Posted by One of the first big purchases new parents must consider for their baby is a car seat. The safety, comfort and happiness of your precious passenger is of the utmost importance when it comes to making that first journey home from the hospital as well as for the many car rides that will ensue as your child grows from toddler to big kid. For this reason, one of the best car seat brands to consider is a Britax car seat.
Why buy a Britax car seat for your child?
Certainly, the most important factors to consider when purchasing a car seat are size, safety and ease of use. According to the NHTSA, not only do Britax car seats meet Federal Safety Standards and strict crash performance standards, but the brand has some of the highest ratings.
Here’s what you can expect when you buy a Britax car seat:
- Whether your child is an infant, toddler or big kid, there is a Britax car seat that will fit him or her properly and securely. Some styles are convertible, which provides a higher value since your child can use the car seat longer.
- Your child’s car seat needs to be durable in order to be safe. You don’t want it falling apart from knocks, bumps and scrapes from every day use or from moving it between different cars. Each Britax car seat is made from quality materials to create their top of the line SafeCell Impact Protection. This includes a steel frame, energy-absorbing base, and an impact-absorbing tether with staged-release stitches that slow and reduce forward movement during a crash.
- Getting out the door with a child can be challenging at times. You don’t want to become frustrated by spending extra time fumbling around with a hard-to-install car seat or worrying if Grandma installed it correctly in her car. Britax has developed their ClickTight patented design that makes installing and using the car seat as easy as buckling a seat belt.
Watch how Clicktight installation works here.
5 Best Britax Car Seat Picks
To help you take the guesswork out of which car seat might be right for you, below are the 5 best Britax car seat picks based on consumer ratings as well as safety ratings by the NHTSA. Even better, each of these top rated car seats is available on Amazon with Free Shipping.
Britax Marathon ClickTight Convertible Car Seat
Child Size: Infant to Big Kid
Rear-Facing: 5-40 lbs. | Forward Facing: 20-65 lbs. | Child Height: 49” or less
If you don’t want to buy another car seat each time your child reaches a new growth milestone, consider investing in a convertible car seat. The Britax Marathon car seat is an excellent choice for this purpose because it is designed to be used rear-facing for infants and toddlers and forward-facing from toddler to big kid with several adjustment capabilities.
The Britax Marathon car seat is often described as being extremely sturdy and “thrown-like” for small babies and children.
Pros:
- Layer of side impact protection and SafeCell Impact Protection
- Easy ClickTight installation system
- 14 position harness to adjust for growing child (no rethreading of straps)
- Change seat height with push of a button
- 7 recline positions ensure comfort and fit in vehicle
- Machine washable
Cons:
- The heavy design makes it less suitable for airport travel
- The wide design means it could only fit with 1 other car seat in same row
- No option to use in combination with baby stroller
- No cup holders (clip on Britax cup holders can be purchased separately)
- It’s expensive
Britax Boulevard ClickTight Convertible Car Seat
Child Size: Infant to Big Kid
Rear-Facing: 5-40 lbs. | Forward Facing: 20-65 lbs. | Child Height: 49” or less
The Britax Boulevard car seat is the upgraded version of the Britax Marathon car seat and has the same features along with two additional ones.
The first addition is the Click & Safe Snug Harness Indicator, which let’s you know that your child’s harness has been adjusted to the correct amount of tightness and that he or she is buckled in properly. The second feature is an extra layer of side impact protection, giving the Britax Boulevard car seat 2 layers over the 1 in the Marathon model. The extra padding gives the Boulevard a premium feel and more secure fit.
These additional safety features on the Britax Boulevard car seat are available for around just $20 more than the Marathon. If the extra peace of mind is worth it to you, go for the upgraded features.
Pros:
- 2 layers of side impact protection and SafeCell Impact Protection
- Click & Safe Snug Harness Indicator
- Easy ClickTight installation system
- 14 position harness to adjust for growing child (no rethreading of straps)
- Change seat height with push of a button
- 7 recline positions ensure comfort and fit in vehicle
- Machine washable
Cons:
- The heavy design makes it less suitable for airport travel
- The wide design means it could only fit with 1 other car seat in same row
- No cup holders (clip on Britax cup holders can be purchased separately)
- No option to use in combination with baby stroller
- It’s expensive
Britax Frontier ClickTight Harness-2-Booster Car Seat
Child Size: Toddler to Big Kid
Forward-Facing: 25-90 lbs. | Booster Mode: 40-120 lbs. | Child Standing Height Using Harness: 30”-58” | Child Height Using Booster: 45”-62”
The Britax Frontier booster seat is what you’ll want to consider when your child has outgrown their toddler forward-facing car seat, but you still want to keep them in a 5-point harness for as long as possible (which is recommended by the AAP).
This Britax car seat is basically a 2-in-1, where you can transition your child from using the seat with harness buckles to using the booster with the car’s own seat belt system as your child grows larger.
Pros:
- Transition from harness mode to booster seat as child grows
- 2 layers side impact protection and SafeCell Impact Protection
- Accredited by IIHS as “Best Bet” Booster
- Easy ClickTight installation system
- No rethreading of straps
- 9 position harness and push button adjustable headrest
- Multiple recline positions ensure comfort and fit in vehicle
- Removable cup holders
- Seat cover comes apart in multiple pieces for cleaning
Cons:
- Machine washing the car seat cover is not recommended (hand-wash)
- It’s expensive
Britax B-Safe 35 Elite Infant Car Seat
Child Size: Infant
Rear-Facing: 4-35 lbs. | Child Height: 32” or less
While there are many all-in-one convertible car seats that can accommodate children from infancy up until they’re a big kid, an infant car seat is always going to give you the best fit and a higher standard of safety when your baby is brand new.
This Britax car seat sits atop a base that is easily installed into the car. The car seat lifts off the secured base so you can carry baby in it between car rides.
There is also the option to put the Britax B-Safe 35 Elite Infant Car Seat into any of Britax’s strollers to make getting around less of a struggle than hand carrying.
Pros:
- 2 layers side impact protection and SafeCell Impact Protection
- Easy SafeCenter LATCH installation
- No rethreading of straps
- Removable newborn body pad
- Canopy provides shade
- Takes up little space in vehicle
- Can be paired with any Britax stroller
- Machine washable
Cons:
- Your baby will quickly grow out of it likely reaching the height maximum before the weight
Britax Advocate ClickTight Anti-Rebound Bar Convertible Car Seat
Child Size: Infant to Big Kid
Rear-Facing: 5-40 lbs. | Forward Facing: 20-65 lbs. | Child Height: 49” or less
The last Britax car seat on our best picks list is the Advocate. Like the Marathon and Boulevard models, the Britax Advocate car seat is a convertible style accommodating children from infancy through their toddler years to big kid status. So what’s the difference?
The Britax Advocate has 3 layers of side impact protection (vs Boulevard 2 layers, Marathon 1 layer) as well as the addition of the anti-rebound bar. The anti-rebound bar makes the car seat more stable by reducing rebound rotation up to 40% during a crash and effectively limiting the child’s risk for injury.
Pros:
- 3 layers of side impact protection and SafeCell Impact Protection
- Anti-Rebound Bar technology
- Click & Safe Snug Harness Indicator
- Easy ClickTight installation system
- 14 position harness to adjust for growing child (no rethreading of straps)
- Change seat height with push of a button
- 7 recline positions ensure comfort and fit in vehicle
- Machine washable
Cons:
- The heavy design makes it less suitable for airport travel
- The wide design means it could only fit with 1 other car seat in same row
- No cup holders (clip on Britax cup holders can be purchased separately)
- No option to use in combination with baby stroller
- It’s expensive
Conclusion
In November 2015 the NHTSA ranked Britax #1 for safety technology. So if safety ratings are at the top of your list, then selecting one of the car seats above should give you peace of mind. Yes, you’ll pay a higher price for a Britax car seat. But some might say you can’t really put a price tag on the safety of your precious passenger.
If you still have questions about what style of car seat you should be looking for, read our Car Seats Buying Guide or watch this video.
Want to see some other top car seats? Check out the best of these popular brands:
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