Britax Marathon or Cosco Touriva - I am in Canada!?

[Piglet]

We have a pretty skimpy selection of car seats to choose from here, and I need a second convertible for DS2. He is currently slated to take over DS1's FP Safe Embrace. I need a car seat to be transferred between cars on occasion (between DH's car, and both sets of grandparents). It needs to be easy to install and ideally, should be narrow, as we need to fit a passenger in back sometimes too. I can make the FP the designated "transfer" car seat if it is easier to install as well. Here is the catch - the Marathon is the only Britax car seat available in Canada, and it costs 3 times more than the Cosco Touriva. So, a part of me says - is it 3 times better? The Cosco is RF to 35 lbs and the Britax goes to 33. The Cosco is FF to 40 lbs and the Britax is to 48 in Canada. I have a FF harnessed seat (Evenflo Vision) that goes to 48, I think. I want my son to be safe and would obviously spend the money if I felt that the Cosco was unsafe, but I am not convinced that the convenience of Britax is with $350 CDN.

Thanks,

[hipmaman]

Personally, I like the MA but I won't spout why it's better than others, blah blah blah since you know all about it by now. What I would suggest doing is to try both Touriva and MA out. Compare between the two and to the FPSE and see what you think.

Ultimately, all carseats meet minimum safety requirements, so it would not be correct to say the Touriva is unsafe, kwim? The biggest deciding factor for most people, I think, is how easy and comfortable the MA over most other carseats. But then again, that is very personal and everyone has different views too.

[bubbaray]

I'm not familiar with the Cosco seat, but we LOVE our MA. We also have a Graco ComfortSport which is a fine seat to, but honestly, even my DH commented tonight that he can tell the MA is a better quality seat. It is super easy to install, and has a really quality feel to it.

Is it safer? Probably not -- I agree with Tam that all seats that meet the Canadian safety tests are safe to use. Is it easier to use? I think so and so does my DH. The weight limits up here bite when you think that the exact same seat is good to 60lbs when you step foot over the border. Oh well.

Melissa


Maya Papaya!
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