Britax Marathon now or wait for Britax Wizard?

[Karen Haury]

First of all let me say that I have really found this board to be very helpful in my search for car seats. Please keep up the great work.

My 5 month old son will be moving to my 3 year old son's Britax Roundabout soon. I am looking for a replacement seat for my 3 year old. I read about the Airway and thought it was the seat for us. We ordered it and have been using it for about a week now. I am just not as thrilled with it as I had thought I'd be. Coming from the RA, the Airway seems cheaply made. I don't like how you can easily feel the hard plastic under the cover. The straps have about driven me nuts in just a week with how they get so twisted. All in all, I am sure that it is a good seat but I am just not satisfied enough to keep it.

I have decided to stick with Britax, no matter the cost. I had decided to order a Marathon when I read about the newest seat from Britax - the Wizard. I called Britax and was told that the seat would be coming out sometime between now and March. It sounds similar to the Marathon but maybe with a few other features and a little higher price.

I am not in a huge hurry since my 3 year old has about 3 more pounds to gain before outgrowing the RA. Do you know much about the Wizard? Do you think I should just go ahead with the Marathon or is the Wizard worth the wait and extra money.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Karen

[Rsklausner]

Hi Karen-
I think you'll like the Marathon. As far as I can tell the Wizard has the feature of easy height adjustability for different kids (like the Roundabout Advantage carseat). The Marathon isn't as smooth operating as far as adjusting the straps as the Roundabout but it seems much safer than putting a heavy three year old into a belt positioning booster. Our 4 year old rides in the Marathon on trips (he's in the Star-Riser Comfy daily) and a 45lb 2 year old that is in our carpool rides in the Marathon daily. So, unless you are planning to transport different kids and need the strap height adjusted often I don't think you need to spend the money for the Wizard.