Q & A: Britax Marathon

Q: What are your thoughts on the Britax Marathon or Boulevard?

A:
I bought my first Marathon a year ago. A few months later, I bought a Boulevard because I got a great price on it. I love how easily they install with LATCH. I love all the different covers I can buy to refresh the seat a bit. However the Britax convertibles don't have much legroom for older rear facing kiddos. That is not a deal breaker for me, but the seats moved to the Grandparents' cars so I could get a seat with more legroom for her primary ride. There are more seats out now with a higher RF weight limit, and more seats with more legroom. Would I spend the money on another Britax convertible? No. I can get other seats with higher weight limits for less money, or seats with higher weight limits, taller top slots, and a taller shell for about the same money.

Is your True Fit tether hook "broken"?

Have you looked at the tether hook on your True Fit? If it's forward facing, I hope you have. If it's rear facing, maybe now is the time to look at it. We have noticed that the Tether hooks on some True Fit and True Fit Premier carseats are not bent correctly. At first, Learning Curve was replacing seats, as the tether is not replaceable. Learning Curve realized how wide spread this problem may be, and designed a fix for it.


This is what a tether hook should look like.







This is what the "broken" tether hook looks like. See how the thin metal piece is up further then in the first picture? Like this, it may not hold like it should in a crash.







This is the fix that Learning Curve has made. It's a piece of plastic that you put on the tether hook to help bend it into position.






This is what the hook looks like with the plastic piece on it.




If your True Fit tether hook is not shaped correctly, gather the information from the carseat. You'll need the date of manufacture, and model number. Then call Learning Curve and explain about the tether hook.

The new Evenflo Serenade

Evenflo has come out with a new infant seat, the Serenade. It is just now showing up in Babies R Us stores. I was fortunate enough to have them pull the first seat out of the box as a display for me at my local Babies R Us. Below you will find out what Evenflo says about their seat, and what I say about it :)

Here is what Evenflo says about their seat:

New! Serenade™ Infant Car Seat featuring SureLATCH® combines the latest technology to provide a safe and comfortable ride for your baby and peace of mind for you.

A Series of Innovations:

• SureLATCH® technology – an exclusive Evenflo innovation consisting of two connectors for use with a vehicle’s LATCH system to ensure proper installation in a fraction of the time of a traditional seat. Safety so simple!
• Infinite Slide™ Harness Adjust – an innovative harness system that simply slides for an accurate harness fit everytime!
• Full Coverage Canopy – With superior padding, and a full-coverage canopy to shade baby from every angle, baby will be comfortable everywhere you go.
• Side Impact Tested! Like all Evenflo car seats, the Serenade™ Infant Car Seat is Side Impact Tested AND meets ALL Federal. safety standards.
• Designed and tested for structural integrity at energy levels approximately 2X the federal crash test standard
  
• Additional Features: 5-Point Harness for security, adjustable PositionRight™ base with dual level indicators and an ergonomically designed handle for a more comfortable carry.

Here are my thoughts on the seat:
PROS:
-It is nice and lightweight, so it'll be easier to carry a heavier baby
-The seat shell has good height, to accommodate taller babies
-It has a high weight limit
-They have changed the red tabs on the harness shoulders. They are now narrower than the harness, and should not irritate the child's neck
-It has the infinite slide harness, so it's always at the proper height for your child
-It has a nice low harness position for newborns (I measure it at about 5 inches)


CONS:
-The SureLatch sure didn't work well for me. I tried everything but standing on it, and I still couldn't get it tight enough. I'd rather have the regular LATCH.
-I tried my 11 month old, 24 pound child in the seat. I had to loosen the harness all the way, and when she was in with a thin fleece jacket, it was the perfect tightness for her to ride in. If she grew any, it would be too tight. She did have a few inches above her head to grow though. (And for comparison, she may have had a tad more room above her head than in her SnugRide 32, but int he SR32, we have a little more harness room).
-It is over priced. Really, for $159.99, I'd much rather buy a Snug Ride 32. It will install much easier with both LATCH and seatbelt
-Evenflo has NOT changed their handle rule. In the car, the handle must be behind the carseat, and there must be 1.5 inches between the carseat (handle included) and the vehicle seat in front of it.

Review of the True Fit Premier

I did it. I bought another carseat. I have had a True Fit, but I bought a True Fit Premier. The TFP is now Sofi's primary carseat.

What's the difference between the True Fit and the True Fit Premier? The TFP has an anti rebound bar (arb). In a frontal crash, a rear facing carseat will rotate downward, towards the front of the car/ the floor. Next it will rebound back up, towards the back of the car. The ARB will reduce the amount of rebound.

With the original True Fit, it can be difficult to access the harness adjuster. It can be buried in the back of the vehicle seat. The TFP doesn't have the same problem because of the arb.

Like the original True Fit, the top of the carseat can be removed until the child is 22 pounds, or the head is within 1 inch of the top of the seat. After the top is put back on, the child can remain rear facing until 35 pounds, or the head is within 1 inch of the top of the seat. The True Fit and True Fit Premier have the same weight and height guidelines. I'd be surprised if a child outgrows this seat by height before reaching 35 pounds, because the seat shell is so high.

The Original True Fit has a line on the side, that says it should be level with the ground when rear facing. The True Fit Premier has a different level guide. On the front, above the harness adjuster it has a rolling ball and 3 sections. One is labeled with X, meaning it's over reclined. Next is labeled with 1 which is where is should be at 45* for a newborn. The last section is labeled 2 which is 35* for an older baby or toddler. The TFP also has a recline mechanism to help with achieving the correct recline angle, though sloped vehicle seats may still need a rolled towel or pool noodle.

The True Fit and True Fit Premier both have lockoffs for rear facing and forward facing. The lockoffs are helpful when using the seatbelt to install, but the also muct be used when using the LATCH to install. I don't find the rear facing lockoffs to be much trouble, unless I'm trying to get a 45* recline. Then the seatbelt or LATCH belt want to slide down, where the lockoff closes.

Both the True Fit and True Fit Premier have a no rethread harness. It has a yellow knob on each side of the seat. You pull them out a little, and slide the harness up or down, to the correct position. For both seats, the harness can be used in slots 1, 2, or 3 for rear facing and slots 3 and 4 for Forward facing.

Both seats also come with infant padding, that can be used until the child reaches 22 pounds. This infant padding helps the seat fit newborns well. Both seats also have a forward facing weight limit of 65 pounds. They have top harness slots of about 17 inches, which should get most children to a good booster age.

Overall, I really like the True Fit Premier. And I do like it more than the True Fit.

Don't forget the registration card

What's that? It's a card that comes attached to your carseat. One side has space for you to fill in your name and address, the other side is rreaddressed and postage paid to mail it back to the manufacturer. You should always fill this out and mail it in as soon as you can. I know if I don't, I'll forget, and even loose the card.

What if I've already lost my card? Don't worry, you can call the manufacturer to register. Get all the information off your carseat (date of manufacture, serial number, batch number, item number, whatever is on the sticker). Call the manufacturer and tell them you want to register your carseat. They'll do it for you over the phone.

Why do I need to register my seat? If the seat is recalled, you will be notified if you registered your carseat. Sometimes, manufacturers even issue an Advisory that isn't a full recall. You may have no way of knowing of the advisory if you haven't registered the seat.

Some good videos to watch

I went to an ADCAN meeting last night to talk about carseat safety. I had wanted to show some videos, but the community center has Youtube blocked. So, here are the ones I wanted to show you.

Joel's Journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8
Joel is the 18 month old I talked about that had serious injuries because he was forward facing too young. I also wrote about him in my blog, here.

We talked not using puffy coats in the carseat, just a fleece. Here is a video about that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34

Here is a forward facing vs rear facing crash test video. I think it's from Sweden, so you will see the rear facing seat in the front seat, but they can turn off their air bags.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34

Here is another rear facing crash test. See how supported the child is by the seat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62Ea8Fs4ng

Here is a video about a little girl that died because she was in a booster seat too young. Children should be in a harness until at least 4 years and 40 pounds, preferably longer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04

My fight with the Radian continues

I thought I had won, but I was wrong. The Radian kept reclined more and more. Sofi's weight was compressing the vehicle seat cushion. I took the Radian out to let the seat decompress and try again. For some reason, this time I couldn't get the LATCH tight enough. I was told it's a 2 person job.... So I enlisted my brother to help me :) All we succeeded at doing was bruising his hands :(

I have been told the new Radain SL LATCH is easier to tighten. So tomorrow I'm headed to Buy Buy Baby to try it out. I'll let you know how it goes.


EDIT: I still loose. I couldn't get the Radian SL any tighter than I can the regular Radian. I've given up for now, and bought a True Fit Premier. I will have a review after it arrives :)