The Britax Boulevard car seat in Brownstone is an excellent car seat. Yes...it IS expensive, but it is worth every penny. Not only is this one of the safest car seats available b/c of TSIP (total side impact protection), but it is also one of the most comfortable.
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br /We bought this car seat as a "big boy" seat for my son when he was 6 months old and about to reach the weight limit for his infant seat (Eddie Bauer travel system in Manchester). We were a little worried that he wouldn't like the new seat so we were pleasantly surprised when we strapped him in and two minutes later - before the vehicle ever moved - he was sound asleep!
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br /PROS
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br /1. The "wings" that provide TSIP make an excellent headrest for a sleeping child. They are not restrictive in any way. Not one time has my child's head "slumped" while sleeping.
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br /2. This seat has a knob on each side of the seat in the back that turns easily to reposition the harness moving it up or down with a simple turn. This is one of my favorite things about this seat! There is no rethreading the straps as your child grows - just turn the knobs and the straps move with the headrest. What an idea!!! VERY EASY TO ADJUST!!!
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br /3. Yes...this seat IS big, but it fit easily into our Mountaineer and our Accord even in the rear-facing position. There were no problems installing it, and it is VERY secure.
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br /4. Excellent padding provided for entire seat. Not only is there an infant pillow that is very easy to remove, but this seat also provides a belly pad to protect the child's legs and belly when buckling them in. In addition there are also protective shoulder pads over each strap of the harness.
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br /5. Not only is this seat safe, but it is also one of the most attractive seats on the market. Unlike most seats - it isn't "babyish" looking. It is a nice pattern!
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br /CONS
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br /1. If I read my manual correctly, the seat cover must be spot cleaned and can't be machine washed. I think that this seat would be perfect IF the cover was machine washable.
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br /Hope this review helps you with your decision to buy. You can't go wrong with a Britax Boulevard in any pattern! :)

Wow, what a carseat! Our city fire department does free carseat installations, and even the firefighters who installed our Britax Boulevard (Brownstone) were impressed with all the safety and convenience features.
br / We bought the Boulevard ultimately for the True Side Impact Protection (TSIP) because the Britax Boulevard is the most advanced in TSIP, according to this site. It's worth the extra money to feel that your baby has that extra protection and is safe as possible while on the road. (We got the Brownstone to match the interior of our car.)
br /The seat is gorgeous and has an infant body pillow that fits our 7-month-old daughter really well. Her head hasn't slumped yet while she's sleeping (a big problem in her infant carrier.) The seatbelt and head rest are lowered and raised with a knob, and the straps don't get twisted. The straps are really secure and the hooky-things at the legs are easy to access. The seat is cushiony and soft, too. My daughter goes straight to sleep in it.
br /About the size: We have a 2005 Toyota Corolla and the seat is in the rear-facing position. This is a larger carseat but it fits in our backseat. This is one great seat!

I did lots of research about which convertable car seat to buy. My daughter was 6 months old when we switched from her infant carrier; she is a big girl (about 19 lbs. @ 6 mos.) and she fits wonderfully in this seat! She looks SO comfortable and hasn't fussed once since we have put her in it, she used to fuss quite often in the carrier. This seat has plenty of room to grow and makes me feel safe with her riding in it, this price is on the high side, but how could you compromise the safety of the most wonderful thing you have?!
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br /I must abmit that the seat is quite bulky and probably wouldn't fit great in a small car, but I think it is perfect for our 4Runner. I have seen friends with other seats and I must admit that there is a definite difference in quality; Britax spared nothing! I wouldn't think of putting my daughter in anything else after owning this seat!

My 3 year old (38 inches tall, 30 lbs) needed a new car seat since his younger brother was in need of the other convertables we have (an Alpha Omega Elite and an Evenflo Triumph V). I did oooodles of research and this Boulevard seat looks very comfortable and I liked the height/weight limit. Only my son hates it. The issue is with the crotch buckle. It's not that it's anymore further back than others, it's just that it's too short. There needs to be an extra two inches of strap beneath it, like practically every other carseat on the market. He grabs at his crotch (he doesn't wear diapers) and says "ouch" when I buckle it and/or refuses to get in the seat without a struggle. The little pad thing they have attached doesn't appear to do all that much.
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br /I did try this rear-facing to see if my 8 month old (29 inches, 20 lbs) had any issue with comfort and he didn't appear too. It seemed fine for him.
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br /The latch straps, which shouldn't be twisted to attach, have to be twisted in order to attach to the seat in my minivan (there's only one way it fits). I'm not impressed with that and will probably use the belt if we keep this carseat.
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br /Also, something that bugs me is the buckles that snap into the crotch buckle, only one of them actually "snaps" in, the other doesn't give that "it's buckled" snap like its partner no matter what I do. After all the Britax hype I've read, I really expected a little better. I like the lever adjustment on the Alpha Omega Elite's headreast versus the knob on this one.
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br /While this carseat looks cushy and nice, and I'm sure safety wise it's top of the line, I think we're going to sell it and just get another Compass booster seat like I bought for our husband's car (my son LOVES that seat). We've never had trouble getting my son to ride in a carseat until I bought this one and I can't wrestle a 3 year old several times a day into a car seat. If you're buying this for an older child, you might want to have them try it out first to see if they find it comfortable.

I did a TON of research before buying this seat, and we LOVED it so much we bought another! It is by far the easiest to use (I've used A LOT of car seats!) and has the best features. I really like that you don't have to take the seat out to adjust the harness height. The fact that this seat can be used forward facing up to 65lbs and 49" is what sold me on it the most. I wish this seat had been around for my first child, who was off the charts for height, we had to put him in a booster seat at age 2 because he was too tall for any car seat we could find. The total side impact protection is another BIG selling point, no other seat has that! it is easy to install, rear and forward facing-I have used it in an explorer, escape and tahoe with no problems. People have said it is bulky, but it is not really any larger then other seats, just taller. Compare them side to side at the store and you will see :-) The seat is also very comfortable on long trips (8hrs with no complaints!). Another thing I really like about this seat is that the straps don't get twisted! We had a Alpha Omega and the straps were forever twisted and were such a pain! We have been using this seat for a year with no complaints what so ever. There are so many wonderful things about this seat I could go on all day. I had the seat inspected and the person told me that Britax IS THE BEST, far exceeding US safety standards. It is well worth the price for the peace of mind you will have. We also have the Britax Parkway booster seat with the total side impact protection and love it as well!
br /PS- I have read from others that the seat cover is not machine washable, I washed it on delicate in cold water and it did no damage-looks as good as new!
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br /***UPDATE*** We have been using this seat for two years now and still love it. Our son is comfortable, no complaints about the crotch strap, it has been so easy to wipe spills from the fabric, simple to install and no problems with the shoulder straps twisting like on other seats we owned in the past. So comfy in fact that even at this age he has no problem sleeping in it. We will be using this seat for a very long time!!!

Our 8-month-old daughter outgrew her infant carrier, and we needed a "big girl" car seat immediately. I knew that we were going to purchase a car seat made by Britax because they are always consistently highly rated in crash tests and by other safety measures. After reading reviews and checking out the Roundabout, Marathon and Boulevard seats in the store, we decided on the Boulevard. I love the added protection the side-impact wings provide. True, it is just about the most expensive car seat out there, but I believe it is well worth the price.
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br /The only drawback was that I found none of the fabric options particuarly appealing. I finally settled on Brownstone because I believe it to be the least dreadful of them all. I was surprised to find that it is not as bad as I had imagined. It is extremely soft (almost has a chenille-like feel) and does not get too hot (even in direct sunlight). There is also the option of ordering different covers, if I tire of this one.
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br /This car seat is pretty big, but it fits just fine in our Honda Accord (in the middle of the back seat), and two normal-size people can easily fit on either side. It was very easy to install using the LATCH system. I have not had any problems or complaints.
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br /My daughter seems very comfortable in her new car seat, and I feel safe with her in it!

I absolutely love it!!! And so does my 8 mo old son (17 lb). The material is so soft and cozy that my son falls asleep in it almost every time he is in it for a period of time. I thought the side head flaps would obstruct his view and annoy him, but he seems to be able to still see fine. It was easy enough to install that I did it myself - got tired of waiting on daddy. I feel confident that my son is secure in a safe car seat in case of an unforseen event. It has high ratings with consumer reports too! Though costly, well worth the investment. You can't put a price tag on your child's safety.

I bought this seat for my 4 year old so I could have him in a harness longer than his other seat that went to 40lbs. This is a nice seat and we loved the side impact protection. Unfortunately, when we put him in the seat his sat on top of the crotch strap instead of it being in front of him. So, in other words, his " jewels" we crushed when we tried to buckle it. Needless to say, he kept saying "TOO TIGHT, MOMMY!" I'm returning the seat tomorrow. Try your child in this before you buy. The decathlon does have a 3 position crotch strap, the marathon and roundabout do not, but there's more room in those compared to the boulevard.

This is the best carseat on the market. It is the best of the Britax line, as well. My son LOVES his seat. It is large and sits up high, so he can actually see out of the car, which is nice when he doesn't want to sleep. and it is ultra soft and comfortable for when he does want to sleep. It is the ONLY convertable car seat on the market with SIDE IMPACT PROTECTION. It is more than most car seats, but isn't your child worth it? Don't waist money on an immitation.

I got this car seat for my 10 month old daughter. I was concerned that it would be too large for my car (I have a Honda Civic), but it fit just fine. Rear-facing you would need to put in the center of the back seat, so if you have 2 kids, you would have to put the seats up further, but if you are short, that will likely not be an issue. I had it installed at the fire station and it fit in perfectly -- he installed it in minutes and did NOT need any foam pieces to make it fit properly! It was a perfect fit on its own.
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br /Pros:
br /1. it is the best car seat you can get!
br /2. has side impact protection -- also makes a good headrest when baby falls asleep
br /3. the adjust knob for the harness is awesome to adjust especially over large coats
br /4. the seat is very well cushioned, soft fabric
br /5. fits fine a small car even rear facing (I have a Civic)
br /6. it's heavy so its not going anywhere!
br /7. works for up to 65 pounds, so we will get a lot of use out of the seat
br /8. she loves it!
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br /Cons:
br /1. it is large/heavy (though it is staying in my car so heavy is not a problem)
br /2. the strap to tighted the harness is a little tough to pull tight on a smaller child, but you need to pull straight out and not up
br /3. it is expensive
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br /I highly recommend this seat (we have the Onyx fabric). It is large, heavy and expensive, but it is the best!! I had buyer's remorse for a few minutes, but I figured it is the best seat on the market right now and $300 is a small price to pay for protecting my daughter. I did a lot of research before buying and felt confident in my decision and in the seat! Very pleased with this seat! Also, please make sure you get your seat installed by a certified technician (Check with your local Children's Hospital). Improperly installed car seats and improper use of car seats is the leading cause of death among children and infants. Something very easy to prevent!

This is our second Boulevard model carseat and we love both of them. My only complaint is it's hard to get it centered/level in the back seat when it is rear facing (I have a 04 camry and my husband a 06 corolla). The tether wants to pull it to one side or the other. We also had to pull out the back support pillow in order to get the latches to click without cutting off the circulation in our daughter's legs. But the cover is very luxurious - more so than you can see from the picture. I was holding out for the Shannon cover but Britax kept pushing the release date back, and I needed to get a seat quickly as my daughter was outgrowing her infant seat. I was very, very happy when I saw how pretty the cover is.
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br /Other than the asthetics of the seat, it seems very solid and safe, and I am very comfortable knowing that it is keeping my daughter safe and secure when we are driving!

Our son is on the big side and this seat is perfect for him.
br /We previously had the Roundabout and it was great too ... but seemed to be already small for him. The Boulevard is more cushioned and our son seems more comfortable. I would highly recommend Britax -- worth every penny!

My son was over 27" at four months, so we had to buy a new carseat because his infant seat was only safe until 26". After having one car seat that only lasted a few months, I was happy to see that the Britax goes up to 65 lbs. At first I was hesitant about buying such an expensive carseat, but it was absolutely worth it! I was so satisfied with the seat that I bought the same one for my husband's car.
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br /Foremost, the side impact protection separates this seats even from the other Britax models. This carseat is built like a tank, well-padded, and stays put once installed. I've read reviews stating that the fabric isn't soft enough. The Regal is softer than the Brownstone, but I didn't find either scratchy and my baby likes both.
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br /Installation was easy both with LATCH and with the lapbelt. It is true that this carseat is large. I have a Subaru Outback Stationwagon and I would have had to move the front seat all the way forward to accomidate the carseat rear-facing. It fit easily, however, in the middle (which is the safest place, anyway.) It would also easily fit behind a passenger seat when it's forward facing. My car has LATCH and it was much easier to use the Britax LATCH attachment than it was the Graco. The Britax can be removed from the LATCH with the touch of a button and attached by pushing the handle against the LATCH - no hooks to deal with. My husband's car doesn't have LATCH and he also found it easy to install using the seat belt. The harnass straps adjust in the same manner as the Graco, but the rubber frame on the straps really does prevent them from twisting. The adjustable head rest moves with a knob as your child gets taller, so you never have to rethread the straps.
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br /Some reviews point out that it's difficult for a child to see around the wings. My son doesn't seem to mind this and it's certainly worth the side impact protection.
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br /My only complaint about the seat is that my son has to sit with his legs quite far apart. The harnass clip cannot be raised and is too low to allow the straps to go above his thighs. He doesn't seem to mind this, but it looked uncomfortable to me.
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br /In summary, this seat is absolutely worth the money! It's easy to install, provides more side impact protection than other seats, and will last your child until he's 65 lbs!

My 6 month old daughter just transitioned from her infant seat carrier to the Britax Boulevard and is loving it. She looks comfortable in it, and I really appreciate the side impact support in case of an accident. I can really see her growing into it as well. It is a little large for our Camry but there is still enough room for one other person (instead of 2) in the backseat.

Our baby - who hates being strapped into anything else - loves this car seat. The firemen who helped install it for us at the car seat installation site remarked that they were very impressed with the seat and how well it can be anchored. They trained my husband on installing it and he has changed it to other vehicles with ease. We have a small car (98 Civic) and it fits nicely rear-facing. No problem in our friend's SUV either. It is worth the investment for the stability and the comfort.

The seat is great, and installs especially well in cars with the LATCH system. My huge disappointment comes when trying to clean the fabric cover. My baby is occasionally carsick, and to remove the fabric cover from the seat one first must remove the entire seat from the car (we have ours put in by firemen so have to have that redone each time). Then you have to go behind the seat and remove the shoulder harnesses from the the adjustable bracket (which loses any adjustment specific to your kid). Next, to feed the harnesses through the fabric cover slots, you have to remove all the latches and harness guides. Now you are finally able to wrestle the tight-fitting cover from the padding and foam. Of course later on, if you re-install anything incorrectly, you compromise the safety of the seat. Plan on an hour in and out everytime your kid has an accident in the seat and you have to wash the cover!

So far we really like this seat. It was easy to install, adjust, use. Our daughter seems to like it too. Lots of sleepy car trips. There are only two small things that are not 100% to my liking. The first is the buckle is very low and sometimes hard to get to. Not a real issue for me however. The second is that rear facing, it is kind of large, making it kind of hard to get her in as opposed to her other, smaller seat. Again not a big deal, and we will be turning it around very soon. All in all, quite happy.

I have this seat in the Brownstone fabric in my car and I also have it with the Onyx fabric in DH's car. We have been using this seat since my son was 4 months old (now 22months) and really like it. I like the brownstone fabric the best, it's very soft and comfortable. This seat is great. We love the side impact protection, you don't need to rethread the straps to adjust them.. you just turn the knob and getting a good install is really very easy. I love Britax's reputation for safty and my son really likes his seat. It fit well both rear and now foward facing.

We looked at tons of baby seats when our son outgrew his infant seat. I wanted something that would still fit as he got bigger. It has the added bonus of being airline certified, so if we ever need to fly somewhere I know that he will be buckled up safely. My husband says that it's a dream to install and we can switch it easily to grandpa's car. I also like the peace of mind knowing that it has a high safety rating. It was very expensive, but I believe that it's worth it and it is good up to 100lbs, so I plan to use it for several years.

I have a toddler and we got this after he grew out of the infant car seat. We absolutely love it. I have not found one problem with it.