Britax Boulevard? Evenflo Triumph Advance? Anyone?

i think evenflo (either the triumph or the titan) has a really good safety rating - either better than or equal to the britax. you might want to check out Consumer Reports. also, the infant/toddler car seats are safer than the sort that you use as a baby carrier.

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Check out the Graco Nautilus - it's about $150 and small enough to fit in the back of my husbands mid-life crisis German sports car. It was easy to install and my son prefers it over his huge Eddie Bauer thing in the mommy-mobile.
I really like that the Nautilus has side impact protection and Babies R Us has a waiting list for it - which is always a good sign.
Also - the buttons are difficult to open upside-down so Houdini can't get out of it while I'm driving - at least for now ;)

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We bought two Britax Marathons for each of our cars when our son was about 4 1/5 months old. He is very tall and outgrew the infant seat way too soon! Anyway, we LOVE our seats. They are easy to install and will last him until he is 65lbs. When he has outgrown this one I am planning on getting a Britax Regent to hold him in a 5 point harness until he reaches 80lbs just because I am so leery of booster seats being safe enough. Spend the money and get the safest seat you can get for your infant. Car seat costs are minimal compared to possible physical harm in an accident. You won't be diappointed. We ordered our online from Albee Baby there was no tax and free shipping! They got here really quickly, within a week and we have no worries or complaints. Also, the fabric on the Marathon is DURABLE and has withstood the test of time and cheerios for us. The covers remove easily and go back on easy. No stains or tears in three years for us.

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Britax is the best of all the ones I've tried. I have two girls and 3 vehicles and we are lazy and dont like to move the car seats. So I have a lot of them. I have 3 Britax ones and they are the best as far as staying tight in the car, ease of using the straps to get the child strapped in. The others I have tried seem to feel "cheap" to me like the plastic is going to break or something. I have one that has a knob to tighten and it is such a pain. I constantly use the BRitax ones (i have two in my main vehicle) I have two Roundabouts which are the smaller one, but will last you a long long time. Til age 3 or so unless your child is a big one. I have a Marathon also for my larger child who is 5. I had also bought a Decathalon but I dont know if they still have them. It is a little taller than the Marathon and will take the child from infant on up to maybe 5 yrs. I think it's worth the investment. You could even try Craig's list and buy a used one. They say after a year or so they change or whatever, but honestly once you buy one you dont replace them every two years to get a new model. My first one is 5 years old and it's still fits tight and secure and has nice fabric. It has held up super well. The covers come off to clean them pretty easily also. Well as you can tell I like the Britax! Good luck.

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Hi E.,

I haven't heard of the Boulevard but I have the Britax Marathon and I love it. My husand and I can switch it between cars very easily. It was rated very high for safety by Consumer Reports - higher than the Britax Roundabout which is more expensive (and bigger). The Marathon is at both Target and Babies R Us for about $220. Babies R Us often has a 15% off coupon.

J.

I know a lot of people rave about the Britex (I can't help but wonder how much of that is due to people's instinct to feel more expensive must be better...), but I have the Evenflo Triumph Advanced and I love it!!
Don't let the size scare you, they all look pretty huge when you first see them compared to the infant seats, but I dont think the Evenflo is really any bigger. It fits fine in the back of my little Mazda3 - facing back it did only fit in the middle, but forward facing it is much easier and fits with plenty of room in any position.

Some of the features I love about the Evenflo:
1. Not only do you not have to rethread the sholder straps, but you can move them up and down each time you position your child in the seat so you know they're just right.
2. The side knob adjustment of the strap tension is the BEST! So much easier than trying to pull that strap out between the legs (especially if you encounter a kicking screaming toddler once in a while) - the release takes a couple trys to learn but once you get it you'll be doing it without any thought at all. Super easy adjustment means that you will actually adjust it just right everytime, as they are intended to be, instead of just assuming 'it fit ok last time I put him in, so it'll fit this time...' - It doesn't matter how safe or well rated a carseat is if you don't use it properly.
3. The one I have, 'Premier' edition I think, has a super plush seat and easy release LATCH hooks, which I didn't think would be that big of a deal, but when you're taking it in and out to move it (or to vacuum up all the assorted cheerio's and crumbs), it makes it soooo easy.
4. I has very high weight/hight limits.
5. $, sooo much cheaper.

Sorry this was so long but I just had to share how much I love this seat. Hope it helps!

I have the Britax for my 15 month old daughter and I LOVE IT!!! Not too huge, really comfy, safe and so easy to take in and out!!! Love it , worth every penny and its up to 65 pounds!!! Good luck

i bought the britex roundabout for my son and LOVE it! it's a bit smaller than the others i believe.

We have the Boulevard - LOVE IT! My daughter is 3 and has been in it since she was a few months old (as soon as she outgrew her infant carrier). I think she'll continue to fit in it until she's about 5. Love the side impact protection - she falls asleep in the car all the time and she doesn't have "bobble head" with this car seat. It does not seem to affect her ability to look out the window - she certainly does chatter away about all the things we are driving by! Overall I love the quality and extra features that the Britax car seats have - I'd highly recommend it.

After doing TONS of researching on car seats for my almost 3 month old, we bought The First Years True Fit. It's $80 less than the Marathon and has great test ratings. I like that it has the removable top so it fits MUCH better in the back seat rear facing. It wouldn't fit any better once the child gets big enough to put it on, but that's a while off and I'm planning on turning her around as soon as she's 12 months, because she HATES being in the car and I'm hoping it helps. Also, the fabric is VERY soft and easy to clean. It also has straps that don't need to be rethreaded. Good luck!

E.,
we have Britax Diplomat and we absolutely love it! our first seats were Graco Snug Ride (from 0 to 7 mts), and although they looked cute, I now wish we would have gotten Britax from the very beginning. it is just simply the best in comfort and safety. i bet my boys would enjoy being in the car more, had they had britax from the start. to compare, they sleep in britax seats for hours and never cry or complain, but they were jumping out of the Graco Snug Ride seats after 10 minutes of being in them and crying! I think that Britax is well worth the investment, especially if you'll be using their seats for a longer time than the infant seats. i did not have boulevard, but I think all models from this company are superb! Good Luck!

I liked it so much, I bought two more when we had twins! The great thing is that when I went to get it checked out by the fire dept about three years ago, they thought it was the best seat they had seen.

it's comfortable for the kids (their heads don't flop forward when they sleep) and it's easy to take out when you need to move it. PLUS you don't need to buy a booster seat when the time comes.
It was a good investment for us!
C.

I have the Britax Boulevard and love it. It's perfect for the back seat of my car (I have an Accord) and can still fit a passenger on each side of the seat (a little snug, but they fit). I would definitely recommend this car seat, I know it's pricey but based on how long they will use it, you'll get your money's worth.

E.,

I have the Boulevard and love it! My 2 year old used it and loved it and now my 6 month old is in it and also loves it. However, it is HUGE. So if you are looking for something smaller then the Triumph this might not be the right seat for you.

I bought the Evenflo Triumph and returned it because it was difficult to install and looked cheap. Also, at the time, (4 months ago) there was a recall on part of the seat. We bought a Britax and are very happy with it.

I just switched over to the britax boulevard cs from the safety first alpha omega elite due to a car accident. I LOVE IT! i wished i had just paid this much from the beginning.
pay extra money and get it. it is soo worth it. so easy to use.

Can't go wrong with Britax! It is all we use for both kids!!!! It is WORTH the money.

I love the Evenflo. It is big which poses a problem in airplanes but we bought a less expensive narrower seat for when we fly. I picked the Evenflo because it seemed to be the most comfortable seat out there and we do alot of driving. My son rarely fights to get in the seat and seems to enjoy his car rides. We didn't transition to this seat until he was a year old so I can't speak for it in a rear facing position but I would recommend it for a forward facing seat.

We have the Boulevard and love it. It is so soft and easy to adjust-definitely worth the money

Go with the Britax. My little guy has been in his since we brought him home from the hospital and we all love the seat!!

We really love the Boulevard. It is fantastic that you just turn the knob to adjust it. Also it has inserts when the baby is smaller to cushion around them a bit. Really worth the extra expense.

I have a Boulevard and LOVE it, however if you have a 4 door car, it tends to be a little big for the backseat and the reclining feature on it doesn't always work with the size of the seat. I drive an Expedition and it fits perfectly and I am able to adust the back for my childs needs. LOVE it so much in fact that I bought one for my 6 mth old who will be transisitoning into it this weekend. I am so NOT ready for two in big boy seats, but I guess I need to suck it up.

K.

We have the britax....2 of them for our twins. I absolutely love it. The price is outrageous, but you actually feel like you get your $ worth when they are in it for a long time. I highly recommend any of the car seats from Britax.

We have both the Britax Marathon and the Evenflo Titan. I am happy with both, honestly. I think the Marathon is a nicer seat, and will work rear-facing longer (since it's taller) and we are going to keep DD rear-facing as long as possible. However, the Titan works great - is NOT big at all, and rear-faces up to 33 lbs. It's actually narrower than the Marathon. I didn't like the Triumph as much, to be honest.

I don't think re-threading the straps is a big deal. It just takes a few minutes and doesn't have to be done very often.

I agree on the Boulevard head supports - DD would be mad if she couldn't look out the side windows.

I would definitely go with the Britax...it's worth the extra money. Everyone I know right away said get a Britax. We went with the marathon, because it will last for so long. My friend used that seat for both her boys and it held up fine! You do have to adjust the harness, but my little girl is tall and we've only had to do that a couple times...no big deal.
Good Luck,
Kailey's mom