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Average Customer Review:
 ( 93 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
200 of 203 found the following review helpful:
 Decathlon vs. BoulevardJun 21, 2006
By A. Barber
"Nor Cal Mama"
It took me several weeks before I finally opted to purchase the Decathlon rather than the Boulevard. I was very interested in the extra side-impact protection that is only available in the Boulevard model but was concerned about whether or not my large 4&1/2 month old son (who is in the 95th percentile in length and weight) would need the adjustable crotch strap positioning that is only offered on the Decathlon.
I am so glad that I purchased the Decathlon! It turns out that my son DID indeed need to have the crotch strap adjusted to the last slot (he would be sitting on top of the buckle in the Boulevard at this point which would have made it impossible to buckle and very uncomfortable for him). If you're purchasing for a thin toddler rather than an infant or chubby/big baby you might not have to worry about that.
I love the extra padding (which is removable, unlike the pads in the Boulevard) and the soft cover (which is machine washable unlike that in the Boulevard). He seems to be VERY comfortable and I know that he is safe. I know that it doesn't offer as much side-impact protection as the Boulevard, but it does offer some (definitely much more than a conventional car seat) as it is made to far exceed American safety standards. Plus, if your baby is placed in the middle of the back seat than that offers some additional protection as well.
I was also concerned about the size of the car seat and whether or not it would fit comfortably, rear-facing, in the back of my Toyota Avalon car. It does. Perfectly! My husband is 6'4" and doesn't have to move his seat up to accomodate the car seat in back (something I was very concerned about). AND I can see out of the rear-view mirror with no problem. It DOES NOT block your view at all.
It's very easy to install and, if done so properly, doesn't budge. It is a little tough to adjust the straps when it's installed rear-facing but not too difficult... and even if you had to take it out to adjust the straps it's no-biggy because the carseat takes only a couple moments to install EASILY and it's not like you'll have to adjust them on a daily basis or anything.
I am very pleased with my purchase and highly recommend the Decathlon to anyone looking for a SAFE, COMFY and ATTRACTIVE carseat that will take them from the chubby baby stage all the way through the toddler years. :o)
57 of 57 found the following review helpful:
Marathon, Decathlon or Boulevard?Jan 18, 2008
By J. Trevisan
"Mom of 3"
We needed a new car seat for my 1 year old and I knew Britax was the only way. We have owned a Roundabout in the past (as well as an Eddie Bauer that I HATED). My other 2 outgrew the 40 lb. weight limit Roundabout quickly so I opted for a larger weight limit this time around....which brought me to the Marathon, the Decathlon and the Boulevard. I read and read about each of the seats and finally I went to a store that sold all 3 and tried them out in person. I settled on the Decathlon for 2 reasons. The first is the adjustable crotch strap which neither of the other 2 have. After years of digging for that silly piece under my boys on my Roundabout, I knew this was a must! The other feature is the Push Button Release as opposed to the metal lever on the other 2 seats that is hidden under a fabric flap. This might not be huge to some, but as a mother of 3 that is always on the road and taking my 1 year old out of her car seat several times a day, every second seems to count! This Push Button just seems faster and easier to work with than the lever. Before purchasing, I went over and over the descriptions of each of these car seats trying to figure out the major differences, and if I'd read a Review like this in the beginning, I'd have saved a lot of time! Of course I love this car seat for all the same reasons as everyone else, but I am hoping this review will help someone like me who couldn't decide on which Britax was right for us. Oh, and a footnote. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the yellow flowered fabric on the car seat is actually a light lime color. Read this in another review somewhere, and I have to agree!!!!
54 of 59 found the following review helpful:
 REPLACED DECATHLON WITH THE BOULEVARDMay 03, 2007
By mommyguru
"mommyguru"
We have used a Decathlon for our 21 month old son for the past 1 1/2 years. Yesterday, after our Stroller Strides class, we were loading up, and the harness adjustment broke as I was tightening the harness. Up until this point, we have had no problems with the Decathlon. I was surprised that such a top of the line seat would up and break on us. We drove immediately to Safe and Secure Baby, here locally, and were told that the seat was broken and it was a manufacturing problem. This morning, I called Britax and they are sending me a new car seat along with a return shipping label to return to them my broken Decathlon, even though our one year warranty expired five months ago. Now, that is good customer service! Needing a car seat immediately, we purchased a Boulevard yesterday, and am completely happy with it. Initially, I was concerned about the "crotch strap" as noted earlier, but it doesn't matter, because the maximum length of the "crotch strap" on the Boulevard is the same as the maximum on the Decathlon. So, I don't know why the reviewer on the other page was concerned about her son outgrowing the car seat. He will outgrow them at the same rate - since the crotch strap maximum is the same.
I was SOLD on the Boulevard when I was asked, "If you were in a car accident, would you rather have your son's face hit the side impact protection (on the Boulevard) or the window (on the Decathlon)". I didn't realize that when in an accident, the car seat (any car seat) can move quite a distance. Then, I was concerned that my son may fuss over the slightly more limited view when using the Boulevard with SIP. But, it hasn't affected him one bit. He didn't care at all, and it made a nice head rest for him when he napped off in the car today. Britax is replacing our broken Decathlon with a Boulevard. It's worth every penny! and comes with great customer service from Britax, too.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Awesome Seat... So Worth the Money!!!!!Nov 28, 2006
By D-
I am a new mom with a 6 month old son. I bought this seat after my 17 pound/26.5 inch son outgrew his infant carrier seat. I did a lot of research when buying this seat since I wanted one that would last a while (my son is growing like a weed) and was easy to use, not to mention keep my boy safe in the car. After much searching and debating (it is one of the priciest seats out there), my husband and I decided we would go ahead and buy it. At first we were concerned at the size of the seat since we weren't sure it would fit rear-facing in our car. But it managed to fit just fine as long as the front passenger doesn't have really long legs and needs to move the front seat back all the way. The best part was how relatively easy it was to install into our car. We just took the seat belt, laped it under the cover through the slots and buckled the belt. It even comes with built-in belt tighteners so you don't have to kill yourself trying to get the seat in nice and snug. My son loves to go on car rides now. The seat is so comfortable that he just falls asleep as soon as we put him in it and start to roll. We've had the seat for a little over a month and it's one of the best purchases we ever made.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Great Seat - Couple of Complaints...Feb 14, 2008
By YHWH4ever
I researched a few different seats to put in our new Odyssey van in September (07). Our daughter just turned two and we wanted to get a new car seat for her so her Evenflo Triumph could go in my husbands car. She had been using the Triumph since she was about 9 months (rear-facing), and then forward facing from about 14 months. We really loved the Triumph, but I wanted something she could grow into. Meaning - getting the most out of a car seat height and weight wise for the longest period of time.
Britax was one of the only ones I found, that actually makes a heavy-duty quality seat that I knew would last. Sure, I looked at a few others that ranked up there with height and weight (i.e. Eddie Bauer, Cosco, and Graco), but none of these compared in quality and durability! We made the trip to Babies r Us so we could "test" the few different seats I had chosen from Consumer Reports ratings. The Eddie Bauer deluxe booster was out because the first time I snapped the metal part into the crotch strap I pinched my daughters skin and she screamed like crazy! I felt so bad, and my husband immediately said, "That's it for this one!" and put it back on the shelf.
The Eddie Bauer would have been the only other one we would have considered because it was more durable and sturdy than the Cosco and Graco. We did try the Britax Boulevard, but found it rather cumbersome to adjust the head rest and my daughter's head seemed to lean too far forward with the pillow being there. Overall, she looked uncomfortable in the Boulevard. We also tried the Britax Regent. Talk about a monstrosity of a car seat, but we both loved it, especially my hubby! It held my daughter in snug and secure and was easy to install into the test seat they have at the Babies r Us store. My taller than average daughter looked dinky in the Regent! The only reason we decided not to get the Regent was because our daughter still sleeps in her car seat on longer trips and the Regent just wasn't going to give her the head support and comfort level I wanted her to have while snoozing. By not buying the Regent as opposed to the Decathlon, we only gave up a 15 pound weight and 4" height ability and we knew our daughter was going to outgrow the height limit WAY before she outgrew the weight limit. When that happens we'll probably just go to a standard backless booster that she'll use with the seatbelt from the car.
Well, BrU didn't have the Decathlon at the store, and it wasn't one I was considering. I had researched the Marathon on Amazon and liked the reviews, but after comparing numerous reviews of the two seats. I decided on the Decathlon for three reasons: 1) It had the infant padding for rear-facing which will be good for our next child that comes along; 2) It had the toddler pillow; and 3) It had the adjustable crotch strap which I knew I would need for my daughter (she's in the 97th percentile for height, being 36" tall at 24 months!). Essentially, the Decathlon and Marathon have the same seat structure and height and weight capacities, but the Decathlon has the "extras" I mentioned. Also, the Decathlon has a push-button strap release and tightener. The Marathon has a clasp crimper to hold the straps tight. Knowing the seat structures were basically the same, I toted my daughter over to Target and tried her in the Marathon, and I liked it, so I bought the Decathlon on Ebay.
It is so easy to install once you've looked over the directions. Of course, at first it took some time, but now it's a breeze. The thing is rock solid in the captain's chair of our Odyssey. With the anchor belt and the tether anchor attached this baby isn't going anywhere unless the whole captain's chair comes off! Even without the tether anchor it still didn't move. The material is nice and heavy and the seat is adequately padded. It sits up high so my daughter can see everything outside. I love the "hugs" system the straps have because it makes my daughter fit snuggly into the seat.
I only have two complaints about this seat, which really aren't that bad, just annoyances - 1) Sometimes the straps do twist a bit and I have to untwist them, especially with an independent toddler who wants to push their own arms through the straps and 2) It does take a little bit of strength to tighten down the straps with the push-button strap holder. I usually pull it as tight as I can and then if it still has too much slack I push the button with my left thumb and pull the strap with my right hand until it's tightened to my satisfaction.
Overall, I've been very happy with the Britax Decathlon car seat. It was a good investment and as many of the reveiwers have stated - the price is worth every penny knowing that your child is protected very well. One bit of advise I'd give to anyone considering ANY car seat - GO TO A STORE WHERE YOU CAN TEST THE SEATS OUT ON YOUR CHILD! All children are different shapes and sizes and the seats are different. We are so glad we took our daughter to BrU and put her in each seat we were considering - and look, we didn't even buy any of the seats we were originally considering based on the Consumer Reports ratings I looked at! You just never know!
Update - November 11, 2008
Still loving this carseat. I had to take everything apart to clean it a couple weeks ago. It was a time consuming task, but not hard. The seat cover cleaned up beautifully and it looks brand new! Unfortunately, my daughter is now three and just about to outgrow the top slots (she's 41" now!). She probably has another couple months in it. I'd really like to keep her in a harness for a lot longer, so I'm now checking out the new Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 carseat that's on the market. It's getting awesome reviews and it's a fraction of the cost of this seat or any of the other Britax's. Baby #2 will be here in December, so this one will be put away for when he/she is out of the infant carrier and this seat is big enough to keep the new little one rear-facing for a longer time!
See all 93 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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