When Graco’s 4Ever 4-in-1 car seat was released, I was chomping at the bit to pick up a copy and see how practical it would be as an all in one car seat. I was happy to report that it was indeed a seat that could work in all levels, whether as an infant or rear-facing seat, a forward-facing harnessed seat, and as a booster seat. When Graco announced that the Milestone, the cheaper version of the 4Ever, would be available, I had to get my hands on one. Well, that day has come, and here are my thoughts on the Graco Milestone.

2017 update: The Graco Milestone hasn’t changed significantly in the last few years; rear-, forward-facing, and booster limits are the same, although the fabrics have changed slightly over time.

2017 Graco Milestone – What’s the big deal?

The Graco Milestone is designed to be used as the only car seat a parent might look for, which means that it comes as a rear-facing seat suitable for infants through preschoolers, a forward-facing seat suitable for elementary-aged children, and as a booster seat. However, what really matters is if the seat does a good job at all of these levels.

Graco Milestone Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 5-40 pounds. Your child’s head should not reach past 1″ below the top of the headrest. There is no given height limit for the child besides the 1″ rule. The shell is up to 27.5″ high, which is great.

Forward-facing: 20-65 pounds, and between 27″ and 49″ in height. The tips of your child’s ears need to be below the top end of the head rest. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible.

High back booster: 30-100 pounds, and between 38″ and 57″ in height. I always suggest children are at least 8 years old before switching from forward-facing into a booster. Keep in mind that most children will typically not be ready to move out of a booster until they are at least 4’9″, or 57″ tall, although the typical range is between 4’9″ and 5′, or 60.”

Dimensions of the Graco Milestone
The seat is 19″ wide at its widest point, which is at the wings of the seat, and internally is 13″ wide. It is around 21.5″ long. Like the Graco 4Ever, it has a 10-year product life. The lowest harness position with the included infant insert is 8″ and 9″ without it, while the highest is 17.5″ and the highest booster position is 18.75.”

Using the Graco Milestone

When reviewing seats that can be used rear-facing, forward-facing, and as boosters, I find it easier to move progressively through the configurations, the way parents and a child would. As a result, let’s start from the beginning, when rear-facing.

Rear-facing the Graco Milestone

When rear-facing the Graco Milestone, you’ll want to use either the 1st or 2nd recline angle; you’ve got two to choose from, which is great. The first angle has more recline than the second, which places the child in a more upright install. There is a red line for leveling the Milestone on the side of the seat, and the line is supposed to be level to the ground whenever the seat is rear-facing to ensure a good recline for young children.

LATCH and the Graco Milestone

I found the LATCH rear-facing installation rather simple; there’s a gap set up between the seat and the seat cover that you route the anchors through, and the whole process doesn’t take much work or time. The installation was equally simple in a rear-facing configuration with the seat belt, which is my preferred installation, since that way you aren’t subject to the 42 pound lower anchor weight limit.

Using the Infant Padding with the Graco Milestone

There is an included infant padding that is designed to make it easier to securely fit newborns and young infants, and it works well. It should be used, per the manual, if the child’s shoulders don’t reach the lowest harness setting when the padding isn’t used.

Crotch buckle adjustment for the Graco Milestone

Other things of note when rear-facing are that there are three adjustable crotch buckle positions, denoted by their distance from the seat back. The distances are 5″, 6″, and 7.” The buckle is easy to switch across positions; you simply lift the seat cover so you can see the buckle slots, twist the belt to the side, and slide it to the desired slot. You’ll want to choose the crotch buckle to the slot that’s closest to your child without the belt being beneath the child.

Forward-facing the Graco Milestone

When forward-facing the Graco Milestone, you’ll want to use either recline 3 or recline 4. Again, the installation with lower LATCH anchors is a straightforward affair and only takes a minute or two. It’s also just as easy to do so with the seat belt, which, as I’ve noted above, is my preferred method due to the lack of a need to bother with weight limits for your child and due to the easier configurability for3 across installations.

Top Tethers and the Graco Milestone

Keep in mind that the lower LATCH limit for children is 42 pounds, so once your child weighs more than that, you’ll need to use the seat belt anyway. Also remember that you should install your top tether whenever forward-facing, as this is very important for safety.

It is easy to adjust the harness, which is the no-rethread harness design found on a number of high end Graco seats. Remember the general procedure for a good seat belt install is to buckle the car seat, pull your seat belt out as far as you can from the retractor until the ratcheting function kicks in, and then work the belt back into the retractor while putting a good amount of weight on the seat. You want 1″ or less movement in any direction when you push the seat at the belt path with your non-dominant hand.

Using the Graco Milestone as a Booster

The booster mode is easy to use on the Milestone; you simply tuck the harness away behind the seat into a small compartment, and that’s all you need to do to store it away. This is much nicer than the adjustment procedure in the Diono Radian, where you actually need to take part of the seat apart to get the harness stored away properly.

You’ll want to use the 4th recline angle with the Milestone when using it as a booster, and you’ll also need to make sure that the seat isn’t hanging over the edge of the vehicle’s seat. The cup holder is a nice feature and the belt fit is good for the seat. You get 18.75″ in the top shoulder slot, which, while not as good as it gets for booster seats, is definitely good enough to give children a good amount of time in the seat.

Why Buy the Graco Milestone?

This is the most important question to answer as a parent: why buy this seat? Well, personally I like the fact that it’ll let you rear-face your child for up to 40 pounds. There are seats that’ll give you more time by weight rear-facing these days, but 40 pounds is still quite good. The truth is that you want to rear-face as long as possible, and not just turn your children forward facing at age 1, as is common in the United States. The standard in Sweden is to keep children rear-facing until they turn 4, which is a big part of why so many fewer children die in car crashes in Sweden than in the United States; it makes a huge difference in safety.

I’m not going to say that the Graco Milestone sets the standard for rear-facing, but as a niche seat, it’s hard to beat. It lets a good number of parents raise their children in a single car seat, from birth to booster age. Some parents will be lucky enough to be able to use it as the only car seat for a child, and those kinds of savings add up over the years. It’s a cheaper version of the 4Ever, and it does almost as good of a job.

I’m hoping more manufacturers take a look at what Graco is doing with their all-in-one seats, as this kind of convenience is more likely to lead to parents keeping their children safely restrained for longer periods of time. Imagine only needing one car seat instead of 3 for a child. This is becoming more and more possible thanks to seats like the Milestone.

I recommend the Graco Milestone wholeheartedly. You can buy the Graco Milestone at Amazon here. Unfortunately, it’s not yet available in Canada, but Canadians can buy a similar seat, the Boulevard ClickTight, here.

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

A few years ago, I learned that Britax was coming out with a new line of ClickTight convertible seats, extending the system that first debuted in the Frontier and Pinnacle. I was particularly excited to find out that the Advocate, Boulevard, and Marathon would be refreshed in ClickTight fashion. A bit of time passed and I was able to pick up and review the Britax Advocate ClickTight, and now my Marathon ClickTight has arrived, which means it’s time for another review!

2018 update: Nothing significant has changed with the Marathon ClickTight. It’s still a great seat at the 40-pound convertible mark with enough headroom to keep almost all kids rear-facing until they hit the weight limit.

Britax Marathon ClickTight – What’s the big deal?

The Britax Marathon ClickTight is basically a hybrid of the ClickTight technology in seats like the Frontier 90 or Advocate ClickTight and the features of the Britax Marathon G4, along with greater height limits and safety features thrown in. What does this all mean? Well, for starters, we’re dealing with a convertible car seat, so you can set it up to both rear-face for infants and forward-face for older children.

The Marathon ClickTight joins the Boulevard ClickTight and the Advocate ClickTight as one of the three newest car seats in general and convertibles in particular from Britax. According to Britax engineers and designers, the goal was to make it possible for every parent to install the car seat safely and securely in a variety of circumstances. Frankly, I think they did a great job in achieving this goal, and read on to see why.

Buy the Britax Marathon ClickTight on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Britax Marathon ClickTight Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 5-40 pounds. The 1″ rule applies for your child’s head; it shouldn’t get past 1″ below the inner shell’s top. Previous Britax seats made use of the outer shell, but now that the inner shell is used, the height limits of Britax seats are going to be a lot more impressive. You essentially have around 27″ of maximum seated height, which is about as good as it gets right now for rear-facing in the industry, even when compared to seats like the Fllo, 4Ever, NextFit, and Size4Me!

Forward-facing: 20-65 pounds with a 54″ height limit. The top harness height limit is 17.7″ while the lowest is 8.35″, and the height can be adjusted in .85″ increments. The top harness height of the Advocate is taller, but this is still a good amount of height for most children.

The shoulder height of the Marathon ClickTight can stretch up to 16.95″ while rear or forward-facing, and your child’s ear tips need to be beneath the shell’s top end. Britax recommends that your child be at least two, but I’d recommend remaining rear-facing until 4 if at all possible, and longer if your seat and child permit. The research backs this up, and in Sweden, where the fewest children per capita die in car crashes, the average time spent rear-facing is  years. Similarly, after rear-facing for as long as possible, your child should forward-face for as long as possible before switching into a booster seat.

Dimensions of the Britax Marathon ClickTight

The Marathon ClickTight is 18.5″ wide, 23.5″ tall, and 23″ deep. It weighs 28.5 pounds, which is significantly less than the Advocate ClickTight, though still heavier than the previous edition of the Britax marathon. The ClickTight technology is a big part of why it weighs more, and that weight is worth it in my opinion.

Using the Britax Marathon ClickTight

Britax is hanging the entire reputation of their ClickTight technology on ease of use and installation, and it makes sense that they’d prioritize this to such a degree when research shows that most car seats in the United States aren’t installed correctly. Tackling this would make a significant difference in our child mortality rates, and I’m always happy to see a company going after something to benefit children this way.

The entire point of the ClickTight system is to make it easy for anyone to install a convertible seat in a range of conditions and with limited experience. The process is rather straightforward: You open the ClickTight release, route the seat belt of the vehicle through the lower rear-facing slots, attach the seat belt, and then push the ClickTight system into its closed position. The graphic below from Britax summarizes the process nicely; it’s pretty much fool-proof in my experience.

As I’ve said in the Advocate ClickTight review, the process will be highly welcome by most parents, as it takes a lot of the guesswork out of a good install. For me, this reason alone is big enough to seriously consider the Britax Marathon ClickTight. You don’t need any more room than you would for a seat belt install, and it’s probably easier than a LATCH install, which means you get the space-saving benefits of a seat belt with the ease of use of LATCH, all in one convenient package. Not bad, right?

The seat itself is shipped securely with protective padding and fits its box well. I purchase pretty much of all of my seats online through Amazon, and it always makes me happy to see my seats arrive in good condition. You have a number of recline points available on the seat to help you choose the right recline level for your child whether rear- or forward-facing; I counted 7 on the seat, and there’s an automatic level indicator that lets you know if your recline is good or not.

You have a no-rethread harness built into the seat, which is something that should be standard on every car seat, in my opinion, since it just makes life so much easier when using the same car seat with multiple children or when adjusting to quickly-growing kids. You have 12 positions for the harness and 2 positions for the crotch buckle.  This is fewer than the 14 harness heights available on the Advocate ClickTight, but it’s still likely to be more than most children will need.

Buy the Britax Marathon ClickTight on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Why Buy the Britax Marathon ClickTight?

This is the most important and relevant part of any car seat review, in my opinion. Yes, it’s nice to have the no-rethread harness and this and that, but why exactly should you buy a seat like the Marathon ClickTight? Well, first of all, it lets you rear-face until 40 pounds, which is a big thing in the United States, since most children are turned around far too early. The more height and weight room you have in a car seat, the longer you can rear-face, and the longer you can rear-face, the better your child’s odds are of surviving a serious car accident if you’re unlucky enough to get into one.

Keep in mind that children in Sweden typically aren’t turned forward-facing until they’re 4; this makes them much more likely to survive the very car accidents that claim so many children’s lives in the United States. Buying a car seat like the Marathon ClickTight and using it to its rear-facing limits can save your child’s life; it’s as simple–and essential–as that. There are a number of seats that allow you to rear-face past 40 pounds, but 40 is still good.

Beyond the safety benefits of rear-facing, however, I am also a huge fan of the ClickTight system, since it makes it that much easier to get a secure and correct installation whether forward- or rear-facing. Since most seats in the United States simply aren’t going to be installed correctly, it’s a great thing when you come across a system that makes it nearly impossible to achieve an incorrect installation.

For additional safety, you get a number of Britax technologies, including the SafeCell Impact Protection system and the SafeCell Complete Side Impact Protection system. Essentially, these are systems that are designed to work together to protect kids beyond what’s required through current federal safety standards. Britax designed a number of components to absorb impacts, including the base, tether, harness, steel frame, and sides.
Essentially, the goal is to slow the deceleration of a child in a crash, which leads to lower forces experienced by the child, which leads to lower risks of serious injuries in collisions. These features aren’t tested by anyone other than Britax, but given Britax’s historical commitment to safety, I’d wager they’ve spent enough time testing them to verify they’re worth using in their seats, and I wouldn’t hesitate to put my child in one of them.

In conclusion, while the Marathon ClickTight doesn’t have quite as much room to grow in it when compared to the Advocate ClickTight due to shorter height limits, it’s also a much cheaper seat and quite frankly, a great deal if you’re simply looking for unparalleled ease of use through the ClickTight feature. It gets you most of the way to the Advocate ClickTight while costing much less, which makes it a much more affordable and practical seat for a number of parents.

I recommend the Britax Marathon ClickTight wholeheartedly. You can buy the Britax Marathon ClickTight in a range of colors here, including Cowmooflage, Twilight, Rio, and Verve. Canadians can buy it here.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!