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View Full Version : britax roundabout or evenflo medallion comfort touch?



gaby
07-11-2001, 08:41 AM
I don't know what to do. I had my heart all set on buying the best convertible car seat out there for my son, i.e. the Britax roundabout. So my hubbie and I went to Babies R Us to check it out. Here is the problem: my husband does not like it at all! In his opinion, the seat does not have sufficient padding and our son would not be comfortable in it. He saw the Evenflo Medallion V Comfort Touch (in leather!) and loves the padding and other features. Does anyone have an issue with the padding in the Roundabout? How do I convince my husband that the Britax is the way to go? Did anyone buy the Evenflo? The book gave the evenflo company a "D" rating, although the seat itself was listed as an ok seat.

I noticed that someone else bought the Evenflo a while back (I think in mail from February) and got feedback on that. I printed that out for my husband to read but he is still not convinced! -sigh-

It seems that he does not trust the baby bargains book anymore b/c we bought the Graco Snug Ride DX5 as recommended and it has virtually no padding and appears to be a bit uncomfortable for my son. We had to add a blanket in the bottom to make it softer.

I would appreciate any feedback.

thanks,
Gaby

tobymc
07-11-2001, 09:48 AM
I know what you mean about the padding on some seats. It is so thin that children just couldn't be very comfortable. My daughter convinced me to get her a new booster when she was 5 because the old one had a thin pad and hurt her back. My son (now 3) has never complained, but I still try to give him the most comfortable seating experiences I can.

So the first thing I'll do is compare the two seats, the leather cover Evenflo Medallion with the Britax Roundabout.

Evenflo has come out with a neat thing called Comfort Touch pads. They put pads inside the covers that are nice and comfortable for the child. They include these on a number of their seats. I think they are part of the leather cover, but I'm not sure. Under the cover, I think they include some "comfort foam" but if so, it is only in the head area, and maybe again in the butt area. My son's cranial-sacrial specialist didn't want him sitting on discontinous padding like that, even though it did make part of the seat more cushy. Also, make sure that the padding of the seat is thick and comfortable even after all the inserts are removed. One model of Medallion looked more cushy and comfortable than the Evenflo Horizon, but I realized that the Medallion had a thin cover with lots of extra, like a head pad, harness straps, and such. At that time, the Evenflo Horizon had no extras, but a thicker base pad. Under the pad, and the comfort foam, if any, the Evenflo seats are moulded plastic.

Britax does not have a leather cover for the Roundabout. They have covers in denim, cotton-poly blend, and in a sort of plush material. In my experience (I've got three of their covers) they are nice and thick, they come on and off easily, and they wash well. Under the cover, the RA comes with a full sheet of comfort foam, all the way from the child's head to knees. Between the two of these things, this is functionally one the most padded seats out there. Fairly picky children seem to like the padding.

Under the cover and comfort foam, Britax has also added a layer of eps foam. This is bike helmet foam, which absorbs energy in a crash. No studies on its effectiveness, but I'd certainly rather my child's body hit a foam that absorbs energy and deforms rather than go right to the moulded plastic.

I should make it clear at this point that either the Medallion or the Roundabout is a safe and excellent choice of a seat, provided that it properly fits your child, fits tightly in your car, and is easy for you to use correctly every time.

In my opinion, if you are going to spend $200 for either one, you'll be getting a MUCH better deal with the RA.

The Medallion is a fine, middle priced seat. It's down sides are that it has a largish base, but it still usually fits in cars. It only has two harness slots, so it may not fit tiny babies very well. Other than the leather seat, and Evenflo's advertising, it doesn't have much else to recommend it.

The Roundabout, on the other hand, gives you a lot more than the middle priced seats. It has a sculpted base that tends to fit very well. It has three harness slots that are all reinforced for forward facing or rear facing use. It can be tethered rear facing for additional stability. It has no-twist straps. The harness adjuster works very easily, always. It has those fun and comfortable pads that have elastic around the edges to make them easy to remove, wash, and reinstall. And the comfort foam. And the eps foam. It has a belly pad to protect your child from the buckle. It has a two piece harness retainer clip.

So on every comparison point except the leather cover, the RA looks better to me. I've never owned the Medallion, but I do have a Horizon, which is very similar (though thicker cover). And I have a RA. I find the RA a much nicer seat and much easier to use. Again, not to say that the Medallion can't be a safe seat assuming that it does fit your child and your car and you can keep the straps flat and tight. But the RA will be easier to use than that, almost for sure.

As a side note, it is important that you remove all the extra padding in your Graco Snugride, if it is under your child's back, or butt. This padding was not tested for this seat, and could adversly change how your child rides in the seat. You want the crash test dummies to do the job of testing new things, not your own child. It sounds like you are about to move on to another seat, but do make sure you take it out before passing the infant seat along to another child. I did this when my son was a baby, and later learned that it was a no-no.

I hope this helps.

Toby, CPS tech

alandenisefields
07-11-2001, 12:36 PM
Toby: Thanks so much for those detailed comments and for your participation on this board!

Alan & Denise Fields, Authors
BABY BARGAINS

gaby
07-11-2001, 12:57 PM
Toby, thank you VERY much for your comments! It is much appreciated.

Gaby

gaby
07-12-2001, 10:32 AM
Toby,

I am happy to report that your detailed comments have convinced my husband to get the Britax RA. He went to take another look at the seat today and tried it out some more and agrees with you. Thanks so much!! Can you tell me where you found additional Britax seat covers?

thanks in advance,
Gaby

tobymc
07-12-2001, 03:29 PM
I'm glad my comments helped.

Stores like Babies R Us usually only carry a couple Britax cover patterns, like Cool Blues and Burgendy Check. Some baby specialty stores carry choices like Big Cat or Sandstone. For the rest, you'll probably have to order the seat on-line. A day or two ago, I posted a survey I did of different places you can order the seat. Most had a pretty good selection. I was looking for the cowmooflauge for my neighbor.

Also, additional covers are available directly from Britax. However, they cost $38 each, except for the Burgendy Check which is on sale for $20. So if you want a different cover, you probably want to just order it in the first place. I do have two covers and I thought it would be nice to have a spare while I was washing one. I usually find, though, that I can just wash the cover, and dry it on the line in less than a day, and put it back on.

Enjoy your new seat!

Toby

mom@home
07-13-2001, 07:29 AM
You can also find Britax covers on BabyUniverse.com and in the Right Start Store. Baby Universe is a fantastic website to deal with - I ordered my Britax RA from them (free shipping, no tax) and it arrived in 4 days time. It really is a wonderful seat and my daughter seems very comfy in it. Good luck!