Which Britax Convertible (and when)?

[Piglet]

DD2 is 7 months old and a little on the small side (below 50th percentile). She has loads of room left on her Graco Snugride 35. I am planning ahead and really like the new Britax seats (click-tight). So, which Britax should I get and should I get it sooner (so DD can use it now) or later (once DD outgrows the Graco)? It seems so awesome and easy to use! It is highly unlikely it would get passed down, so it just needs to work for DD.

[Snow mom]

I'd get the click tight Blvd if I was going to buy one. It has a higher RF height limit than the marathon. Personally I'd wait for at least a decent deal since you won't need it for a while (although you can switch sooner since you aren't worried about handing down and expirations). My tall DS still fit in his snugride35 at 18 months without issue. He probably still fits now at nearly 20 months since I just learned the proper way to determine whether they have 1" above their head.

[flashy09]

If she is on the small side, the Marathon click tight might be great for her. It's taller than the previous generation by a little bit. Britaxes get a bad rap for being short shelled, but my average almost 3 yr old will make it to 4 and she's in a G3. So the click tight Marathon should get you a long way.

The head wings are not reinforced with EPS foam in the Marathon. They are more head rests than actual SIP wings. That would be going to a Boulevard, which also offers a ton more height.

For smaller than average I would do the Marathon unless you really do want to rear face forever - like 4+ - or want the extra protection in the head area. The Britax shell is very deep so still a lot of SIP in the Marathon.

If you want the max SIP, the click tight Advocates are a lot less bulky than the the G3/G4 and are great for peace of mind if you have an outboard kid or a car with no airbags.

If it were me, I would buy now because it's safer to rear face at a more upright angle. Less downward rotation and forces on the neck in a frontal crash if you can install more upright than the 45 degrees of an infant seat.

[Piglet]

Thanks for the great answers! I might wait a bit to see if a sale comes along. They are SO new here in Canada that they haven't even landed on the shelves (just on pre-order right now). I really do like the idea of getting the smaller Marathon, since DH is tall and it is a tight fit right now with the Snugride when he drives. The convertible would be more upright, so it might not matter quite as much, but if I can get her RF to 3+, that would be all I would really want at this point. We have a new Odyssey, so airbags are not a problem. I also love the Cowmoo print on the Marathon Our first Britax was a cowmoo Marathon, so I have a soft spot for them!

Another question - what's a good car seat for the second car? It is a 2006 Sienna (yes, we are utterly uncool), so it has side curtain airbags. I plan to get a Scenera for the grandparents, but want to have something a bit nicer than that in the 2nd car.

[Piglet]

That's really helpful to know how long the Snugride lasts! Wow - that's a long time! How do you determine the 1"?

[Zukini]

If you are thinking to switch her, I don't see any reason why you should wait. Especially if the convenience of being able to click and go with the a bucket seat on the stroller is not a big deal.

We switched our 4-month old from his Cybex Aton bucket seat to the Britax CT Boulevard a couple weekends ago. He technically could still fit but was starting to look squished. Plus I couldn't carry him in the seat, it was getting way too heavy. But he's at 95th percentile for weight (19lbs) and 70th for height. I wanted the Advocate Clicktight for the increased Side Impact protection but didn't realize they were still just on pre-order. So we picked up a Boulevard at BRU using one of those 20% coupons they mail out occasionally. We will get the bulkier Advocate in the Winter as the primary seat, since seat width in the backseat won't matter too much now or in the long term (DS will be an only). We will then move the Boulevard to DH car / use it for travel as it is a teeny bit narrower (heavy seat, yes, but we travel to places with crazy driving so I will manage the bulk as a trade off for quick but solid belt installation in older / foreign vehicles that may not have Latch plus the added impact protection, of course).

So far, we like it! Baby is happy and comfy, he typically falls asleep but he also fell asleep quite happily in the Cybex as well. Installing was not difficult once we figured out how to prevent the seat from the slight but still annoying side tilt after Clicktight was engaged on the locked seatbelt. It doesn't take up a ton of space front to back but we also don't have it at the very deepest recline. We did have to disengage the partial driver seat slide when you start the ignition but I figure that would've been necessary with any rear facing convertible seat.

Diapers.com has sale pricing on the clicktight models right now. I don't see Britax listed as an excluded brand for their additional coupons so if you can find another 10% or 15% off that would probably make it a really sweet deal.

http://www.diapers.com/buy?s=britax%...t&viewheader=n

[trcy]

DD has ways been small/average size. We switched her from her snugride to her Blvd when she was about 1. She still fit in the snugride but I found a good deal on the Blvd on albeebaby.com. I agree with PP that you should wait for a good deal if all is good with what you have now. DD is almost 4 and still RF, though she is fast approaching the RF limits so we will turn her soon. For our second seat we have an evenflo symphony, we have been pretty happy with it, the latch instal was easy ( though not as easy as the click tight looks). When we turn that seat we will use the seat belt install (due to latch weight limits) so I am a little nervous about that.

[flashy09]

Thanks for the great answers! I might wait a bit to see if a sale comes along. They are SO new here in Canada that they haven't even landed on the shelves (just on pre-order right now). I really do like the idea of getting the smaller Marathon, since DH is tall and it is a tight fit right now with the Snugride when he drives. The convertible would be more upright, so it might not matter quite as much, but if I can get her RF to 3+, that would be all I would really want at this point. We have a new Odyssey, so airbags are not a problem. I also love the Cowmoo print on the Marathon Our first Britax was a cowmoo Marathon, so I have a soft spot for them!

Another question - what's a good car seat for the second car? It is a 2006 Sienna (yes, we are utterly uncool), so it has side curtain airbags. I plan to get a Scenera for the grandparents, but want to have something a bit nicer than that in the 2nd car.

Now for the Scenera, I would wait until January - the new Scenera and Apt coming out are really nice!

[Joolsplus2]

Boy, I never get off this board, belated congrats on the new kiddo!
I think my siggy has a pic of Leah right at the top edge of her SR35 at 19 months and 32+ inches and 23 pounds, you can see there's about an inch or two over her head. I would have died without getting her through a second winter in her seat since she didn't walk till 15 months and I had to park in the driveway (DH said she was too heavy to carry, but I was one determined mama bear, lol).
I'm becoming more and more certain that there will be a recall on the clicktights because the hip straps keep falling off their anchors, it's something that should be fixed before you get the seat in Canada. It's a delicious seat for a million other reasons, though.
Oh, look, it gets an A for fitting behind the front seats... sweet! http://carseatblog.com/22818/the-ult...-size-matters/

[Piglet]

Thanks Jools! We old-timers never seem to leave

I saw the A on the fit, which was one reason I liked it. Interesting about the hip straps. I imagine that is the problem with the first model of anything. I will wait a few months anyway, to get through winter. Unfortunately I won't be able to get a 2nd winter in the Snugride, since DD was born in March, but yeah, I totally want to use it through the winter and then probably get the Click-tight by the time she is 1. Of course, this is Canada, so snow can happen just about any month of the year...