Evenflo has been selling various versions of its Triumph convertible for a number of years. It’s a good budget convertible seat that can meet the needs of a number of parents without breaking the budget. The seat can be installed easily, used correctly, and is comfortable for children. As a result, when I had the opportunity to borrow one for a weekend from a friend, I decided it was well worth reviewing as a budget option.

Evenflo Triumph LX – What’s the big deal?

The Evenflo Triumph LX is a good example of a low-priced convertible seat. Being a convertible seat means that the seat can be used in both rear-facing and forward-facing configurations, which means it can be used straight from the hospital until several years later. The Evenflo Triumph is available from several stores, including at Target, where an exclusive “Procomfort” version is sold, and at Amazon, where the regular, and just as good, LX version is sold. A quick way to tell the newest versions of the Evenflo Triumph from older versions is that the newest all come with a pair of cup holders on each armrest, as you can see in the two print patterns of the seat.

Buy the Evenflo Triumph LX on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Evenflo Triumph LX Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 5 to 40 pounds. Children should be between 19″ and 37″ tall and the tops of their heads must not be within 1″ of the top of the car seat.

Forward-facing: 22 to 65 pounds. Children should be between 28″ and 50″ tall and at least 1 year old. Being a fan of the Car Crash Detective, however, you know that we’re not going to stop at the minimum limits required by the law, but will aim for best practices as they’re shown in Sweden, where parents rear-face until age 4, or at least for as long as possible. As a result, very few children die from car collisions in Sweden.

Dimensions of the Evenflo Triumph LX

The Evenflo Triumph has harness heights that range from 7″ at the lower end to 16″ at the higher end. There are two crotch strap positions to choose from at 7″ and at 9″, while the seat weighs 18 pounds according to my fancy car seat scale and is 20″ wide at its widest point and 23″ tall on the inside. The base itself is narrower at 15.”

Using the Evenflo Triumph LX

Installing the Triumph is rather straightforward; the LATCH lower anchor connectors are the typical hook kind. As with most seats, the tether strap is meant to be attached to a tether anchor only when the seat is used in a forward-facing configuration. Remember that it’s always a good idea to use the tether while forward-facing.

The LATCH limits for the seat are 45 pounds by child weight. At that point, you’ll need to stop using LATCH and start using the seat belt. This is a big part of why I prefer using seat belt installations from the start; it gets rid of the need to switch back and forth with LATCH, and it also gives you more room for 3 across installations.

The seat belt installation is also relatively simple, but since there isn’t a device in the car seat to lockoff the seatbelt, your seat belt will need to be a belt that locks. Every vehicle made after 1996 has a locking seat belt, so if you have a car made in the last 18 years, you won’t need to worry about this. If you’re not sure how to lock your seat belt, send me an email and I’ll be glad to help you.

Recline positions in the Triumph and Front-to-back spacing

There are 3 recline positions to choose from on the base. When the seat is used  while rear-facing, the 1st recline position, which is the full recline, must be used. There is an indicator of your recline indicator in the shell beneath the rear-facing beltpath opening. I don’t like it much because it’s hard to see, but it’s there. You can use a rolled up towel to help you get an appropriate recline if you can’t do it normally with your seat.

The second and third (semi and fully-upright) recline positions are available for forward-facing, but you’ll want to make up your mind in advance, as you’ll need to reinstall the seat in order to choose between the positions.

The Triumph fits nicely front-to-back in vehicles, which means that parents won’t need to move their front seats up clown-car style in order to make room for the seat. It’s a bit wider than some seats, which might make things a bit more tricky for 3 across installations, but you can always check the 3 across guide here to learn about the kinds of seats that are guaranteed to fit well in your vehicle.

Newborns who are average-sized should not have trouble fitting in the seat from day one, which means you’ll be able to take it with you from the hospital. I’m not a fan of the 37″ rear-facing height limit, as that limits a 50th percentile child to 3 years in the seat per CDC growth charts. If you ignore the height limit and just use the 1″ rule, which is what I do when using a seat, then you can get significantly more time in the seat, as long as you observe the 40 pound limit, which I never break. When forward-facing, the seat’s limits are more reasonable, as 50″ in height leaves more room for children. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that the vast majority of kids are going to reach the height limit of the seat before they reach the weight limit at 65 pounds.

Maintenance on the Triumph is rather straightforward; the cover can be removed easily and can be machine washed in the delicate cycle in cold water. It should be tumble dried for only 10 minutes on low heat and promptly removed.

Buy the Evenflo Triumph LX on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Why buy the Evenflo Triumph LX?

We could spend all day talking about machine wash settings, but what are the real reasons to buy a seat like the Evenflo Triumph? For me, the real reasons center around how it allows you to rear-face until your child weighs 40 pounds, which is huge in the United States, since we forward-face our children too early as a rule. In contrast, the longer we can rear-face, the safer our children are, and seats with higher weight and height limits allow us to spend more time rear-facing, which is safer.

For a blueprint on best practices, look to Sweden, where the standard is to rear-face until 4. As a result, children are much safer when riding in cars there, as they’re more likely to be protected by being in the rear-facing position, which is the safest position for children (and adults!).  A seat like the Triumph lets you rear-face until 40 pounds, which will get children to at least 3 and perhaps longer. Keep in mind, though, that there are many seats that will let you rear-face past 40 pounds.

Other factors that I like about the Triumph is that the installation can be achieved rather simply in the majority of vehicles, and that it doesn’t take up much space in front-to-back installations. I also like how well it fits average-sized newborns, and that it’s FAA certified for airplane use. I also like that it’s made locally in the United States, which uses fewer resources. I wish it had longer than a 6 year product life and I wish that it had a higher rear-facing height limit; 37″ is a disservice both to the seat and to the children who will be sitting in it.

All that said, I think the Evenflo Triumph is a great budget car seat for parents who are interested in keeping their children safe without having to spend a ton of money or break out the credit cards. I recommend the Evenflo Triumph LX heartily. You can buy it in multiple colors here. 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!

Graco has a long history in the car seat industry of providing quality seats, from the Snugride line for infants to the excellent Size4Me seat (which I consider to be the best convertible seat under $200) to their TurboBooster line to their recent all-in-one efforts with seats like the 4Ever All-in-One and Milestone All-in-One. They have other boosters, of course, like the Graco 70 Elite, which is the basis of the upgraded Graco Argos 80 Elite. As a result, when I found out the Nautilus 80 Elite was shipping, I had to get my hands on a copy for a test run. Fortunately, my older kids were willing to try the seat out with dad. What follows is a thorough review of the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite, which you can buy here.

2017 update: Graco updated the Argos 80 and renamed it the Nautilus 80. It remains essentially the same seat, and is still a good choice for a combination seat in 2017.

Graco Nautilus 80 Elite – What’s the big deal?

The Graco Nautilus 80 Elite offers a number of new features that make it a good seat for families interested in a long-lasting forward-facing seat that’s safe, comfortable, and convenient (can you say no-rethread harness? I love those!).

Being a combination seat, it can be used in two modes: as a forward-facing seat with a 5-point harness (which children should be in until 8 if possible), and as a high-back booster to be used in concert with the lap and shoulder seatbelt of a vehicle (which children will typically need until at least 10), and finally as a backless booster. The seat is a bit confusingly named as a 3-in-1 car seat, which is unfortunate, as you can’t use the seat in any rear-facing position. If you’re in the market for a seat that works rear-facing, forward-facing, and as a booster, you’ll want the Diono Rainier, Pacifica, or Olympia, or the Graco 4Ever or Graco Milestone.

Graco Nautilus 80 Elite Limits for Weight and Height

Forward-facing: 20-80 pounds. Children must be at least 1 year old and between 27″ and 52″ in height. The shoulders of the child should be at or below the highest harness slots. Of course, as a reader of The Car Crash Detective, you know that we’re not going to forward face at 1, 2, or even 3. Ideally, we’re going to aim for at least 4, as if we were in Sweden, where nearly no children die per year in car collisions due to the inherent safety of extended rear-facing.

High-back booster: 30-100 pounds. Children must be at least 3 years old and between 38″ and 57″ in height. The tops of the child’s ears need to be below the highest part of the head support. Again, as a Car Crash Detective aficionado, you aren’t going to booster a 3 year old. Rather, we’re going to try to keep our kids forward facing in a harness until they’re at least 5, and ideally until 8, because of the various benefits of doing so.

Backless booster: 40-120 pounds. Children must be between 40″ and 57″ in height and the vehicle must provide head support.

Buy the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Dimensions of the Graco Argos 80 Elite

The harness height of the Nautilus 80 Elite is adjustable between 12″ and 18″, while the crotch strap can be adjusted to 5.5″, 8″, and 8.5″. When used as a booster, the maximum height limit is 20.” The seat itself weighs approximately 22 pounds per my fancy car seat scale.

Using the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite

The Graco Nautilus 80 Elite is easy to like out of the box, as it’s an attractive seat with well laid-out designs. It comes with 3 recline settings (reclined, semi, and fully upright); if you want to switch between the positions, you’ll need to reinstall the seat, so choose carefully. Children who weigh more than 65 pounds and are harnessed need to use the fully upright position, which must also be used while the seat is used as a booster.

A LATCH installation is straightforward, but keep in mind that the weight limits for the child with LATCH is 42 pounds. These weight limits are why I prefer using seat belt installations; they’ll work throughout the life of the seat and child. Using a tether is recommended throughout the life of the seat but it’s a requirement if the child is harnessed and either is taller than 49″ or weighs more than 65 pounds. See here for why it’s a good idea to use a tether when forward-facing 100% of the time.

A seatbelt installation is quick and makes sense. However, something a lot of parents forget to do is to use the tether while using the seatbelt, and that’s a no-no. Always use the top tether, whether you have a LATCH or seatbelt installation.

There are 5 height settings available through the headrest; you access them by pushing the red button on top of the headrest. Keep in mind that you should only use the highest setting when the seat is being used as a booster; when using the harness, use the lower 4 positions.

You’ve got a no-rethread harness in the seat, which automatically makes me a fan of it since it’s so much easier to adjust harness height when you don’t have to reach into the guts of the seat to do so. The seat works well once you’ve properly installed it. Maintenance-wise, you can machine-wash the cover, but it does take some time to do and you’ll need to remove the harness.

Buy the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon here.

Why Buy the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite?

The critical part of any good car seat review, in my opinion, is information about why you should buy a particular seat. It’s nice to have things like no-rethread harnesses and machine-washable covers, but that’s not what’s most important in the end. For a seat like the Nautilus 80 Elite, I like the fact that the height and weight limits are on the generous end; 80 pounds forward-facing and 52″ in height means the majority of children will be able to use the harness until at least 8 years of age, per CDC growth charts, which puts them in a good range for transition into a booster.

Other features that I like are that the seat is FAA certified, which means it can be used on airplanes, and that it has a 10 year lifespan. Graco stipulates that the seat needs to be replaced whenever it is involved in a crash, and that the seat cannot be installed in harness mode with a car with inflateable seatbelts. I also like in general how thick the harness straps are, as this reduces the likelihood of their twisting.

In general, remember that you want to keep your children forward-facing as long as possible once you’re done rear-facing if you start forward-facing before 4. Each transition from one mode to the next represents a drop in safety, so don’t rush from one phase to the next.

The only features I’m not a fan of in the Nautilus 80 Elite are the fact that it doesn’t give as much harness height as the Frontier or Pinnacle; these are the seats to use if you are interested in Extended Harnessing, or forward-facing your children as long as possible. The Frontier and Pinnacle also offer higher weight limits when forward facing and higher seat belt height limits when in booster mode, making them superior booster seats.  That said, if you don’t need the additional features, it’s hard to argue with the Nautilus 80 Elite.

I recommend the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite wholheartedly. It’s a good, solid combination seat that will let you forward-face your children for several years and potentially serve as the last car seat your child needs before s/he is ready for an adult seat belt. You can buy the Graco Nautilus 80 Elite here. Canadians can buy the Argos 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, Britax announced the oncoming debut of their ClickTight seats, which featured the same ClickTight technology first found in the Frontier G1.1 and Pinnacle G1.1. This was great news, but what made it even better was to learn that Britax also planned on refreshing the Advocate, Boulevard, and Marathon with the ClickTight technology. I made it my goal to review the Britax Advocate ClickTight, and did, and then picked up a Marathon ClickTight, which I also reviewed, and now I’m sitting in front of a Boulevard ClickTight and ready for another review!

2018 update: Nothing significant has changed with the Boulevard 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 Boulevard ClickTight – What’s the big deal?

The Britax Boulevard 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 Boulevard 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 Boulevard ClickTight on Sale at Amazon.

Britax Boulevard 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 19.4″ while the lowest is 8.35″, and the height can be adjusted in 14 positions .85″ increments. This equals the top harness height of the Advocate.

The shoulder height of the Boulevard ClickTight can stretch up to 18.65″ 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 Boulevard ClickTight

The Boulevard ClickTight is 18.5″ wide, 23.5″ tall, and 23″ deep. It weighs 29.4 pounds, which is significantly less than the Advocate ClickTight, though still heavier than the previous edition of the Britax Boulevard. The ClickTight technology is a big part of why it weighs more, and that weight is worth it in my opinion.

Using the Britax Boulevard 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, especially since it’s the kind of technology that can save lives on a daily basis.

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 Boulevard 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 color-coded 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 14 positions for the harness and 2 positions for the crotch buckle.  This is equal to the 14 harness heights available on the Advocate ClickTight, which again shows that Britax isn’t cutting corners even though this isn’t their flagship convertible seat.

Buy the Britax Boulevard ClickTight on Sale at Amazon.

Why Buy the Britax Boulevard 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 Boulevard 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 Boulevard 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 Boulevard ClickTight doesn’t have quite as many safety features as those the Advocate ClickTight, 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 almost all 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 Boulevard ClickTight wholeheartedly. You can buy the Britax Boulevard ClickTight in a range of colors here, including Kaleidescope, Splash, Cerca, and Metro. 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!

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!