I *love* this seat. I *hate* this company. It's an akward position to want a safe, comfortable car seat for your child but to not want to support a shady company. Do a little research on Britax and minimum retail price. They are not the only baby gear company that does this by any means - but in my opinion, when it comes to car seats and child safety, this practice is unacceptable. But what can you do? If you want a 5 point restraint that will last a long time - you don't have many choices. So it annoys me to no end. I won't boycott them but I want other parents to realize this. Every once in a while you can get a deal on an attractive Britax seat - snag them while you can!!! (At least one retailer is allowed to sell at a slight discount all the time but do you think it's coincidence that the seats they carry are ugly?) We just snagged two of these in the Ashley print for my twin girls who we can no longer stuff into their baby buckets easily. It's a very cute print. We have the Marathon in Granite for my son who will be 5 tomorrow so I have a lot of experience with this seat.
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br /Now here's why I love it.
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br /First - your child will be in this seat for a LONG time. We had a roundabout to begin with with my son - the Roundabout is a waste of money IMO. Britax pricing and your child will likely outgrow it when you're not ready to put them in a booster - skip the Roundabout, go for a Marathon. Like I said, my son will be 5 tomorrow and he is still in his Marathon. He's a big 5yo, though - he's been in a booster in my husband's car for a while and will soon be moving to a booster in my car. I hate to move him to the booster - I feel he is safer in a 5 point harness PLUS he still often falls asleep in the car and the Marathon is way more comfy for that. But you have to move them out eventually and I am glad we got as much use out of this as we did. (Just know the weight limit is not completely useful - he is no where near the weight limit, he's maybe 48 pounds - it's height that will limit your use)
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br /Second - it is ridiculously easy to install. We have used this seat in a WIDE variety of vehicles (for a while we had to fly to visit family which meant lots of rental cars and such) - sedans, minivans, SUVs - we have never had a problem getting a rock solid installation. And while we never used this rear facing for my son (I think he was 20 months when we upgraded to the Marathon) we did try it rear facing in a few cars just to see if it would work. It worked just fine in a Hyundai Elantra and a Toyota Prius, neither of which are monster cars. Now we have a Sienna and there's no question of it fitting since that is a monster car. The rear-facing tether strap thing is pure genius - we did use this with the Roundabout and the concept is the same. Forward facing or rear facing, any vehicle, you will be happy with the installation. If you need to move the car seat to someone else's car - it will take you less than 5 minutes and there will be NO SWEARING. (I had to move a cosco seat once and that is what really drove home the point that not all car seats are equal)
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br /Third - comfort for the child, which might just fit under the car seat having a high weight limit. Like I said my son still falls asleep in the car. It's pitiful to see him sleeping in a booster seat - he's all flopped over and contorted. When he sleeps in this, he looks perfectly comfy. The nice, soft covers are a plus, too (though they do come in some odd fabric choices as well).
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br /Fourth - washability! You can take EVERYTHING off of this seat - cover, foam pad, straps, buckles - toss it in the washer on cold/delicate... then hang it to dry - it will look brand new. So spilled milk, a power barf, or a blown out diaper are no problem. (I think the manual may suggest washing the cover by hand and spot cleaning the straps but let's live in the real world here... I have washed my son's cover and straps many times and have had NO problems, and many other parents I have talked to have said the same. Hand washing takes time and spot cleaning is no match for the messes kids can make...)
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br /There is one thing I do not like about this seat and that is the weird fabric wings on the straps. A lot of car seats have these and they seem to annoy a lot of kids. They used to be velcroed on so you could remove them easily but now they are sewn around the straps so now you have to remove the straps to slip them on and off. Probably saved Britax a buck or two to eighty-six the velcro.
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br /Overall this is an awesome seat. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is because of my feelings about the company.

This is a great convertible seat. It had good reviews everywhere and it showed as the lowest content on chemicals on the cover([...]). Fits great on a 2007 Jetta, so any car this size or larger will work quite well. Baby is confortable and does not complain.
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br /Este es el mejor asiento que he encontrado, cabe muy bien en el coche y el bebe esta muy agusto en el. Un estudio sobre contenido quimico de asientos infantiles le da muy buena puntuacion en cuanto a bajo contenido de quimicos, lo cual fue uno de los factores importantes.
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br /Highly recommended. Muy recomendable.

The seat seemed quite comfortable for our 9 month old baby. But now at 10 and after another growth spurt I can't wait until we can turn the seat forward as her poor feet meet the back seat and she looks "squished". I preferred our previous car seat, the Graco SnugRide infant car seat for ease of installation and removal (a God send during travel). Which brings me to my biggest complaint; sub-par installation. It just doesn't seem as safe and secure as our previous seat. What's more, not everywhere we fly to has a car seat rental option with the car rental - more remote, smaller airports. The Britax seat is clumsy and frustrating to remove and the plastic seat belt security clips feel very cheap. It looks like a nice, comfortable seat but it just doesn't feel as safe, from a car safety viewpoint.

My son likes the car seat. Today he spit up in it and I had to take the seat cover off. Britax has a video to show you how its done, but in their demo, the seat is not in the car - so of course it is easy! Most of us will try to remove the seat cover while the seat is STILL in the car. You have to undo 3 buckles (difficult when the seat is still attached) and pull the straps through the seat (gross when the seat is covered in spit up), so the straps got spit up in the process. Britax really ought to come up with a design where the seat cover is easier to take off especially when most of us will take the seat cover off when its gross (and do you really want to struggle 30 minutes pulling straps through a spit up car seat!!!!)
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br /Worse of all, after I got the seat cover removed, the tag in the back said "hand wash only"!!! If I knew that, I wouldn't have removed the seat cover in the first place and would have simply cleaned it while it was still on the seat.
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br /Very frustrating!!!

We've had this seat for two months now and love it. It is very easy to install into vehicles with the latch system and is equally easy to remove. We also like the pull strap at the front of the seat to tighten the shoulder harnesses after buckling in the little one. Our biggest complaint is that the shoulder straps seem to twist and tangle quite often, making it a challenge to buckle in a squirming child at times.
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br /Overall, a great seat and great pricing service from Amazon.

We already had Britax carseats and ordered two more because we were so pleased with them. We'd highly recommend!

We have had this car seat for about a month now and we do like it. The only complaint I have is that the straps do twist every now and then if you do not velcrow them out of the way when putting child in and out of the seat. It was easy to install, I did on my own without my husband it does not budge!! It is very comfy and my child has no problem being in it and falls asleep just as easy as he did in his infant car seat.

I decided to fork out the cash for the Britax even though I don't normally go for top of the line things. After reading tons of reviews I figured this was an investment in my child's comfort and safety for the next several years as well as my convenience. I have not yet been disappointed.

We've been using the Britax Marathon for about a month now and it seems to be great. It was easy to install and seems to be very comfortable. I also like how easy it is to buckle my 12m old son. One thoughtful feature is the strips of velcro that allow you to secure the straps to the side as I place my son in the seat. That way I don't have to fish the straps out from underneath him. The only problem was that the straps that are used to secure the car seat to the car were installed backwards by the manufacturer. My husband was able to fix it in about an hour, but it was really frustrating. Otherwise, it's a great car seat.

My daughter grew out of her first car seat. After reading rave reviews about this one, we chose it in a heartbeat. The chair itself is perfect. She is comfortable in it and if fits well in my car. My only complaints are about the straps. They twist around very easily. You have to make sure they are untwisted before attempting to put them on your child. Second, the straps are very hard to tighten. You have to use all of your might to get them tighten up. I'm talking pulling like you pulling tug o' war with the car seat. Third, the release button is extremely hard to push. You have to use both thumbs to push the button down and even then it's still hard to push. But other all, I feel like she is very secure in that seat and she is comfortable in it. I just wish the straps weren't so hard to pull.

I would say this product was easy to install and is the Mercedes for Car Seats! Although the box arrived thrashed! The car seat was in fine shape with no scratchs/dings. We've got 2 and they seem more comfortable than the competitor brands seen in the store. Wait for a season change and you'll get one at a much lower price! Our kiddo is safe and secure! I would say he's more secure in this seat than an infant pull out seat for sure!!

This is our 4th Britax car seat and we love it. We have the roundabout and the frontier. I have to say that the frontier is really difficult to get in and out and is huge. I prefer the marathon by far.

This car seat is awesome- fantastic price! I've actually purchased three of these previously for my son - one for my car, one for my husband's, and one for my mom). The kids are so comfortable in them - i will never use anything else! I started both of my children in the Graco Snugride, which is great for a tiny infant. However, both of my children grew very rapidly, and the Snugrides are only supposed to be for children up to 22 lbs. I believe my daughter is there already and my son was by four months, so what's a mom to do? This carseat is a fantastic option because it can be forward or rear-facing and it has a recline for rear-facing so the baby isn't thrown forward in the seat. My daughter is so comfy in it (at only 4.5 months). We didn't discover this with our son until he was about 10 months and his poor little legs always looked so uncomfortable in the snugride. So now we have purchased a total of 4 of these car seats. I intend to buy two more yet (one more for my car and one more for my husband's - my mom got this one and my husband and I are still sharing the Snugride for her, but not for much longer.) This car seat is pricy, but worth every penny. I highly recommend!

i love this car seat... we have an infant carrier and didn't want to buy a new car seat every other year. now that he's 9 months old, this should be his one and only! my baby constantly falls asleep, even short distances, so it must be comfortable. easy to tighten and loosen up for his bulky jackets.

We have three Britax Marathons (one for each of our children). I wouldn't purchase any other carseat. I was recently in an accident with one of our children in our minivan. She was in her Britax, and suffered no injuries. This is a great carseat and you won't regret spending the money to purchase one for your own child.

We purchased two of these car seats for our 8 month old son. We had an infant carrier previous to this convertible seat, but our son was approaching the weight limit and seemed to be getting too tall as well. I am very pleased with these seats so far. The instructions were easy to follow. It took my husband and I about 6 or 7 minutes to install. I installed the second one by myself and it took a few minutes longer. I would recommend two people if possible, but it is absolutely manageable on your own. Adjusting the straps is a bit tricky and when we have to adjust them again it will probably require removing the car seat, but I don't think this should be a deterrent for buying the seat. My son fits in this seat well and seems to like it. He does get hot when he's in the seat for a long period of time, but based on his infant carrier and reviews of other car seats this seems to be a common problem for most seats. Finally, the space it takes up in the back seat is the same as our infant carrier. The passenger's seat that it sits behind is adjusted at the same angle and distance back. Although, it does seem a lot bigger it still fits in our small cars.

I am a fan of Britax car seats. This is my second purchase for my second son. I checked out prices and amazon had best, probably because this was a closeout.

This is our third Britax and we still love them! The straps are study and don't twist when you remove the squirming toddler from their seat. The seat covers are plush and hold up reasonably well (our 2 1/2 year old Marathon is starting to show a bit of wear). They are always rated high on the safety standards and are so easy to install.

I own four of these - have six grandchildren that I baby sit and put them all in a big SUV. Had to get rid of two other brand car seats because they never worked properly or felt safe. The Britax are well constructed and reliable and come in all colors to match car interior - or not. They meet all safety standards and have good safety rating. Easy to take cover off to clean it too!

This is our second Marathon. The first was in a car that was, unfortunately, totaled. Neither my husband nor I gave any thought to replacing it with anything else. It's sturdy, easy to install and adjust, the fabric is durable and can withstand anything my 15-mo. old daughter can give it, and she's comfortable. The velcro near the armrests keeps the straps out of the way when placing her in the seat. If she's still using this seat when we have another child, we'll definitely get another for baby #2.

This is a really great car seat! I thought the price was too good to be true, but it wasn't. I received the car seat in new condition as stated and it came to my home extremely fast. I found the best price ever for a Britax carseat here on this website. I still can't beleive I got it for a steal, when in the stores this car seat goes for $279.99. This car seat is one of the safest out there, which is the most important reason why I purchased it!

This carseat is excellent. I'm glad we spent the money on it. My son falls asleep as soon as we start moving in it. I can't wait to turn it around when he turns 1 so he can see out the window. It sits high. No complaints. Recommmend!!!!

My wife and I wanted a seat that was rated good and had nice features. We picked the Britax Marathon based on user ratings and reputation of the company's product. This seat was so easy to install using the anchor system. The only "wish" I have is that the seat would recline a little more, it's a little steep for a rear facing infant. Other than that the quality is great and our son seems to love the chair. Well worth the little extra in price.

I have one for my son and bought this one for my daughter and both kids love it. I love the safety rating and the fact that these are made in the USA!

This is the best car seat I have ever used. When I opened the box, you could just tell how thick and sturdy the design is. The material is a velour not fabric, which is really nice. I have never used LATCH before because it always seems so awkward and hard to figure out, but with this car seat, I installed it with LATCH in less than 10 minutes. I was so impressed that I am buying another one for my son. The harness lasts up to 65 lbs, which is really safe, and it's high up so they can see outside the window better. It's also airplane safe which I really like. I have not used it rear facing, only forward facing. This was the best deal out there on these car seats, and it arrived less than a week after I ordered it!! Definitely worth the money, especially where your kids safety is concerned.

Our daughter was getting so upset being stuck in one position by her infant car seat that she would cry as soon as we put her in it. This britax is like a limousine for her. Spent 12 hours in the car returning from Canada Thanksgiving weekend and she couldn't stay awake it was so comfy!

The Britax Marathon is a great car seat. My son, 9 months old now, has used this car seat since he was three months old. It's easy to set up and my son seems to be very comfortable while riding in it. I bought one at Target for $279 and a few months later the price here on Amazon was so good ($185) that we bought 4 more of them!!! One for every family member's car (mom, dad, and grandparents). They are great seats... wouldn't buy any other brand name but Britax!!!

the car is perfect. Easy to install and high quality. You won't regret to pay the extra bucks for it.

I have several friends who have this seat and have been very pleased. I am as well. It is easy to install and my son appears to be very comfortable. Well, at least the screaming has stopped when we put him in the car =)
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br /I don't know that I would put a newborn in it though. We started using it around 3 months (12 1/2 pounds and 25 1/2") and would have liked to be able to tighten the shoulder straps just a bit more.
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br /Would buy again for a 2nd child.

the best- comfy, covers clean like charm, I always know he is the safest he can be...our 3rd Britax, 2 marathons, 1 roundabout...the a pair of frontiers will be the next...love them!

We bought this carseat after our Graco wouldn't fit securely in our 2008 Honda CRV. This one went in much easier and is very sturdy. Also, the straps are easy to adjust and baby seems very comfortable. I also really like the velcro hold backs for the straps. Makes it easy to load/unload the baby.

We are so happy with this seat. It is so much more comfortable for my 11 month old. I love the colors and the fact that there is velcro on the inside of the seat, which holds the straps away from my baby as I am loading her in and out of the seat. I would recommend this seat to anyone!

I purchased this seat and I have to say it is great! I read all the reviews and decided this was the best and safest seat for my little one. As a bonus the "graystone" color matched my interior perfectly! The seat is very comfortable for my little one and the straps to secure her in couldn't make it any easier. They have the velco to attach to the side so you dont have to always worry about them under your little one when trying to put them in it. The straps have 5 adjustable holes and they pull out quite far to give you room to put your little one in the seat. It has shoulder pads to keep your little one comfortable rather than the straps digging into their shoulders. INSTALLING the seat --WAS A BREEZE! It does not budge when you try to move it. My daughter loves it because she is higher up and can see better out the window of the Dodge Caravan. It is worth every penny! Don't hesitate, just buy it!

This seat is perfect. Fits vehicle well. Baby loves it. Waaaaaay better than eddie bauer seat previously purchased. All around excellent product.

We have two boys, one almost 5 and the other 2 1/2. We first got the Britax Marathon when our first son was born (almost 5 years ago!). We've passed the Marathon down to our 2 year old now.
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br /The seat is STILL in great shape and by far the best we've ever owned. (We've had 3 other brands). The cover and straps have been washed countless times and are also in great shape. I have not needed to buy a new seat cover yet.
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br /The carseat is sturdy, safe, secure. We use the latch system in our car but have used the seatbelt when we've been in vehicals without. Either way the carseat remains secure using either system. I also like it because it sits a little higher than other brands so our children can see out the window. They like that...
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br /I would recommend this seat to any parent. It is worth the money.
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We just received a this carseat as a gift. The person who gave it to us ordered it off of another website and was upset to see that, although it was new out of the box, it had been sitting in the box for two years. Carseats expire 6 years after their manufacture date. She wanted to return it but would have been out of sixty bucks shipping costs. I told her it was fine and that our son would most likely be in a booster seat within four years anyway. Has anyone purchased this carseat recently (Graystone) and looked at the manufacture date? We want to get the same carseat for our other vehicle. I am curious since this one is cheaper than the other prints. Thanks to anyone who can post a response to answer this.
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br /My husband installed the carseat in our Camry and it is a tight fit. We're excited to see how our son does in it for our long, five hour,trip home tomorrow.
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We've owned ours for two years now. I bought it for my son when he was 6 months old and we've been using it ever since. The covers come off and wash easily and the straps have help up VERY nicely. The seat easily installs into every car we've put it in. (Both with and without the LATCH system.) It is currently in my 1996 Eagle Talon and it fits in the back just fine.ALMOST as easily as it fits into my husband's 1993 Suburban. (I say ALMOST because the Suburban is a beast of a big vehicle. lol) I just don't see ever using another carseat for him.

All of my friends were right when they told me this is the best convertible seat on the market! You can't go wrong! My son loves his new car seat and it has the highest safety ratings! If you look around, you can get great deals when they have sales, usually in the fall and spring! They retail $280 and I got mine for $225 on Amazon!

This car seat is wonderful. I have two of them. One for each of my children. It is very easy to use and very safe. Since I already had one for my oldest and loved it, it was an easy choice to buy one for my second.

We just bought our second marathon for child #2. Our oldest was a bad car baby until we got the Marathon and now loves it. Our youngest was a good car baby before and now is even better. Compared to other car seats, the Marathon blows them away in terms of comfort and ease of installation. The one downside is the size of the thing. We have a Higlander and with 2 Marathons the middle seat has all but disapeared. Also, when installed rear facing the expanse of the Marathon restricts how far back you can move the front seat. Since we're short people it's not a problem for us but I can see it being a problem for taller folks.

After researching car seats online for some time, I caved in and spent the money on the Britax Marathon. It is worth every penny!! My daughter is 26 pounds and has so much room to grow. She falls asleep every time she is in th car now. It was so easy to install, took no time. I would buy this seat again without hesitation.

Great car seat, easy to install with latch system. Very safe and cool designs make it easy to spend the money.

This car seat is exactly what I was looking for! My 13 month old son loves it, especially now that he can sit forward-facing. We had no trouble fitting it in either our SUV or Honda Accord in either the rear-facing or forward-facing position. We ponied up the extra money for the Marathon because of the higher weight limit and I"m glad I did.

We love this car seat. My daughter is so comfortable in this seat and it has plenty of room. She's big for her age and this seat allows her to sprawl out and really get comfy. Although you pay a little more for the Britax Marathon, I would recommend this to seat anyone. It's worth every penny.

We own three of those, to accommodate our 1 year old twins and our 4 year old. The kids love the seats. They look really comfortable in them. The sides provide nice support when the child takes a nap. Removing the cover for washing is easy, the quality of the fabric is really nice. Especially notable is that these seats will be good for a child from about 6-8 months old to about 5 years old - the wide range guarantees that you will not need to worry about changing your child's seat for years. We could not recommend these seats more, worth every cent.

Seat has good features and is generally easy to install. The strap features are well designed and fits our 16 pound baby well with plenty of room to grow. The seat is very large and does not fit well in older cars without the new style anchors.

Our little girl loves her new big girl seat. I love the cow print! It was easy to install, it is easy to get her in and out.

Great carseat, easy to install, our 11-month old is happy and comfy in it. It fits fine rear-facing fully-reclined in the center back seat of our 94' Corolla.

br /We had this same seat for out first child and have been very happy with it so we got another one for our second child. Both kids are very comfortable in it, it is easy to install and we feel very confident that they are safe while we are driving.
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br /Only negative comment is about the tax we had to pay on the seat because we live in NY State.

While all the Britax fanboys are busy congratulating themselves over their beloved Britax seats, I will say that this is a poor fit for some vehicles. This seat is meant to be reclined quite a bit and doesn't fit in my BMW very well. The consequence of its mandatory recline position is that the front edge diggs into the seat cushion. It's not a good fit and not sufficiently adjustable.