Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.
~ Hamlet
Valentine’s Day 2009 is here and I’ve been thinking a lot about my first true love. Carseat love, of course. For me, it’s the Britax Roundabout. Sure, there have been others – but I guess it’s true what they say. The first cut really is the deepest.
Original Britax Roundabout in “Cowmooflage”
My beloved, pre-latch Roundabout expired last summer and I spent some time yesterday preparing it for permanent retirement. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to do this –Â Â my first RA was made in 1997 and it expired in 2003 but apparently the second time around isn’t any easier.
It might be silly but I really do form emotional attachments to some carseats. I was feeling all melancholy as I cleaned it up one last time. It’s going to live out the rest of its years as a training seat along with my old Marathon, which is also now expired. It’s funny because even though the MA was a great seat too – I just don’t feel the same way about that one. Maybe it’s the old pre-latch RA base that gets me. I really loved that design.
I don’t expect everyone to understand, but those who have owned and loved a Roundabout will get it. There’s just nothing else like it. I know it won’t last as long as the other Britax convertibles, rear-facing or forward-facing. But for the amount of time that you can use it – it’s like carseat nirvana. And if, like me, you actually like buying new carseats every so often (or if you plan to have more children), then the Roundabout can be a great “starter” convertible. The fact that it fits nicely rear-facing in small backseats and works well in many 3-across situations is just icing on the cake.
Consider this – the Roundabout was an instant hit with parents when it debuted in 1997 and it’s still a hit 12 years later in 2009. How many other seats that were around in 1997 can claim that? Ummm…. none. The longevity of the Britax Roundabout is a testament to how good it really is, and I hope it lives on and continues to serve for many more years.
Britax Roundabout & Parkway, 2005
Awww…. I’ve always loved that pic on cpsafety.com! The girls are so cute and I have a special place in my heart for the burgundy plaid RA cover. My first RA (with blue base and shell) had that cover and I adored it!
sniff, sniff…now I’m getting nostalgic for my 2002 “Burgundy Check” pre-LATCH RA’s. They were the only convertibles I’ve ever owned so I have nothing to compare them to, but I so loved how easy they were to install in our ’97 Civic and in any other car they went in, and how smooth the harness adjusters were. And I remember DH’s reaction the day I washed the covers and he saw the ‘naked’ shells – he’s a long-time bicyclist and said “wow, it’s got EPS Foam like my bike helmet!”.
They lived out the rest of their lives as hand me downs to friends so I wasn’t able to give them a formal burial (reminds me, I better confirm that my friends have disposed of them – I emailed them last year and didn’t follow up)
At least they’ll live on in cyberspace for as long as the ERF Photo Album exists on CPSafety.com .
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/LydiaDebra.aspx
….siiiiiigh…. I know somewhere out there is the first Roundabout I spurned because of it’s outrageous price tag, laughing at me, saying, “What? You rejected me for costing $199, when the seat you bought for $129 had no EPS foam, or top tether strap, or built in lockoffs, and the top slots were 2 inches shorter than mine, causing you to spend *another* $90 for a seat with taller top slots to keep your 2 year old harnessed longer? And then you went on to buy 5 dozen other seats before succumbing to my superiority and buying two of me? Silly fool!”
Sadly, I have not been able to sell even one of these since working at BRU (5 months now). It has a dull brown cover and a low weight limit and is a sad competitor to the Marathon and Evenflo Triumph Advance, and the dozen atop the stock shelves never disappear. It is going to be discontinued at BRU in favor of the Roundabout 50, which has no lockoffs and no push button adjuster (if the early rumors are right, here’s hoping their wrong! That adjuster is the Roundabout’s crowning glory).
It is by far the best 40 pound limit convertible seat ever.
🙂
And the base on the old style RA was smoooooth. Everything about that seat was smoooooth. I still can’t bear to part with my blue base denim RA so it sits in my ds’s closet. It was his first convertible and was such a lovely seat to use. The denim they used way back when was so soft–it really was like a pair of broken in Levis.
Ooooh, I finally understand! I would love my Britax convertibles to have just a little more leg room for DD (though she doesn’t complain at all).
The old RA base gave a rf child more leg room, installed more upright in the rf position and the rf lock-offs always lined up perfectly with the seatbelt – even in a 90’s Saturn. LOL! It was awesome.
Unfortunately LATCH came around and the old base design just didn’t work well with the standard spacing of lower anchors. I had a Britax Advantage (which had the old base design) and it was made after 9/2002 so it had LATCH attachments. After I bought it, I understood why Britax changed the design. The base was wide and didn’t allow the LATCH straps direct access to the lower anchors when the seat was rf.
I still wish they would modify the old base design a little and bring it back. If they ever do that – I might have to consider having another child. Is that sick and twisted? LOL
So, for those of us who missed the pre-LATCH Roundabout altogether — what was do great about the base?
I know the feeling. I have a perfectly good Marathon waiting for this baby when she outgrows the Snugride, but can’t help but wish for another Roundabout.
Oh ’tis true…there is none like the pre-LATCH base Roundabout. I mourned mine as it passed from usable to training seat, and even though I still have two others, that one was extra special to me as it was my *FIRST* Britax…sigh…
I feel your pain. My Roundabout expired in 2005. It about killed me to throw that seat away. Man I sure loved it. Mine had the blue base and denim cover. It was the best.
Edit:
I bought our first Roundabout in early 1999, when I had difficulty finding other seats that fit my car. I’m turning that story into a future blog lol. What a great seat! It will be a shame if they take away the push button harness system on the “Roundabout 50” or other new Roundabouts.
*sniffle* I remember our blue-base Roundabout. Soft denim cover, super-smooth harness adjuster, lock-offs… OH the lock-offs! Carseat nirvana indeed. *sigh*
I am pretty sure I threw it away when it expired and was replaced with a MA, but I have completely blanked out that traumatic experience.