Favorite Britax?

[ohiomom1121]

We have had the original Roundabout, a Decathalon and two Frontiers. DS2 (17 months) is currently in the Decathalon and it expires next month. I need a new seat and am not sure what to get. I would like this to be the last seat I buy but don't want to go over $200. I'm thinking I can pass along DD's Frontier and replace the cover when she is done with it. Any advice would be great. Prices on the new Roundabout 55 are pretty good...or should I go with a Marathon? TIA!

[BabyBearsMom]

We have a Marathon and a Boulevard. I prefer the Boulevard. DD seems a lot comfier in it than she does in the MA.

I would not put a 17 month old in a Frontier personally. My DD is still RF'ing in her seats, but even if she wasn't, the Fronteir just looks enormous and my DD is no peanut. I think it is a seat for the 2+ crowd.

[peanut520]

there was a RA55 at my target for 127.xx today.

[DebbieJ]

Love my MA70. I scored it for about $200 when it first came out. My DS (28 mths) is still RF in it.

[Beth24]

I have the Blvd and the Roundabout and I like them both. The Blvd is bigger and easier to use and I agree with BabyBearsMom that it is just more comfortable. But that being said, DS is quite happy in his Roundabout whenever we use it in my mom's or DH's car. If you can get a deal on the Blvd or up your budget I would definitely recommend it. I think even my huge DS (30 pounds at 18 months) will be able to rear face comfortably until at least 3 (assuming his weight gain slows down)!

[Joolsplus2]

If you were always happy with the old RA and DC, the RA55 is the comparable seat, except it's got better LATCH. I got one for $127 from diapers.com with a good coupon deal :D. The headwings can be either comfy or annoying on the BV, and the headrest on the new MA seems nice, obviously no one's venting complaints here about it, phew :)

[arivecchi]

I think even my huge DS (30 pounds at 18 months) will be able to rear face comfortably until at least 3 (assuming his weight gain slows down)! Wowza! My DS who just turned 3 weighs 31 pounds!

We really like our Boulevard 70, but DS's head keeps flopping forward. Any tips to eliminate this? His Boulevard does seem to be more upright than the Frontier.

[legaleagle]

We really like our Boulevard 70, but DS's head keeps flopping forward. Any tips to eliminate this? His Boulevard does seem to be more upright than the Frontier.

Can you recline the seat backs at all? I'm assuming you have the blvd in the more reclined position already?

[arivecchi]

Can you recline the seat backs at all? I'm assuming you have the blvd in the more reclined position already? I cannot recline the seatback. It's the back row of our SUV. Can I recline the car seat? I thought I read in the manual that it had to be in the upright position when FFing?

Sorry for the hijack OP!

[legaleagle]

I cannot recline the seatback. It's the back row of our SUV. Can I recline the car seat? I thought I read in the manual that it had to be in the upright position when FFing?


There are 2 allowed ff'ing recline positions and 1 rf'ing. The 2 ff'ing ones aren't very different from each other, but may be enough to cure the head flop.

[arivecchi]

There are 2 allowed ff'ing recline positions and 1 rf'ing. The 2 ff'ing ones aren't very different from each other, but may be enough to cure the head flop.Thanks! Will have to re-read the manual!

[ohiomom1121]

We have a Marathon and a Boulevard. I prefer the Boulevard. DD seems a lot comfier in it than she does in the MA.

I would not put a 17 month old in a Frontier personally. My DD is still RF'ing in her seats, but even if she wasn't, the Fronteir just looks enormous and my DD is no peanut. I think it is a seat for the 2+ crowd.

I meant I could use whatever I buy for a few years and then move him into the Frontier, not use it now! DD is only 7 so will probably be using it a couple more years.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

[arivecchi]

There are 2 allowed ff'ing recline positions and 1 rf'ing. The 2 ff'ing ones aren't very different from each other, but may be enough to cure the head flop.
Legaleagle, thank you so much! I re-installed the Blvd. using the middle position and no more head flop!

OP, hope you find the perfect Britax for your kiddo!

[kep]

If you were always happy with the old RA and DC, the RA55 is the comparable seat, except it's got better LATCH. I got one for $127 from diapers.com with a good coupon deal :D. The headwings can be either comfy or annoying on the BV, and the headrest on the new MA seems nice, obviously no one's venting complaints here about it, phew :)

Yep to all this. We have one of the new Blvd's, but I still miss my old school MA. We had to retire it after a nasty, NASTY round of Rotovirus. It was beyond help. Way beyond. :rotflmao:

[legaleagle]

Legaleagle, thank you so much! I re-installed the Blvd. using the middle position and no more head flop!

:thumbsup:

[ditty]

We just picked up the Blvd 70 CS for 30% off at the BRU trade in event. It was limited to the Wyndham print for the 30% off, but it's okay looking so guess it's fine. DS is only 5 months and just barely 15 lbs, so it will be a while before we use it, but I figured it was worth buying now for $100+ off. Am I wrong? Should we wait?? The one we grabbed was manufactured in Dec of 2010 so it's pretty recent. What age do they normally go in the convertible seat? DS is just below the 50th percentile for height and weight.

DH drives a Highlander and we take his car most places, so he'll get the Blvd. I have a Tahoe (not in love with it, but it's a company car) and drop DS off at daycare, so we were thinking of getting another seat for my car, but maybe not as nice of one to cut back on cost. Any recommendations?

Also, if you buy from an online retailer, how do you know that the date of manufacture will be recent? We're planning on having another DC and would like to re-use the seats, but if we get a seat that's already 18 months old, will it expire before we're done with it? Aren't they only good for 5 years?

[AnnieW625]

We have a BLVD, and a RA 55. We like them both. I could have easily just gotten 2 RA55s, but I really wanted a BLVD and I got mine thanks to an Amazin sale and credits for $189. I like that the RA55 is lighter and easier to travel with. My original plan was to not get a RA55 at all, but I caved and got one for $100 from the Wayfair.com sale a couple of months ago. DD2 was in an Evenflo Triumph 5 that would have expired when she was less than 2/1/2 and I wasn't comfortable moving her straight to a Frontier at any age less than 2/1/2 so the on sale RA55 was a welcomed find:).