Britax Hugs system

[dsjjcx]

Here's my problem/concern:
We have a Britax Marathon for our soon to be 4 year old son who is 34 lbs and 40" tall. He chewed thru (don't ask me how--what a choking hazzard though!) the rubberized "hugs" on the harness straps. So now I'm in a panic wondering if the seat is still *safe* and usable without them. When I called Britax customer service they said they would ship out replacement ones for a fee, and that the "seat was tested WITH the hugs system in place". They wouldn't give me a yes or no answer whether or not I should be using the seat without them.
Also, I think we'll be replacing the Marathon and the only seat I sort of like is the Radian--I really wanted the Britax Regent, but it also has the hugs system and I don't want to go thru this again. There's no way our DS is anywhere near ready for a booster and the choices for 5pt harnesses with higher weight limits is so slim!

Anyone have any thoughts/comments? I'd appreciate any feedback you may have!

[tjham]

Just a thought here. The Fisher Price Safe Voyage does NOT have the HUGS and is modeled after the Britax seats. Its weight limit is 55 instead of 65. So maybe the HUGS make the difference for that last 10 lbs.

[Joolsplus2]

Yeah <cough cough> the Roundabout handles up to 40 pounds just fine without HUGS, and he's only 34...but you didn't hear me say it.
Did your old hugs have the pointy ends? the new ones are neatly edged and less tempting to those of us with minor oral fixations. Also, put the chest clip in the right place, even with the armpits, and the HUGS can be pulled down as far as possible...at least they will be farther from his mouth that way (I know, he can pull them up... I make my own kids adjust theirs all the time...but still...).

We like our Radian plenty, lots of growing room in it :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[mommyto4]

Britax replaced the HUGS on one of my Huskys free and the new ones are different than the old ones. The new ones are more rounded at the corners. Anyway, I'm surprised that they want to charge a fee for the new ones when I just got new ones last week for free.

[dsjjcx]

Thanks everyone for giving me your thought's. I am going to call Britax again and request a replacement HUGS -- at no charge. It was only six dollars, but hey that could be lunch money! Mine did have the pointy ends, so hopefully the replacement ones won't be so appealing to our son. Maybe a different cust. service rep will be more willing to satisfy. Wish me luck!

[mommyto4]

Good luck! Hope you get a good CS Rep.