Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by M. Sery "Paparazzi" : Now a die-hard Britax fan!!!

After being disappointed by Graco's quality of car seats, I decided to try Britax! I recently bought a Britax Frontier 85 and was SO excited about the seat. My son is 10 months old and is outgrowing his Graco infant seat. I didn't realize however that the seat is only good for children at least 2 years old. So with MUCH regret I had to return the Frontier! I ordered the Britax Marathon 70 and absolutely love it (as much as I did the Frontier 85).

It is so nicely cushioned and yet spacious enough. I'm 5'1 and 105 lbs and I can sit in the seat (not harnessed of course) with the headrest at its highest. My son's back is not curved in anyway and his head is not pushed forward at all. He looks so comfortable, I want to be him in this seat! I love that I will be able to rear-face my son for longer and then forward-face him when he's ready. The crotch strap is GREAT! Moving it is a breeze -- just slide it over (nothing to disassemble). It has 2 position, but the furthest one is pretty far (8 inches from the back of the seat). The Graco Nautilus' furthest crotch strap measured at 6.5 inches from the back... one of the main reasons I returned it cause my son would have no room to grow into and would inevitably be sitting on the crotch strap before he's even 2 years old. The harness straps are so easy and FAST to adjust!!! You just move the headrest up and down! No need to unfasten the harness and re-thread it through the loops. The recline is a REAL recline (3 positions). Graco Nautilus' recline was like half an inch difference. Oh, and the steel frame is excellent (versus a heavy-duty plastic). I think all car seats should be made of a steel frame. Which makes this car seat, though very expensive, worth the money in every way!!! And I'm pretty frugal. From now on, every car seat I buy will be a Britax!

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Annie Wilcoxen : Happy with the Marathon!

I was debating between the marathon and the Boulevard for a while, but after a trip to the local store who carries both, I decided to go with the Marathon. The Boulevard looks bulkier and I was also worried the side wings will block the views for the baby. I know my daughter hasn't been a happy rider, and if she feels trapped in, that won't be fun for anybody sitting in the car. I am very happy with the Marathon. It lives up to its reputation. My daughter is still not a happy rider, but that is not the Marathon's fault. I was just secretly wishing the Marathon would have the magic touch :-). I am actually looking to get another Marathon for my husband's car.

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Kristen Stewart : Another Great Britax Carseat!

We've been using Britax's older style Marathons for five years so I was anxious to try this latest manifestation to see how it stacked up. It is larger, but it now fits children up to 70 lbs forward facing (and 5-40 rear facing) and still fits easily in our Honda Odyssey and forward facing in our small VW Golf. Like the older Britax models, the new Marathon is often outgrown by height, rather than weight. I sat both of our children in it and found the difference to be slight, if any, over the old model, so if you are in the market for a new seat for child outgrowing the shell, this is probably not the best choice.

The legendary Britax quality continues with a solid, intuitive build. Some of the newer head protecting technology from other, more expensive Britax seats has been integrated. The new harness adjuster is amazing, making it so simple and easy to change the height of the straps. We often carpool and I'm glad I can quickly and easily customize the seat to every child.

Britax seats are always soft and comfortable for riders, so much so that my children notice the difference when they ride in other seats! My four year old gave this her seal of approval comfort-wise, declaring the new design even better than her old one.

There are new spots to store latch clips when they are not in use that I love, most every change is a great improvement with the exception of the locking mechanisms for using a seat belt. They are MUCH harder to use than they were on the older model Marathons. I assume that they are also safer, but I had such a hard time with it, I could imagine parents using it incorrectly (and unsafely.)

The instructions are clear and easy to follow, but take advantage of seat checks in your area to make sure you install it correctly and as secure as it can be. Britax is an industry leader in safety and innovation, and I am glad my girls (at 4.5 and 6) are still riding safely in 5 point harnesses and protected by their Britax seats in the event of a crash.

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Mandya0503 : Love It!!

Love this car seat, pretty easy to install and fits in my car well. I feel safe with my child in this seat. After HOURS of analyzing different seats and brands. This was the safest seat I could use the longest both rear and forward facing. Worth every penny!

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Karen in Mommyland : Another great seat from Britax

Since 2001 I've been hooked on Britax car seats. The quality and ease of use of their seats puts them above their competition. When I was presented with the opportunity to review the Britax Marathon 70, I jumped at the chance.

We own a Britax Marathon that accommodates a child from 5 to 65 pounds, so it was nice to sit the two seats side by side for comparison purposes. The first notable difference is the Marathon 70 is a larger seat. The seat belt lock offs are designed differently (I think they're more cumbersome than the easy to use lock offs found on the Britax Marathon and Roundabout seats). The harness adjustor strap's release mechanism works differently. Instead of pressing down, you need to press up. After nearly 9 years of dealing with seats that had easier releases, I found this to be a tad awkward. Harness height adjustment on the Marathon 70 is a snap compared to the seats where you need to rethread the harness. You simply have to squeeze and pull (or push) to adjust the height of the harness straps. The ease of use for this function is on par with the simple adjustment of the back on a Graco TurboBooster. The Marathon 70 also boast some nice little touches that weren't found on the old Marathon. There is now a place to snap the latch clips to the back of the seat when not in use. Parents who travel frequently and find themselves lugging their child seat through airports will appreciate the added touch of an area to clip the versa tether strap to be used as a carry handle.

Installation of this seat was a snap. I installed it both rear and forward facing in my Toyota Sienna and it was easily and securely installed in both positions. Because the seat is so large, it is possible that this seat may not fit well in smaller cars when used in the rear facing position.

Overall, this is a great quality seat that will keep your little one safe, comfortable and secure for many years. In the nearly nine years that I've been using Britax seats, I have found each of them to be worth the price.

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Jesse Baynard : A converted skeptic

Overall I feel that all car seats properly installed provide an extraordinary level of protection that we never had as children. So I have bought all sorts of car seats between 2 kids and 2 cars from snap-in travel systems to boosters, and from economy models to plush models. This is what I found that separates them convenience and materials.

The seats that cost less than $100 usually have little padding and are made from just enough plastic and foam as necessary. Pretty much all the adjustments are manual from shoulder height to anchor clips to strap length. The nice thing other than the price is that they are usually dead simple to install and very light.

The seats that cost more than $100 but less than $200 are usually very well padded and come with a lot of conveniences such as reclining, cup holders, mechanical strap adjustments, extra weight maximums. They're still usually plastic and foam, but a lot more of it. I do find that they can also be more difficult to work with, because with all their conveniences and padding the rare mechanical adjustments (installation and shoulder adjustments) are harder to perform. Also, I don't feel that seats I have in this class are any safer than my economy seats just more comfortable.

Now once we get over $200 we find ourselves in Britax Marathon 70 country... This is a very well appointed car seat in terms of comfortable padding, conveniences, and materials. You notice it's different once you see the steel beams supporting it, then as you use it and find the shoulder height can be adjusted without rethreading while installed (which is also a breeze), and that the recline doesn't require great force, and that there's Velcro to hold the straps back if you want it to and many other small touches... it's easy to start falling in love. Okay but that just brings me back to... Are we just buying the convenience or is there really something better about these seats? Well perhaps it's all really good marketing, but I now feel that this construction and these more rigid (yet designed to yield appropriately) materials are providing better safety and that the fact that you do not need to uninstall it to make adjustments also lowers the chance for a bad reinstall. So yes, I think that once you pass the $200 mark you actually can buy a safer seat. On the other hand this one doesn't come with cup holders ;).

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Msnehz : Not as perfect as I thought

Pros:
- Love the color combination. We bought the Crimson and its a great contrast with the black.
- Fabric feels soft and nice to the touch.
- Very roomy. Our 9 month old seems to be really comfortable in it compared to her infant car seat.
- Lap/Shoulder belt installation was simple to follow (although there's a Con below).
- Harness adjusts easily.
- Love the safety features

Cons:
- When we were installing the lap/shoulder belt, it was a little tricky, heck it was a pain, snapping in the blue lock that the belt threads throught under the seat. One of the blue locks would not click down! Had to keep adjusting the belts and just kept trying over and over. It finally clicked into place and we had NO IDEA what did it!

- I wish the seat can recline further back. The instructions says to recline the seat all the way back for rear facing. But after installing it, the seat is still pretty upright so when my daughter sleeps, her head falls forward. I'm sure the recline is perfect for forward facing, but for rear facing the angle is not enough. I'm gonna have to sit in the back with my daughter to keep her head from falling forward when she sleeps.

- This may seem silly but no cup holders! Seriously for $270+ car seat, you would think a cup holder would be included?

- The velcro on the side to hold the straps for ease of putting the baby in is a nice touch however, they only hold the bottom piece of the straps. The actual part that has the harness and buckle still falls in the middle of the seat. I still had to move them out of the way. I wish the velcro is higher to you can attach the more of the straps out of the way.

- Since we weren't using the tether straps, I used the pocket to store the straps. But the pocket got very bulky when the straps are kept in there. Since we have the Marathon installed behind the front passenger seat, the bulky pocket took additional room between the back of the seat and the car seat. We have a 2 door Honda Accord

Overall:
I bought the car seat for its safety features and comfort for my daughter. We've only had it since yesterday 9/20/10 so we still have yet to really use it. I will update my review in about a month. By the way, we have a 2 door Honda Accord.

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by G. Jonesoro : Good....but...........

First, let me say that after reading a bunch of reviews, researching safety websites, I purchased the Britax Marathon 70 and a much cheaper First Years True Fit Recline Convertible car seat for our other car. I must honestly say the First Years is a better seat. What did I judge my criteria on? I judged it on ease of installation, cost, comfort to my baby, and safety. Don't get me wrong, the Marathon does all that's needed, but to me, some of the padding seemed a bit cheaper, and installation was not so easy as people said here.

*First, installation did take me about 30 minutes on the True Fit, because there's some rethreading of the anchor belts on forward installation (takes 30 sec), but that was nothing compared to about 2 hours with the Marathon (although, on the Marathon, I tried to use the Snap offs with the seat belt, which in theory, should be easier). My snap off on one side wouldn't work b/c there's a plastic nob on the belt...although it feels snug, only 1 is in use.

*Second, the True Fit is $149 vs. $279....that should seal the deal alone.

*Third, there's all this removable padding that is not velcro'd on. Once removed, it took me about 15 minutes to figure out where it went again.

*Fourth, removing the extra support padding on the Marathon would not keep your kid safe....only some foam between the base and your child. On the First Years, if you removed the extra support, my son still has ton of foam.

Don't get me wrong, the Britax is listed as one of the best car seats out there. And if I didn't have a comparable, I'd still get the Britax as my pick (based on word of mouth alone); however, since I have a comparable, I can't see why someone would debate between something $100 cheaper and felt like it offered more.

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by Jim : A Cadillac of Car Seats

The Britax Marathon is presently used by me for my 27-month old granddaughter (and I will someday use it for her recently born brother). While I haven't personally used the Britax Boulevard model, my daughter and son-in-law have one, and they tell me that it is their impression that although the Boulevard has a higher MSRP than the Marathon, the Marathon seems to have "better padding" than the Boulevard (and thus affords more comfort) as well as "better adjustability."

The Marathon replaces a less expensive Evenflo car seat, and I feel that my granddaughter is much more safe, secure, and comfortable in the Britax Marathon (and that makes me have more peace of mind when she's in the car). The Marathon's "Quick-Adjust Harness" mechanism is a real time and pain-in-the-neck saver compared to car seats that require you to take the seat out, take apart the strap assemblies, then guess at which "notch" will fit your child or in my case grandchild, put it all back together, and then if it doesn't fit, you have to repeat this procedure, sometimes more than once. With the Marathon you simply squeeze the "trigger" on the Quick-Adjust Harness adjuster, and pull it fluidly up and down until it fits, and you can do this with the child in the seat which is great.

I'm not in a position to say that the Britax Marathon is "the" Cadillac of car seats, but it is certainly among the very best I've seen and used (in terms of form and function and the peace of mind it can give parents, grandparents, and anyone else who transports a child in an automobile), and is an easy 5 stars. My daughter and son-in-law just had a second child and are now seriously considering purchasing a Marathon or even two for use in their vehicles. Highly recommended.

Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx
Review by b.griffin "retro baby" : Pros and Cons to New Design

I have used Britax Marathons for over six years and have recommended them to anyone who's asked-- they are simple to install, comfortable, safe and easy to use. After a recent car accident, I began to look for a replacement Marathon for my three-year old son, but had a hard time finding the model I was familiar with. The owners of my local baby store told me about all the new features of the Marathon 70, so I decided to try it out. After getting it home and having my son try it out in the living room, I've decided to return it and search out the original design.
CONS:
I think it would be a great car seat for an infant or smaller child, but my son is 40 lbs and 40 inches tall and I had a very difficult time buckling the seat belts with him sitting in the seat. For some reason, it seemed like the buckle was placed farther back in the seat or maybe the strap on the buckle is shorter, so once buckled in, he was practically sitting on the hard, plastic buckle. Even with the straps adjusted to their longest length, the buckle was still uncomfortably pressing into my child. I cannot imagine a 70lb child sitting in this chair comfortably. Another thing that I am not a fan of is the two-piece cover. The old model's cover was just one piece and really easy to remove for washing. The Marathon 70 has two to three pieces (depending on if you use the extra cushion that comes with it) and plastic clips that hold it on to the frame. For me, the more pieces to remove and wash, the more inconvenient.
PROS:
I do love the easier strap adjustment system. It is was really easy to push a button and move the headrest/straps to the right position. I also liked the extra cushioning. It seems like it would be really comfortable and soft.