Our comprehensive review of the Britax Boulevard ClickTight is now posted here: https://carseatblog.com/30080/britax-boulevard-clighttight-convertible-review-sometimes-things-just-click/
With the announcement of the ClickTight Installation System in the 2015 models of the Marathon, Boulevard, and Advocate convertible carseats, Britax has indeed introduced a Game Changer into the convertible carseat market. Gone are the days of huffing and puffing and yanking on seat belts and LATCH straps to get carseats installed tightly. As technicians in the field, we know a loose install is one of the top 2 mistakes we’re going to see in a vehicle when it comes to a checkup event. ClickTight was a big deal with the Frontier 90 and is just as big of a deal for any carseat rated above 40 pounds or so, due to new federal standards limiting the use of the LATCH system.
Do these convertibles hold the cure for all possible misuse? Of course not. There may be some incompatibilities and the price may put it out of reach for many families but we can’t make advances in child passenger safety without advances in technology and those advances often come with a hefty price tag – at least initially. For that price tag, you also get increased height limits and a 10-year expiration date, so there is some value added!
Kecia, our lucky reporter in the field, got to touch and feel and see these cool new seats. We will have a full review coming in September.
*UPDATE – our comprehensive Britax Boulevard CT Review is now posted here.
For now, she took a ton of pictures for us and a video and reports that baby Jack fits beautifully in the new Marathon without the lower body insert (see pics). With the lower body insert, the bottom harness slot measures about 6.5″.
These pics below show the preemie doll using the lower body insert. The Britax convertibles are rated from 5 lbs. to 40 lbs. rear-facing, so our 4 lb. Huggable Images preemie doll is too small to fit in any of them, but Kecia wanted to get an idea of harness slot fit.
Installation:
Comparisons
The Marathon CT is going to be a smaller seat for Britax while the Boulevard CT and Advocate CT have a growth spurt (see photos below). The difference between the Boulevard CT and Advocate CT are the side impact cushions, now called MAX. You can see the height difference between the MACT and BVCT below. To recap the big news from our earlier article, the Boulevard and Advocate ClickTight models have considerably taller height limits. At the maximum height setting, the usable rear-facing height limit will be about 28″ (Editor’s note: This is 1″ below the top of the reference point on the head restraint “shell” just below the red adjustment lever that is 29″ tall based on a representative production model we measured later) because the head restraint is now structurally reinforced. The top forward-facing seated shoulder height increases to almost 19″. The Marathon ClickTight has more modest increases over the G4 version. It also has a reionforced head restraint, but it doesn’t adjust as high. Please keep in mind that all of these measurements are estimates from a late prototype and may vary slightly for production models!
Canadians will enjoy the arrival of their ClickTight convertibles sometime around mid-to-late November. Canadian models will ship with an anti-rebound bar to satisfy the Canadian anti-rebound standards.
An anti-rebound bar for the U.S. convertibles with ClickTight will be available as an accessory (for purchase separately) sometime in early 2015. Anti-rebound bars for the current U.S. G4 convertible models will be available for purchase (again, being sold as an “accessory”) even sooner – probably by mid November. This is GREAT news and we’re very excited that Britax has decided to make the anti-rebound bar available to American consumers
New Fashions
We have some pics of new fashions being offered on the seats. We’ll follow up with more comparisons from KIM coming up in a week and a half and at the ABC Show as well.
Advocate in “Limelight”
Frontier 90 in “Kaleidoscope”
Miscellaneous Pictures
Kecia says, “Overall, the new Britax CT convertibles exceeded all expectations I had. The attention that was clearly paid to even the smallest details is really impressive. There is a lot to love in this new CT lineup and I think consumers are going to be very, very happy.”
Order Britax ClickTight convertibles at Amazon.com
Order Britax ClickTight convertibles at Albee Baby
Is there a release date for the new fabric options on the frontier?
Is 28 inches for the RF height limit when seated? Or is it 28 inches total height? I am about to purchase this and want to be sure it has high RF height limits. Also, do you happen to know the length of the actual seating part where the chip sits? Is it under 15 inches? Thank you
@Diana, it’s 28″ seated height. The ClickTight convertible seats are among the tallest convertibles on the market right now. I don’t know that we got a seat pan measurement, come to think of it.
I have the Chicco Next Fit Zip, which has very deep sides making it difficult to put the baby in and out. Are the sides lower on these Clicktight models comparing to the nextfit since they do look similar.
Are the click tight seats going to be compatible with inflatable seat belts like the current britax seats are????
@Brianne, we have lots more information in this post: https://carseatblog.com/29195/britax-marathon-boulevard-advocate-clicktight-preview-game-changers-for-installation-and-rear-facing-too/ . They’re scheduled to arrive in stores in mid-September.
Did I miss this? Do you know when will these be available in the US?
I don’t care for Click Tight due to mangled seatbelts. I LOVE the latch. Britax is SOOOOOOO easy. No need to change. I do like the taller models, though. I just prefer if my child is say, 5 years old and in the seat I want a LOW profile seat so I can see out the window. No seat on a base with big headrest sticking up.
@Angie, we weren’t able to get a measurement due to timing issues, but according to the Britax website, they’re the same.
How do these compare to the G4 models in terms of external width?
@Brianna, yes, we’re looking at the BV and ADV being several inches taller than current models. That reinforced headrest really helps matters.
Thank you Kecia 🙂
So as I understand it, the rear-facing height is no longer one inch from the shell, it’s one inch from the top of the headrest, because it’s now reinforced? So are we looking at an extra 4-5 inches or so? I ask because I have the Boulevard 70 G3 and my two year old is a hair away from hitting the RF height limits and I’d really like to keep rear-facing until three or so.
i hope they have worked out the bugs in the click tight. I have a frontier and i have a h*** of a time getting the head rest up while installed.
@Keely – I think it’s going to be impossible to know for sure until we have both models (CT & G4) installed RF in the same seating position with the same kid for comparison.
I can’t find anywhere if they’ve increased the RF leg room..
Sounds good @Heather and @CPSDarren. Thanks for the feedback and I’ll have to see what I think once they’re in store.
Lauren- also, individual fabrics can vary even on the same product. Some fashions are soft and plush, others are more slick presumably for easier cleanup. I’m sure they vary a lot for breathability, just as they would for a light colored one vs. a dark one.
Wendy K., I’ve found that the CT releases easier if you unbuckle the belt first.
@Lauren, the fabric complaint has been around for as long as my kids have been around, lol. I had the original denim Roundabout I bought in 2000 and never heard any complaints about that one, but all the cotton fabrics they used back then faded–and people complained. 😀 In other words, I think it’s a YMMV thing, lol.
I’ve heard one complaint about the past models is that the fabric makes the babies using them too hot. Does this fabric seem like it’ll combat that problem? In the market for our first convertible and these look great. I was concerned about the height limit but not anymore.
wendy K- no problem I will remove it for you. They are required by federal standard;-)
Their website says no latch connectors but I just saw that their rep on facebook said it will have latch…love when that happens. Sorry. I can’t delete my previous comment.
Lizzie- Yes it will have LATCH, but seatbelt installations will be encouraged due to the new federal standards that limit LATCH anchors in vehicles to a certain weight. The current G4 models have a great LATCH installation system and may be a better choice if you prefer LATCH, but I can’t say for sure until we have tried a production ClickTight model in a vehicle.
wendy K- Sometimes if the ClickTight is *very* tight, the trick to use is to push down on the compartment door with one hand and then the buttons are easier to release with the other hand.
I have a frontier with click tight and while I struggle with getting it to release, my husband loves it. And an unrelated observation– looks like the headwings are improved. I could be wrong, but they look sturdier than the last generation.
I’m trying to find it, but does this seat still come with the latch connectors?