Am I the only person that doesn't like Britax seats?

[shibababy]

I am a firm believer of bringing the baby to test out new products, whenever possible. I put my 7mth old foster daughter into a Roundabout and a Marathon and she looked so uncomfortable,and seemed way too big for the seat. Then I placed her in a Triumph and she seemed to say "Ahhh, that feels good". Maybe, i'm not putting her in the britax correctly or adjusting the padding or something, but it DID NOT seem at all like the Britax was a good fit for her body. I research EVERYTHING (i'm that person with the 30 library books in my arms), so I know about the safety ratings, but Britax isn't working for me. Am i the only one?

[Rachels]

Well, I love the Britax, but the best seat is the one that fits your child best. If the Evenflo is more comfortable for her, it's a better choice!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[babe1201]

Be careful! The Triumph IS very cushy and comfy, but it definitely has its drawbacks. DH and I bought a Triumph for one car and a RA for the other. After a couple of months of day-to-day use, we loved the RA and hated the Triumph. The Triumph's straps kept twisting while the RA's did not. Because of the way the Triumph's straps are designed, it was much harder to adjust them correctly, and even to have them at the same height on both sides, than with the RA. The Triumph was much more difficult to adjust when DS wore a jacket. When I'd turn the knob to release the straps on the Triumph, one side would release and the other wouldn't. The Triumph's chest clip would often get stuck and it would take several tries to release it. It took much longer to get DS seated and secured into the Triumph than the RA, and this became an important difference as the weather got colder. And don't underestimate the usefulness of the Velcro strap holders on the RA. I thought this was a small nicety, not a necessity, but you would be surprised how helpful it is! The only advantage of the Triumph is that I think it has a better design for its crotch strap and belly pad than the RA has. But I definitely think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The RA is just simpler to use every day. And, as Toby says, if a seat is simple to use, we are more likely to use it correctly every time. After about 3 months, I gave up and exchanged the Triumph for another RA. I must say that BRU was wonderful about the exchange. I didn't have the receipt, but they asked no questions and gladly gave us store credit for the current price of the Triumph. I highly recommend you try the RA again and avoid the Triumph!

[navars2]

We had a similar experience with the britax vs. the Triumph. We ended up with the Triumph and have been using it for four months now. My daugther loves it. We were even in a car accident with it (we have to use our backup seat while getting it replaced) and she didn't even make a peep...it kept her quite safe.

I will admit that the memory straps can be a bit of a pain to use on occasion but, when they work, they're very nice. What I usually do is loosen up the straps, put her in, buckle the straps, pull the top portion of each shoulder tight and then ratchet the straps tight. After the initial learning curve, I've gotten just as quick at this as at anything else.

As with anything else, I guess you just have to figure out what is best for you.

Susan.