The last few days have been really hot here in NY. Like sweltering, broiling hot. But the 
Marathon 70 wasn’t even breaking a sweat. In fact, she looked pretty fantabulous in her red bikini. Yeah, yeah… I know – it’s an aftermarket, unregulated bikini that will probably void the Britax warranty but seriously, on a 100 degree day – you pick your battles. 😉
All jokes aside, the Marathon 70 is shaping up to be a really nice convertible seat. And if its crash performance data is as good as Britax claims it is – I think we have serious contender on our hands. In my honest opinion, if you liked the original Britax Marathon 65 model then chances are you’ll be very happy with the new MA70. For even more info, check out Part I of this review and see our “first look” video clip. Of course there is also a lot of great information, including a nice video clip, on the Britax website.
Measurements (all are somewhat subjective since nothing on this CR is a straight line):
- Top harness slot height: 17″
- Bottom harness slot height: 9″
- Inside shoulder width: 14″
- Side shell depth: 7″
- Crotch strap positions: 5 1/2″, 8″
- Seat pan depth (leg room/thigh support): 12″
- Overall height of shell (without raising headrest above shell): 24″
Lock-offs:
Recline Positions (fully reclined #3 position must be used for rear-facing, semi reclined #2 & fully upright #1 are for forward-facing). FWIW, there is very little difference between the semi-reclined #2 and fully upright #1 positions.
SafeCell Technology:
Misc photos:
More photos of the MA70 installed with models (special thanks to LilypadMom for letting me borrow her 2 beautiful daughters)!
Baby is 3 months old and 15 lbs. Ideally, for a baby this young, the seat should have been installed with a single pool noodle *in this particular seating position* to make it a little more reclined and closer to a 45 degree recline angle. However, baby didn’t seem to mind and feel asleep in the seat almost immediately.
Big sister – almost 5 years old- 39.8 lbs, 45″ tall (and more than happy to be the poster child for extended rear-facing). Technically, she still fits in this seat in the rear-facing position although she’s very close to the 40 lb RF weight limit and she’s also very close to outgrowing it RF by height as well (head 1″ from top of *shell* – not from the top of adjustable headrest). Straps were positioned several inches below her shoulders with the headrest in this position but I wanted the focus to be on the top of her head in relation to the top of the shell.
Now forward-facing:
Part III of this blog review (Marathon 70 Installation Comments) is now posted HERE!
Holly – you can place a peice of foam pool noodle (or a tightly rolled thin towel) in the bight of the vehicle seat to make the carseat a little more reclined. But it should never be reclined more than 45 degrees. For older babies with good head control being more upright is actually better since it provides better crash protection but newborns need to be reclined at closer to 45 degrees to prevent head slump that may compromise their airway. Here is a pic from Part III of this blog review series on the Marathon 70: https://carseatblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/MA70-028.jpg
Hope that helps!
you mention using a pool noodle for the younger infants- can you explain this more, maybe with pictures? thanks!
Hi Jackie, recline position #3 is for the rear-facing position only. You are also correct that there is very little difference between the fully upright and the semi-reclined (#2) position.
However, since your son is just now outgrowing the infant carseat he probably has at least another year (maybe even longer) to go before you should consider turning him forward-facing. We encourage you to research the benefits of keeping him rear-facing beyond the minimum of 1 year and 20 lbs. Heather has great links to help you research in our blog here: https://carseatblog.com/5168/why-rear-facing-is-better-your-rf-link-guide/
As for whether or not your son will be big enough and mature enough to transition into a booster when this seat is outgrown is anyone’s guess. If he’s average-sized and doesn’t have a long torso then it’s certainly possible but there are never any guarantees. Too many variables involved and many of them are based on the child’s maturity level (which is obviously impossible to predict at this time). I will say that many parents transition from the convertible carseat to a combination carseat (harness-to-booster) which allows them to keep their child in a 5-pt harness longer before switching to booster mode. But all that is far in the future so I would say not to even worry about anything that far down to road. Right now just focus on getting a convertible seat that’s going to meet his needs (both rear-facing and forward-facing) for the next 3 or 4 years. If you have more specific questions please feel free to post on our forums at http://www.car-seat.org and we’ll do our best to help you out!
My son is about to out grow his infant car seat so I’ve been looking for a new car seat.
Can this seat recline facing forward to the #3 pos. or just to the #2?
It’s my first born and I have no idea how to pick the best seat. He always sleeps in the car so I was thinking it would be nice for it to recline so his head won’t bob forward, but the #2 pos doesn’t really look any more comfy than the #1????
But this seat would most likely fit him (he is average size) until he just needed a booster seat right???
Thanks for any and all help, I’m so confused on what to get!!!
Thanks so much for this helpful information– great blog!
AMY – she still technically fits both RF and FF in those pics so I wouldn’t have a problem with her using the MA70 in either position. Estimating how much growing room she has FF will depend on where you feel comfortable drawing the line. Since the harness slots are slanted you gain more room height wise if you’re measuring to the top of the slant (closer to the neck). Hopefully Britax CS can clarify if we should be going by the top or bottom of the slant (or somewhere in between).
Would you use this seat for “Big Sister” FF now…? How much more room does she have before she would be too tall?
MEGAN – The new MA70 has a different base and it sits a little lower on that base than the original model. Therefore it’s impossible to say for sure if it’s going to work in your specific situation. Best advice, as always, is to “try before you buy”.
Hi
love your site– I am trying to decide if I can fit the new marathon in my car– my old marathon fits nicely between two boosters– is the new marathon the same dimensions as the old? I am having a hard time understanding the measurements. thank you for letting me know!
ANNE- Yes, install photos in our Ford minivan and our 2000 Honda Accord are coming soon! Stay tuned to the blog!
I have read the older models worked car in mid sized cars RF’ing & wondering if you are going to look at this new seat in a car? Not just a van?
Looks nice! Thanks Kecia for the review.
I don’t know for the new models, but with the older models, they required the fully reclined setting for RF because installing in the FF/upright positions frequently caused the recline mechanism to break (meaning you wouldn’t be able to use it FF past the RF weight limit).
why is fully reclined mandatory for RF? i would think if the child is past infancy, you could use position 1 or 2. anyone know why??
That fully reclined position looks awfully awfully space-consuming. I hope to see pics of an RF install and kiddo in there soon!
I hope she has sunscreen on!
Seriously, thanks for your efforts to get info out to the rest of us.
The lock-offs look great!
OMG, I love the bikini. lol
Thank goodness they changed their lock-offs. These actually look well-designed.
Thanks for all the info and pics! It looks pretty reclined in that #3 position for rear-facing, so I’m looking forward to the upcoming installation part of the review to see how it looks once installed.