I am not surprised it takes up less space front to back rear-facing than the original Marathon since the shell is shorter. The short shell is a problem if you have a tall child and want to keep him rear-facing as long as possible.

I am so impressed that you can tighten down a carseat with one hand while holding a video camera in the other . That’s awesome!

I do have a probably unanswerable question to pose to you, though. Since you pull the slack out of the belt after engaging the lockoffs, do you think the lockoffs will hold the seat tight on a day-to-day basis like they’re supposed to? The purpose of the lockoff/locking clip is to keep the belt tight day-to-day, but if you can pull the belt through it so easily, won’t the belt loosen?

Thanks for the great review!

Kecia-

Is the shell really that much shorter, or is it that the base is much lower than the high base on the original models?

How do you think the seat will fit FF on vehicle seats w/ nonmovable, protruding head restraints?

Kecia – thanks for all of the information. One thing I am wondering is how much lower it sits when installed FF than the older MA. I know it does sit a little lower, but wondering how much. When we go FF these high-base seats are so difficult for the child to climb into. Thanks for any help!

Can you comment on this for me, Kecia… The shorter shell in the new MA70 is not the issue since the ‘headrest’ can be moved up to add height, right? It’s the top harness slots that have not changed (for higher height), right? Thanks.

It looks really upright…is it?

” No more “switching” the LATCH connectors like you had to do on the original Marathon model.”

I’ve never quite understood this, I just turned my older marathon forward facing for my heavy 2yr old. Is there anything I should be doing different? It was manufactured in late 06 if that makes a difference.

You comment that the new MA 70 takes less front to back space and it does look like there is more space between it and the front seat. *Was your front seat in the same position for all pics?* This is really important to us because we have a very small back seat and being able to push our front seat back another click would make a huge difference for us. Thanks! This might make me consider this even though I am very unhappy that my child will outgrow it an inch sooner. Will many kids outgrow the height before they go over 35 pounds?

is the black portion of the cover soft and plush like the old covers or is it kind of fleece like??? when i got the parkway sg and frontier 85 i was really disappointed that the covers werent that soft or plush like the old britax covers

thanks cant wait to get a hold of some of the other colors!

Greetings,

I was wondering how this car seat compares to other car seats. Is it one of the best car seats out there or there others that are better? Britax has a long standing reputation for quality and I am looking to buy a car seat this month and this was my number one choice. Are there better seats out there for the money?

Kecia, you rock! You make the best videos . I’m gonna have to talk to D about creating a new category just for you: Kecia Rocks.

Hi Kecia,
Thank you for these very informative reviews, very helpful, especially for the first time moms who are learning as we go!
Question: I bought the MA65 for my 7 month old son, and we love it, except the crotch strap is really snug for his thunder thighs. (He’s in the 80+ percentile for height and weight). Would the longer crotch strap you mentioned address this problem? I’m so worried about pinching his skin when I snap him in. Thank you!

Awesome information!!!Okay, I think I want to purchase this. I have some questions? Can someone help?
I have a 11week old weighing around 12lbs and she hates the bucket seat.. we are looking to transition right now! We have a small 1998 Nissan Altima. Will this fit in our car and will my infant fit comfortably?? And I noticed the the previous Marathon model had a lot of complaints regarding the “crotch strap”…have they improved this?? My little girl wears cloth diapers which makes her bum extra bulky which concerns me regarding the crotch strap. Help!! Blessings!!!

Hi Angela,

You will probably have more luck having your question answered if you post on car-seat.org (the sister site of carseatblog.com ). You don’t have to register, and youll probably have better luck finding someone who has experience with your vehicle!

I just found this blog while trying to find out more about the new Britax models. We have a 3 year old Canada-spec Marathon with an upper weight limit of 48lbs. (It was bought during the transition period, and for us the issue is height rather than weight limits.) I assume the model you’re describing here is basically the same as the one for the Canadian market, but with a slightly higher weight limit.

Does this one really rear-face to the same standing height limit as for forward facing?

If so, I think I want to replace our original Marathon with this one for our second child; our first is tall enough that he outgrew rear-facing by height within days of his first birthday, while we’d hoped to keep him rear-facing far longer. Looks like this new design might have solved that issue!

Hi Angela, the crotch strap issue has been resolved with a 2nd setting that is much farther out. As for your 11 week old, I hope to have the new infant insert in a few days and will post some photos with it in my review at http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=135236 .

Melanie, the standing height limit is the same, but that is not the only height limit. The seated torso height limit is based on the top of the shell that is actually a bit shorter than the previous model. If you had a 1-year old who outgrew the original Marathon rear-facing by height at 12 months old, that is way off the charts! A model like the Learning Curve True Fit would last longer since it is very tall, even though it is limited to 35 pounds in the USA. The Sunshine Kids Radian is another relatively tall model.

Awesome! Thank you for the reply! I just ordered my Marathon!

Yup, he’s tall At one year, he outgrew by standing height; he’ll be four at the end of this month, and he’s almost outgrown it by seated height. (We actually had an infant SafeSeat, which it turns out to have the same RF height limit.) He’ll be getting a Frontier as a birthday gift from his grandparents!

Looking here (http://www.britax.ca/car-seats/marathon-65/product-demo), it seems that the seated and standing heights have the same upper maximum for both RF and FF. Is this really correct??

Oh, and although #2 was a *huge* newborn, he’s turned out to be a little guy. He’s almost 10 months, and still has another harness slot to go on the SafeSeat. Even if we don’t get the new Marathon, he’ll be rear-facing for a while yet!

You can find some photos with the new infant insert accessory here-
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=135236

We just purchased a Marathon 70 and tried installing it in our Subaru Outback (RF) No problem using the latch but we found the lock offs to be nearly impossible… are they any easier in the FF position? Also my 13 month old (22 pounds, 31″) seems too big for the crotch strap. The straps go across his thighs instead of around his hip/waist area. Is this how the straps are supposed to fit? I can’t move the crotch strap out because he is RF. Any thoughts on proper fit of the straps?

I love reading your blog. I have a question for you. We have a 2007 honda accord and top anchors for the top tether. It seems so awkward with the straps going around the seat, making it hard to put baby (9 months) in and out! is there anywhere else the top tether can go?? like, could we attach on the front seat rail somehow?

Hi- There are indeed two options for routing a tether when rear-facing. It sounds like you are using the “Australian” method, where the strap goes across the seat to the tether anchor designated for the vehicle seat, normally used when forward facing. The other method is often called the “Swedish” method, where you route the strap to a seatbelt anchor or rail under the front seats like you said. To do this, you would use the accessory strap included with your child seat. You can see some illustrations on pages 24 & 27 of your manual. You just want to make sure to loop the accessory strap around a fixed piece of metal that is attached securely to the frame and not likely to be pinched or cut if you move the front seats forward or backward.

Kecia, Thanks for the reply. Yes, that is how it fits him so I guess it is a good fit, just different than his Graco infant seat. Also good to know we can bypass the lock offs completely. Thanks again for all your informative information here!

My 12-month old son is tall and thin (90% height, 50% weight), with a very long torso. I am leaning toward the Marathon 70, but I’m concerned that he will outgrow it by torso length too quickly. Do you think this is a good seat for him, or is there another that might be a better fit?

The Marathon 70 should accomodate most all kids to at least 2 years old rear-facing, then for most kids until age 5 or more forward-facing. Some kids will go much longer. A few of the kids in the tallest percentiles (and all in the torso) will not last quite that long. If your main concern is rear facing torso height, the Learning Curve First Years True Fit line is a good choice and the Sunshine Kids Radian tends to accomodate kids well rear-facing for both height and weight. For front facing, the limits tend to be the top harness slots, and the Marathon 70 is pretty competitive with most other convertibles in that regard.

This is the same car I have & was thinking of getting one. Now I know I want it! Thanks for the demo!

We just purchased the Britax Marathon 70s (12 month old twins) and had them installed rear-facing by a technician. Unfortunately, they are not reclined to the #3 position and now we have to take them back to the technician because I cannot fit my hand in between the car seat and the seat back to recline them because it is so tight. Is this correct? When properly installed rear-facing, is the recline lever unreachable? Thanks.

It is easy to make this mistake, even for a certified technician. You are correct that the seat should be in the most reclined position for rear-facing (position #3). Though it depends on the vehicle, it is quite common for recline mechanisms to be difficult or impossible to use when rear facing on many brands and models of convertible seats. Plus, it usually isn’t necessary to adjust it once you have it correctly installed rear-facing. If you are using LATCH, it might not be too hard to loosen it slightly, just enough to recline it, then tighten the adjuster straps again. Just make sure you haven’t gone past a 45 degree angle!

Hi!
How do you think this seat would do on an airplane? Also, how easy would it be to take this seat in and out of a variety of vehicles. We have a lot of upcoming travels which will mean using the seat in a variety of vehicles and planes. Also, do you have any recommendations on a seat that would be good for transporting in the ways that I have mentioned?

Thank you so much!

I am happy to announce that the Britax Marathon 70 fits in the center of the back seat of my 2004 Volkswagen Jetta. The front seats are not completely pushed back but they are almost back as far as they will go. They are also reclined a bit. DEFINITELY NOT straight up!

The seat really does install itself….I worked and worked and worked b/c it seemed to easy. I pulled and tugged on everything and wasted a lot of time. Once the tether clips (LATCH system) are loosened a bit, all you do is snap clip into place and tighten the strap. Then, go to the other side and do the same thing.

Make sure you recline the seat before you put it in the car if you are installing in a small car. SO easy!

Would I like more car seats in the back of my Jetta? Absolutely not! I’ll be trading cars in August but for the time being, it fits just fine in the middle of the backseat with the front seats pushed back almost to capacity.

My little fella loves the seat and I do too! Good luck all!

oh yeah, thank you kecia for your help! as others have already stated, you rock!

You wrote: If using LATCH in a center seating position that doesn’t have dedicated lower anchors – you can use the lower LATCH attachments on the Marathon 70 if the spacing between those lower anchors is 20″ or less and the vehicle manufacturer allows it.

Do you know if this is true for the older Marathon model, 65/CS?

Britax allows non-standard LATCH installs if the vehicle manufacturer allows it when the anchors are between 11 and 20″. That applies to any of their seats.

I’m in search of a convertible that does not make my son’s head slump forward when he sleeps. How good is the Marathon 70 with this?

I would say it is probably good in that regard, but the similar Roundabout 55 is worth a look, too, in case the mechanism for the head restraint has any added thickness. I don’t have both on hand to compare at the moment, though.

So you don’t use tether strap for rear facing? My husband just tried to install our Britax roundabout and he said it doesn’t seem stable enough. Also the only tether strap connector we have is at the top of our backseat. Which is totally a pain! Please help!

i noticed that the marathon does not have headwings like many of the other seats i am considering. i like that it is lighter and smaller and cheaper, but safety first – do you think the headwings are important. i also noticed that the marathon was not on your recommended list. is this why? thanks.