Combo Booster or Marathon

[amydandandrew2]

My son is 27 months old and only weighs 27 pounds. He's average height. He's in a Britax Roundabout now which we love and he could keep using. But I'm expecting number two soon and we thought we'd get another seat to use in my husband's car. We'd like this purchase to be the last one we need to make. Ultimately, I'd like to move #2 into the Roundabout and have my son move to either a combo booster or Marathon.

Here's my question: Is a combo booster safe enough for him at his current weight? Or is the Marathon safer? My husband is sold on the much cheaper combo concept (Graco Ultra's seem to get good reviews on this board) but I'm skeptical. I'd prefer to pay more money for the Marathon if it's safer, but I also don't want to waste money if it's not necessary.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Amy D.

[Joolsplus2]

Either choice would be safe for him, so if you can, spend some time playing with both of them and see if you prefer one or the other (and see if you can test it in your car...one complaint I keep hearing is that kids don't like moving from the high vantage point of the RA to the lower seat position of the Cargo...I guess it depends on your DS's personality if he'll be bothered by that).
In terms of time to use the seat, you can use the Marathon harnessed till age 6. You can use the Cargo harnessed till 40 pounds (anywhere from age 3-6, depending on his growth pattern), then it will be useful as a booster till age 7 or 8 (it's not as tall a seat as a dedicated belt positioner, like the Turbo or Bodygard). Then you WILL need to buy another booster, but if you have head support in your car, it can be a $15 backless model (kids need to be in boosters till they are about 80 pounds and 5 feet tall, as when they are smaller than that, the adult seatbelt is simply not very safe...here's a graphic of what a child need to look like before they can be completely out of the booster http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm )
There are, as yet, scant data to prove that a 5-pt harness after 40 pounds is safer than a booster, but this link has some info on that you may use to help convince your DH <wink> http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ppcarseats&msg=50372.6&redirCnt=1

Anyway, like I said, either seat would be a perfectly good choice for him now, and they both have comfy padding and nice harness quality, so I don't think you'd be disappointed with either. But if you have a vivid imagination and decide to keep him harnessed as long as possible, then the Marathon would be a better choice (or even the Husky, that harnesses to age 8-10 and 80 pounds! My almost 7yo loves his Husky better than any of his boosters :) )
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[amydandandrew2]

Julie, thank you. That is very helpful!