Britax Frontier 85

Great choice for extended 5-pt harnessing, March 30, 2010
By vivid_blue (Washington, DC United States)
This review is from: Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seat (Baby Product)
Just got our Frontier 85 – love this big kid seat! Sturdy, plush, nicely finished. It did take me a few tries to figure out which installation method was best (be sure to try all – in our ’06 Prius it is currently LATCH plus top tether, later long-belt-path for when daughter is heavier), but now it’s as solid as our Boulevard. My daughter is turning six in three months – about 43 inches and a shade under 40 lbs.

The seat has the different install methods printed right on the side of the seat – great for when you just can’t find the manual. Height and weight limits are also printed on the seat itself, no more wondering if your child has outgrown their seat or the harness mode.

I like that there are storage anchors for the LATCH grips on the seat itself for when they are not in use. There is also a loop of elastic on the end of the top tether strap, to keep the excess neatly stored away.

I understand that the seat cover is slightly different from the Frontier (previous model) – the Britax Frontier 85 has plush fabric on the front portion of the seat, then mesh going up the back. Have only had it a day so have yet to see how durable the fabric will be.

Our daughter loves her big-girl pink seat and I love that she can be in a five-point harness for longer!

Older child is well protected, May 28, 2010
Reviewer :  SoCal Gal (CA, United States)
This review is from: Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seat, Rushmore (Baby Product)
Automobiles are not built to protect small passengers in a crash – even small adults! If you want to increase the odds your child will survive a collision, I recommend keeping him or her in a booster seat as long as you are able to do so. The Britax Frontier 85 is more than just a booster – it is a booster with a top tether which significantly increases the safety of the seat. A 5-point harness is safer than the seat belt, and that’s how my petite 9-year-old rides. The law says 8 or 80 but I feel that law should be more stringent. I plan to keep my daughter in the harness until she reaches 85 pounds and the belt-positioning booster until she is 12 or older. I have taught her that safety is more important than “image” – I don’t care that all of her friends are allowed to ride in cars with no booster of any kind. The vehicle’s seats and belts are NOT designed to protect your small riders. I’ll say it again – a Britax Frontier 85 is well engineered to increase small riders’ odds of survival in a collision.

Monterey Booster Car Seat

I LOVE THIS BOOSTER!!!, March 2, 2010
Reviewer :  Mommy Brooks (Long Island, NY)
This review is from: Sunshine Kids Monterey Booster Car Seat (Baby Product)
I LOVE this booster seat!

This booster seat is FABULOUS. The “latch” system is a great idea and the straps located just underneath the seat adjust to make the fit in your vehicle snug as can be, so the seat does not wobble around in your car. Also, it is easily transported to a different vehicle; the booster seat latched and unlatched easily. My 5-year-old is extremely comfy and cozy in it… so comfy and cozy in it that she fell asleep on a late night car ride — love the side wings and the padded seat…. Most important, the booster is SAFE! And, my daughter is tickled with her “own” cup holder!

Admittedly, there is a downside: my daughter can’t hook the seatbelt herself, something she could do in her previous carseat. Nevertheless, the many pros far outweigh this one “con.”

Monterey Booster perfect fit for Traditional Car, May 18, 2010
Reviewer : MyBB
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Sunshine Kids Monterey Booster Car Seat (Baby Product)
For a 4.5-year old boy: Well made, Extremely comfortable, soft, fits perfect in the backseat of my 2-Door Solara (i.e. family sized, 2-door camry). The seat is easy to adjust for childs size, and easy for him to buckle himself in [parents do need to check the seat is secure and the seatbelt is properly threaded]. We’re probably one of the few families in the world that have refused to get an SUV or minivan – and not a problem – the anchors are still there and the seat can be secured as intended. What a phenomenal difference and improvement over the non-secured, hard Graco boosters we used for our daughter and at first for our son. There’s just no comparison – I feel safe with him in this, and it’s worth every penny. Slight mishap on putting the seat together (which was my fault) because I unsecured the bottom straps to see what they were, then put them back in the wrong way – a nightmare to release, but again -this was my fault. So, if you do get this, just make sure if you pull the bottom anchor straps out, that you put them back in the way they were. Overall a great, comfortable childseat that looks like it should last for a long time. We purchased light grey, and it is beautiful with a plush look. Not too hot for the Miami heat either; probably just as cozy in a cold weather environment.

Britax Marathon Convertible

Britax Marathon Car Seat, January 9, 2010
Reviewer : J. Kondracki (Ozark, MO)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat Cover Set – Mariposa (Baby Product)
I love the Britax Marathon car seats. I have one for my oldest daughter so it was a no brainer to purchase one for our youngest. I have not put her in it yet as she is still in her infant carrier but look forward to moving her into this seat. They are so easy to install and are just an overall great seat. I actually just purchased a new cover for my oldest daughters car seat. I love that feature as well!! I would highly recommend this car seat to anyone.

Worth the money, May 28, 2010
Reviewer : hot mama (California)
This review is from: Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat Cover Set (Baby Product)
After doing a lot of research for an “upgrade” from my son’s infant seat, we settled on the Britax Marathon and couldn’t be happier. It is sturdy and comfortable. I started using it when he had outgrown his infant seat at about 13 months. The first time I put him in it, he actually slept for the first time in a long time while in the car. I think ths seat is very comfortable for him. It’s also not bulky, as I have a compact car.

“Britax Marathon”

Versatile and (Generally) Easy to Use, but Most of All – Secure, August 27, 2009
Reviewer : D. R. Jeanclerc “Reader, Listener & Obsessive… (Brunswick, OH USA)
This review is from: Britax Marathon Click & Safe Convertible Car Seat – Crimson (Baby Product)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What’s this?)
The Britax Marathon is definitely pricey, but it makes good on that investment by its versatility. It can handle not only smaller kids in a rear-facing installation, but also larger kids if it’s place forward-facing – up to 49 inches and/or 65 pounds. That’s considerably longer use than most convertible seats allow. However, in order to do so, the Marathon needs to be taller than other convertible seats – this is a very large unit and may not fit well in smaller cars.

INSTALLATION

The Marathon is equipped to be tethered via either the LATCH system or else standard seat belts. LATCH installation was extremely simple, as it is with just about every other car seat. However, if your car is older and doesn’t have LATCH hooks, then seat belts are you only option and in most cars this is a dreaded exercise in pushing and tugging to get the seat sufficiently tightened down. The Marathon was a pleasant surprise – I was able to get it installed forward-facing with a lap-and-shoulder belt with much less effort and frustration than any other car seat I’ve ever used before. The anchoring points on the seat itself are visibly strong – iron bars that the seat belt easily loops through. Other seats make it difficult to see/feel if the belt is threaded correctly and not twisted, but this is easy with the Marathon.

For additional security, I also used the Versa-Tether strap that connects the top of the seat to an anchor in your car’s back deck or your SUV’s cargo area. This was also easy to install and once I’d pulled it tight, the seat was absolutely rock-solid. Installed this way, the Marathon had much less wiggle than any other car seat I’ve owned.

USAGE

The Britax Marathon touts its “Click and Safe” system for tightening the harness once your little one it seated. However, I found this to be a detractor for a couple of reasons. First, you tighten the harness by pulling downward on a strap that dangles from the front of the seat. You must pull it straight down/forward, which can be difficult to do since you’re reaching into the car from the side, especially in a car that’s low to the ground. I prefer the design of other car seats that puts the tightening mechanism on the side via a knob. Also, it claims that the harness is sufficiently tight once you hear a click, but I wasn’t convinced – the straps always seem to have a little too much slack after the first click, so I end up fiddling around with them for a while until it passes the test. This can often lead to a fussy passenger. Loosening the harness, on the other hand, is very quick and easy.

Also, every kid will be different, but my two-year-old complains (sometimes pretty forcefully) when being buckled in to the Britax Marathon. I think that it has a wider buckle in the crotch than our old car seat did and that must be uncomfortable. However, after he’s in for a few minutes, he never fails to tell me that he likes the new seat, especially the neck protectors that keep the harness straps from digging in.

MAINTENANCE

I really appreciate the open-back design of the Marathon, not only for the ease of installation described above, but also because it makes it easy to adjust the height of the harness and remove the cover for washing. Other car seats often conceal the back within a clamshell which then requires tools to remove anytime any such adjust or maintenance needs to be done.

SUMMARY

The Britax Marathon is not perfect, but close. It’s also pricey, but a worthwhile investment given how long it can be used. I highly recommend it as a consideration when you’re shopping for a convertible car seat, especially if you have a roomy back seat and a higher-sitting vehicle.