Am I the only one who is not in LOVE with their Britax marathon

[A'smommy]

Originally Posted by ceilismom I would also recommend getting a certified carseat installer to look at it. They have training and practice, and they're a warm person right there to help you figure it out. You should be able to find somebody at your local PD or a car dealership, and it shouldn't cost you anything. My sister is an installer, and honestly, I don't even try to figure out my carseat. I just have her look at it and fix problems, determine when it's time to move up straps, etc.

How great that you have someone to help Ceilismom....just thought I'd share my experience though. During a hurricane evacuation DH and I ended up separated, and I had to uninstall and reinstall the seat without his help. Talk about trial by fire! Many expletives later, I finally got it right, but you might wanna ask your sis to show you how it goes in case you're ever on your own with it. Not that it'd be because of a hurricane evac, though, in SD!

[raceNzanesmom]

Everyone should know how to properly install their seat. A tech should be there to educate you- not do it for you.

Email me if I can help.

[4BoysMom]

like others have said the marathon has a ratching tightener. you have to tug pause tug pause.

[turtle2who]

I LOVE my Roundabout. No problems at all. DH has an Evenflo- I can't remember the model but it got good reviews and was cheaper than the Britax. Since he only ever does daycare drop-off which is 2 mins from our house, we figured it was good enough. He HATES it and complains all the time about the ratcheting type tightener.

[MysticalMama]

I just order our first Britax Marathon this week,it should be here tomorrow or Monday. Hopefully I can get the hang of it quickly!

[fouradss]

I didn't read all the responses, but i'm going to ask a few questions. I LOVE my Britax. I have had problems like this with other seats.

Do you have it rear facing? There have been a few times that I have installed seats rearfacing, and ran the belt over the part that moves in the back. Not sure if that makes any since. When the seatbelt is tightened it doesn't allow the harness adjustment to move very easily. Just a thought. If you are using the latch, well i'm at a loss. I would def. call cs and see what they have to say.

[indigoblossom]

we just installed our new marathon in my fiance's car yesterday (it took much, much longer than i expected) and i realized i had put one strap through the next highest slot behind the cover (so, from the outside it looked like they were both in the same slot). then i couldn't tighten one side as much as the other, but i knew it was a user error because britax is notorious for easy, symmetrical strap adjustments.

after i fixed my mistake i learned that i really, really don't like the rubber guides that are over the straps and should have taken them off when i had the straps undone. ugh! those things are a PITA but i was able to get the straps as tight as necessary.

of course, my son is a BIG 13 month old so i could see how the straps would be difficult to tighten on a smaller baby. we also have a roundabout and the straps are thinner and much easier to adjust, i think. i also prefer the button on the roundabout over the metal tab you have to pull up to adjust on the marathon.

[raceNzanesmom]

Originally Posted by indigoblossom after i fixed my mistake i learned that i really, really don't like the rubber guides that are over the straps and should have taken them off when i had the straps undone. ugh! those things are a PITA but i was able to get the straps as tight as necessary.

The HUGS shouldn't cause any interference with tightening. I've used Zane's Britaxes since before he was 3 months and have never had a problem. JSYK, the HUGS MUST be used when the car seat is forward facing. They are optional when rear facing.

[indigoblossom]

Originally Posted by raceNzanesmom The HUGS shouldn't cause any interference with tightening. I've used Zane's Britaxes since before he was 3 months and have never had a problem. JSYK, the HUGS MUST be used when the car seat is forward facing. They are optional when rear facing.

i wasn't saying they interefered with tightening, just that they were a PITA. i guess i was going off on another tangent, though

it seems that with an itty bitty baby they might be too heavy and thick so i would definitely take them off while my child was small and rear-facing but i don't really see why they're required when forward facing...especially considering the fact that other car seat manufacturers don't have them. i guess i didn't read far enough into the booklet because i didn't see that statement.

[sammy21901]

Originally Posted by indigoblossom i wasn't saying they interefered with tightening, just that they were a PITA. i guess i was going off on another tangent, though it seems that with an itty bitty baby they might be too heavy and thick so i would definitely take them off while my child was small and rear-facing but i don't really see why they're required when forward facing...especially considering the fact that other car seat manufacturers don't have them. i guess i didn't read far enough into the booklet because i didn't see that statement.

I think that the hugs are required ff because they reduce head excursion.