A couple of months ago, a friend and fellow mom sent me a link to a You Tube video about Kyle Miller. Sadly, Kyle was killed in a car accident when the seatbelt that was supposed to secure his booster seat failed, ejecting him from the vehicle. The message of the video was to keep your child in a five-point harness car seat as long as possible. Fortunately, there are a few car seats that allow the five-point harness up to 65, even 80 pounds. The car seat that my husband and I chose was the Britax Marathon™. (Britax also offers the Regent™, which is highlighted in Kyle’s video, however it was too large for our sedan’s backseat and due to the video’s popularity, virtually impossible to find.) The Marathon has been a wonderful investment in our daughter Kari’s safety and provides comfort and convenience at the same time. Read on to see if the Britax Marathon is the next carseat for you and your little one.
The Britax Marathon is a bit pricey (here in New York, we paid about $270 plus tax) but with all the safety features it has, we found the peace of mind well worth it. It features the ability to strap it in with seatbelts, but also with the LATCH system, which hooks the seat right into your car’s frame. This was the method that we chose, since our vehicle can accommodate this feature. The seat also features side impact reinforcing bars that most car seats do not have. The Marathon also features the Versa-Tether ™ strap that further ensures that your seat will be held in place, and the tether strap is long enough to reach over minivan and SUV seats to get to the LATCH attachment.
In the name of comfort, the Britax is hard to beat. Kari’s first forward-facing carseat had a deep seat which ended about mid-calve. The Britax seat has a shorter base which allows her knees to bend and her feet to rest on the edge of the backseat. The Marathon also has a “belly pad” which protects your little one’s belly from the buckle between her legs and keeps the intersection of the straps from digging in. Most important in the comfort department is that the Marathon has 4 shoulder strap heights. This was the reason that we needed a new carseat in the first place as Kari is tall and the highest shoulder slots in the old one were below her shoulders. The Marathon has height adjustments that go nearly to the top of the seat, so I know that Kari has a lot of room to grow.
The Marathon offers a lot of convenient extras as well. The one that I like the most is the little Velcro attachments that keep the harness straps to the side while you are putting your child in the seat. It helps not having to dig around under your child to find the belts! Another convenient aspect of the harness is that it does not tangle. I do not know how they managed that one, but it is a lifesaver! The straps are easily adjustable and there is a one-pull strap to tighten the harness once your child is buckled in. If you purchase the Marathon for a newborn, there is also a one-handed recline feature. This seat is also approved for airline travel, has many different cover styles and colors that are easy to remove and are machine washable…all features that a busy parent will appreciate!
Which all brings me to my one gripe (besides the hefty price tag): there is no cup holder. Something so simple, yet for $270 I would think would be included. And what is worse is that I can’t seem to locate any for sale online. It’s not the end of the world, and Kari has figured out that she can hold her sippy cup between her knees…but for $270 should she have to? That’s it; that is my only complaint about this wonderful seat. All of the positives definitely outweigh the negative about the Britax Marathon. If you have a larger vehicle that can accommodate the Regent model, it’s even better. It allows the five-point harness up to 80 pounds.
If you are nearing the stage for a forward-facing seat, check out Britax. I also recommend watching Kyle’s video on You Tube, just search “Five-point Harness.” Have a couple of tissues handy and see why the higher weight limits offered by Britax are so very important.
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