Which would you buy as a gift?

Rosey · Jun 20, 2009

I want to buy a carseat for some good friends of ours. The max budget is $200--would rather spend less than $175. They are having a girl due in October. They are not carseat informed people, and really don't seem to want to be. They just want me to decide what to get them.

So I am between the True Fit at amazon for $150 or the Roundabout 50 for $169 (in shopping and deals) or springing for a Marathon.

The couple is really on the rocks right now, so I forsee them having to transfer the carseat between cars a lot. They live in Staten Island, NY and she visits her family in Maryland a lot-so it has to be city and travel friendly. Both of their cars have LATCH.

I like the true fit for the infant cushion, but believe Britax is the easiest install of anything on the market. If you think I should buy Britax, which one?

TerisBoys · Jun 20, 2009

How about $179 for an Ashley Floral Marathon from Albeebaby?

http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-convertible-car-seat-in-ashley-floral.html

My one concern is that the Marathon doesn't fit newborns very well - will they have an infant seat to start?

Patriot201 · Jun 20, 2009

Since the Marathon (and maybe the Roundabout 50) doesn't fit itty-bitties well, I would be cautious regarding that one for a newborn.

I would go with the TrueFit. I love that seat.

Which city do they spend a lot of time in? Staten Island, NY is not really very city-like. It is more like a cross between a city and a suburb.

Is the family in MD in a major city? Does the family own cars in NY?

Rosey · Jun 20, 2009

Thanks for the quick replies. They will be using a bucket seat mostly since it will be winter when she is itty bitty. They live on staten island, but he commutes to the city to work in finance and she works in Brooklyn. The family is in Baltimore they have at least one car. The couple has two cars, but he drives to work and she takes the train so if they stay together, he will be dropping the child at daycare probably locally. If they don't stay together she will move back to Maryland and there will be a four hour drive or 45 minute flight between the households.

They do spent quite a bit of time in the city-at least pre-kids. They think they will be there a lot after the baby but I'm not sure they are totally realistic right now. She flys a lot for work too.

That's a good price for a Marathon. Would you get a MA over the RA50?

andre149 · Jun 20, 2009

Personally, I would go with the MA over the RA50 for two reasons. The first is the 15lb weight difference... granted, most kids don't get to 65lbs in the MA, but I would rather have that leeway if dealing with a short, heavier child than having to put them in a booster because they'd outgrown the 50lb seat. (Holy run-on sentence lol). Secondly... the seatbelt lockoff's on the MA are great, and from what I've hear the RA50 doesn't have these. These have been lifesavers when getting my MA installed RF (my dad's vehicle was a total PITA even for a Britax).

If they have an infant bucket and you can get the Britax for cheaper than the TF I'd go for it. They're really easy to install, and while no car seat is fool proof, these are about as close as you can get

Which would you buy as a gift?

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