Review of the Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat

I was hesitant about purchasing this car seat despite the rave reviews from other's who owned Britax. I'll admit I was curious as to what all the hype was about but was still skeptical as to just how great this seat would be. It is one of the more expensive ones on the market and I had convinced myself that brand names didn't matter and that all car seats passed the same safety expectations. My almost one year old son outgrew his infant seat and I decided to take the plunge and invest in a Britax Convertible. It was important to me that he was safely restrained rear-facing and at the time most car seats had lower weight limits. I fell in love with the Marathon from the moment I first put it in my car.

The installation is super easy. You can use either the car's seat belts or use the built in LATCH attachments. Britax makes special latch hooks that I've only seen on one other car seat (Peg Perego) which allows for an effortless attachment and easy tightening. I have installed the Marathon both ways (seat belt and latch) and no matter what it's a rock solid fit and the car seat doesn't move an inch in any direction. Britax allows their seats to be installed with a rear-facing tether strap which at the time it was the only manufacturer to accommodate this. Now you can safely do this with a Radian car seat as well but other than these two brands a tether attachment can only be used in the forward facing position. If you do use the seat belt for installation the Marathon has built-in lock offs on both sides. This means no need for those pesky metal clips that come with car seats and if your vehicle doesn't have automatically locking seat belts some sort of lock off is necessary. While the car seat is easy to install in a variety of vehicles it is heavier and bulkier than many other brands so it can be a pain if you have to transfer it frequently.

The Britax Marathon is pricey at $269 but has many advantages. Besides a great installation it also allows your child to remain rear-facing until 33 pounds and forward facing until 65 pounds. The highest slot is set at 17 inches so this car seat could last for the entire time your child needs a car seat. If you added up the cost of a separate infant seat, a convertible seat, and a booster you would clearly save money by only buying one high quality seat like a Marathon. The only downfall is that it won't be as snug or comfortable for brand new babies and if you have super tall kids you still might end up buying a booster later on but luckily they are fairly cheap. This car seat is very well made and passes European regulations which are stricter than those in the US. I've never known anyone who regretted spending the extra money on a Britax car seat; safety does not have a price tag.

The harness system is very easy to use and works well. It is a 5 point system and like I said has a high slot setting to accommodate a growing child. There are a total of 4 different height positions so you can use if for a small infant and up to about 49 inches. The straps are thick and never twist. The patented hugs system keeps the chest clip in the right position, which is important for safety. The Marathon has metal lever in the front of the seat that allows for easy adjustment of the harness straps so you can loosen it and tighten it with one hand.

The base on the car seat is one of the more narrow ones which means it will fits better in a variety of vehicles and can be used next to another car seat. It also has a recline button so that you can get the proper angle when using it rear-facing.

The Marathon comes in several fabric and print choices and all are really nice quality material. When you wash the cover it comes out looking brand new time after time and is quite easy to take on and off. The wings on the side of the car seat come up rather high offering additional side impact protection and cocoon your child safely. The EPS padding is thick and the seat seems super comfortable.

Besides being heavy and costing a little bit more the Britax Marathon is an excellent car seat. I can't recommend it enough and would buy one again in a heartbeat. The benefits are worth the additional expense and considering you can get up to 6 years of use out of it, the cost is not even an issue. The only problem is once you are spoiled by Britax's ease of use and high quality you will not want to consider other car seats in the future so if you have more than once child you will hope to buy another one.