Is the More Expensive Car Seat Worth It?

C.,

My two boys are both in Britax (the Grandparents wanted to purchase a large gift so we asked for one for each). The first one we got was the Roundabout. I used it exclusively with my first child (he was a spring baby and I hated carrying the infant seat). I think it is the easiest to use, easy to install and seems very safe.

Then when baby #2 came, we bought the Marathon and bumped my then nearly 2 year old into that and put the baby into the Roundabout (he was closer to 5 months when we moved him from the infant seat to the Roundabout).

Now, we are expecting #3, and I am going to by the even bigger one (I think it's the Decathalon), and switch them all up again.

I would never purchase anything else. Especially if you have someone in the family (Grandparent especially) who likes to buy big things for baby, it is a great investment in your child's safety, and who can't appreciate that.

J.

We love our Britax (roundabout) - used it for both kids. The straps never tangle, it has the easiest installation. We also have some less expensive seats and they are fine but not as user-friendly.

Dear C.,
We went with the Evenflo Triumph 5 as it was rated just as high as the Britax Roundabout (these 2 in particular were both rated the highest & received the same score). It's still a bit more expensive than some (I think with a coupon we had for Babies R Us, it came to approx. $180 with tax), but definitely not as expensive as the Britax! I noticed that a number of people have said they have the Britax Marathon...it didn't rate very well, so if you're going to go that route, get the Roundabout.

Good Luck!
S. =0)

To some degree I think you get what you pay for with car seats, at least when it comes to comfort and ease of use. We went the slightly less expensive route and purchased an Evenflo Triumph Advance when my youngest outgrew his infant seat. So far I am very happy with the purchase. I was able to get a tight installation in our vehicle and I find the straps are easy to adjust. Everyone I know that has a Britax seat loves it, but when I was testing car seats in the stores, I found that I actually preferred the Evenflo Triumph Advance for several reasons.

YES! I have the Britax Marathon for my 2 year old and LOVE it.

This is a case where it's okay to SPLURGE!! Not only is installation fairly easy (for both forward and backward facing) on a Britax, but it is the ultimate in COMFORT!! My son loves the Britax Marathon seat we bought for him, and his future siblings will love it as well, I'm sure. The seat seams super comfy and he always seems to sleep well in it on long trips. Although I don't know what cheap carseats are like, I have certainly enjoyed my Britax. It's worth it!

NO! When my first son was born I bought so many top of the line products and was disappointed. I wished I had just stuck with Graco and saved a ton of money. By the time he was one and ready to change carseats I had finally learned my lesson and bought the Graco which was rated extremely high at the time and I've had no problems with it. It was easy to install, my son never complained about it, and I'm guessing it was comfortable since he had no problems sleeping in it. By the time my 3rd son was born we needed a new car seat and we bought the Fisher Price which is made by Britax, is the same as the Roundabout model, but costs half as much, and we love it.

I would definitely go for the Britax. I was skeptical at first too, but my daughter loves it and it fits really securely in our car. For long trips (we travel at least 2 hours every other weekend to my parents), the seat has 2 reclining levels and I can recline her seat back so she can sleep comfortably... No neck bent over, etc. It is so nice and very easy to use! Good luck!

Just a general piece of information--I wouldn't buy a used car seat as someone suggested. You won't know it's history. Child restraints are supposed to be discarded if they have been in even one accident. Also, most of them are supposed to be thrown out after 5 years, although they usually have "expiration" dates printed on the back. I just discarded two that had "expired." I hated throwing them in a landfill, but I didn't want to put any children in jeopardy by passing them along.

For the infant and booster seats, we have gone the cheaper route. However, I do think the intermediate Britax is worth the money. Ours is on kid #3, and it still looks band new. It is by far the easiest to install. The straps do not get tangled (which is huge!). It also is very comfortable for sleeping which kids between 1 and 3 tend to do in the car. It has been great for trips. I bought ours online, so you might check into that to save some money, either search google or try ebay. Craigslists might be another option if you want to try a used one.

We absolutely LOVE our Britax Roundabout. It's definitely worth the money. We're planning on purchasing a Britax Marathon once our second child outgrows the infant carrier and moving our first child into that and the second into the Roundabout. They're definitely worth what you pay for them!

I love my Britax and I would say it is definately worth the money. I have a spare car seat that my parents keep at their house and honestly, seeing how she fits in there compared to how she fits in the britax, there is no comparison. The Britax is cushier and seats her up higher, which is a safety thing. Also, just knowing that my daughter is in the #1 rated car seat for safety puts my mind at ease.

Totally worth it. My three year old is a fast grower. She out grew her Graco 40 lb weight limit seat before she was three. If you have a fast grower, save yourself the money by buying the Britax right now. Trying to save money ending up costing me an additional $90.00 per car to end up with the Britax in both cars anyway. Babyage.com often has sales where you can get the Marathon for $209.00. Get on their email list, and it won't be long before you see a Britax sale.

Yes, they are & I would get the Marathon. We bought the Roundabout before they made the bigger Marathon & my daughter grew out of it at around 3. I've gone by height vs weight b/c I have a tall kid. My daughter was in the Marathon up until this winter when she got too tall for the Marathon at age 6.

The reason I like the Britax Marathon is that the seat is very sturdy & I was also able to get a good tight fit no matter what car it was in. And it fits on an airplane very easily (forward facing). You can also rear face longer in the Marathon. I kept my daughter rear facing until she was around 2.

Best wishes for whatever you choose!

I know that many people will say that Britax is the only way to go, and they are great, but you don't have to spend the money. I was required to take a car seat class by the county to become a foster parent. We were told that all new car seats are safe if used properly. The problem with some of the cheap ones is that they aren't very user-friendly for installation and everyday use, so parents don't have their little ones secured correctly. So, I recommend finding a seat that fits well in your car, that has the adjusting straps in a convenient location,is comfortable for your child, and spend what you are comfortable with. Then, check with your local firestation. Many of them have times when they'll check out your installation and give you the reassurance that it's right - or they'll help you fix it. Hope my 2 cents are helpful!

We went with the Evenflo Triumph for my daughter and we like it for the most part. I did research on Consumer Reports and found that it scored equally, or better in some cases, to the Britax models on safety. We felt comfortable with that since we needed a seat for each car and they are half the price of the Britax.

With regard to ease of use, installation is fine if you have LATCH in your car. The straps can be difficult to manuever but if you read the manual and remain patient for the first few weeks you should get the hang of it. I have tried the Britax while on vacation and I will say the straps were easier to adjust, however, not enough of a difference to switch seats.

With regard to cleaning, we bought the two seats at the same time but they are clearly different designs with regard to the seat cover. One of them requires full disassembly from the car to take the seat off for washing and the other does not. You might want to take a look at this before you install the seat as it can be really annoying when you're child has an accident in the car seat and you need to get it clean quickly.

We just went through all of this with my 10 month old daughter. After reading the consumer and safety reports that were previously mentioned we decided to go with the Evenflo Triumphs. We needed two-one for each car. We have been very happy with them and my daughter has too. In one of our cars we have the latch system and that was breeze to get the seat into. The other car doesn't have the latch and that took a little more fussing to get it tight and level but we had the same issue with the car seat base for the infant seat--ahhh, life without the latch! We haven't had any issues with the straps tangling or getting messed up. We did buy little strap covers b/c they rubbed on my daughter's skin and left red marks when she wears sleeveless shirts/outfits. But those were $10--not a big deal. We also bought a Graco seat for my mom's Explorer--just occasional use. That was super easy to get in and we have had no problems with the straps or anything with that seat either. It is definately lighter weight than the Evenflos but my daugher fits well in it (she is a tall girl) and seems to be comfy. We got all our seats at Target--I know they just got all new car seats in their baby section. The Graco seat now has TONS more padding than they previously had and I have seen the Evenflo seats on clearance in the stores--I wonder if they are clearanced out on-line as well???? I know this is a big, expensive decision. Good luck!!!! J.