Britax info from the listserv

[Maedze]

I do fear the britax bubble effect, though. Or the "you can ONLY put your dear little sweetie pie in a britax" mantra being reborn.

Can't be reborn if it never died a proper death to begin with

 

[Athena]

Not really, they've had that tether for a couple years already, maybe since before the safestop? And in all seats for even kids heavier than 40 lbs FF.

Yes, the energy absorbing loops to extend the ride down time was added to their seats in 2007.

Bottom of page -
http://www.britaxusa.com/safety-center/superior-energy-management/energy-absorbing-versa-tether

I read their whole safety section last year.

 

[safeinthecar]

The only thing that is truly new/different is the SafeCell technology, the rest already exists on other seats like the radian. I am kind of disappointed, I expected more.

I don't get why you would be disappointed that they applied existing technology. The Radian was hardly new technology when it came out.

Low center of gravity to lower head excursion? The Futura was designed with a low center of gravity as a method of lowering head excusion enough to not require a tether.

Steel frame? One of the big marketing points of Fisher Price seats since the early 80's was that the steel frame made a stronger seat. Several Britax seats have had steel frames too. The King and the Expressway Isofit for example.

The V tether came from Britax.

Rip stitch/energy management webbing has been on seat belts for 10 years or more.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with putting proven technologies to work in new and interesting ways. All manufacturers do it.

I'd also like to let you guys know that there are several features of the new seats that haven't been released yet. What I saw was the pre-production info, so I'm not going to spill anything in-case it was dropped at the last minute, but I can assure you, these seats are not a copy-cat of the RN.

 

[InternationalMama]

So I watched the video and now I have a question:

Do you think that the lower center of gravity and safe cell technology do anything for the seat occupant when the seat is RF? Or are they only designed to help in the event of a crash where the seat is FF?

 

[Maedze]

It's pure speculation, but I imagine at least the lower center of gravity might lessen rotation in a rear facing accident...

 

[Evolily]

In physics a lower center of gravity increases stability and should decrease rotation, if all other things are the same. With car seats the problem is not all things are the same, and center of gravity is just one piece.

 

[WhatAboutPuppy]

Am I the only one the vid wont play for??

 

[Judi]

Yes

 

[WhatAboutPuppy]

Sucks.

 

[Judi]

You aren't missing much really.

 

[kidzndogz]

Not really, they've had that tether for a couple years already, maybe since before the safestop? And in all seats for even kids heavier than 40 lbs FF.

But anyway, if something's proven to work and not patented, might as well run with it. Radian copied the velcro on the harness thing, Graco copied the Starriser comfy with the Turbo, Radian has a steel frame, like, um, the 2000-genre Fisher Prices, nothing new with metal bars (FP probably copied them from the 1982 seats, lol), Radian copied the Versa-tether...

:yeahthat:

It's not even near a Radian copy because the Radian was not original. Nothing really is...everything is a copy of something else, plus some.

Personally I think it's a good thing that a manufacturer can take something that works, utilize it, and make it even better. How else will our seats improve?

Personally I'd take the ease of use/install of a Britax with those features over the PITA Radian any day unless I NEED those extra 5 lbs RFing. When SK owns up to the faults of their seats and actually acknowledges the requests of their customers, I'll think differently. Until then, kudos to ANY company that attempts to improve on their seats. And that includes a lot of companies, not just Britax. I've been irritated with Britax for awhile, but the fact that they listened and the proof is in the Frontier 85 and these new seats is a big improvement. I appreciate that and am excited about these seats, although the extension of the Britax bubble theory will suck.

 

[mum2two]

I like that the little girl looks to be 4 and is harnessed.

Would be nice to see the video showing a RF crash video too.

 

[Judi]

Well dang, whataboutpuppy, I recorded the video on my phone, but it is too big to send.

ETA: Oh! I think it is letting me email it to myself!

 

[cryswilkins]

I am happy that they are keeping the current price point with the new design. I will be interested to see what they look like and how the fit is in different vehicles.