We scooped the details on the Frontier 85 SICT back in April. Today we have one to show you. There are only a few changes, so we won’t be having a full review, but we may feature it in a video or two. The changes include the addition of side impact cushions to reduce crash forces on the child occupant and on adjacent passengers. There is also a new 2-piece cover that is easier to remove than before and an updated fabric to replace the “mesh” fabric on the Frontier 85. Finally, the Frontier 85 SICT is permitted to be used without a top tether to its weight limit. This allows for greater vehicle compatibility, as some vehicles may prohibit top tether use beyond a certain weight. Of course, Britax ALWAYS recommends that the top-tether be used whenever possible, according to the instructions. The Frontier 85 SICT should be available retail by June 1st!
Our review of the Frontier 85 applies to the Frontier 85 SICT, with the changes noted above. Among its various benefits, it still features the highest top harness strap height settings for a retail combination seat in the USA and also a relatively generous head restraint height for booster mode, too. The Frontier 85 is a “Best Bet” in booster mode from the IIHS, too.
I am having a really hard time deciding between the frontier 85 and the SICT. I am buying for my 40 lb 3 year old. We drive a chrysler town and country minivan and the seat would be in a captain chair. Thank you so much for any advice.
I just watched your youtube video on how to install Frontier SICT with seatbelts. That took quite a bit of the worry off of me bc I was afraid I couldnt install this well. Im excited and cant wait to get my sons new seat in!!!
I purchase a frontier 85 SICT. We have an older ford explorer. Doesnt have LATCH or tether. It only has locking seat belts. This seat is for my 3 1/2. I was wondering about if i can get a good install with seat belt only and when the tether has to be used like height/weight? I know they say its always advisable to use the tether but I cant. So any info would be helpful before our seat comes. THanks!
Do you know if/when the plan to come out with a pink Frontier 85 SICT?
Hi my question is: if your vehicle has side air bags, do you really need the SICT technology or would you recommend the regular frontier 85 which has high ratings?
I have a Nissan Armada.
Hi Armadamom,
It is almost impossible to say. Side curtain airbags vary in terms of their coverage. Some deploy much lower than others. Some barely cover the windows and might not be any benefit to a child safety seat that is lower. Also, some remain inflated much longer and that can help in crashes that have multiple impacts or involve a rollover. Certainly, the SICT feature is likely to be more effective when used in an outboard seating position and in cars that have less effective side impact protection. The regular Frontier 85 will provide a great deal of protection when installed and used correctly in a rear seat. The SICT feature might be considered icing on the cake once you have taken care of the basics!
Hi, I was just reading through this thread to get information on Frontier 85 SICT, but noticed you guys talking about some LATCH limits that I also didn’t know before (I am glad I came across this forum!).
I have 3.5 years old twins (32 lbs and 35 lbs) with Alpha Omega Elite carseats in Ford Escape. And ofcourse they were installed with Latch.
As much as I like this Frontier 85 SICT, I don’t know when my budget will allow me to do this change, really…
So, considering our current situation, do I need to change the installation from latch system to seat belt when they reach 40 lbs??? Is there any video on youtube that shows how to do that?
Thank you for your help… I am a little confused.
@ Lori O – Try BuyBuyBaby. They have several stores in NY & NJ and I believe they carry the Frontier85 SICT. Check their website for the location nearest you. Hope that helps!
Are there any stores in PA/NY/NJ/DE that actually have this in stock so we could look at it? I see it is stock on line, but would like to actually touch it.
Ohhhhh. Yeah, 40 lbs. then, though Darren will tell you that Honda doesn’t actually specify a limit. Yep, I’m confused too!
We have a 2010 Hondy Odyssey….
Hi Kevin. What vehicle do you have? Some vehicles have a lower LATCH anchor weight limit and others don’t. Britax has a 40 lbs lower anchor limit if your vehicle doesn’t specify a limit. If your seatbelts are long enough, I highly recommend the long belt path install with the seatbelt regardless of LATCH limits. It generally gives a very solid install not only to the bottom of the seat, but also the top.
Thanks for all the helpful info on the Frontier 85 SICT!!
I do have a question though. I just read that it may not be wise to use the LATCH system to secure the seats once a child reaches 40 lbs.
Is this true? I have 3 yr old twins, and just purchased two of these models. I’m about to install them, but now worried I should use the seatbelt mode instead. One child is 37lbs and the other 39lbs. I had no idea there was a weight limit on the LATCH. I always pictured that as the be all/end all way to really install a safe seat.
Now bummed….
Thanks for any advice you might have.
Thanks Darren. Unfortunately, we aren’t near any of the stores that sell these seats. I’m not even sure if BRU has them yet.
I think, what I’m going to do is purchase the Frontier 85 in pink for my only girl. And the boys will each have the Radian 85 SICT. I’ll put the 85 next to one of the SICTs in the rear bench and the other two SICTs in the middle row captain’s chairs.
Or…if our insurance payout is large enough, perhaps we’ll buy that Suburban my husband wants to put us in.
Hi,
My children and I were recently involved in an automobile accident. All four children, ages 2-5, were riding in Frontiers. Three of them were 80s and 1 was the newer 85. Everybody was unscathed, thank goodness.
I’m on the verge of replacing our seats and am going to purchase Frontiers again. I LOVE the idea of the removable fabric, the additional protection with the SICT, etc.
We, however, are likely going to be replacing our minivan with another minivan. Before I order four Frontier SICTs, I need to know if I can fit two across on a bench seat. It was a tight fit with the two 80s I had side by side. I can’t imagine the additional 10″.
Thoughts?
Also…is there any talk of Britax coming out with girly colors for the new SICT. I have one girl and would really like her to have her own special color.
I am sorry to hear about your crash- I’m glad everyone was unharmed!
I would guess that you would not be able to fit two Frontier 85 SICT side-by-side, even in larger vehicles. There may be few exceptions, but most bench seats will not be large enough. In larger vehicles, you should be able to put two Frontier 85 SICT in the outboard seats or captain’s chairs. The amount of room left for the center seat would vary, from minimal to just enough to puzzle next to some rear-facing seats or a narrow backless booster.
I think to fit four Frontier 85 SICT in any vehicle, you’d want to at least see if you can try a pair of them at a local store to make sure they fit, or buy two from a place with a good return policy and take them with you to the dealership and try them in the vehicle you plan to purchase.
I have a couple videos in this thread of one Frontier 85 SICT next to some other seats in a Honda Odyssey:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=172984
Hi Emily,
Fitting a Frontier 85 SICT next to another Frontier 85 SICT will be almost impossible in all but the widest vehicle seats. In many vehicles, even if you have one on each side, there will be almost no room in the center, even for a smaller passenger. On the other hand, in some wider vehicles, you may be able to fit the Frontier 85 SICT next to a rear-facing convertible seat. For example, I’ll have a review video later this week showing that a Britax Marathon 70 fits nicely between a Frontier 85 and a Frontier 85 SICT in a Honda Odyssey.
Definitely interested to hear about this seat puzzling with others in a 3 across situation. My son is still RFing in a BLVD Classic (he just turned two in April). He has 4lbs and probably 2in. to go before I have to turn him around (hoping to make it another year). I plan to buy him this seat when that time comes as I have a baby on the way who will need the BLVD. We would like to have a 3rd child. If that happnes, several years down the road we will find ourselves with three of this type of seat in our SUV! I have a Honda Pilot right now and will probably buy another Pilot when it’s time to get a new vehicle.
Hi Darren! Is there a way to shoot you an email directly? So that’s for your great response to my Honda Odyssey question. Great idea to ask to keep car for an afternoon.
A couple more questions:
1- Just out of curiousity what is your top couple choices for an infant carseat?
2-Do you think it’s maybe not a good idea to use my original Graco Snugride Infant Car Seat from 2008? I’ve now used it for my son and daughter and was thinking maybe it’s outdated and shouldn’t be used for my third. I think they still sell an updated version, it’s the Platinum.
3-I’m planning on getting the Honda so hopefully what I use will be compatible! I also have the Graco Snap and Go Stroller, so it would be great to still use that…but not if you think it’s not a good idea to keep using the 2008 one.
Would love any suggestions you have and answers to my questions!
Thanks,
Karri
Hi Karri,
1- Check our our recommended seats list ( https://carseatblog.com/carseatblogcoms-recommended-car-seats/ ) or Kecia’s recent list of carseat for preemies ( https://carseatblog.com/9813/recommended-carseats-for-preemies-multiples-carseatblogs-list-of-best-bets/ )
2- If it is in good condition, hasn’t been in a crash, has all manuals and labels, etc, then I think it’s fine to use a 3-year old infant seat. Plus, you are familiar with it so unless there is something about it you don’t like, I think it will be very safe for another baby!
3- I don’t know about compatibility with strollers or frame, but in general, most infant seats work well in at least one seating position in most vehicles. The main problems come when you have adjacent carseats or 3-across issues. There are always some that are incompatible, but since the 2008 Snugride has LATCH, there’s a good bet you can get it installed well in one of the vehicle seats that has LATCH.
Is the SICT significantly wider than the previous version?
It is somewhat wider at the level of the shoulders where the side impact cushions are. This wouldn’t affect a single seat installation or fitting it next to a rear-facing seat, for example. It could be an issue next to another forward facing seat, especially in smaller vehicles.
Looking for carseat for my 4 yr old girl, i think this Britax is the best option with 5 point harness for older kids. I was going to buy 85, but found out that there is new one already. )) There are few complains in reviews about the heavy weight and difficulty to attach to car for previous 85 model. So, could you pls tell me, which one is lighter and more compact 85 or 85 SCIT (I have small car)? And did they do anything about attachment difficulty in new one?
And also, why did you buy new one if you have already had almost the same model?
Thanks
In terms of installation, the Frontier 85 SICT is identical to the Frontier 85. The Frontier 85 was improved for seatbelt installation over the original Frontier, though.
It is a heavy an bulky seat, but really not much different than similar high harness weight options like the Recaro ProSport.
I received both Frontier models as a review sample from Britax.
The covers are not backward compatible. Due to changes around the side impact cushions, they would not fit well on the standard Frontier 85. The new top tether requirement will apply initially only to the Frontier 85 SICT. It has not yet been determined when or even if it will ever apply to the current Frontier 85 (without SICT).
I am still waiting for confirmation about backward compatibility of the new covers. My impression was that the tether requirement would not initially include the Frontier 85, but that this is being considered. I would doubt it would be retroactive to current products, but perhaps I can get clarification.
I’m not sure about the side cushions either, but love the fabric. Any idea on whether the regular Frontier 85 will get the new fabric and/or have the tether requirement lifted?
Well I’m not so sure about the side cushions, particularly in a tight three across but I’m super excited about the new covers 🙂