Convertible Car Seat (5-55 LBS)

If you are looking for a quality, safety oriented convertible seat, than you want to buy a Britax car seat. Unlike many other brands, Britax gives special attention to side impact safety and ease of installation. Our children have exclusively used Britax Car Seats since they each outgrew their infant carrier. Britax recently overhauled their entire convertible car seat line, coming out with the newly improved Next Generation series equipped with new gadgets, improved safety features and increased weight limits between 55-70 pounds. The Roundabout has been Britax’s bestseller for many years now and is considered one of the safest seats on the market. If you are interested in the Roundabout, I would also suggest that you check out the slightly fancier and larger Britax Marathon and Britax Boulevard.

Some features that differentiate Britax Car Seats:

• Locking clips which make the seats very easy to install using a regular seat belt in the case that you are traveling or don’t have a LATCH in your car.
• Exclusive reversible tether (Versa-Tether). When the seat is in the rear facing position, the tether is attached using a special clip to the underside of one of the front seats. This feature dramatically improves installation and security. Once you see how well this works, you will be surprised that no other companies offer this feature.
• The Britax LATCH clips, which you can see in the picture (above right) are designed like seatbelts and are extremely easy to attach and release versus other seats. They also store away inside the seat when not in use.

Some features that differentiate New Generation Car Seats:

• SafeCell Technology featuring Safecells located in the base of the seat, compress in a crash significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child’s seat.  The Safecells reduce the risk of our child crashing into the seat in front of them during a crash, minimizing potential injury
• Steel bars located under the car seat strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash, thus minimizing the risk of your child being propelled forward and hitting the seat in front. 
• Rear and forward facing lock-offs that ensure a snug lap and shoulder belt installation with minimal effort

A lot of parents are looking to understand the difference between buying the Britax Roundabout and the Britax Marathon (See Review). I will try to help answer that question, because one is not necessarily better than the other. The primary difference between the Roundabout and the larger Britax Marathon is size, although the Marathon is also equipped with a Harness Ultra Guard System and Quick-Adjust Harness feature. The Roundabout is designed for 5-55 lbs (Rear Facing: 5-40lbs, Front Facing: 1 Year & 20, up to 55lbs). This means that your child will likely stay in this seat until they are ready for a booster.  The smaller sized Roundabout 55 is FAA approved easier for airplane travel than the bigger sized Britax Marathon.

If you have two cars, you may want to consider purchasing one seat of each size (Roundabout and Marathon / Boulevard). This way you will have one seat that will last longer and another that will fit better in the smaller car and that you can use for travel. This is what we did and what we have recommended to many of our friends. If you only have only one car, I would choose the seat that fits best, giving consideration to your airplane travel needs. If you have a smaller car, you may not be able to even fit one of Britax’s larger seats, especially in the rear facing position, which is when the extra seat height comes into play with the front seats. Make sure that you test it out first before purchasing.

The Roundabout family also has another model, the Britax Roundabout 50 Classic. It is slightly smaller than the Britax Roundabout 55 and is not equpped with the innovative New Generation features, however it does come at a slightly lower price point. Britax is the industry standard for parents who are concerned about safety and want the best and easiest to use car seat. Their seats are worth the premium and you won't be disappointed.

Devil's Advocate:

Experts say that it is best to keep your child in a five point harness as long as possible, so if you have room in your car and are only buying one seat, I suggest choosing the larger seat that your child won't outgrow as quickly. In this case, the Marathon or Boulevard may be your better bet.