Please help me deciding which car seat i should go for Nick?

I have been using the Marathon for five years. I have two toddlers and a 7yo using them. I really like it. Sam

We have 2 Britax Marathon (one for nanny's car, one for dh's) and a Britax Boulevard for H. We really like them. My inlaws have the Cosco seat, which is a little less expensive, still has the 5 point harness and latch system, and I like it as well. H doesn't seem to have a huge preference from one seat to another.

My sister has one of each (Marathon and Runabout) Britax carseats. She really likes them both but her newly turned 4 year old is too tall for the Runabout and is now in the Marathon. I too considered Britax, but after a lot of research online, I went with the Recaro. Same price, maybe a little less than some of the Britax, still has the 5 point harness, but can also be used as a booster with shoulder belt when the kids get older. I also really like the safety features including the head support for side impact crashes. Just something else to look at and consider.

I love my Marathon. I also had the infant Britax.

With no other info except the safety factor, the britax was my sole choice - among any other carseat!

Hannah came home at 11 months and we got the Britax Roundabout b/c she still had to do the rear-facing for a little while. It is AWESOME..super easy to put in any car and it does not look a day older than last year when we bought it. I think b/c it is made so well it just holds up very VERY well. Never have had to wash it or anything..it just seems to be super stain resistant or something! Now Hannah is 2 and over 35 inches tall..she is only 24lbs and even though the Roundabout goes up to 40 lbs, she is going to grow out of it soon. (b/c her shoulders will be higher than the straps). We are now looking at the Regent, which has the 5 pt restraint up to 65lbs (which is one of only a few that has the 5pt restraint up to that weight..usually only 40lbs) and then turns into a booster which you can use the car seatbelt. So if I were you, since your fella is a year, to look into one of the middle of the line Britaxes so he can stay in it longer. I know it is a super hard decision..I have been obssessing about it all weekend! It is so hard to pay so much when you can find plenty of 100dollar seats that have good ratings..but still, for me, I don't think I will like anything else but a Britax now that I am spoiled!

ok - so i just read some research about carseats. it said the straps should be below the childs shoulders and should comeup and over their shoulders. anyone ever do this? i always thought the straps should start above the shoulders. so maybe our babies arent outgrowing the carseats when we think they are. i also have the britax roundabout and marathon. i like the roundabout cause its a little smaller in my car. question - my 6 1/2 month old is 20 lbs. my hubby says we can safely turn him around i think we should keep him facing backward until he's 1. what is the safest?

I would check with your states laws. Here in Oregon it very clearly states that a child has to be "one year AND 20 lbs".

I love my Marathon. However, now that I am going back to work, we need to get an extra seat for dh's car... I think we will probably be getting something cheap, at least for a few months, and may replace it later. When we brought Zoe home, I used one of those pumpkin seats (Evenflo?) someone handed down to me (had never been in an accident). They were so easy to get in and out and hook right onto shopping carts. We broke out the Marathon when we switched her to forward facing (around 14 or 15 months, I think). D.

For rear-facing children, the straps need to come from at or below the child's shoulders. The car seat is outgrown if the child exceeds the weight requirement, OR there is less than one inch of shell above the child's head (some convertibles allow the head to be even with the shell--READ YOUR MANUAL). As far as RF vs FF, rear-facing is MUCH safer. MUCH MUCH MUCH safer. One year AND 20 lbs is the absolute bare minimum to turn the child forward facing, but the AAP, NHSTA, Safe Kids, and all car seat manufacturers recommend leaving the child rear-facing to the limits of the car seat (22-30 lbs in infant seats 30-35 lbs in convertible seats). If you have any questions, please feel free to ask--I am a Child Passenger Safety Technician and I love to answer questions & give out info!

Marathon is much better Roundabout! Its got some additional features like harness Ultra Guard System and removable cushion/pad... Plus its got better Forward facing weight limit (upto 70 lbs as compared to 55 lbs for roundabout).. They both are the same size wise but marathon is just a wee bit heavier.. Otherwise both are sturdy and comfortable. The only thing better about Roundabout is the price;) Here's a detailed comparison between the two to help you decide: [url=http://www.carseatvs.com/Britax-ROUNDABOUT-55-vs-Britax-MARATHON-70_G3]Britax ROUNDABOUT 55 vs Britax MARATHON 70-G3[/url] Another good seat that you can look at is the Recaro ProRide. Good safety features and very comfortable for little ones! the weight limit is the same as marathon.. height limit is 50 inches. It fits well in small cars too! You can know more about the features by visiting the official site: [url=http://recaropromotion.com/proRide.html]Convertible Car Seat ProRIDE - RECARO[/url] If you want to check out more seats.. use this [URL="http://www.carseatvs.com/dofind"]Car Seat Finder[/URL] I hope all this info helped!