Convertible Carseats - Antelope,CA

I love my marathon!! My son has been in it since he was 9 months old and he is 3 and a half. There is plenty of room for growth and he will fit in it at least another 9-12 months.

K.

I have the boulevard and my only complaint is that the straps sometimes get jammed somewhere in the chair making it very hard to tighten them. Other than that it works great an my daughter seems comfortable. I have a ’99 Audi A6 and it fits like it was made for the car (once I removed the headrest anyway.)I also managed to get mine for about half off by going through a baby clearing house on e-bay. Basically Britax discontinued the fabric so all the old stock was put on clearance.

I have the Marathon and love it. It's gone through a lot with my 2 1/2 year old son. It's easy to disassemble when needed for cleaning and has great safety features.(ie: 5 point harness, anchors with security clip.) Good luck in your decision! I highly recommend the Marathon.

I own both, but we only use the Marathon as a spare in my husband's car. Both of my youngest kids have a Boulevard and I have no complaints (nor do they). It is easy to adjust the straps to the proper level. Best of all, it's a safer seat than the Marathon. The side impact, especially around the head is so important. We've had our Boulevards and used them (rear-facing and now forward-facing)since our kids outgrew their Britax Companions (infant car seats). My son is 4 and 38 lbs and still fits very comfortably.
Good luck with your decision!

I have the boulevard and i just got another one for my 5 month old. Havent had the other one but i like it!

Hi J.,

I have both carseats ~ the Marathon for my first born and we went with the Boulevard for our second child. They are both wonderful carseats, so either choice will be a good one. I do like the Boulevard a bit more for two reason: 1) it is super easy to raise the straps as your child grows using a knob and 2) there are little side head protective pieces, so it is reported to be a little safer. I thought it might bug my daughter, but she's never seemed bothered at all, and I have comfort with the added safety. I found great prices searching online that even offered free shipping, so the price wasn't that different.

Best wishes!
A.
www.pickledtinkbaby.com

J.,

I have the britax boulevard and LOVE IT. i have not a single complaint! We had an Alpha Omega Elite and was pleased with the easy transition (due to a car accident and recommendation to get a new seat).

Both seats are great from Britax, i think the only difference is cost? And if i remember correctly the marathon, you may have to rethread the harness when the baby grows. With the boulevard, there is a crank on the side for ease.

I have both and I some what regret buying the Marathon. It is big and clumsy, especially if you have to move it. I also have some trouble seeing over it because the back is very high (I am only 5'2"). I also have the Roundabout in my moms car and we both love it. I wish I had purchased that for all vehicles originally. I think that the Roundabout has the best side impact resistence. The only plus side to the Marathon is that is will last just a little bit longer because of the weight capacity. But I figure that by the time my little guy reaches that weight he will be big enough for a booster seat. I have no issues with the Boulevard. We love that one as well.

Here is a good resource for comparing the Britax seats:

http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/fit-my-child/compare.a...

I included the Decathalon because that is the version we selected. It is between the Marathon and the Boulevard in terms of cost, but honestly, I selected it because I liked the pattern the best. It has more cushion than the Marathon, a little less maybe than the Blvd. It has multiple buckle postions which neither of the other models have.

Our only frustration is that it is pretty difficult to tighten the straps once the child is buckled. I pretty much keep it set to fit her and we snap and go, but my husband always loosens first to get her out and then has a difficult time tightening her back up.

It is very easy to install...and because we fly a lot, I am always moving it from our car to taxi to airplane to taxi...etc etc...and I find it simple and hassle-free.

Good luck!

I am currently using the Britax Boulevard for my 6mons. old son. I love it because of the side impact protections. They are huge carseats though, it does takes up some room but it's worth it!

We have 2 Britax car seats. We have the Marathon for my 5 year old and the Decathalon for my 3 year old. I love them both. The Decathalon is basically the Marathon with more padding which I do like a little better. Otherwise, I have been completely happy with the Marathon. Good luck.
S. A.

We have the Marathon & love it, but I didn't do any comparisons with the Boulevard at the time. I simply went to Babies R Us, pulled down a few car seats I had done some research on & had my child (1 yr at the time) sit in each one so I could see how the seat "fit" on him & which one he preferred. Marathon won hands down.

We used a traditional infant car seat through the 1st year. Yes, you can use the Britax seats at infancy, but, they are obviously less "portable" - that's really the only downside that I can see.

After reading a review about the Boulevard, I would probably try that one on for size, simply because of the car seat strap height issue. It's not like you have to change the height very much, but yes, you do have to remove the seat & yes, it is a universal height. Probably get a little better fit with the Boulevard. I have no idea if both seats are the same in size, but that could be another issue to consider if you have a smaller vehicle.

Good luck! Safety ratings should be a top priority (in my opinion).

I have two boulevards for my 2 1/2 and 1 year old and I LOVE them. My boys are taller than most kids their age so I love that the head rest can be raised to get a little more use out of the seat.
One downfall is it is a VERY tall seat and does not fit in smaller cars. I drive an Expedition so I don't have that problem, but I tried to get it into a friends Audi who wanted to try it and it was too tall. It wouldn't safely fit on the seat.

I also like that it has the side "wing" protectors for their heads, but it is also a hindrence for them when looking out the window...however I prefer that over them being hurt in an accident.

good luck with your hunt.

K.

I have the Britax Boulevard which I purchased when my son, now 15 months, was 6 months old. So, I used it both rear-facing and front facing. I love the seat and have no regrets! I love the side impact wings which also double as a head rest for a sleepy baby plus I like the extra safety factor.i also like that you can adjust the carseat with the knobs on the side - the difference with the Marathon is that you actually have to re-thread the straps to make an adjustment. I think the Boulevard was $30-40 more expensive but with the extra safety and convenience it was worth it. Plus I have a small car (Corolla) and it fits. There's actually more room once I put the seat forward facing.

We have the Boulevard and have been completely happy. We did a lot of research on carseats and found that Britax was the best. We chose the Boulevard over the Marathon for the side impact protection. It was definitely worth the extra cost. My son is 16 months and isn't bothered by the "wings" blocking his view (thought that's all he knows.)

We have the marathon and we love it! Not to familiar with the Boulevard.

I have the boulevard and have loved it. We have used it both rear and forward facing.

I've been very happy with the Britax Marathon and do not have any complaints. My son has been in it since the switch from the rear facing seat and now he is 4 1/2 and it still works great. I did use a small sculpted pillow around his head or a longer narrow pillow on one side when he was very small to keep him in place while he was sleeping. I will be able to keep this one car seat until it's time for the booster seat.

I have the Boulevard and my sister-in-law has the Marathon. At the time it was $30 more the get the Boulevard and I was literally shocked she didn't do it. They are basically the same car seat. They look the same, same size, etc. The Boulevard has the side impact protection, to me, why wouldn't you want that? However, the best part of it is the strap adjustments. My SIL has to take her car seat out and rethread it every time she adjusts the straps. Mine has a knob on the side and you twist it, while you child is in it (not buckled though, it will get tighter as you make it higher) and find the perfect height. You don't have 2 or 3 slots to choose from, it's not 3 sizes fits all, it's a turn of the knob for the perfect height.
There is one thing I like better on the Marathon though. The crotch strap doesn't sit as far back. You don't have to dig to get it, but I got over that rather quickly.
That's my opinion! I LOVE our car seat.
There is one thing I like better on the Marathon though. The croch strap doesn't sit as far back. You don't have to dig to get it, but I got over that rather quickly.
That's my opinion! I LOVE our carseat.

hi J....
your request has just done a number on me. let me explain, i picked out a beautifully patterned britax when my daughter reached the age of one (before that she was in a peg-perego primo viaggio car seat which only accommodates infants aged birth through to their 1st birthday.) well about six months ago she was in a car accident...no one was hurt, she and her grandpa were hit and ran on their way home from dance class. she was in her car seat in the back seat. apparently once a car seat has been involved in an accident, no matter how minor, california law requires you replace it, your insurance (case of hit and run) or the insurance carrying at-fault party will issue you a check, and you go pick out a new one...so we did. i was pleased with the boulevard for the most part, but more importantly my daughter wanted her seat back...she was adamant. so what i would have liked to fix with a new car seat, namely foot room, of which there is very little in my toyota camry, and none in my jeep commander unless i put her in the middle in which case she slides all over the place and just last week tipped ( we don't drive it but once a week and only if we have to the sliding and tipping by the way was curbed a bit with help from the newly installed cloth seat cover, and some of that puffy shelf liner paper. ( p.s. the back seat must also be reclined for the seat to fit at all. whatever...it's her comfort i was looking to improve and she it seemed was unaffected by this criteria and would be most happy in a replica of her hit and ran seat. what do i care, her safety is my foremost concern and except for the slight commander problems, there is no issue with safety, as it is being met with the best scores in car seat reviews, so if her old seat is what she wants...so be it... her old seat is what we'll get, i grab the box and we head out. we get home we take it out of the box, we try it out... panic flies form my daughters lips "it not evie's seat...this not like evie's seat", "yes it is..." i try to calm her down, and continue to "no!! it different from mine, not mine...i don't want this seat." "evie baby..." i try another angle. "let's think about this for a minute, we'll talk it out, ok?" "ok..." she replies and sits in the chair. "...these buckles are neat this one's a square. what shape were your old buckles?" i ask. "square..." she whines, with tears and snot and the whole pouty face/slumped defeated shoulder look. " I like how soft the chair is...and right here where your arms are resting it's nice how it rounds down and lets your hands dangle, just like evie's old seat" I hand her my water bottle from the table. "now, where did you put you water bottle in your old seat?" thinking, now i'm at least on my way to triumph, "right here." she tucks it in between the outside of her thigh and the side of her chair. "wow...so the buckles are the same and the arms?" "same" she says shaking her head and beginning to kick her legs, clearly agitated. "even your drink fits just right" i say stroking her legs, "so it's the same honey." she cries, screams, swats at me, and hides her face behind her hands... shaking her arm at me and the new car seat she howls "not mine!! evie's different!!! not mine. i not want it, it yours" cry cry cry whine whine whine. all i can think is; forget this. well eventually, 2 days later, i wrestled her into it. she screamed the entire 20 min we were in the car and still to this day refers to it as my seat.

long story short...

it is my seat, not hers. she was right, hers was different.
and i only just now after reading you request found this out. unsure as to whether or not the britax seat we have is one of the ones you were inquiring about so i googled boulevard and marathon in an effort to leave you a both helpful and applicable response and to my amazement it seems we have owned them both, a fact only my two year old daughter was aware of, only just incapable of finding the language to express where the (obvious, sadly to only her) differences lay.

so evie's seat, the boulevard is a great seat if your baby boy comes from shorter stock, and you've got ample room, a set of strong muscles wouldn't be to bad either, to accommodate it's larger size and weight.

my seat, the marathon, so apparently different now from evie's seat. i feel guilty for insisting it was the same as her old seat. our journey into replacement car seat shopping and the inevitable model identification that follows suit had fallen on blind eyes, because it was evie, my daughter, my beautiful sweet blind daughter who new the model she had sat in, sat in and felt with her whole body for the last year. i only saw the chair and picked it because among the highest safety ratings, i liked the color and pattern. that i chose a car seat for my blind daughter based on it's color hurts my heart. evie is the blind one, i am simply incapable of truly seeing. Your post here as opened my eyes. i thank you for your gift, i only wish to add for children with sight, this chair is great, it sits up really high and allows them to look out the windows so they can see the world they live and love and play in.

i hope your world is wonderful and wish you and your family well and for your sweet baby boy may his car seat (whichever you finally decide to make his) bring him many safe and comfortable hours in the car.

i leave with a whole new vision of the world, and with evie's help and the gentle reminder each in and out of 'my pink' car seat brings, i hope to continue looking toward mine and evie's future with these new eyes. you've allowed me to see the bigger and brighter sights possible for her future and though my heart hurts it is finally feeling for her instead of worrying so thank you. i'm sure this response is far from what you expected to find with your innocent request for car seat info and as much as i thank you, i apologize for any way other than the most positive of ways my i'm sure startlingly personal post has found you, but i had to say something, and this is what came out. the truly profound moments in our lives are so few and far between and should not be made light of, they must be celebrated. so celebrate today J. give your sweet baby boy a hug and just celebrate. i'm going to go now i'm going to go and hug evie and celebrate.

i thank you so very very much, and i know evie will one day also thank you so very very much.

thank you J.
aline

I switched my little girl (almost 2) from a Roundabout into a Boulevard last fall (the Roundabout will work rear-facing in our car, the Boulevard will not, & we needed the Roundabout for the new baby). I wasn't sure about the head wings--if she'd like them, or if she wouldn't be able to see--but they haven't been a problem. She seems very comfortable in her seat, and the wings are good pillows when she falls asleep. We don't go out everyday, but we live up in the Santa Cruz mountains, and it takes half an hour to get down the mountain (not far as to distance, but very curvy) to go anywhere, so our car seats need to be comfortable, as well as safe.

Our Roundabout is nearing its expiration date, and, as soon as our son can be forward-facing, he, too, will have a Boulevard.

Hi there! I have the Britax Marathon and love it. My biggest decider was the wieght limits. The Marathon goes up to 60 lbs., so I know my son who is 30 lbs will be in it for a while. Britax are a little more expensive then the rest, but they have really great safety features and have gotten really high marks. They are soft and comfortable. My son seems very happy in his carseat. Go out to the Britax website and do the hight and weight checklist to help you decide which one would be best for you.

I have the marathon and have been really happy with it. The boulevard looks nice and cushy and may be more comfortable, but the marathon has been great for us.