Britax Marathon Booster Car Seat

Don't get me wrong....I would own nothing other than Britax seats at this point. We have 4 children and we've tried various models. We've donated the others to Goodwill. We currently own 5 Britax car seats for 4 children. We have 2 Regents, 1 Parkway(used as a spare), 1 Marathon, and 1 Roundabout. I feel as though I'm a walking advertisement for Britax and we've been accused of being uptight about car seats.

As far as I'm concerned, there are three main features that we look for in a car seat:

1. Does it fit securely in the vehicle?

Forward facing, this seat is awesome. We don't have the latch system in our van, so we never had the opportunity to use the latch belts although I'm sure they work fine. We use the shoulder belt and we've never seen any other seat get as secure as our seat. When we try to move the seat side to side, the van moves instead. The beauty of the system is that after you've tightened the lap part of the belt down as far as you can, you then slide the shoulder part of the belt into a slot that latches down on the side of the seat. Once you've done this, the belt doesn't develop any slack. Then for good measure, you attach the tether to the underside of the rear of the seat (or a tether hook in some cars). This seat doesn't move after that.

Rear facing, the seat could be improved. This is why the seat doesn't get 5 stars from me. The side lock down mechanism is tightened more by the thickness of the belt. Unfortunately, it can pop open without much pressure. (As a side note, the lockdown on the side of our older Roundabout works great. It is a different design. I'm not sure if Britax thought they were improving and have changed the design or if they have a different lockdown on this seat.) The annoying thing about this is that you have to continuously check to see if it has released.

2. Condition of the straps is important. I haven't seen one manufacturer compare to the quality of the straps. The shoulder straps are thick and wide. They don't fold up on themselves or get tangled. They are also wide across your child's shoulders.

3. Child's comfort. The side guards around the head are great for when they are getting tired and the safety foam is the same as you would find in bike helmets.

Overall, the seat is great. If I could have given it 4.5 stars, I would have. The rear facing problem was minor to us because we could use our Roundabout rear facing, but for someone who needs to use it rear facing for a while, it might be more of a problem. I'm hoping Britax improves that one thing, but overall, this seat is highly recommended by me.

This brand has to be just about the BEST you can buy for your child.It fits from a 5 pound infant all the way way to a 65 pound child!
Because it fits such a large child it is perfect for kids w/special needs,that may be unable to use a booster seat due to safety or musle tone issues.
I love how easy it is to adjust,the cover is soft and it is roomier then alot of the other seats.
But Britax had a recall on the Marathon and a few other car seats,the recalled seats can be "fixed" w/a kit your order from Britax,go to Britaxs web site for more info,and ordering information on the repair kit.

I recently bought my 2nd Britax marathon. I love this seat, everything about it. My 6 month old twins and my large (over 40 pounds) 3 year old all fit in it great. I moved my 3 year old to a different seat (to give one of the twins his Marathon), but wish I had spent the extra money to keep all 3 boys in Marathons. All of my boys are big, so I absolutely need the 65 pound 5 point harness option. I think this is a good idea even for average size and small children. I also love that they are made in the USA.

While the Britax Marathon is expensive when compared to other car seats, I feel it has been worth the price. It is easy to move from car to car, the latch cover prevents you from pinching sensitive/tiny legs, the child is very snug/secure in the seat and you will be able to use it for years due to the wide range of weights the Marathon supports.

Yes, you'll spend some more cash for the Marathon, but for us its been worth it.

I love this carseat! I just bought my second one because it was so great for my older son. I switched both my children to this seat when they grew out of the carrier (~8-9 months). Totally worth the extra money, no doubt. It is nice and sturdy, sits them up high so they can see out the window, has these nifty velcros that hold the straps to the side while you sit your child in the seat, very easy LATCH clips, etc. Love it and recomend it to all new mommies.