When trying to decide on which seat to go with, there is no way I could pass up checking out the Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat
Britax Marathon 70 Specifications
- 5 to 40 pounds in rear facing position (2.3 to 18.1 kg)
- 20 to 70 pounds in front facing position (9.1 to 31.8 kg)
- 49 inch standing height limit
- Product weight is 18 pounds
- Product Dimensions in inches 18.5 W x 26 H x 21 D
- Sitting area in inches 11 W x 11 D
- Rear facing shoulder height 9 to 16.75 inches
- Front facing shoulder height 12 to 16.75 inches
- Buckle position depth 1 5 inches
- Buckle position depth 2 7.5 inches
- Certified for aircraft use
- Expiration of seven years from manufacturer date
- Made in the USA
Now, because safety of my kids is a top priority for me, I was excited about the 5 to 40 pound limit for rear facing. I will be able to keep my children rear facing much longer, which is much safer for them. The front facing maximum weight of 70 pounds also means I will be able to keep my children properly harnessed and safe for many years to come. The lowest weight for the seat is five pounds, but in order to have the child fit the seat properly, an infant positioning insert may be required for infants under twelve pounds, or if the harness straps are not below your child’s shoulders on the lowest setting.
The height of the seat can cause some issues in the rear facing position in smaller cars, or if the person in front of them needs their seat back further, or has the back of the seat tilted back. This is going to be an issue with about any child convertible car seat though. They are made bigger to keep your little one safe for many years. This is less of a problem with the marathon 70 over the previous version.
The seat has a height limit of 49 inches, but this really depends on the child. Some children grow out of the marathon 70 height wise because they are taller kids. The 16.75 inches shoulder height is the number to keep in mind. Parents with tall kids often need to look for different options when their child gets older. The seat should work for the average 6 year old though.
Safety Features of the Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat
Keeping children safe during crashes is the ultimate purpose for a car seat. Britax has introduced SafeCell technology to their convertible car seats. These SafeCells compress in the event of a crash. The compression reduces the seats center of gravity and helps to keep the car seat from rammning forward in to the seat in front of it.
Steel bars have been incorporated in to the design for added safety. These steel bars assist in strengthening the connection between the car seat and the vehicle and reducing flexing of the seat during a crash.
I think one of the neatest safety features is the Britax Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether®. The car seat can have all kinds of safety technology, but if it does not stay connected to the vehicle there will be trouble. The strap has two connection points on the seat shell, allowing crash forces to be distributed across a wider area. The duel connection points also assist in stabilizing side-to-side movement. With the unique design, the strap can be used in either the front facing, or rear facing positions, helping to reduce rebound from a crash. Loops have been engineered in to the top of the strap. These special loops release at different stages during a crash, extending the ride down time. The other end still has a single buckle to be connected with the car’s LATCH system.
No child convertible car seat would be complete without some kind of side impact protection. The deep sidewalls manufactured in to the car seat shell and the energy-managing foam work to keep your child safe during a side crash. The deep sidewalls work to prevent your child from being struck by protruding objects. The energy-managing foam, along with the deep sidewalls work to absorbed some of the impact from the crash.
The harness ultra-guard system (HUGS) is another nifty little safety feature in the seat. In the event of a crash, the HUGS system causes additional friction between your child and the chest straps of the harness. This friction assists in reducing the forward movement of your child. For convertible car seats that are in the rear facing position, the harness ultra-guard system is not necessary. The seat shell reduces the forward movement. In the forward facing position though, the HUGS system should be used.
Just like the majority of child safety seats on the market, the Britax has a five-point restraint harness. A five-point harness is used to help distribute crash forces over a wider area, and to the strongest parts of the body, the shoulders and hips. What makes this harness unique is the fact it is tangle free. Nothing is much worse than trying to buckle a kid in to a car seat, when you are in a hurry, and the straps are all twisted.
Convenience and Comfort Features of the Britax marathon 70
The Britax Marathon 70 is not only packed full of safety technology and features to keep your little one safe, but I really like the fact that your child’s comfort and convenience for us parents were kept in mind. Like as I mentioned a bit ago, the tangle free five-point harness is nifty. The harness itself is a safety feature that no seat should be without, but Britax adding the tangle free feature is just one of the little extra steps that really stands out in my mind.
The seat has three reclining positions for better fitment, and your child’s comfort. The most reclined position is to be used when the seat is installed rear facing. The position should be between 30 and 45 degrees in a level car. According to Britax, you can use a rolled up towel, or a swim noodle under the car seat to get the desired angle if needed. The upright and semi-upright positions are for when the seat has been installed front facing. The recline lever has been known to be a little difficult to pull. Be sure to pull towards you when trying to adjust it. The seat will move very smoothly to the proper place after the lever is pulled.
For the child’s comfort, there is high-density foam to add an extra layer of padding. This padding is covered by the plush cover, along with the comfort pads, which go a long way in making those trips more comfortable for your child. For the little ones, a little more comfort is provided with an infant body pillow. The cover is fairly easy to remove for washing. There is no need to remove the seat from the car, saving time and energy when that spill happens. Although the covers are plush, they do tend to have more of a nylon feel to them. This means that for the small spills, a simple wipe down will work without doing a complete wash. Removing the cover for the first time can be a little tricky, but after you get the hang of the process, it is simple.
I find the neatest convenience feature on the Britax marathon 70 to be the quick-adjust harness. I do not like to admit it, but I know I have neglected adjusting the harness on a few other car seats when it was time. It is a pain to remove the seat, then unthread and rethread the harness straps back in the right place, and then hope it was all done right. I have spent probably an hour at one time trying to adjust one seat. The quick-adjust harness can be done one handed and works very smoothly. If you notice the harness is not quite right for your child, it is a matter of seconds to adjust it for the best comfort and safety. The straps should be at or below the shoulders on rear facing car seats, and at or above the shoulders on front facing seats.
A few different ways are available for installing your car seat. If you have chosen to use the LATCH system in your car, Britax has included premium lower LATCH connecters to make the installation easier. The connectors attach to the lower LATCH anchors in your vehicle and make a click noise when they are properly connected. You will save time with these premium connectors. People have been able to install the car seat safely in less then one minute. When you need to remove the car seat for transferring to a different car, or whatever, simply press the red button to release the connectors. It cannot get much easier than that I do not think. If you are installing your child convertible car seat in a vehicle that is newer then 1996 with the vehicle’s seat belt system, you should not need to worry about using the built-in lock-offs. In case your vehicles car seat belts do not lock for some reason, Britax has included them for your convenience. The lock-offs are to be used if you need to install the car seat with the vehicles seat belt system and the seat belts do not lock in position. This is preferable then the LATCH system if your child exceeds the vehicle manufacturer’s LATCH weight rating, or if there is no LATCH anchor points where you need to install the seat. Because the lock-offs are built-in, you will not have to spend hours hunting for them if you ever do need to use them. A couple other notable conveniences are the harness holders, and the anti-slip contoured base. It is never fun to be digging around and under my children to find the straps to buckle them in. With the harness holders, the straps are kept out of the way until I need to use them. This general convertible car seat video from Britax will give you a better idea of some of the points I brought up here. Here are the current fabric options from Britax. Some are more popular then others and some are harder to find. Britax does state they could change the colors at anytime. I will do my best to keep this list updated. The Britax marathon 70 is a well-built convertible car seat. The extra safety features like the SafeCells, steel bars, and the Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether® make it one of the safer seats on the market. For clarification, all car seats on the market have to pass Federal safety guidelines in order to be sold. Every car seat you can buy brand new will have met these standards. Britax incorporates additional safety features to keep your little one safe in a crash. For some the cost might be a little off putting, I know it was for me. The manufacturers suggested retail price is $289. Now, you can get it for less, that is what Britax recommends it to be sold for. However, let me put this price in to prospective for you. For the price, you can get a top rated convertible car seat that will last seven years. If you only use the marathon 70, that is $41.29 per year, $3.44 per month, or $0.12 per day. After I broke it down like that for myself, it did not seem very bad; in fact, it seemed cheap to have the extra safety and convenience features for $0.12 per day. One thing that makes this seat safer for me is some of the convenience features that have been added. With the quick-adjust harness I know I will not think about how much trouble it will be to adjust the harness to fit my kids. I can have it adjusted in seconds. The premium lower LATCH connectors will make it easy to switch the seat from one vehicle to another. As careful as I am about installing the car seats, the LATCH connectors will make the job faster and much easier to complete. We live in a rural community and it is at least 160 miles round trip to visit everyone’s favorite retailer. The extra padding and comfortable seat design will help that ride go much better for our children. They will be able to sleep if they wish, or ride in comfort as they watch their favorite movies on the DVD player. We parents can be relaxed knowing that if there were to be an accident, the safety features of the car seat will help protect our kids as much as possible.
Britax Child Convertible Car Seat Video
Britax marathon 70 Available Fabrics
Final Thoughts on the Britax marathon 70
Purchase Your Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat