Britax Marathon carseat install

[jandree22]

I know this won't matter to most of you here, but I'm just posting this as a reference for new parents or parents-to-be.

My 4 month old already grew out of his Graco SnugRide infant seat, so we just upgraded to the Britax Marathon convertible seat. (We had originally purchased the Alpha Omega Elite 3-in-1, but returned it after hearing somewhat negative reviews... plus glowing positive reviews of the Britax). The Britax Marathon, without question, is a porker, very bulky and heavy. We were worried about fitting in the 2nd row of the Mazda5 and the back seat of my wife's Solara coupe. Thankfully, we just got by on both accounts.

The Britax Marathon is tight in the 5. In the pics below, the seat is attached by LATCH. There is nothing (pool noodle or rolled towel) under the seat to adjust incline. And the front passenger seat is slid forward one notch from the very back. I've decided tonight, however, that I will be putting a towel under the seat to adjust the incline... I've roughly figured it out to be 35* currently and the tolerance is from 30-45*, but might as well do it best as suggested is 45*. Worst case scenario, I'll have to slide the seat 2 notches from the back.

As far as the seat itself, can't talk much on personal experience since the little guy's only ridden in it once so far. One good thing is in the Graco we had to adjust the straps every time we put him in (to tighten the harness)... for whatever reason, we don't need to do that in the Britax at this point. We can get the harness around in front of him, but then when buckled the harness is still nice and snug against him. Next, the construction is far superior to the Graco, much beefier components (straps, buckles, LATCH clips, etc). Also, you have a lot of choices in color/print for the seats. What you see below is the Babies-R-Us Exclusive "Platinum" color. If you order online, you can pick from at least 10 others. Finally, while the Graco was made in China, the Britax sticker states that it was manufactured in North Carolina (usa)

Some pics...

 

[cancoi]

Congratulations on the upgrade! We had to move our little one to a Britax Boulevard in our current Focus ZX3 when he was about 4 months (outgrew at height, which most people don't realize can happen), which was even a tighter fit (one-to-two spots back from the FRONT position). Much easier fit in the car when they are front-facing, but that won't be for awhile.

The Britax are great carseats -- any carseat is great, but we've been happy with these and will chose another when its time (or, if #1 outgrows it by height sooner than later, just transition the seat to #2 and booster #1).

The fit was actually one of the reasons we chose/ordered the Mazda5, especially with the adjustable second row. We put that carseat in about 15 different cars (and that is installing it properly in 15 cars) for fit, both of the carseat and my husband.

And thanks for the info about the manufacturer location -- good to support slightly more local manufacturing.

Now, to see what gets delivered first -- the car or the baby!

 

[starlightmica]

That story sounds really familiar although it took our kids about 5-6 months to outgrow the Graco Snugride. Ours is now hit its use-by date and will be going to the recycle bin or dumpster soon.

We have a Marathon but have never used it rear facing - we bought it when our oldest outgrew his Roundabout. We now have 2 Roundabouts, a Marathon, and the Monarch booster seat. The 3 seats are usually in the Sienna, and the Monarch moves between the cars as needed and currently in the 5. The great thing is that the Marathon can be used for quite a while, until your kid is 65lbs, and our oldest is taking his time bumping past 40lbs when you have to use the seat belt instead of LATCH.

Pic of Monarch and 2 Roundabouts in the 5, which I posted previously:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110977

 

[coolmazda5]

(2thumbs)

I didn't know Babies-R-Us had exclusive editions, I'll play mum with wifey otherwise she may want to take me there to "see" what el$$e is around (thought)

The Britax are great carseats -- any carseat is great

Yes, Britax car seats are great, but not any car seat is good I'm afraid . I don't know anything about car seats but my wife has done a lot of research (She's geeky on those things). Britax topped the list as it seems that the 5 point harness is still available at certain X weight, when for the rest is not anymore, so, in summary, the Britax is much safer for older toddlers than any other car seat (or something like that)...

Now, to see what gets delivered first -- the car or the baby!

I go baby, wanna bet? (lol2) They break any single common sense rule. Best of luck cancoi and keep us updated!

Here we go, my Marathon Britax. They had this Black-n-Gray fabric combination available on-line, which makes it look great on the Mazda5:

Oh, and wife already saw starlightmica's pic the other day and now is getting ideas (boom01). No, but great pic, I just love it.

 

[AIMWO4]

Seems like 2 clicks forward is not much. I've had the Britax in my Saab 9-5 wagon, and the seat had to get moved up a lot more than that. My 7-month old is STILL in his first seat. He is only in the 5th percentile in size and weight, but has a Charlie Brown-like head in the 25th %. (cool)

I'll be flipping the seat backwards soon for him. I have 2 seats and a base in the mini-van, and the same in the Mazda5 SuperMini.

 

[coolmazda5]

He is only in the 5th percentile in size and weight, but has a Charlie Brown-like head in the 25th %. (cool)

I'll be flipping the seat backwards soon for him. I have 2 seats and a base in the mini-van, and the same in the Mazda5 SuperMini.

LOL. You just made my day: Charlie Brown-like head . We may be in the same case, no hair yet either.

Baby gear industry, that is where I want to work. Those little monsters consume more than anyone else in the family. In addition, usually you don't really haggle at all on baby stuff, you just buy whatever is best, no questions asked... screw the wallet

 

[zoomzoom mazda5]

Jandree, get your boy a steering wheel and a number 3 patch on his car seat. The new terminator is here!

 

[mountjonas]

nice! we've got the britax marathon for our daughter. it's front facing now and that totally frees up the room. great seat.

 

[cancoi]

CoolMazda5 --

I agree with you about Britax being the best, which is why it ended up on our list. I probably was as geeky as your wife with the internet research and Baby Bargins reviews and I wanted the best rated seat for our son, which I believe he has (Boulevard). Any car seat, however, is safer than no car seat (or what any of us were placed in during childhood), that was my point. I am surprised by the number of people who have unrestrained toddlers in their cars these days, especially given the state laws. I know the infant seat will fit behind the passenger seat with little problem (2005 Peg Pergeo, prior to the recent update), so we'll be set with two little ones happily zoom-zooming along!

And as for the baby vs. 2008 Mazda5 -- yeah, I think the baby will come first (mid-November). But there are always those tempting 2007's on the lot...

 

[coolmazda5]

Any car seat, however, is safer than no car seat (or what any of us were placed in during childhood), that was my point. I am surprised by the number of people who have unrestrained toddlers in their cars these days, especially given the state laws. I know the infant seat will fit behind the passenger seat with little problem (2005 Peg Pergeo, prior to the recent update), so we'll be set with two little ones happily zoom-zooming along!

And as for the baby vs. 2008 Mazda5 -- yeah, I think the baby will come first (mid-November). But there are always those tempting 2007's on the lot...

Thanks for the info cancoi. I know what you mean now. You are right, when I told mom that we were shopping around for new car seats after the Graco, she was like: "You may not need it as he's almost 1yr old", LOL. I had to explain that some things have changed a little bit since.

It is so true, I don't even remember seatbelts in the back seat nor kid helmets to ride a bicycle when I was a child (OK OK, I may not be the youngest guy around either ). Glad to hear you are in the forum. I gotta tell my wife that is not just "car stuff" (lol2)

Mid-November, huh? I'm just getting goose bumps (sick) of hearing due dates. Ours came 15 days earlier, good thing wife had been ready or months before (boom06)

 

[eilros25]

(We had originally purchased the Alpha Omega Elite 3-in-1, but returned it after hearing somewhat negative reviews... plus glowing positive reviews of the Britax).

The Alpha Omega Elite 3-in-1 is actually a pretty nice car seat. I've been using one for six months and haven't had any issues other than my daughter would rather stand in the seat than sit.

 

[jandree22]

Well, the main thing that scared us is that my wife heard that there is a gap for some kids, where they get too tall for the 5pt. harness before they weigh enough/old enough for the booster portion. Our son is currently in the 95th percentile for height so... Not a big deal but we figured we'd exchange them while we could for this reason primarily.

 

[MD5]

Do yourself a favor and get a 2-3" pad of high-density foam to put under the seat. That way it won't leave a footprint on the seats of your 5.

I did this for each of my cars (mine and my wife's) for both of our kids and once they outgrew each seat, you could never tell one was in the car.

Matt

 

[eilros25]

Do yourself a favor and get a 2-3" pad of high-density foam to put under the seat. That way it won't leave a footprint on the seats of your 5.

I did this for each of my cars (mine and my wife's) for both of our kids and once they outgrew each seat, you could never tell one was in the car.

Matt

That's a good idea. I just picked up one of these and it works great:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...2/601-6481632-1073768?ie=UTF8&asin=B000COW82C

 

[jandree22]

Here we go, my Marathon Britax. They had this Black-n-Gray fabric combination available on-line, which makes it look great on the Mazda5

Yeah, I agree. I think your color scheme matches the best. My wife's Solara has virtually the same interior, so that color combo would've worked out great.

Jandree, get your boy a steering wheel and a number 3 patch on his car seat. The new terminator is here!

lol, I knew it did have some kind of racing appearance but you nailed it perfectly (first)

 

[slvrsleeper]

I second all the positive reviews on the Marathon, my daughter has been in hers since she outgrew her infant seat. We have taken several substantial road trips and she can ride in that thing all day without complaining. Space gets much less tight when you flip the seat around to face forward, so take heart 5 owners!