Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat Crocodile
- 5 point harness with patented Floating HUGS system and 4 harness heights
- Built-in lock-off clips, Versa-Tether & Safe Guard LATCH Connectors
- EPS and Comfort Foam for safety and comfort
- Rear- and forward-facing recline
- Rear facing: 5 to 35 pounds, forward facing: at least 1 year old and 20 to 65 pounds
Product Description
The legendary Britax Marathon convertible car seat is renowned for safety, comfort and convenience and for the ability to keep your child in a harnessed child restraint up to 65 pounds. Unique features including a sculpted base, push button release LATCH system with patented Versa-Tether, and built-in vehicle belt lock-offs, make a tight installation in your vehicle quick and simple. The tangle-free polyester 5-point harness helps to effortlessly secure your child e... More >>
Don’t get me wrong….I would own nothing other than Britax seats at this point. We have 4 children and we’ve tried various models. We’ve donated the others to Goodwill. We currently own 5 Britax car seats for 4 children. We have 2 Regents, 1 Parkway(used as a spare), 1 Marathon, and 1 Roundabout. I feel as though I’m a walking advertisement for Britax and we’ve been accused of being uptight about car seats.
As far as I’m concerned, there are three main features that we look for in a car seat:
1. Does it fit securely in the vehicle?
Forward facing, this seat is awesome. We don’t have the latch system in our van, so we never had the opportunity to use the latch belts although I’m sure they work fine. We use the shoulder belt and we’ve never seen any other seat get as secure as our seat. When we try to move the seat side to side, the van moves instead. The beauty of the system is that after you’ve tightened the lap part of the belt down as far as you can, you then slide the shoulder part of the belt into a slot that latches down on the side of the seat. Once you’ve done this, the belt doesn’t develop any slack. Then for good measure, you attach the tether to the underside of the rear of the seat (or a tether hook in some cars). This seat doesn’t move after that.
Rear facing, the seat could be improved. This is why the seat doesn’t get 5 stars from me. The side lock down mechanism is tightened more by the thickness of the belt. Unfortunately, it can pop open without much pressure. (As a side note, the lockdown on the side of our older Roundabout works great. It is a different design. I’m not sure if Britax thought they were improving and have changed the design or if they have a different lockdown on this seat.) The annoying thing about this is that you have to continuously check to see if it has released.
2. Condition of the straps is important. I haven’t seen one manufacturer compare to the quality of the straps. The shoulder straps are thick and wide. They don’t fold up on themselves or get tangled. They are also wide across your child’s shoulders.
3. Child’s comfort. The side guards around the head are great for when they are getting tired and the safety foam is the same as you would find in bike helmets.
Overall, the seat is great. If I could have given it 4.5 stars, I would have. The rear facing problem was minor to us because we could use our Roundabout rear facing, but for someone who needs to use it rear facing for a while, it might be more of a problem. I’m hoping Britax improves that one thing, but overall, this seat is highly recommended by me.
This car seat was a life saver!
Our daughter is almost 4 months now and cried everytime we placed her in her infant seat, except on the day home from the hospital. We couldn’t drive down the road without listening to screams – the only time we went anywhere was if she was asleep and often she woke up the minute we put her in her seat. My 8 year old and I would both sit in the back seat with her, it didn’t matter. I read the reviews on this seat so we went to 2 different stores and placed her in the demo. She was fine. My mother offered to purchase it for us so we got it.
Sketptical?
I was skeptical, so I first took her for a 5 minute ride – no crying. The next day I chanced 15 minutes – still no crying. The third day we went to my mother’s – a 40 minute drive each way. Within a week we were willing to try her on a 3 hour trip. She did great!
I think the key for us was my daughter can see out and doesn’t feel confined like the infant seat. She spends most trips gazing out the window and quietly sucking her thumb.
Size
I’ve read people complain about the size, but it fits fine in our Toyota Prius and our Subaru Outback. In fact it actually allows the front passanger seat to be further back than our previous car seat with a base (Graco Snugride).
Buy Two!
We’ve had the seat now for 3 weeks and no crying! My husband asks me everyday “How was she in the car” and everyday I say “GREAT!” We bought a second one for the other car.
Installation
This is the easiest car seat I have ever installed, we use the latch system in the Prius and in my mother’s car. IT is so much easier than the latch with the Graco seat. Using latch it takes only minutes to go from one car to another. In the Subaru we use the regular shoulder/seat belt (it’s 8 years old so latch wasn’t available). Which I still like better than the Graco.
It is quite expensive, but to us well worth it. If you’re still reading this then you want this seat! (It doesn’t feed hungry babies, so they may still fuss.)
A year late…
My daughter is 15 months now and the seat is still wonderful! We now have the seat facing forward and we still love this car seat.
This is a good car seat, with some observations.
Older children may not fit into the Marathon, as the base is too tall and they’re likely to outgrow it in height way before they reach the 65 lb weight limit. In contrast, the Roundabout has a lower weight limit (to 40 lbs) and may be a better choice if you’re transitioning from an infant seat.
The Marathon seat is shallow and the crotch strap is too short, especially for toddler boys. The Marathon measures 6 inches from the back of the seat to the base of the strap. The Roundabout is deeper, 7 inches from seat back to the base of the strap, which is perplexing. Why would Britax make the larger seat shallower, if it has to fit both infants and older children?
Second, the quick release of the Marathon is so easy to use (gently lift the metal part under the front flap) even a toddler can do it- if they fiddle with it they can loosen the harness while strapped in! Teaching the child the meaning of “no” and placing safety pins on the flap are possible solutions but not what one would expect on an expensive car seat.
It helps to tuck the excess straps between the BRitax and the car’s seat.
Please note that some models of the Marathon have a flap with velcro that’s easy to lift. The Marathon Greystone sold by Target has a slightly different flap (the metal clasp is still underneath but hidden by a flap that’s sewn on the sides – not velcroed like the picture). This looks like an improvement, as most Marathon models have the velcro version. I don’t know if the amazon model has this new flap.
The Roundabout has a different harness release system (button) and you need to press hard to release it which makes it more child proof.
Lastly, the Marathon and the Roundabout are handwash & drip dry only according to the owner’s manual and care instructions attached to the seat.
It’s a good seat for young toddlers, not so much for older ones, especially boys.
This seat is really great, I can’t say enough good things about it.
First of all, my 7 month old son fits perfectly and rides so comfortably in it. He outgrew his carrier, and I wanted a safe, and snuggly seat for him to move into. He not only loves the look of the cow print (he smiles and laughs at himself in the Baby In Sight mirror!), but the fabric is so plush and soft. If you’re going to get a top of the line model, I figure take advantage of the fun prints that are offered! It’s great because it is so soft and lush, but he doesn’t sweat in it at all, and he’s a big sweater! The BRU exclusive fabric, Racer, looks chic, but is very rough to the touch down the center stripe.
Also, this seat was almost too easy to install. It was so simple, I felt like that couldn’t possibly be “it”. But it was! The LATCH connectors have clicks similar to seatbelts, and easy to pull straps – this was nothing like trying to install the base to my Graco Snugride. I’m confident that the seat is installed properly, and it’s not difficult to remove and install quick in another car, if need be. The tether anchor was also much easier to hook up than I anticipated. It’s a great safety feature that only Britax has. The seat is large, but does not take up the entire back seat, still allowing two other passengers to ride back there.
While the carrier was great for the early months, this is the absolute best for older babies, and kids. I would recommend Sleepy Wings or extra head support for newborns, however.
The Marathon is the way to go for durability, safety, luxury and longevity for your child. I guarantee that this is worth the extra money! I am forever a Britax customer!
I researched many car seats and settled on this one. Safe and cute! But it has a *major* flaw:
The strap that comes up between the legs is too close to the back of the seat. My daughter, only five months old, was already almost sitting *on* the belt where it comes out. This mean that the buckle was way too low and tight, forcing the belts to cut into her chunky thighs and pushing uncomfortably on her pubic bone.
I asked around online on some forums, and found many other mothers who returned this seat for the same reasons. Many mothers didn’t find it a problem until their child was at least 20 lbs, but it was a problem for me already, because we use cloth diapers, so my baby’s butt is bigger due to the ‘padding.’
This car seat wouldn’t work well if your child is chunky or uses cloth diapers… and even otherwise, I can’t see how it would work for a child over 25 lbs or so… The Britax Roundabout has the croth belt at a different location, a few inches further out from the back of the seat, so it is the one I am getting as a replacement.