Luke has outgrown his infant carrier (too tall and almost too heavy) so it is time for a new car seat. We are moving Luke to Cora's seat and buying a new seat for Cora. The car seat that Cora has been sitting in is the Britax Marathon seat. We LOVE this seat - easy to clean, easy to clip in, straps never twist, and comes in many nice styles/colors.
Dave and I did hours of research online - reading too many reviews to remember. . . we were able to narrow it down to two choices: the Britax Frontier or the Sunshine Kids Radian 80. Both are considered, "Combination Boosters" meaning you only use them forward facing - and can be used as a harness seat (5-Point strap in) and then as a booster seat (seat belt strap in) up to 100lbs. (The Britax Marathon that will become Luke's seat is a Combination Forward/Rear facing car seat and goes up to 65lbs.) These two seats will be the last investment we make in car seats so we wanted it to be an informed and safe choice.
We packed the whole family into the car and headed down to buybuy Baby in Rockville (about an hour trip) and looked at the HUGE selection of car seats. Once there we looked at both, talked to the very helpful sales people and made our decision - the Britax Frontier!
The Radian 80 seemed too narrow at the base - although they boasted the ability to put three in a row in the back of any car. . . we decided if we need three in a row - we need a bigger car - so we didn't worry about that!! No one else can sit in the backseat - but until we get a car with a third row we won't be able to fit anyone anyway!
Dave installed both of them - took about an hour for both - they are snug and secure and we went for a test ride - both kids fit nicely!! Removing Luke from his infant carrier means I will have to carry him every where - or we may actually have to buy a double stroller!! Not sure what we are going to do yet!?!?!
Pictured below - our new car seat! Isn't it beautiful!?!?! ;-)
3 comments:
Where were you 2 months ago when I was pulling my hair out doing research??? We got a PEREGO PALOMA PRIMO VIAAGIO 30/30 CARSEAT for the infant seat in one car and Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat for the other car. I figure we'll need another base or another seat when he outgrows the infant seat. So how is the Frontier different?
I don't think you can use the Marathon until he is 15lbs. . . double check this!! DEFINITELY get another base. . .we have two bases and one seat - works great for carrying the base inside/outside/on the stroller for both of us!!
You will love your Marathon seat - not that you will experience the down side of car seats - but on other car seats the straps twist and the fabric "pills" from the in and out motions! We used the Graco Snug Fit car seat - this seat tested well for crash tests - but isn't as pretty as some of the others. The Marathon seat will take you up to 65 lbs. We could have used that seat until Cora was finished with car seats and only needed a booster - but we needed a new seat for Luke. . .
. . .finishing my thought - the Frontier is the car seat that starts when the child is two years and/or 25lbs and continues until 100 lbs. You can use it with a seat belt after the child outgrows the "harness" part!!
:-)