RF MA vs SS1

jheimes · Aug 22, 2009

I got a used (previous owner took good care of, no accidents, harness never washed, still had manual and stickers, etc) MA this last week with 3 yrs left on it. My DS had almost outgrown (about 1/2" left until hits 1" mark) his SS1 but still needed the MA in the lowest harness slots. Now I see what everybody means when they say the MA is not a good seat for newborns. My son has a long torso and is almost 30" tall at 13 mos. I can't imagine an averaged torsoed newborn in this seat.

NannyMom · Aug 22, 2009

Just wondering if the harness is threaded properly. I've often seen the cover moved on the seat (though it doesn;t seem that way). The bottom slots of the cover are lined up with the 2nd from bottom slots in the seat. Is that how your Marathon is?

My 8 month old is on the bottom slots of the MA, and has a ton of room (4+ inches) above her head in the SS1.

thepeach80 · Aug 22, 2009

Ilana went straight to the 2nd set of slots in the MA when she outgrew her SS1. If I had them in the bottom slots it looked like she needed them b/c they pulled down so much on her shoulders. When I moved them up though, she was fine and her shoulders were right at the slots.

NicoleCPST · Aug 22, 2009

NannyMom said:
The bottom slots of the cover are lined up with the 2nd from bottom slots in the seat. Is that how your Marathon is? .

Do you mean that is is or isn't supposed to be this way? I'll have to pull mine out tommorrow, but I'm pretty sure that mine are lined up so the 2nd from bottom slots of the cover are on the 2nd from bottom slots on the shell. I have never seen or heard anything to tell me it should be otherwise. I sure hope I have it right!

crunchierthanthou · Aug 22, 2009

NicoleCPST said:
Do you mean that is is or isn't supposed to be this way? I'll have to pull mine out tommorrow, but I'm pretty sure that mine are lined up so the 2nd from bottom slots of the cover are on the 2nd from bottom slots on the shell. I have never seen or heard anything to tell me it should be otherwise. I sure hope I have it right!

ideally it shouldn't be that way, but the Britax convertible covers often shift. that can make it hard to judge accurately which slot the child needs. You need to make sure you check against the shell, not the cover.

OP, my son was right at the second slots when I moved him to a MA at age 2.5.

snowbird25ca · Aug 23, 2009

When my ds was using the top slots in the SS1 he was just slightly above the 2nd from bottom slots in the MA (and using the middle slots in the Radian.)

I agree with checking to make sure that the straps are through the same slots in both the cover and the shell, and that the height is being checked looking at the shell and not just where the cover is sitting.

NannyMom · Aug 23, 2009

NicoleCPST said:
Do you mean that is is or isn't supposed to be this way? I'll have to pull mine out tommorrow, but I'm pretty sure that mine are lined up so the 2nd from bottom slots of the cover are on the 2nd from bottom slots on the shell. I have never seen or heard anything to tell me it should be otherwise. I sure hope I have it right!

It isn't supposed to be that way, but I often see it. When I was changing covers on my MA when I first got it, it happened. And I often see it on the display models at the store.

The bottom slots on the cover should line up with the bottom slots in the seat.

::er!ca:: · Aug 23, 2009

My 14 month old is 31+ inches and still has a handwidth of shell above her head. About 4 inches total, 3 inches until it's outgrown. Your son's torso must be really long!

Here is Izzie (excuse the bed head, her hair is sticking up on top so she has more shell above her head than it looks)

She's still on the 2nd slot of the SS1, see how far above her shoulders the top slot is.

jheimes · Aug 23, 2009

DS still fits in his SS1. Okay this is weird . . . I brought in the SS1 to wash it last week and also measured how much growing room was left while it was inside uninstalled and only got about 1/4 to 1/2 inch until the 1 inch mark. So I thought he was almost outgrown it. Then when I put it back in the pickup the other day and put him in installed, he had more like an inch or more of grow room. I will go check the MA to make sure the holes are lining up with the shell. He is on the middle slots on the Radian and right at his shoulders.

NannyMom · Aug 23, 2009

jheimes said:
DS still fits in his SS1. Okay this is weird . . . I brought in the SS1 to wash it last week and also measured how much growing room was left while it was inside uninstalled and only got about 1/4 to 1/2 inch until the 1 inch mark. So I thought he was almost outgrown it. Then when I put it back in the pickup the other day and put him in installed, he had more like an inch or more of grow room. I will go check the MA to make sure the holes are lining up with the shell. He is on the middle slots on the Radian and right at his shoulders.

On the Radian.... do you mean the middle of the 5 slots, so he's on the 3rd? Or the middle of the 3 slanted, RF only slots, so he's on the 2nd from the bottom?

Did you try him in the seat with him buckled and tightened? Sometimes that can change the amount of room. So can the angle the seat is at

jheimes · Aug 24, 2009

I checked the MA and the slots are lined up. He is about a 1/2" above the lowest slot in the MA. He is still in the middle slot on the SS1 bc the top slot is still slightly above his shoulders. I wasn't able to use the top slot with my daughter in the SS1 bc (she must have either had a long neck or a big head . . . her head was up) once she was big enough to need the top slot her heading was brushing the inside lip of the foam shell. So is the 1 inch supposed to be 1 inch below the indentation/lip on the SS1 correct?
And yes he is barely at the middle of the 5 on the radian. My almost 4 yr old needs the harness in the same slots on the Radian in RF mode.
Thanks for all the help. I called Britax about the lockoff and they sd I could try taking the one off the other side and try it out, if it slipped open easily also they could send me a replacment for about $15

incld shipping.

RF MA vs SS1

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::er!ca::

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