Britax Frontier 85 - Hugo,MN

I bought the Frontier 85 for my son. He is almost 6 but just hit the 40lb mark and I wanted him in a 5pt harness because he is pretty small for his age. He loves the new seat and he fits it fine even with snow pants on. The strap that comes up from the bottom in between his legs is adjustable which most other car seats that strap is not adjustable. I bought this car seat to replace the Britax Marathon I had him in. I don't know much about any other car seats as this is the only brand I've had my son in.

I just ordered a second one from Amazon last week during their sale so that we have one for our second car. We just switched our youngest to the Marathon and needed a second seat for our oldest. I didn’t hesitate to buy another Frontier. As far as the straps twisting, we pull them out all the way and “open” them so that they are out of the way when taking our son out and we don’t have any problems with them twisting. My son loves his car seat!

We have 3 of them~! LOVE it~!

It has a No-thread harness which is great. The kids like the cup holder. LOL. But I like the fact that our children will be in a 5-point harness till 85#! And then I can use it as a booster. We purchased our first one for our daughter when she was almost 5 1/2. Then we got her 3 year old brother one. And then we bought a spare for our 2nd vehicle because we loved them so much!

We DID check out the Natilus at Walmart and were NOT impressed! Our daughter almost looked too big for it! (And she's small for her age......) She just didn't look very comfortable either. My husband was the one that said NO WAY are we buying this one.

for a thorough and detailed review of the Frontier 85 by a certified child passenger safety technician, check the carseatblog
http://carseatblog.com/5751/britax-frontier-85-review-its...

I have the Britax Frontier 85, and we love it! We take at least 2 and sometimes up to four 12-14 hour car trips each year, from IL to WV and TN, to see family. She was always uncomfortable in her cheaper car seats, so we had her in a Britax Boulevard until little brother came along, and then moved her to a Cosco 5 point to belt positioning booster....she could never reach the cup holder well, and was just uncomfy....so we ponied up the money to et the Frontier - we figured it will be her last seat, so it is worth it. The seat padding on the butt is much thicker and more cushioning for her little tush on long rides, we haven't had issues with the straps twisting, but we loosen and tighten each time we get in and out, to make sure they are fitted right....she LOVES being able to reach her 2 great cupholders, and so do we! We plan on getting another frontier once the little guy out grows the Boulevard.

I did look HARD at the Graco Nautilus, BUT the one major drawback it that although their 5 point harness says it goes to 65 pounds, but at the time we tried my daughter in it, she was a small 32 pounds, 3 and a half years old,and the crotch strap was at the biggest position, and was already tight. I also read somewhere, that though they say 6 5 pounds for the harness, they only approve the Latch system to 45 or something??? I am not sure where I saw that, or if it is true?

I love our frontier, and you can use Latch to hold it in the seat even after they are out of 5 pt. and into belt positioning booster mode.

I say go for it - really, can we put a price on our kids safety, Britax has a great track record, and I do believe in some things, it is true, "You get what you pay for." - and more expensive = better in some products.

Good Luck deciding, I know it was a long researching process for me, between Britax, Sunshine and Graco.

Jessie P.S. here is a great place to do some research: http://www.car-seat.org/

We just got one. I love it. We went from the Marathon to the Frontier 85. I grabbed it off Amazon last week for $209 and it was delivered the next day with the free shipping.

I love ours and so does my daughter! She's six and very tall and big, and has so much room still. She loves the cupholders and can do the harness by herself. I too like britax and trust their safety after experience! We got a good deal at www.albeebaby.com and I've seen them new in box on eBay with free shipping as well. Good choice!

We have the frontier and like it very much, although the straps twist more easily than the other Britax seats, and there is no velcro to hold the straps back. The twisting is annoying. If cost is a concern, the Graco Nautilus is pretty much the same thing (5 point harness with detachable booster) for ~$100 less and actually has a higher weight limit, although I'm guessing if your daughter is still in the Marathon and almost 5, the weight limit is not a factor :) My daughter is the same, but we had to move her up and out to make room in the convertible Marathon for her brother. We have both the Frontier and the Nautilus - I prefer the Frontier and my husband prefers the Nautilus.

Good luck!

I'm looking too..... and have actually read very mixed reviews on this Britax model. People who are big fans of Britax say that this model is different from the other ones they have bought- that the straps aren't as thick and appear to be made of cheaper material which causes them to twist a lot (dangerous... and quite a pain!!).

I've also read that people have had A LOT of trouble getting a tight fit in several different types of cars. They say that it just won't get in tight enough (1 inch movement) and that they have never had this issue w/ their other Britax models.

So I'm at a bit of a loss right now and am looking forward to seeing what others post.