Britax Marathon or Decathalon?

My 5 month old has reached the height limit in her infant seat and is currently in her brothers Saftey First Intera and he (2yrs) is in a Cosco (not sure of the name we are borrowing it). After doing some research I have decided to buy both of my children new seats instead of keeping her in the Intera and putting my son in a booster which I was not comfortable with anyway, I want him in a harness as long as possible and with the Britax seats so far out of my price range I didn't think I could afford them. Thank goodness for tax returns. I will be purchasing a Regent for my son but I am undecided on which to get for my daughter. So to my Question...

What are the diffrences between the Marathon and Decathon? I know the Decathon has the extra padding but are the any other diffrences?

What are your opinion of those two seats if you have delt with both?

and, How large are they. I know the regent is very large but how do the other two compare? I drive a 98 Dadge Stratuss.

Sorry - I think your post got buried. I'll try to answer as best I can, but at worst, hopefully it will bump up your post for others... There are some differences in the way the harness adjusts for the Marathon and the DC. The DC uses a push button release, while the MA has a lever. I haven't used the DC, so I defer to others. My understanding, however, is that a lot of the benefit of the extra padding is lost if you are not using it with a newborn. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong. Some people have had problems tightening the harness on the DC as well.

How big is your 2 year old? The Regent is a relatively large seat and might be overkill depending on the size of your child. Does your daughter fit well in the Intera? It might make sense to buy your son a MA now, and let your daughter continue to use the Intera. Then, when she outgrows the Intera, you can buy him a Regent and pass down the MA.

The Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe is another option if cost is an issue. It's made by Britax, with the same shell as the MA or DC, but without some of the "bells and whistles."

HTH!

the DCis the only britax seat I don't have, but here's my .02
You can't go wrong with either the MA or DC and I'm not sure the DC is worth the extra $. I do like the push button on the DC over the lever on the MA but in the grand scheme of things it's not huge. If you were going to put your son in the convertible I might go for the DC because it has the extra between the legs harness strap slot to make more room for their 'privates'. We haven't yet had that issue with our 3.5 yr old but I have heard of others who have complained around age 4+. With the MA having so many great covers, I would go with that, unless you want the side impact protection of the Boulevard especially if your car doesn't have rear side curtain airbags.
The regent is a great seat and your son could use it the full 6 years. I don't remember if it has a lower weight limit.
As to size, the MA etc are no where near the size of the Regent and are portable for air travel. The Regent is way too big to travel with, so maybe a cheapie Scenera would be a good second seat to have for him to travel with.
Have fun buying.

I LOVE the Marathon...can't say enough good things...no complaints what-so-ever! It's the most basic of the 65 lb. Britax's and the least expensive, but my experience with it has been nothing but good!

The Decathlon...right now, I hate, to be perfectly honest. I bought it because I found a good sale and figured why not and I am kicking myself now! It would not tighten when my son was buckled into to it. It would get to a certain point and then it would not move at all no matter how hard I pulled or in what way. Britax paid for the return shipping and they are testing it and are either going to repair or replace it...I should know early next week.

So I recommend the Marathon!

It really depends on whether you get a DC without harness issues. I just got mine a few weeks ago (DOM May 2006). The harness is smooth as butter and therefore, I love the seat. I am very happy with the adjustable crotch strap and the push button. I bought the DC over the MA because I just knew if I went with the MA, my LO would figure out how to lift the adjuster and get out. Not all that common but I know my luck...ha ha. I love the DC but then again, I am using the infant pillows with a 4 month old. Good luck.

I have both and prefer the Marathon to the Decathlon. I have a Marathon for my 3 year old, and when my 17 month old needed to move up to a convertible I decided to go with the Decathlon. She was 7 or 8 months old (tiny baby!). I remembered my older daughter seemed really tiny in the Marathon when she started using it (but she was only 4 months) so I thought the extra padding would be nice. Hah! We only used it for a month or so.

The DC is harder to tighten but not much more than my other daughter's MA - but that one has always been harder to tighten than other MA's I have tried.

My 3 year old hasn't figured out how to release the harness tightness lever in her MA so that hasn't been an issue.

I find it MUCH easier to install the MA than the DC with LATCH. The DC has a single strap that goes through the carseat base much like a seatbelt would. The MA LATCH tighten on each side independently and I can get a much tighter install with it that way.

I just bought two new carseats for our second car that will be delivered on Monday - and I went with two MAs. I'd move the DC to the car that doesn't transport kids as often but it is DH's car and the DC in the Tiffany print. VERY girly so I don't think he'd be so thrilled with that! LOL

Thank you for the responses. I am still undecided. I was really considering the decathalon for the padding and adjustable crotch strap. That is the one feature of the Intera that I do like! But it sounds like most of you stopped using the padding shortly anyway. And as for keeping the baby in the Intera I have never really liked that seat anyway my hubby was the one who really wanted it since it was suposed to "grow" with them but after seeing what kind of booster it is I refuse to use it.

I think a Regent is going to be the best for our money foy my son. He turned 2 in August and is 35.5# and 39inches. And on top of me not liking the intera it is the worst rear facing seat! And just so you all know my little girl is 5 months 16# 15oz and 26.5inches. Thanks in advance!!