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Our Review of the Britax Marathon convertible car seat
- Britax has just implemented a new, patent-pending, energy absorbing rip-stitch tether for all Marathon convertible car seats.
Increasing the time a child can safely stay in their convertible car seat is a big issue and Britax engineers have come through in a big way with the introduction of the Britax Marathon with LATCH. A LATCH Compatible Convertible Child Seat, the Britax Marathon can be used rear facing 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing from 20 to 65 pounds. Compare the numbers and you will see it is hard to find a seat with these weight limits that is safe and functional.
The Britax Marathon is built on a shell with dimensions that are larger than the Britax Roundabout. Even with the larger dimensions, the Marathon is still approved for use on aircraft and will fit perfectly in just about every car out there. (Rear-facing installation may be more tricky. If intended for rear-facing use, please allow for 31" of back seat space)Some standout features include a four-position adjustable shoulder straps that are easy to change as your child grows, easy to install IsoFit™ LATCH buckles, easy to adjust recline system, and floating HUGS that enable easy chest clip placement and distributes the harness load to avoid webbing edge irritation to a child's neck in the event of a crash.
Trying to decide between the Britax Marathon and Britax Decathlon?
The Britax Decathlon is identical in many ways to the Marathon. Updated features on the Decathlon include:
- 3-position adjustable crotch strap
- Removable toddler head pillow and infant positioning system for newborn babies
If you are looking for your baby's first car seat, the additional padding on the Decathlon will be an attractive feature. Or, if you're searching for a second seat for your child who continues to come up at the top of the growth chart, the Decathalon's adjustable crotch strap might come in handy as he or she grows even more. If these are not in your list of concerns, then the Marathon should work great.
*Please note: Use vehicle seat belt (not LATCH connectors) for installations with children weighing more than 48 pounds (21 kg.). Refer to the vehicle's owner's manual or contact the vehicle manufacturer for the maximum weight rating for their LATCH anchors. Unless specified otherwise by the vehicle manufacturer, assume a 48 pound child is the vehicle LATCH anchor limit.
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Authorized Britax Dealer Britax maintains an authorized dealer network which protects you from buying used, illegally imported, or fake Britax Car Seats. In addition, Britax warranty only covers car seats purchased from an authorized retailer. Britax products purchased on eBay or any auction site voids the warranty. |
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Car seat specs
- Min child weight
- 5 lbs.
- Max child weight
- 65 lbs.
- Rear-facing minimum weight
- 5 lbs.
- Max child weight - Rear Facing mode
- 33 lbs.
- Min child weight - Forward Facing mode
- 20 lbs.
- Max child weight - Forward facing mode
- 65 lbs.
- Max harness weight capacity
- 65 lbs.
- Min child height
- 18"
- Max child height
- 49"
- Min child height - Forward facing mode
- 18"
- Max 5-pt harness child height capacity
- 49"
Car seat dimensions
- Product weight
- 17.5 lbs.
- Seat Base / Foot Width
- 19.5"
- Seat height
- 28"
- Interior seat width
- 11"
- Interior seat back height
- 22.5"
- Bottom to lowest harness slot
- 10"
- Bottom to highest harness slot
- 17.5"
- Easy Recline Adjustment Handle provides a range of comfortable seating and reclining positions
- Britax Patented Versa-Tether™ secures the seat from tilting forward or backward in the event of an impact in both the forward and rear facing positions.
- Five-Point Harness with four adjustable shoulder heights for a secure fit as your child grows
- One Pull Harness Strap Adjuster for quick, easy, and snug fit every time
- IsoFit™ Flexible Buckle System for LATCH, ensuring a simple and secure fit
- Removable, hand-washable cover.
- Floating HUGS (Harness Ultra-Guard System) enables easy chest clip placement and distributes the harness load to avoid webbing edge irritation to a child's neck in the event of a crash
- Built in Lock-Offs, both forward facing and rear facing, are designed for easy reach and operation when using traditional belt routing
- Approved for use in aircraft
- Product dimensions: 28"H x 19.5"W x 25"D, 17.5 lbs.
Britax Marathon convertible car seat Reviews
All Customer Reviews
- Average Rating:
- Highest Rating:
- Lowest Rating:
- Number of Reviews:
- 139
Love it!
Reviewer: Tiffany O. , Wyoming, MN
Date: April 26, 2008
we purchased the Marathon for my daughter when she outgrew her infant seat and have owned it for 4 years. It is easy to use and now she can manage getting in and out on her own. The belt is easy to tighten and the seat is very comfortable. I would recommend this carseat as the weight and height limits are higher than the roundabout. It really provides for flexibility when considering the timing of moving into a booster.
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Easy to Use
Reviewer: Anonymous , Chicago, IL
Date: April 14, 2008
When we first received the Marathon, we were worried it wouldn't fit into our 2007 Prius, but it installed quickly. What we like most about this car seat is how comfortable it is for our son (8 months and about 20 pounds) and how easy it is to get him in and out. The straps cinch up tightly, but we can loosen them without difficulty or a lot of tugging. It's also good to know that the Britax products come highly recommended for safety.
Once again we were thrilled with the service from TipToeTurtle.com -- the seat arrived one day after we placed our order! Also we knew we didn't have to worry about problems with returning, etc. if the seat had not fit in our car.
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Excelent & Loving it !!!
Reviewer: Sandra , El Paso Tx
Date: March 25, 2008
I just got a Marathon Cowmooflage car seat and I couldn't do better than that. I have a VW Beetle and it fits perfect. It takes a little bit to install the first time (20 min) since you have to read the instructions but nothing to complicated, next time will take me 2 min. Really secure and doesn't move at all compare to the Evenflo's one that we have in my husband's car. The Marathon seat is high enough and allows my 1 year old to see everything thru the window, keeps him entertained and happy.
A little too worried ordering a car seat from elitecarseats.com since I read a really BAD review from a customer (2005) getting the wrong product from somebody who had it returned so I made sure everything had been packed in perfect conditions and never been used before..EXCELENT....NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL, shipped the same day, got it the 3rd. day, always able to track it... Definitely will order again from elicarseats.com
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Love it!!
Reviewer: mommyof2 , Beaverton OR
Date: March 15, 2008
We purchased this car seat right before our daughter turned one. She is now 3 & she is still using it. We have never had any problems with the belt coming undone. We haven't ever had any problems with it at all. I love knowing that my daughter is safe, I'm very nervous to move her into a booster. We have a almost 6 month old that will move into the Marathon when she is one. I may have to purchase another one of these since I haven't been able to find a booster that I feel comfortable with. We want one that we can take on the airplane. That is one problem that we have had with this car seat, it's bulky & hard to carry around the airport. Another thing was putting the airplane seatbelt through the back was really hard. My hands are much smaller then my husbands & I couldn't even do it. He finally managed it but it was difficult. Other then that, the seat is great. Well worth the money. I couldn't imagine being thrifty on my childs safety.
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Nice seat, not perfect
Reviewer: Lisa H. , Mentor, OH
Date: March 11, 2008
I ordered 2 Marathons on Friday and they were on my doorstep Saturday afternoon. Elitecarseats was great to work with and the free shipping was a huge bonus!! The seats were a better price than I could get from any brick and mortar store.
The seats are very well made, and the fabric is nice (crocodile & onyx) without being too plush and overheating my son, like his Graco SafeSeat did (fusion fabric). I love the velcro to hold the straps out of the way. The floating HUGS harness is also very nice and makes adjusting the chest clip very easy. The installation instructions were difficult to understand. We read through them several times before we figured out the installation for a lap/shoulder belt rear facing. Due to incompatibility issues, we ultimately installed them rear facing in the back seat (passenger side in 1 car and drivers side in the other) with LATCH which was a breeze. My husband and I are average height (5'8" & 5'9") and did not need to adjust the driver or passenger front seats in order to give the Marathon enough room in the back.
Obviously safety is a concern and this seat consistently performs well in tests. It's one of the best on the market for safety. The safest install position is center rear seat and rear facing as long as the child is below 33 lbs., so that's what we wanted.
My HUGE disappointment is that I could not get a secure fit with the seat rear-facing in the center in either a 2007 Toyota RAV4 or in a 2007 Toyota Highlander. Neither vehicle has LATCH in the center position, and the seat belt install was never tight. And, yes, we did take it to a car seat technician, and he could not get a secure fit in the center (rear facing) either. I had tried putting a Marathon display model from a local store in my car before purchasing from elitecarseats. When I could not get it secure enough, I figured it was something I wasn't doing right. I thought that my husband or a car seat tech would be able to install it securely, with more time and effort. I even called the local car seat tech before purchasing, and he said he had installed many Britax seats over the last 5 years and had not yet found any incompatibility issues with it. Now he knows.
I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in Toyota or in Britax. Over and over again I hear that some seats are just not compatible with some cars. From the reviews that I have read (hundreds), it doesn?t happen that often, so why can't the manufacturers provide that information up front? A label that says "known incompatibility issues with some Toyota vehicles" or something like that would have been nice. I called both Britax and Toyota before purchasing the 2 Marathons and neither company would tell me about any incompatibility issues. And, carseatdata.org is no help, at least not for me. I have repeatedly searched it only to find limited or no data for my family's vehicles and the car seats we were considering. Based on everything I've read and seen, we do not have uncommon cars, and we certainly did not buy an uncommon car seat. Had I known that I was going to have issues getting a convertible car seat to install securely rear facing in the center back seat, (this is the second we tried; the Sunshine Kids Radian 65 also would not fit rear facing in the center) I may have purchased a different vehicle.
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Really great car seats!
Reviewer: Anonymous , Dallas, TX
Date: February 19, 2008
I bought two marathons for my twin boys when they outgrew their infant seats. It is so easy to get them in and out of the seats. It is actually much easier than their infant car seats. I love the velcro which keeps the straps to the sides. My only complaint is that the directions for installing the seats rear facing weren't very clear. I had to go to the internet and find some photos before I understood how to use the tether strap when rear facing. The seats are very secure and don't move at all. I have a Honda CR-V and you can't move the front seats all the way back when the car seats are rear facing. It's not a problem for me as I'm 5'4", but my 6'2" husband is cramped. Once we can turn the seats forward facing, it won't be a problem. The boys are much happier in these than they were in the infant seats.
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Poor reviews are unfounded
Reviewer: Anonymous , Portland, ME
Date: February 17, 2008
I have a 2+ yr old daughter and we have travelled a lot in her 2 years. We have tried several other brand car seats through family and renting them when we rent a car. My daughter has a tendency to get car sick. She has NEVER gotten sick in her Marathon. I think it is because she can see out the window as I drive. This alleviates the motion sickness and prevents her from vomiting on long drives. Also, she is very tall for her age, has been greater than the 97th percent all her life. The seat still fits and she has room to grow. I do believe she will out grow by height first than by weight. The person whose daughter has not reached the 65# max, maybe you should see if she has become too tall for the seat? I find this seat luxurious for the most part, I just wish there were some cup holders so her sippy cups don't end up on my floor.
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Mixed feelings
Reviewer: Anonymous , Naperville, IL
Date: February 04, 2008
I have had my Britax Marathon for almost 2 1/2 years. I first bought it for my daughter; now my son uses it as my daughter is in a Regent now. I am not denying that the Marathon is a study seat, but my mixed feelings make me not recommend it to my friends. First, the base it very high, making it hard for my kids to climb into the seat themselves. When I do pick up my nearly 4 year old son to place him in the seat, I knock his head on the car roof. I also kind of question the reasoning for having the base so high. He likes the fact that he can see out the window of our mini-van well, but I like the Regent being right on the seat (it does not have a base). Second, the reason we had to move my daughter to a Regent is that even though she was technically within the weight/height limits of the Marathon, she was very uncomfortable. Both my kids are very tall for their ages, and my daughter is also in the 95% percentile for weight. So when she turned 4 we got the Regent (much to my husband's dismay at having to buy yet another car seat). I have no idea what 65lb kids are sitting in the Marathon, as my daughter at 44lbs couldn't fit well. As I stated, we are using this for my son, but lately I have discovered that the buckle by his crotch comes undone while I am driving. He isn't trying to unlock it (as my daughter would tell me if he was), but just yesterday I was driving on the expressway and he cried out that his "belt broke". Needless to say I was very nervous until I could safely pull into an oasis to buckle him back in. I was hoping this would be the last car seat I needed to buy, but now it looks like I may have to buy something else!
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Impressed so far!
Reviewer: Anonymous , Seattle, WA
Date: February 03, 2008
I'm definitely pleased with the Britax Marathon carseat! Overall it was easy to install (rear-facing in center position in Honda CRV), although finding where to anchor the tether was a bit of a mystery at first. With the tether in place, though, this seat isn't going anywhere! I love the soft, cushy cover, the soft guard around the crotch buckle, and the "hugs system" on the shoulder belt makes it easier to cinch my baby in. I did remove the shoulder pads that velcro around the shoulder straps because they caused the straps to twist everytime, which was very annoying. It is an expensive carseat, but I feel it was worth every penny. The seat is stable, secure, sturdy, and I feel confident that my 9-month-old is riding safely. I also know that she'll be able to stay in this seat for a few years to come. A great seat and a great buying experience at elitecarseats.com.
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