Shipping weight: 32.00 pounds.

From Babiesrus.com & Amazon.com
From the Manufacturer
Rear facing and forward facing LATCH compatible convertible child seat. This child restraint is LATCH equipped for easy installation. It can also be installed with vehicle seat belts for vehicles that do not have the new LATCH (lower anchors and tethers for children) anchorage systems. For added safety, this seat features Britax's patented versa-tether, which can be tethered forward, and rear facing. Features a 5-point harness with a one-pull strap adjuster and a comfort pad with impact foam. Four shoulder harness positions allow for a comfortable and secure fit as your baby grows. Built in lock off and Velcro straps keep straps out of the way as you place your baby in the seat. Offers 2 recline positions for added comfort. Install rear facing for infants weighing 5-33 pounds and forward facing for children weighing 20-65 pounds. The soft sandy cover is removable and washable.

 

52 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

So disappointed - so many problems!, December 31, 2004
 

After extensive research- even though the price tag is exorbitant, I too thought this was 'the best' for my first born angel... but it has been a nightmare from day one. The worst of it is the straps- they do not get tight- I have even had a few police officers try to fix it and they will only get to a certain degree of tightness with a child in the seat. It is also impossible to remove from the LATCH in my mother's car where this seat is now installed - me and my very strong and able brother-in-law tried to get the thing out and it would not budge- so I had to adjust the straps while it was still installed- what a pain! In addition to user-difficulties, this seat is very large, so if you have a car and not an SUV you should definitely try installing it before you purchase it.

Now that my daughter is 2 1/2 the lower straps also rest on top of her thighs- which just seems odd and not quite right. Bottom line, I probably got a very sour lemon and should have shipped it back, but I thought - it's a Britax, it must be perfect- I must be doing something wrong.

We did purchase 3 evenflo triumphs for the other family cars and that has been a dream-seat, easy to install, comfortable for my daughter, and the straps tighten with ease- now I am looking for another seat, a booster, and I will not be purchasing an overpriced Britax that could be another lemon - hopefully evenflo will come through for us again.

One other thing- I received a letter (months ago) stating that a piece of the strap mechanism to this seat has been recalled and although there have been no injuries, I would be sent a new piece by mail. I have now called 4 times and still have not received the piece, I was told 'we don't know when they will be mailed out'. So much for their customer service!

 

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

Great car seat, even better than the Roundabout!, September 30, 2004
 

This seat has all of the great features and benefits of the Roundabout, but allows your child extra grow room in height and in weight allowance (Roundabout is 40 lbs., Marathon is 60 lbs.). My 3-1/2 year old daughter still uses hers with room to spare! It is very comfortable, and as with all Britax seats, has more seat padding to make extended trips easier on your child's behind! I would never buy any car seat but a Britax. I am expecting again, and will move my daughter up to the Husky seat, use the Marathon for the new baby, and get my son the new Bodyguard booster.

 

Customer Reviews
 

Good car seat - be careful of size, January 11, 2006
 

Just wanted to respond to the review about this carseat fitting into small cars. Ok....this seat is by far the best...but, I have a new 5-series BMW(not a big car, but bigger the honda accord mentioned earlier)- I also have 6 month old twins and one child is already in the marathon. I already see a big problem coming - because these seats are rear facing now and we lean them back some - the passenger side seat is moved way up. I am short so it would be fine for me to move my seat up for the other one, but my husband would not be able to drive my car - he could not fit into the driver seat (and he is not a big guy - 5,11"). I am online tonight checking the height of the roundabout for my car and giving my husband the marathons for his SUV car. I think they will fit, but there is no way they will fit (rearfacing) into a smaller car. I still think this is the best carseat, but goodluck if you have twins and a small car. Hope this helps. Best of luck on your carseat quest.

 

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Durable, comfortable for child; a bit inconvenient, December 26, 2005
 

Have owned a Britax Marathon for 2 years now, and it has been all over the U.S, in cars, on planes, and even on trains. This thing has been through the wringer. I can definitely say it can put up with a lot of wear and tear. Our family is bicoastal and we travel every month across the U.S., we visit friends and family in several states quite often (at least once a month), and feel like our car is our third home.

The downsides to this very highly rated seat are its weight and size, and difficulty in installation. I've lugged this car seat on the plane dozens of times (before I finally caved and bought a car seat for the West Coast). It does take a while to get the seat strapped into car seats if they are not LATCH seats, and if they are leather seats, I generally sit in the seat to make sure it is very secure on the leather. (I know you can put a rubber pad down, but I'm not so anal to carry that around). Another downside is that cars with the LATCH system have just been shown (5/05 Consumer Reports) to have inferior test results than those cars that use safety belts only. You can verify this for yourself at www.consumerreports.org. I don't know if you need to be a subscriber to read the report.

Regarding ease of cleaning, in this area it is not well designed. I've had to clean my share of vomit, and it is not a pretty time taking off the cover and the straps and the foam, and the cover I have is not machine washable. I would highly recommend getting one that is, if there is one....

In terms of comfort, my daughter loves this seat and doesn't have any problem falling asleep in it when we are driving. I appreciate that this seat is well-designed for a child to sleep in, as it can angle back so a child's head doesn't flop down and around (making it difficult to get air). If your child doesn't sleep in her/her seat, this seat is worth looking at for that reason alone (an hour of peace is worth the hassle of installing the car seat).

Good luck on your search for the best seat for your angel.

 

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Won't last up to 65 pounds as promised, December 22, 2005
 

I spent the extra $$$ on this seat because of the safety reputation Britax has and because it is promised that the seat is for kids up to 65 lbs. Guess what? My son is 3 years old and 33 lbs now, BUT he only has one-and-a-half inches grow to outgrow this seat! He is of average height and weight, nothing special. I highly doubt that he'll weigh 65 lbs by the time he outgrows this seat (he'd have to be very fat!). Britax must either stop lying about the 65 pounds, or make the necesarry adjustments to the seat.
 

Very substantial! Best for larger cars., December 15, 2005
 

I love this car seat. It is heavy, big and bulky, which to me, mean substantial. When it comes to my sweetie, convenience isn't a big priority, safety is. But it does have a major convenience factor to it - the velcro strap holders make it so that your child never sits on her seatbelts! AND you can use it for multiple kids, w/o it looking like you used the same seat because you can order add'l covers for it from Britax and they have ADORABLE girl, boy & unisex patterns!!

As for size... I originally bought it for our Navigator and it fit perfectly in it, but I recently downsized to a Lexus ES300 (like a Camry) and yes, she can kick the back of my seat, but I believe she should be taught not to do that - why take away an opportunity to learn!? But if your car is any smaller than mine, it may be too small for this seat. Now if you drive a large car, and want a big kooshie luxury seat for your sugarpie then this is perfect! If I were to buy another seat for this car, I wouldn't settle for anything else.

I will say... I won't move it from one car to another. The latch components are much nicer than any of my previous car seats, but all LATCH systems are a pain to install and uninstall.

When I bought it I was very frustrated that such a nice expensive seat didn't have a snack tray, or more importantly, a cup holder. Well I called them to see if I could order one ala carte or something and they explained to me that they do not offer any such products because they are dangerous, and they had some good safety reasons as to why you should not have them. So we did without, which I thought was going to be hard, but in no time my daughter learned to just stick her sippy cup in the seat next to her and I decided no more food in the car - period. Which for a week or so was a nightmare, but once she learned that we don't eat in the car, she chilled out and my car is SO MUCH CLEANER, I can't even believe I used to let her eat in the car.

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