally understand how locking clips work.
Here's pictures of the old US Maxi Cosi seat and the Britax http://www.plomp.com/bravsmcp.htm
and here's a locking clip explanation page: http://www.carseatsite.com/lockingclips.htm

Locking clips are like paper clips, lockoffs are like binder clips: they both do the same thing, but one's a little easier to use, lol.

www.carseat.org has a great description of the functions of the lockoff device and locking clip under 'technical' on the left hand side of their homepage.
 
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childrestraintsafety

Guest
So, joolsplus2, in your personal opinion, they both do the SAME thing and both perform the same as each other in an accident (assuming of course both the lock off and metal 'H' clip are used correctly). And I needn't be worried about the 'lock off' in by Britax seat, yes? And they are just to keep the seat installed firmly during normal travel and tight JUST BEFORE you have an accident and not during, is that right?

*scratches head* hehehe :p
 

scatterbunny

New member
Yep, that's right (though I'm not Julie, LOL). Locking clips and built-in lockoffs are pre-crash positioners. The seatbelt will lock on its own in a crash; the lockoff or locking clip is only there to hold the carseat tight BEFORE THE CRASH, so the carseat is already tight when the belts lock on their own.
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
What is the general feeling of the new style ff lock off on the Britax seats???? At the moment, I'm not impressed. I'm thinking of calling Britax and complaining. I've only had my DCs in my car for a little over a week, and already there is thinning on the seat belt where the little ball on the lock off presses into the belt. Should I quit using the built in lock offs and switch to a locking clip??? I know Britax doesn't 'allow' this, but I don't want the lock off damaging my seat belt. My seat belts do lock, but, they will loosen in time...and I don't like that either.
 

Kleine hexe

New member
Yep, that's right (though I'm not Julie, LOL). Locking clips and built-in lockoffs are pre-crash positioners. The seatbelt will lock on its own in a crash; the lockoff or locking clip is only there to hold the carseat tight BEFORE THE CRASH, so the carseat is already tight when the belts lock on their own.

Thank you. That makes sense. This whole thread I'm thinking, "but seat belts lock...even the shoulder belt. That's what they are supposed to do." Now I see. The seat belt only locks under certain circumstances like sudden braking. So to keep the seat belt tight from normal everyday use that's the lock-off job. Light bulb moment.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I complained to them on behalf of other people at LAST year's Lifesavers conference, and they brushed me off, saying, so what, a dented belt from the lockoff doesn't have a rip in it, why complain?
If you are seriously disenchanted, try the 'flip the latchplate' trick from www.carseatsite.com (you have a van with lightweight locking latchplates, right? just give it a half-twist before you buckle it, and you won't ever want to use a locking clip again).
:)
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Riiiiiight. What's important is that the seat is sitting right there with the belt tightly through it, so as soon as the crash happens, the belt will lock at the retractor and hold the seat in place. You don't want it moving 6 inches or a foot before the retractor kicks in, otherwise bodies and heads go flying way too far out and can strike the doors or oncoming bumpers. If your retractor always stays tight (you know, when you pull the shoulderbelt all the way out and it pulls in tighter and tighter?), you don't need any kind of extra locking device (see www.carseat.org under 'technical' and 'lockability' for more :) )
 

KaysKidz

Senior Community Member
I complained to them on behalf of other people at LAST year's Lifesavers conference, and they brushed me off, saying, so what, a dented belt from the lockoff doesn't have a rip in it, why complain?
If you are seriously disenchanted, try the 'flip the latchplate' trick from www.carseatsite.com (you have a van with lightweight locking latchplates, right? just give it a half-twist before you buckle it, and you won't ever want to use a locking clip again).
:)

I'm guessing this is directed to me?? It's more then dented. If you hold it up to the window, you can actually see light coming through the seat belt where it is thinned from the lock off. And no, I don't have locking latchplates...I have a Suburban. The seat belt has the ratcheting mechanism that holds the shoulder belt tight...only I've had problems with it keeping it tight so I'm reluctant to rely soley on that.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Yeah, sorry, I should have/should be using quotes, lol.

Woooowwww.... I'd not be thrilled, either...with the seatbelts OR the lockoff! :eek:
Have you complained to Britax yet? Seen about getting replacement seatbelts? How loose do they get? :(
 
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childrestraintsafety

Guest
Ahhh thank you so much joolsplus2(but really 3 hehe)

That clears it up for me so much!! lol
 
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childrestraintsafety

Guest
Yep, that's right (though I'm not Julie, LOL). Locking clips and built-in lockoffs are pre-crash positioners. The seatbelt will lock on its own in a crash; the lockoff or locking clip is only there to hold the carseat tight BEFORE THE CRASH, so the carseat is already tight when the belts lock on their own.

And THANK YOU too!!!
 

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