The Britax Marathon is the Mount Everest of car seats, both in terms of quality and size. Britax has a sterling reputation and I think the reputation is deserved. My overall experience has been a very good one. This is my third car seat purchase in 6 months, so I do have some experience for comparison purposes. My daughter outgrew her Peg Perego Prima Viaggio infant seat before she hit 6 months. I purchased a Britax Roundabout for my small Audi S4 back seat. Finally, I purchased a convertible seat that will last from infant to 65 lbs, the Marathon.
INSTALLATION
I have installed this car seat one way only, rear facing using seat belts. The installation was identical to that of the Roundabout. Neither of my cars have LATCH. I did notice the LATCH anchors in a bag attached to the back of the Marathon. The overall installation process was a small hassle. Obviously it gets easier with practice and it was easier after having already installed a Roundabout. If you are installing this seat in the same manner as me then don't count on easily transferring it between vehicles. This car seat was installed in a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada, an SUV that shares its frame with the Chevy Trailblazer and GMC Envoy for those of you who aren't familiar with it. The car seat fits rear facing so that the front passenger seat can slide all the way back. This seat in this car cannibalizes none of the front seat leg room. So when I was ready to install the car seat I located the instruction manual. It is strapped to the car seat itself on an elastic strap. That way you can never lose it and won't have to risk installing it improperly from memory. It also prevents you from using it during installation. I cut it free so that I could actually use it while putting the seat in. To install rear facing you recline the Marathon all the way. The base fit well in my bucket, slightly reclined, back seat. Now the hard part. There is a slot in the side where the seat belt slides in. Next to the slot is a little clip that you fold over the belts. More about this in a minute. Once the belts (lap and shoulder I mean) are in the slot you have to strap them over the seat, so you have to feed belt into the slot, take the belts over the seat, down and out the slot on the other side. According to the directions when you strap the belts over the seat you can have them pass over or under the cover. I opted to run them under the seat cover, out of site and where they wouldn't irritate little legs or anything. That made the process all that much more awkward. Now, I mentioned clips near the slots. You are supposed to close those over the belts. Good luck. I had to heave and heave and finally just closed it over the lap belt. They said the shoulder belt was optional. I don't think it was designed to close over two belts. This is my biggest complaint about the seat. Either fix the clips, or restate the directions so people aren't back there fuming. Next step, tighten the heck out of the seat belt and you are pretty much home. Make sure it is level and so on, as with all car seats.
SAFETY AND SPECS
I guess most people buy the Britax Marathon because of safety ratings and reviews. The big reason to buy it over the Roundabout is the higher height and weight limits. Your child will not outgrow it as fast. Basically that is what caused me to spend $250 when I could have spent less than a third as much on the Evenflo Triumph. I want my girl to be safe, but when you spend this kind of money you would like it to last as long as possible. This seat is rated one of the safest you can buy. It can be used rear facing for children from 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing for children from 20 to 65 pounds. The shipping weight on the seat is 32 pounds (that doesn't seem right but that is what it says at BABIESRUS.COM). The Britax Marathon measures 28" high by 19.5" wide by 25" deep. The seat features EPS impact foam around the head and torso which is advertised as increasing both comfort and safety. The Marathon also offers "Versa-Tether" technology to help keep the seat from sliding forward or backward during impact. The fabric cover to the Marathon is removable and washable. You can also buy additional covers for those of you who like to express your individuality through colorful car seat covers, or if you just want to slip a new one on while washing the other. The Marathon comes in several different fabric patterns. I chose blue because, well whatever, I don't actually care what color it is.
5 POINT HARNESS
The five point safety harness is identical to that of the Roundabout, well a little bigger but it works the same. My other 5 point harnesses (infant seat, swing, high chair) all have clips that have to lock in at the same place. This makes them confusing and a bit if a pain. This harness has a clip that locks across the chest. These pieces adjust along the belt and simply connect to each other, and not to any other pieces. On those same two belts are two other clips that snap in between the legs. This configuration is safe, but doesn't cause the confusing belts and clips everywhere situation that can be frustrating until you get used to it. The belts have Velcro and can attach to the seat to make sure they stay out of the way. There is a push button at the base of the seat that releases the belts. To put my baby in, I push the button and get some slack in the belts, put her in, strap her in, and then tighten them again. To tighten the belts you just pull a strap located under the button at the foot of the seat. There are also slots in the back, so you can adjust where the belts come through the back of the seat. That helps the seat grow with your child.
CONCLUSION
The big reason why I think people wouldn't buy this seat is the price tag. The Marathon has great safety ratings, great reviews, and a great reputation. It accommodates your child from 5 to 65 pounds. So in that sense, you could argue that you are getting two seats for.... a whole lot of money. I am happy with the overall quality, happy with the safe feeling and happy with its ease of use. My child is comfortable in it, but I am looking forward to the day when we can flip it around to forward facing because I think that will be easier to get her in and out of. This seat is it. I recommend it.
You can also see my review of the Peg Perego Prima Viaggio infant seat at
http://www.epinions.com/content_159694098052
or the Britax Roundabout at
http://www.epinions.com/content_172947705476
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