Britex Decathalon or Boulevard or Marathon?

[genevieve]

I've been using my son's old Roundabout for my daughter but it's going to be 6 years old in January. I've been told that I should replace it at this point. I have a Marathon that I'm using for my other car and I've been very happy with it. BRU has both the Decathalon and the Boulevard but I couldn't find a salesperson to answer my questions. Does anyone know the differences in the seats? It appears to be the "wings" but other than that I don't see a difference. Do the wings really make the seat that much safer? The Decathalon looks like a Marathon with extra padding to me. My daughter is 14 months old so I don't think I would get much use out of the extra padding at this point. BRU is currently out of stock on the Marathon due to the recall but I'm not planning on buying the seat until December because I have a 15% off coupon.

Thanks,

Michelle

[all together ooky]

The Marathon is the basic Britax seat (have it, love it). The Boulevard has wings which provide side impact protection. It also has an infinite adjust knob to turn instead of rethreading the straps to adjust the shoulder height.
The Decathalon has extra padding for infants and a push button harness strap adjuster (Marathon and Boulevard have levers) similar to the Roundabout. There have been issues with the adjuster (it is definitely not as smooth as the Roundabout)

Out of those three I'd pick the Marathon or the Boulevard.

[jessicallyn]

It's a tough call because the perfect seat would be the Decathalon's adjustable crotch strap with the Boulevard's adjustable strap height - that would make a perfect car seat because you could use the same seat easily with different children. But, unfortunately, Britax hasn't seen the light.

But for us, the adjustable crotch strap was the clincher.

We bought the Decathalon for DD when she outgrew the Keyfit. We bought it, instead of the Boulevard, because the crotch strap on the Boulevard seemed way too close to the seat back. Now DD is a very good sized 2 y.o. and we are very glad to have that extra space. Sometimes for carpool, we use the Decathalon for her 5 y.o. brother and can't imagine him having any less room down there (and he's skinny). Luckily, she and he can use the same strap height because, like I said, you can't just turn a knob on the Decathalon. And it isn't easy to tighten the harness, either.

I am not bothered by the lack of extra SIP wings, though, because the Decathalon has foam lining the inner sides of the seat. And I can't see how a well harnessed child's head would go beyond the sides of the seat in a side impact crash.

I am very glad we bought the Decathalon because I think DD would be uncomfortable even at 2 with the crotch strap on the Boulevard/Marathon, and certainly DS would be in open revolt.

Good luck with your purchase,
Jessallyn

[melbb]

I would not get the Decathlon because of the harness problems. I have one and it is a bear to tighten. Even DH, who is no wimp, has problems. I would never buy another one.

[o_mom]

Did you get your recall kit? My harness problems went away once I installed the fix kit.

If yours still isn't working, call Britax and they will likely exchange it for another Decathlon or even a Marathon.

[luvsviola]

I had a DC and mine broke. We were one of the ones that insisted on the recal with the NHTSA. That being said, I have a marathon and blvd now. I love both for different reasons. The blvd is great because she naps with her head on the wings (10 months old) and I can adjust the straps frequently as she grows since it is infinately adjustable. The marathon is no frills functional.

I would get the blvd if finances allow because not having to rethread straps is worth it to me!

[daisymommy]

Hannah has a Boulevard, and I *mostly* love everything about it, especially the knobs to adjust the harness height. I bought it for the extra side impact protection wings, during a phase of total mommy-overprotectiveness-anxiety-attacks.

That said, I now wish I had listened to Joolsplus2 and bought the Marathon! Hannah is constantly craning her head and neck forward to see around the wings, which I'm sure really isn't safe, especially in an accident. But I can't make an 18 month old sit with her head perfectly back against the seat. Sigh...now I'm unhappy with it.