Britax marathon convertible car seat keeps little ones safe and comfortable during trips with this quality car seat that can be adjusted to two positions, rear and forward-facing depending on your child's development. This features rear-facing position holds up to 33 pounds, forward-facing holds up to 65 pounds, patented versa-tether, comfortably fits larger and older children. These are removable, washable fabric cover. Patented Harness Ultra Guard System with belly pad for comfort and protection. Also built-in lock-offs. Sculpted base for a perfect fit. Flexible buckle latch system. Comfort foam and EPS protective foam. Tangle-free polyester 5-point harness. Belt holders keep belts aside for boarding. One hand recline adjustment.
List Price:
Our Price:
$279.99
Sale Price:
$204.99
You Save:
$75.00 (27%)
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Product Details
Product Length:
22.0 inches
Product Width:
20.0 inches
Product Height:
19.0 inches
Product Weight:
20.9 pounds
Package Length:
22.0 inches
Package Width:
20.0 inches
Package Height:
19.0 inches
Package Weight:
20.9 pounds
Average Customer Rating:
based on 247 reviews
Features
5 point harness with patented Floating HUGS system and 4 harness heights
Rear facing: 5 to 35 pounds. Forward facing: At least 1 year old and 20 to 65 pounds
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: ( 247 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
195 of 195 found the following review helpful:
Great, but not perfect. Mar 27, 2007
By Concerned Father 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.
146 of 152 found the following review helpful:
A Miracle! Aug 16, 2007
By M. Bostic 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.
20 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Worth every penny! Aug 12, 2007
By Jean Rhys My 2 year old daughter has been in a britax marathon ever since she was 7 months old. After hours of research and asking around, I decided that this was a good investment for the safety of my daughter, although it is quite expensive compared to the other carseats in the market. We never had a problem with this carseat and my daughter always looked comfortable in it whether she's sitting up looking out the window or sleeping. I love the headrest on the sides that allows her to sleep in the car without her head bouncing around. After using this for over a year, I decided to move my daughter into a cheaper Eddie Bauer covertible seat so her younger sister can use her Britax. BAD DECISION!! I realized on the first drive that there is no car seat out there that beats this one. In less than five minutes, her head was bobbing around, padding was so horrible, her headrest was so stiff and upright that she was struggling to get out. I thought she was old enough to use cheaper brands comfortably but I now realize how good we all had it by using a high quality carseat. I'm now looking for a larger version (Britax Regent) for my daughter so my younger can use this one. Yes its a bit pricey but I truly truly believe that it's worth every penny considering the comfort and safety of our children. If you're hesitant about spending $100 more on a carseat, consider skipping one nice dinner out with your spouse and investing it instead on a Britax. I highly recommend it and there really is nothing out there that compares to this one. Once you use one, you'll see that there really is a difference.
18 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Well Traveled Feb 01, 2008
By Book Mom My husband and I purchased this for our quick growing son when he was about 6mo old and hanging out of his infant carrier. I had done a lot of research on car seats and quickly found myself looking at the Britax models for their quality, safety, and reliability. We choose the Marathon specifically because it can hold a child up to 65lbs.
Yes, this car seat is larger and heavier than others, but I would not trade it for anything else. The seat fits very comfortably in the back of our Honda Civic and does not obstruct any views from the rearview mirror. We have traveled extensively with this seat it goes everywhere with us. We never, never have a problem getting it to fit correctly in any type of vehicle. The seat has been in old and new cars alike and it always fits quickly and more importantly correctly!
More important than my love for this seat is my son's. He loves the incredible views provided from the seat and the comfort as well. When he naps his head never falls forward or looks like it is in an uncomfortable position. He sleeps as soundly in the seat as in his bed. My son fits securly in the seat, yet it is large enough it makes him feel like he has space to move.
With all the travel and use this seat is cleaned frequently. I can't beleive how easy it is to disasemble and wash and you don't have to video tape yourself taking it apart to remember how to get it back together. I just can't say enough awesome things about this seat. I am so glad that I found this seat and would encourage anyone to take advantage of the many great and easy to use features.
22 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Product - Airplane Advice Aug 03, 2007
By Paul B We have 2 of these and love them. We recently brought one with us to Europe with a Go-go Baby Travelmate attachment which made travel through the airports very easy. ALWAYS ask for and use the seatbelt extender, I didn't use it on one flight which was a Big mistake. The release mechanism went behind the seat when I tightened up the strap and it was (almost) impossible to open. Also expect to have the seat hand inspected at check-in. It only fit through the x-ray machine at one of the several airports we traveled through.
based on 247 reviews
Great, but not perfect. Mar 27, 2007
By Concerned Father
A Miracle! Aug 16, 2007
By M. Bostic
