Latch vs. nonlatch Britax Roundabout

[nicksmom]

Hi! About two months ago, I bought a Britax RA non-latch for $139+tax. At that time, I thought it was a great deal! However, we are going to be getting a new Passat which will of course be Latch-equipped. I have not used the carseat yet and is now wondering if I should return it and get one with latch. But the RA was such a good deal! In terms of safety, how much difference does the latch make? We also have a non-latch equipped CRV which we will probably keep for about one year. So, even if we sprang for the latch model, we will not be able to utilize it in the CRV. BTW, our 2000 CRV is tether-equipped after I made a big fuss and the dealer agreed to install the hooks for free. Our little guy needs to be out of the infant seat soon and so I need to decide. Any help will be much appreciated.
Kellie

[JMarie]

We ran into a similar issue with our 2003 Civic, which has LATCH, but only in the two outboard positions. Our CPS tech (Joan at Provena St. Joseph's Hospital in Elgin, Illinois - she is just WONDERFUL!) tried to install our Graco SnugRide in the middle using the LATCH anchors, but the hooks were about an inch too far apart on each side (some cars can use the outer LATCH anchors for the middle seat). Then she tried to install the base with just the seatbelt and we got a perfect fit - no need for noodles or anything to get the right angle. She said in our car, we probably won't use the LATCH until we have more than one child, and since we got such a great fit in the car with the seatbelt, it is just as safe. I would say if you are able to get a really good fit using just the seatbelt, then keep the non-LATCH RA. We already picked ours up for when Aidan will need it, and that won't be for at least six months! HTH!

JMarie
Mom to Aidan Christopher 01/28/03

[zen_bliss]

a little secret -- you can buy LATCH conversion kits -- which at about $20 is way less than another $239 roundabout!

call brian at www.travelingtikes.com -- he's the one who recommended getting the rightstart $139 seat while i can and buying a kit later if i need it!

[Momof3Labs]

I thought that Britax was not making a LATCH conversion kit - has this changed?

You cannot use another company's LATCH conversion kit with your Roundabout. They haven't been crash tested together, and why make your child the crash test dummy? It bugs me that someone who should know better is recommending this to people!

Be VERY careful with latch kits. You MUST have the proper brand kit to match your seat. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that the latch system will work properly.

The difficulty with this is that there ISN'T a Britax latch kit. All the other brands have them, but not Britax (as far as I know, at least). So with your Britax, you are stuck using the non-latch seat you've got, or getting a new seat (and selling the old one?).

I should probably e-mail Brian (nice guy, I've met him) becuase it sounds like he's recommending you use the Cosco latch retrofit kit. That is the only kit that costs $20. The Evenflo and Century/Graco kits cost $25 or so.

Now, why again is it a problem to use a Cosco kit with a Britax seat? They all do the same thing, right?

Well, no. Each kit has its own kind of webbing and buckles and so on. For example, the Cosco kit uses Cosco type webbing, which is a different material than the webbing on the Britax seats. It has two clips, the same type that most top tether anchors have, and one adjuster pull. The Britax seats (no kit) have two clips of a different variety, and two adjuster pulls, one on either side. Experts have suggested that the two adjuster kinds are safer, since slack can't be left on one side.

These differences may seem small, but I figure that if the Cosco or Evenflo kit worked on the Britax seats, they modify it to look very slightly different and start marketing the kit. They know that there is a huge demand for a kit. But they haven't.

So if Britax says that they can't make a kit up to their safety standards, then I'm not going to risk my child to a cobbled together combination that hasn't been crash tested with dummies.

I hope you won't either.

If your Britax RA is still new in box, you shouldn't have any trouble selling it for what you paid via ebay. Then you can buy a RA or Marathon with latch or something cheaper if that's what you'd prefer.