Tech's help me: husky vs. marathon and compass review

[ricket]

Hi all. I love this board. Everyone offers such great info. and feedback. This board has helped me choose every past car seat. So please help me once more: My 6 year old daughter is outgrowing her Britax Marathon seat--height-wise (the harness is on the top slot and it is starting to be below her shoulders rather than above). My first question: is the Husky any taller in that regard than the Marathon? My daughter is only 50 lbs so weight is not an issue. She is just tall so if the Husky doesn't have higher harness slots than the Marathon then it won't work for us.

Also, there is a booster seat out there called the Compass, something (E something, maybe). Hopefully you techs out there know what I am talking about. I wanted to get some feedback about that seat. It looks to be a good seat. Any CR ratings for this seat yet? Is the Turbo booster or the Parkway a better option?

Thanks so much!!!!

[Scatterbunny]

The Husky (has been replaced with the Regent, same basic seat) has top slots measuring 2-3 inches taller than the Marathon's top slots. :) My dd has about an inch to go in the Marathon, but has lots of growing room in the second-to-top slots of the Husky. Size-wise, the Husky/Regent is only about two inches wider than the Marathon, but it is taller. It sits flat on the vehicle seat though, instead of on a base, so it doesn't stick up much higher in the vehicle at all.

As for the Compass booster (B500), it's nice and cushy, and I love the flip-up armrests, but you can't compare the B500's wings to the Parkway, or even the Turbo. The B500's headwings aren't deep at all. Also, even though the very tip-top of the B500's seat shell is about the same overall height as the tip-top of the Turbo's seat shell, the B500 has much less torso growing room because of where the shoulderbelt guide is positioned. It sits much lower on the seat (relative to the seating area) when compared to the Turbo and Parkway. I know one 48-inch child who is almost too tall for the B500 but has tons of growing room in the Turbo and Parkway.


I also have comparison pics of the Turbo and B500, and of the Turbo and Parkway, mostly to show the differences in the head and torso wings: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0603/scatterbunny/Booster%20Comparisons/

The Parkway adjusts the tallest of all the highback boosters on the market, and it is designed and tested for side impact protection. It has the deepest wings (but they aren't confining to my dd, to my 12yo sister).

We've owned both the Turbo and Parkway, and both dd and I prefer the Parkway...but both of us also prefer her harnessed seat over a booster. She will be 5 in June, is 46.5 inches tall and 48 pounds.

[ricket]

Thanks so much for all the great info.!! I'm glad to hear that the Regent is a good option for me b/c I too prefer to have my dd in a 5 pt. harness. And it sounds like if I decide to get a booster seat, the Parkway is the way to go.

One additional question about the Regent: Can it be used with the typical seatbelt installation? My car is not new enough to have the Latch system.

Thanks again.
Cheryl

[Scatterbunny]

Yes, the Regent can be installed with a typical seatbelt routing, LATCH installation is only allowed up to 48 pounds and then the seatbelt must be used anyway, but the seatbelt install can be used at any weight.

Depending on your vehicle, there are two options for a seatbelt install: short (traditional) path and long path. The short belt path is just like any other carseat's installation; the long belt path is unique, it sort of snakes around the seat. Only one other seat (the long-discontinued Fisher Price Futura--I've got pics in my album of both the Futura and Husky installed in a couple different vehicles) used the long belt path.

What year is your vehicle, and what make and model? The Regent requires a top tether after 50 pounds, and it's highly recommended at all times to tether any forward-facing seat, but especially one that's so big and heavy.

[ricket]

I have a 2000 Honda Odyssey. I have tether hooks so I'm fine there.
What are the benefits of this long belt path installation? Is one more secure?? Is one better for higher weights, etc.?

Thanks again.
Cheryl

[Scatterbunny]

There's no way to know if one tested "safer" than the other; both pass federal standards. I honestly prefer the long path, and feel like the seat is just much more secure using the long path. Every time I've tried the short path, I get more than the acceptable one inch of movement. Using the long path I get it rock-solid, no movement at all.

I think they only include the short path option because some vehicles have short belts, that are too short to do the long path. Also, with lapbelt-only installs, the short path is required, along with the recline bar (the recline bar is optional with other installs, as long as the seat is tethered--I always did long path, no recline bar, tethered). The recline bar doesn't add a ton of recline, it's mostly to reduce head excursion when the seat is not tethered. It pushes the seating area forward, sometimes causing the seat to hang off the edge of the vehicle seat, sometimes limiting leg room for the child, so I prefer to leave the recline bar off and just make sure it is tethered.

You should have no troubles with a 2000 Ody. I know someone (Darren from Car-Seat.org/Car-Safety.org) who had a 2001 Ody and the Husky, it fit great. In fact, Darren developed a great pictorial guide to installing the Husky (in his Ody), you can find it here: http://www.car-safety.org/husky.html