Britax Marathon - Great, especially for taller infant/toddlers
Written: Dec 14 '06 (Updated Apr 21 '08)
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Pros: Easy to install and use, higher weight limit and harness slots than most other convertibles
Cons: Pricey, may not last to 65lbs, depending on the child
The Bottom Line: I totally recommend this seat, for ease of use and installation, as well as the higher harness slot heights.
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| drey72's Full Review: Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat - Colonial Bl... |
Updated 4/10/08 My son is now 5, and has finally outgrown the Marathon. We have replaced it with a Graco Nautilus, and a review will follow shortly. The Marathon will go to a family member for the remainder of its 6-year lifespan.
Updated 9/9/07! My Marathon has been installed in my Passat, center position, with the seatbelt, for over 3 months now. I LOVE the lockoffs, they're so easy to use! And my son is now 4.5, so I've used this seat for the past 4 years. Definitely worth the $$.
I bought my Marathon in 2003, when my then 6-month-old son outgrew his infant seat. I researched everywhere and settled on the Marathon, for it's higher weight limit. After all, my kid was in the 95th percentile for both height and weight, and who knows how he was going to grow...
Car Seat Summary
The Britax Marathon is a convertible child safety seat that is LATCH-equipped. The seat can be used rear-facing for children 5 to 33 pounds and forward-facing up to 65 pounds for children 18” – 49”. The Britax Marathon expires 6 years from the date of manufacture, unless it has been involved in a car accident. Follow Britax and NHTSA guidelines to determine if a car seat needs to be replaced after an accident. The seat is approved for aircraft use and comes with a 1-year warranty. It also has built-in lockoffs, to use with vehicles that do not have automatic locking seatbelts.
Installation
I have installed my Marathon in a 2002 Nissan Xterra (rear & forward-facing) outboard, 2004 Passat sedan (forward-facing) outboard, and an Acura CL (not sure what year, I think it was a 2003). All installations were with LATCH, which was only allowed outboard in these vehicles. I have been (& am) able to get good, really tight, installs in all vehicles using LATCH.
I LOVE the LATCH connectors. I have used car seats with LATCH connectors that killed my hands when trying to get them out, so the Britax ones are definitely valued here. You push them in towards the LATCH hooks, and they click when they're in. To remove, just push on the red "button", kinda like the seatbelt release. The LATCH harness straps are easy to release and tighten, and so is the tether strap. However, the tether strap is LONG (for tethering rear-facing), so don't lose the little rubber band that's wrapped around it, so you can keep it in some kind of order once you're done tightening the strap. :)
My son is now only 37 lbs, so I haven't tried installing with a seatbelt yet.
I did not tether while rear-facing in the Xterra, more due to not finding a suitable spot to tether to than anything else. If you are tethering your Marathon while rear-facing, you may have to use the included D-ring. The car-seat.org forum has very helpful instructions on how and where to tether rear-facing.
One more thing - when switching from rear to forward-facing, you must switch the LATCH connectors, so they're facing the correct way. Instructions are in the manual.
Usability
It is pretty easy to adjust the harness so there's no slack. To loosen, just pull up the lever (hidden behind the velcro flap at bottom of seat) and pull on the harness. I love that you can get at the lever even while rear-facing. I have not had any problems with the harness twisting, in the 3+ years I've used this seat.
One thing about Britaxes (I think it's with ALL Britaxes) that confuses parents, is that the buckle only clicks when BOTH clips are in place. However, I've noticed on mine that even though it doesn't click with the first clip in place, the clip is still "in" and doesn't come loose.
Harness Height Adjustment
The Marathon has 4 harness position heights. My son is now on the highest position (about 17"), with about 1" to grow before he's even with the harness slot and outgrows this seat height-wise.
To change from one harness slot to another, you have to uninstall the car seat and rethread the harness. This isn't very complicated, but you do have to loosen the harness first, to get the "T" connector in the back of the seat above the plate it's hiding behind.
Misc
The cover on my Marathon is a plush light blue. The cover is easy to remove for cleaning, and easy to put back on. There is also a round pad by the crotch buckle, to keep any hot parts away from the child's skin during hot summer months (I'm guessing here, since I lost mine almost right away!). I have on occasion stripped everything off the shell, to wipe off or shake off all the bits that car seats & children seem to attract. I have never had any problems putting things back together. Maybe because I take pictures of the take-apart so I have a reference for just-in-case! :)
My Marathon came with two manuals. One is connected by an elastic strap to the seat bottom, under the cover. The other is either behind the seat, or in a compartment in the base (I forget - I'll check & update this review). I LOVE that I can get at the elastic-attached manual while the seat is installed. The manual also has color photographs with the instructions, which I definitely prefer to the drawing-type pictures.
Some things that could have been better
1. Multiple positions for the crotch buckle. Good thing I haven't pinched my son's "package" yet!
2. Ability to wash & dry cover! I've been lucky in that I have another seat to use if I have to wash the cover. It is air-dry only, and takes a while. NOTE - do NOT wash the straps!
3. Put all warnings in manual at the front of the manual, organized by rear or forward-facing, LATCH or seatbelt install.
In conclusion, this is definitely my favorite seat so far in terms of ease of use and installation. I only wish my son wasn't so tall, so he'd last longer in it. Who knows, maybe it'll take him a while to grow that other 1". At any rate, I'm going carseat shopping again, as he's outgrown his borrowed Triumph.
Other car seats owned:
Graco Nautilus
Sunshine Kids Radian
Cosco Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 (expired, did not like)
Evenflo Triumph (outgrown)
infant seat (don't remember manufacturer, but it was Eddie Bauer branded & part of a travel system)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 180
Age Range of Child: Other
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Epinions.com ID:
drey72
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Member: Audrey
Location: WI
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
thirty-something, married, working mom, car seat fanatic, bookworm, loves games
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