Hi Moms!
I just read another request about car seats but my particular question wasn't exactly answered so I want to put it out there. We are currently looking for a new car seat for my daughter who is 9 months. The Britax was highly recommended and also has great reviews for safetly and use but while I was out searching the other day I was overwhelmed with what's out there. We want to buy a Britax (either the Boulevard or the Decathalon) but there was one caveat. The Boulevard which has the deep side impact 'wings' and the Decathalon does not. The sales person told us they are both great seats but the 'wings' can get in the way of them looking out the windows (when they are older and front facing). I never thought of that. I know that safety comes first but I also want my daughter to be able to look out the window since this seat will last us until she graduates to a booster seat years from now. Do any of you out there have any good advice and experience with these car seats? I read a lot about the Marathon as well on this site, so any advice on those are appreciated to.
Thank you!!
I was told the same thing about the Boulevard. I know someone who has it and although they really like it, they said it is extremely bulky, even over the Marathon. We actually bought the Marathon and we love it. He is so comfortable in it. He loves his new car seat. It is such a hard decision and a lot of money. I'm glad we bought it though. He falls asleep in it and looks so comfortable. Good luck!
Hiya, we got the Marathon and it's fantastic.
We live in Australia, where we do not have anything near the selection of what is available in the States (and the prices are astronomical to boot), so we were thrilled when we saw the Britax at Target. At $269 or so, it was a relative steal, again compared with what is and isn't available overseas.
The Marathon sits up quite high, so when our son was still facing backwards sometimes his head would roll towards his chest when he fell asleep. This is not happening now that he is facing forwards.
The product literature says you can use the Marathon until the child is about 4 years old, so you will certainly get a lot of use out of it. The problem that the Marathon solves is that of lateral movement -- there just isn't any with this carseat, it's so stable.
I looked at all the Britax models before I chose the Marathon. My son can use it up to 65lbs., so huge plus and it wasn't as bulky or heavy as the others.
We have the Boulevard for both our girls (4 and 2). They love their car seats. My 4 year old, who used to have a graco absolutely loves hers and tells me again and again how much she loves this one. It sits up much higher than the graco, so she can see better. I have not heard her complain about not being able to see out the window. The great thing about the wings is their heads lean against it when they fall asleep. No more pitching forward. And the cushions are much softer and thicker so that when I go over bumps, it doesn't 'hurt' her buns, my 4 yr old tells me. There you have it, straight from a four year old. Hope that helps.
I have a Boulevard and a Marathon and I think they are both great. The Boulevard has the wings on the side of the head but my son can still see out the window or out of the front window because he sits in the middle seat in the back. It's actually kind of nice because when he falls asleep, he can rest his head on the wings and his neck won't be kinked. The marathon is a little less bulky but my boulevard doesn't come out of my car unless I take it out to clean it so the weight really isn't a factor. Good luck!
Hi Courtney,
I have 2 kids, 4 and 22 months. The decathalon is the marathon without the baby insert. I'm not sure about the boulevard but I chose the marathon for my kids and now my son is in the frontier. With regards to the "wings" they can still see out. The carseat is raised about 5 inches. That's what we noticed because the frontier is a 5 point harness booster and sits lower. If they start off in a seat with wings they won't know what they're missing. I would also but a longer shoulder strap cover because the little cover that comes with britax isn't enough. Hope this helps.
J.
