Safe and snug through the car wash

There’s nothing overtly remarkable about the new Britax Roundabout 50. Sure, it is safe for children up to 50 pounds with the 5-point harness. Yeah, it has the Britax patented Versa-Tether strap on the back. And yes, it’s pretty. But those are not the most important things about this car seat, not according to this mom.

It’s easy to install.

How many hours of your life have you spent fighting to get your child’s car seat installed just right? Have you actually driven to one of those car seat safety centers, or sought the help of your fire or police stations? In our family, car seat installation usually includes a lot of sweat, cursing, and argument. There are often rolled-up towels involved.

One the day I wanted to put the new Roundabout into my car, courtesy of Britax itself, I asked my husband to do the deed before he left for work. Of course he forgot, and I forgot to remind him, and I was down one car seat with no choice but to do the install myself. I took a deep breath and went in.

And I was finished in about 30 seconds.

Oh wait. First I ignored the directions, just like a man, and did it wrong. Parents, please read the directions. Learn from my mistake. You will thank me. You must take the LATCH strap from where it is stored in the seat during delivery, and move it to the lower openings. Only then will you be able to stretch the strap long enough to click the latches into both latch loops in your car without using superhuman strength, which apparently I possess because I succeeded in totally doing it wrong the first time.

But! Once I read the instructions I installed this bad boy in about 30 seconds. It is snug, safe, and looks fantastic. And thank goodness it will allow my boy to sit in a 5-point harness for a bit longer.

Recently there was an incident in which a Britax seat saved a child in a crash with a train!  Here is a special video about that story.

The Product: Convertible Car Seat (5-40 LBS)

A Convertible Car Seat is what your child will use from the time they outgrow their infant carrier until they move into a booster seat. Convertible seats are used rear facing until your baby is at least one year old and 20 pounds and then may be used in the face forward position. Check your individual seat for the latest guidelines as they are changing constantly. Most convertible car seats have weight limits in the 40 pound range, but keep in mind that many children will hit this limit at about 2-3 years old.

Recommendation: Britax Roundabout Convertible Car Seat Review

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. The Roundabout has been Britax’s best seller for many years now and is considered one of the safer seats on the market. If you are interested in the Roundabout, I would also suggest that you check out it’s cousin, the Britax Diplomat.

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 LATCH in your car.
• An industry first reversible tether (Versa-Tether). When the seat is 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. One you see how well this works, you will be surprised that no other companies offers this feature.
• The Britax LATCH clips, which you can see in the picture (above right) are designed like seat belts and are extremely easy to attach and release versus other seats. They also store away inside the seat when not in use.

A lot of parents are looking to understand the difference between buying the Britax Roundabout vs 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 also has slightly better side impact protection. The Roundabout is designed for 5-40 lbs (Rear Facing: 5-33lbs Front Facing: At least one year old and 20-40lbs). This means that your child will likely outgrow the Roundabout by the age of 3 and then you will need to make the decision as to whether you want to move them to a traditional booster seat or a booster with a five point harness such as the Britax Frontier or the Sunshine Kids Radian. Many experts recommended that you keep children in a five point harness as long as possible. However, the smaller size does make the Roundabout perfect for airplane travel and it is FAA approved.

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. If you have two cars, you may want to consider purchasing one of each (Roundabout / Diplomat 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 which you can use for travel. This is what we did and what we have recommended to all of our friends. If you only have one car, I would choose the seat that fits best, giving consideration to your airplane travel needs.

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:

If you have the room in your car and are only buying one seat, I think you may be better off with the larger seat that your child won’t outgrow too quickly. In this case, the Boulevard or Marathon may be your better bet.

Bobby’s Best offers easy to read reviews of everyday consumer products that get to the heart of what’s good and bad.  We hope you love their unbiased baby gear reviews by experienced parents that don’t bore you with minor details.

Britax has just introduced a new version of their Boulevard Car Seat, the Boulevard CS ($329.99). It has the same features as the Boulevard like True Side Impact Protection, LATCH Connection, a recline feature, body pillow, belt holders, Britax’s patented Versa-Tether, quick-adjust headrest and plus the NEW Click & Safe Harness Adjuster (hence the CS in the name). That means you hear an audible click when the harness straps are snug. This convertible car seat can be used rear or forward-facing with children from 5 to 65 pounds.

My neighbor helped me to install it rear-facing for my 8 month old in our 1995 Toyota Camry. The True Side Impact Protection, with the Boulevard CS’s deep side walls and adjustable head support, was our number one reason for transitioning our baby daughter to this car seat. The body pillow was very comfortable and removable once our baby gets a little bigger. The Boulevard CS is much bigger than the Roundabout and Diplomat — so you should make sure it will fit in your car. The Boulevard CS’s dimensions are W19.5 x H27 x D25.5, which is EXACTLY the same size as the Marathon’s dimensions of W19.5 x H27.5 x D25.5.

The new Click & Safe Harness Adjuster was another reason why we like the Boulevard CS — the mechanism allows me to hear an audible click once the harness is correctly tightened around my child (when I pull the adjuster strap). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 59% of harness straps on children’s car seats are dangerously loose. Laura Jana, M.D., pediatrician, child passenger safety technician and mother of three said, “The harness straps serve the very important, and ultimately life-saving purpose of keeping children properly positioned and secured in their child safety seat. If these straps are not properly fastened or are loose at the time of a crash, children run a greater risk of being ineffectively restrained or even ejected from their seats – putting them at much greater risk of injury.”   

I really appreciated the tangle-free harness (because I’ve spent too much time untangling harnesses in other car seats – ugh). The easy-turn knob made it so simple to adjust the head restraint and the harness height without unstrapping the car seat. If you’re wondering what the Britax’s patented Versa-Tether is for, it anchors the top of the seat to minimize movent in case of a crash.

This convertible car seat’s weight guidelines are from 5 to 65 pounds and height guideline is 49 inches or less. Use it rear-facing for children who weigh 5 -35 pounds and forward-facing for children who weigh 20- 65 pounds. Because I feel that rear-facing is safer personally, I plan to keep my daughter rear-facing for another 8 months to a year. .

To learn more about the Boulevard CS – go Britax’s site – they have detailed instructions and demos on how to install the car seat rear or forward -facing. If you still have trouble installing it, many police stations or hospitals provide free child safety seat inspections – find one at SeatCheck.org.

The Boulevard CS Car Seat is currently exclusive to Babies R Us (in the Riviera pattern, shown above). Independent retailers and specialty stores will begin carrying it starting mid- October. The fashions available will be Berkshire Tan, Davenport, Lauren, and Cow. The Riviera will remain exclusive to Babies R Us.