Bobby's Best Blog

Britax has been busy rolling out new models over the past year. We tested two new models recently, the Britax Advocate CS and Britax Frontier 85 both of which are improvements to existing models aimed at keeping ahead of the market.

Advocate CS
With the Advocate CS, Britax is once again pushing the goal line forward in safety as it has done in the past with Versa-Tether and Side Impact Protection. The Advocate is basically a Boulevard CS (Click & Safe), with the addition of “Side Impact Cushion Technology” (SICT) or external side impact cushions filled with air. Britax claims a 50% reduction in side impact crash energy for both the child and passengers sitting next to the child restraint with SICT. However, with this increased safety comes additional weight and width, making it a better fit for those who have large vehicles or one seat in a row. You will want to test this seat in your car before you buy it to make sure it fits, as I recommend with many of these larger seats. If you want the latest in safety for your child in a convertible car seat, Britax has one again set the standard and raised the bar for its competition.

Frontier 85
Two years ago, I tested out the original Britax Frontier and was pretty disappointed. Britax had highly touted the seat as a breakthrough crossover. Although it covered a wide range of sizes, it was very difficult to install and many parents who purchased were frustrated with the installation process and ended up returning the seat. It was one of the few Britax seats I told people to avoid. However, the market for crossover car seats has really heated up and Britax took their lumps, listened to customers and came back with a much improved product offering. Read the Full Review

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Everyone we know is always looking to find a baby gift that is high quality, personal and unique. This is especially true when you get into a 2nd or 3rd kid and all of the clothes and baby gear have already been bought. We have been the recipient of some great blankets over the years and they end up staying with our kids. However, like many other products you have to be careful with blankets about where they are made and what they are  made of  as looks can be deceiving.

The folks from Cherry Blossom Baby recently sent us one of their Old MacDonald Blankets to test out. They are a family run company based in Santa Cruz, California and the blankets are handmade in the US and use only FDA approved lead and chemical free material. The presentation of the blanket is very nice and comes with an attached gift tag which is a nice touch.  There is a printed side with a cute design made up of farm animals and fleece side which is very soft to the touch. The other feature I had not seen before was “curved corners” on the blanket which eliminate any points and add a nice design touch.

At $55, the blankets from Cherry Blossom will make a great gift and are likely to last long enough to be passed along. Most orders ship within 2-3 business days so you can also get your gift out quickly.

Use Code bb4bb to Save 20% on your order.

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Like many families these days in the digital world, my wife and I take a lot of pictures, but they never make it into print. After we moved last year, we made a vow to start putting up some family photography on our walls and I had been intrigued by the photo canvas products I had seen at friend’s house and at a local photography studio. One of the great things about prints on canvas is that you don’t need a frame. In addition to being expensive, frames become dated and require matching the design of a room.

The folks from Canvas on Demand gave us an opportunity to try out their service and we decided to use a professional picture of the kids we had taken a few months before for our living room mantle. It took only a minute to upload the photo and pick the size and depth that we wanted. After ordering, we received a confirm e-mail and then someone from customer service reached out a few days later to tell us they were upgrading our order to Thick Gallery Wrap (1.5″), as it was a better fit for the 24 x 36 size . They also told us gave info to contact them if we did not want the change.

The final product showed up about a week later, very well packaged and with detailed installation instructions and hanging hardware. We put it up the same day and have had numerous compliments from friends and family asking where we got it. We hope to add to our collection from Canvas on Demand soon, as we are going to build a picture wall up the stairs as the next project.

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Sometimes it’s the simplest of ideas that are most appreciated. Our fridge is full of leftovers on a regular basis and we go through rolls of saran wrap and aluminum foil, which only get about a day or two of use.

Enter CoverMate. We tried out a sample pack which came with three sizes. Each Covermate looks similar to a shower cap and goes over an existing bowl, plate or dish for keeping food fresh in your refrigerator without having to transfer. They work great and are easily reused without any effort if you keep them clean. You can also place them in dishwasher to clean and dry. Simple idea, great solution.

You can learn more at www.covermatecovers.com, where you can also get a Free Sample back or check out the You Tube video http://www.youtube.com/CovermateFoodCoversCovermateFoodCovers, demo of the product.

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A few months back, Britax added a new member to the tried and true Roundabout family, the Britax Roundabout 50. It’s essentially the same seat from a feature standpoint as the original Roundabout, only slightly taller with a 50lb weight limit. As cars become smaller, this new seat is a welcome addition to the Britax convertible line. In an ideal word, all parents would buy the larger 60lb limit seats, as they will take a child all the way through to a booster seat. However the reality is that unless you have a larger car, minivan or SUV, they just don’t fit, especially when they are backwards facing. The result is that  people opt for the 40lb limit which kids realistically outgrow in height before weight at around age 3, which is too early to move them to a traditional belt booster.

The extra height in the Roundabout 50 should take you until about 4-5 years old, saving the need to purchase another in-between car seat or five point harness booster.  I have swapped out our new Roundabout 50 for the Diplomat in my car because I need it to fit both my 4 year old and 18 month old interchangeably and it’s a much better option to bridge that gap. It also fits well in the back seat of a mid size sedan.

See the detailed Britax Roundabout Review

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