is there really a difference..

[breezy4]

according to consumer reports-- the evenflo triump is a great carseat-- for 100. less than a britax is there really a difference . I have twins 8 mo. old and they are growing out of therir carriers soon-- now sure what to do.

[daniele_ut]

There are big differences in how long you will be able to use a Britax seat vs a Triumph. The Triumph really is a great seat, and it is very safe, but it has low top slots and one of the lowest seatbacks on the market, so kids frequently outgrow it by the age of 2. A good friend of mine completely loved her Triumph until her 22 month old who is average height just grew to tall for it last week. She replaced it with a Boulevard and wishes she had just saved her money on the Triumph and bought the Boulevard first. If you choose, the Triumph, you can count on the fact that you will be buying another harnessed seat before your child is ready for a booster. When I did the math in my head, it made more sense to me to shell out $200 up front for a Marathon, which I could use rear facing much longer than most seats.

If money is an issue, you can look at the Cosco Scenara for a decent 40lb limit convertible seat. While not fancy at all, it have high top slots, and it is relatively easy to install. It is also lightweight and great for travel, while the Triumph is quite heavy.

[karenisky]

I am new to this forum so if this question is a repeat then I apologize in advance. I tried to weed thru some recent forums to determine what is the best carseat. After reading, it appeared that everyone loved the Marathon.
I too have wondered what the big differences are between Britax, Triump or Graco. I looked online at consumer reports.org and the Britax Marathon didn't score as well as the Britax Roundabout. I was hoping to look at the ratings w/ BB but I can't seem to find my book. Since my husband and I travel out of town quite a bit, we both wanted to get 2 car seats that are safe (but that won't break us either!). Actually my husband would rather spend the money upfront and get one good carseat. I was looking at getting a Graco ComfortSport or a Triumph 5. Of those 2 car seats, which one would be best to get, if any? Or should we just break down and get the Marathon (even though it didn't score as well). The one concern I do have w/ the Britax is the size. Since my husband has an older Honda Accord, I heard/read that the Marathon would not fit well in the middle of the backseat.
Any advice or thoughts would be helpful.

[kellyotn]

The comfortsport apparently has very low slots and will be outgrown very early compared to other comparable (40 lb) seats.

Do a search for CR and Consumer Reports. You'll see that they aren't the end all be all for the techs here. CR rates things based on some secret formula, which appears to heavily include cost. So, a more expensive thing is always going to rate lower, just because it IS more expensive. I'd rather they left that out and let the buyer decide what things are "worth" to them w/o regard to cost. (ie, you could just look up The Best Seat, or The Best Seat that isn't over $100, etc.)

A Marathon (or other big Britax) will likely last until a child is 5-6 and should be then ready for a very inexpensive booster-only type seat.

A 40 lb / shorter seat will last until a child is 3-4. My three year old DD outgrew her seat in DH's truck, a Fisher Price Safe Embrace (no longer made, but awesome) at around 3 years. We moved her into a Cosco Scenera (that I traded the FP for it with my sister) and it bought a bit more time, but now at 3.5, it seems to nearing its end too. So, I'm at a loss. She's too young for a booster. Nearing too heavy for a combo booster's harness (she's 36-37 lbs, I can't justify a Graco Cargo, etc). I think I'll end up just moving the MA back and forth, or putting my younger son into the smaller seats and DD in an MA in each vehicle. (Though I'm sad to break up the cute CowMoo's!)

The Triumph is nice, but a friend I know had to move her smallish son out of it before he was two. He still technically fit, but she said he was very cramped in the shoulders. (Odd, because it looks so wide!)

Bang for the buck, cost per year, a Marathon really is a good deal. ;) A search should also bring up several techs commenting on the LATCH MA issue.

The most often recommened low cost seat is the Cosco Scenera 5 point. Its nice and tall and will last a lot longer than a ComfortSport or a Triumph.

HTH

[o_mom]

First off, ignore Consumer Reports - they do not publish their testing procedures and do not give any information on what the actual ratings mean - How is a solid circle different than a circle with dot? They also pick and choose oddly what seats to test - some of the seats in their tests are the exact same seats sold under different names.

The low rating on the Marathon was basically a finding that on a test bench (unlike your car which has front seats) with the seat reclined the maximum with the maximum weight dummy, it rotated a few degrees beyond acceptable. However, the dummy was still fully contained in the seat.

If you want to only buy one carseat before going to a booster, the Marathon, Decathalon and Boulevard are the way to go. The ComfortSport and Triumph will be outgrown as early as 2 years and certainly before 4 years/40 lbs. My own DS, who is 15 percentile in height was too tall for the ComfortSport at 24 months. I know others who are very sad when their DC outgrows the Triumph at 22 months.

As far as size, the tech who install seats will tell you that a Marathon will not take up any more space than an infant seat. Center installs in some cars are difficult at best, and it is usually the car that is the problem, not the seat. The MA will be easier to install that either of the others you mention.

HTH!

[momtoB]

I agree with Danielle_UT completely. Between the MA and the Triumph, the MA will last you much longer. I also second the the recommendation for the Scenera if the MA is out of your price range. The top slots on this car seat aren't higher than the Triumph's but the seat costs about $100 less than the Triumph $200+ less than the MA. It does have a nice high back and most kids will last until they're 3 or so in this seat. It's lightweight and easy to install & use (we use it for travel and in Grandma's car). You'll certainly get your money of out of it. Also, I'm not sure about the Evenflo seats, but the Cosco seats all rear-face to 35lbs which is a bonus if you want to extend rear-facing past 1yr & 20lbs (which is recommended by the AAP and NHTSA). The Britax seats, which are very good seats, have a 33lbs rear-facing limit for some reason.

I have read that the Graco Comfortsport has some of the lowest top slots and is typically outgrown by most kids well before they reach the 40lbs weight limit and are old enough to be in a BPB (which is 4yrs minimum).

This is the site that has the car seat measurements:
http://www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html
If you click on Database at the top you can see how seats will fit in your car (database built by parents who have reported how car seats fit their cars). hth.

[CPSDarren]

I agree. There are differences in the seats, but these are best observed in person or with comments from others that have experience with these models. Be vary wary about using Consumer Reports as your only source or main source of carseat information-

http://www.car-safety.org/guide.html#cr


Darren
www.seatcheck.net

[kijip]

For all those concerned about the size of the Marathon--the Evenflo Triumph is just as big when RF and it is really heavy. But since it is shorter in the seat back than the Marathon, some kids outgrow it super young.

[eliseeller]

Latching on to this conversation to ask

At what age can/should a child start sitting in a booster seat?

Like the original poster, I'm also debating between an Evenflo Triumph and a Britax Marathon. I have a coworker who loves her Triumph and I was favoring that, but the higher harness straps and higher weight limits of the MA are tempting me in spite of the higher price (note: DH and I have to buy two seats, one for each car). When I mentioned this to my Triumph-owning coworker, she wondered what was the problem with switching her son to a booster once he outgrew the Triumph (right now he's 2.5 years and isn't going to outgrow it for quite some time [1-2 years, maybe?]). So, are those extra years that the MA gives you necessary? My 6-month-old daughter is long in the leg (so not a problem when forward facing) and light (25-50%), so she's not likely to grow out of a Triumph at age 2 -- probably more like age 3.5-4. Could she transfer safely to a booster then?

Thank you!

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

booster use is really a question of maturity.

most kids outgrow the Triumph before age 3... more like age 2-2.5.

my daughter outgrew it for rearfacing at 15mo... but we'd already bought the Marathon knowing this would happen and then bought the Scenera and gave the Marathon to her brother to put him back in a harness... he is 4.5 now and I still don't like him in a booster... he's mature for his age, but that's not saying a lot for carseats... it's safer to be harnessed and he does lean around when in the booster to look out and to try to mess with his brother, so I like him more secured.

In fact, soon we will have all 3 kids harnessed again... my mom is buying a Regent for my 6yr old and we're using tax money to buy a Husky from babylove.com... and we'll put the 4.5yr old in the Regnet and the 6yr old in the Husky... since the Husky is older.

my 6yr old has mild scoliosis so it is hard for sleeping in the booster... and he's been asking when he will get his new seat so he can be comfy again.

most kids are fine going to boosters after the Marathon, though... for me, putting my second in the Regent has more to do with avoiding the fight over the Husky than me not thinking he'll be ready when he outgrows the Marathon in a couple years.

Kat

[kellyotn]

I had a friend who loved her Triumph too, until he got too large for it at 24 months. So, she then had to buy another harnessed seat whereas if she'd just bought a MA in the beginning she'd have spent less money in the end. My DD is nearing 3.5 years and pretty average weight & slightly tall, and there's no way she'd fit in a Triumph. She'd have been out of it by 2.5 easy. Its acutally pretty expensive for the amount of time some kids get out of it (2-3.5 years). A $40 Scenera would last longer.

Per year, the cost of an MA is really good (figure 5-6 years). And, its just easy really. You don't have to worry about new seats again until they are over 5, hopefully 6 and ready for a very inexpensive booster. Honestly, if your friend's child outgrows the Triumph at 3.5 its legal for him to go into a booster if he meets the booster's minimums, but its not at all ideal from a safety and maturity point of view. Lots of parents do it, but the techs around here would not recommend that.

There's no way I'd want DD in a booster at 3.5. I imagine things like if the car rolls (I live in snow and ice country, so this isn't a rarity), if she's asleep or is otherwise out of optimium position in a booster when there's a crash, etc. Also, just for comfort, sleeping is much more comfy if they are better supported.

The simple physics are just that harnessed is safer.

HTH

edited to add - I'm not sure about when its legal to go into a booster, I was reading some of the Britney mess and it made mention to some states requiring harnessing until certain ages.....

[j4m4d8]

Another option for light children who outgrow their convertible is a harnessed booster. Graco's and Evenflo's harnessed booster seats have higher top slots than the convertibles do. They still have a 40 pound weight limit so they don't work well for heavier children. They can keep a smaller than average girl harnessed until age 5 or so.

It's really hard to know when your child will be ready to sit in a booster. NHTSA's chart recommends a convertible seat or a harnessed booster for kids 1 to 4. Belt-positioning boosters are recommended for kids 4 and up. I know my daughter just turned 3 and actually sits well in a booster for the two-minute trip to the grocery store, but my 6 year old son can only sit well in a booster if he is the only child in the car. Otherwise he can't be still for a minute. So it's hard to say when your child will be ready.

The big drawback to the Triumph in my mind is that it doesn't last near as long rear-facing as the others. But if you are pretty sure you're going to turn the seat around as soon as your child meets the minimums for forward-facing then that wouldn't be an issue. And of course you would want to anticipate buying a harnessed booster after the Triumph is outgrown.

Another thing to consider is do you like buying car seats? I mean once I have a car seat for two years I have a tremendous urge to buy a new one, LOL. So if you are the type of person who likes to check out and have the latest gear, the Marathon's longevity isn't its biggest selling point.

Then there is the question of more children. If you are hoping to have another child in the next two or three years you can buy a seat that will be outgrown sooner and just hand it down to the next baby.

I favor the Marathon more for people with large children. While I like it better than any of the other non-Britax seats I've used, it is my least favorite Britax. I would probably go Roundabout and then Regent if I had another child. However, the Marathon is a nice seat for those who just want to make sure their kid makes it to an age where a booster will work.

Sorry this post is so long. I just wanted to let you know there are lots of things that can make a seat the right one for you or not besides the obvious ones of fitting your child and your car.