Britax Marathon 65 Convertible Car Seat

by Britax USA

Product Features

• 5 point harness with patented Floating HUGS system and 4 harness heights
• Built-in lock-off clips, Versa-Tether & Safe Guard LATCH Connectors
• EPS and Comfort Foam for safety and comfort
• Rear- and forward-facing recline
• Rear facing: 5 to 35 pounds. Forward facing: At least 1 year old and 20 to 65 pounds

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 22 x 20 x 19 inches ; 20.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 20.9 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000F1QL20
• UPC: 652182052492
• Item model number: E9L0669
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,250 in Baby (See Top 100 in Baby)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (247 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat (Onyx) features easy installation, Side Impact Protection, and innovative details for your child's comfort and safety. Delivering both comfort and safety up through the preschool years, it fits children in the rear-facing position weighing from 5 to 35 pounds, and children in the forward-facing position starting at one year old and 20 pounds, up to 65 pounds.

The Marathon Convertible Car Seat At a Glance: Age/Weight Requirements: In rear-facing position, fits children weighing 5 - 35 pounds; in forward-facing position, fits children 1+ years old weighing 20 - 65 pounds Warranty: 6-year product life; 1-year limited warranty Certifications: Certified for aircraft travel in harness mode only Ideal for: Who: Parents and caregivers What: Keeping children safe and comfortable in the car Where: Car, minivan, and SUV

A rigid seat shell, deep side walls, and energy-absorbing foam lining protect your child's head, neck and body. View larger.

Side Impact Protection for Added Security
To keep your child safe, the Marathon Convertible includes Side Impact Protection, which is a system composed of the rigid seat shell, the deep side walls, and energy-absorbing foam lining the shell that work together to distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body.

Superior 360-Degree Protection to Minimize the Risk of Injury
The Marathon offers a variety of superior crash force management features to keep your child properly positioned and protected. First, the patented, energy-absorbing Versa-Tether has staged-release tether webbing, anchoring the top of the seat at two points to minimize forward movement. For growing babies, the tangle-free, five-point harness offers multiple harness heights for a snug, custom fit.

For additional protection, the Harness Ultra Guard System (HUGS) reduces forward head movement, while both the EPS foam liner and base are designed to absorb energy.

Superior Ease-of-Use for Safety and Convenience
Packed with perks for parents, the Marathon includes push-button lower LATCH connectors for quick, simple, and tight installation, and a front harness adjuster allows for easy loosening of the straps. Built-in lock-offs secure the vehicle seat belt and prevent the car seat from moving more than one inch side-to-side and front-to-back at the belt path.

A small contoured base ensures a tight installation in all types of vehicle seats, while convenient holders keep harness straps out of the way while you're placing your child in the seat.

The Marathon Convertible Car Seat is available in the following patterns: Onyx, Mariposa, Cowmooflage, Mossy Oak Limited Edition, and New Denim.

The Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat is backed by a one-year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
One Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat and manual.

Available in these styles.

Product Description

Britax marathon convertible car seat keeps little ones safe and comfortable during trips with this quality car seat that can be adjusted to two positions, rear and forward-facing depending on your child's development. This features rear-facing position holds up to 33 pounds, forward-facing holds up to 65 pounds, patented versa-tether, comfortably fits larger and older children. These are removable, washable fabric cover. Patented Harness Ultra Guard System with belly pad for comfort and protection. Also built-in lock-offs. Sculpted base for a perfect fit. Flexible buckle latch system. Comfort foam and EPS protective foam. Tangle-free polyester 5-point harness. Belt holders keep belts aside for boarding. One hand recline adjustment.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 195 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but not perfect., March 27, 2007

By 

Concerned Father - See all my reviews

This review is from: Britax Marathon 65 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx (Baby Product)

Don't get me wrong....I would own nothing other than Britax seats at this point. We have 4 children and we've tried various models. We've donated the others to Goodwill. We currently own 5 Britax car seats for 4 children. We have 2 Regents, 1 Parkway(used as a spare), 1 Marathon, and 1 Roundabout. I feel as though I'm a walking advertisement for Britax and we've been accused of being uptight about car seats.

As far as I'm concerned, there are three main features that we look for in a car seat:

1. Does it fit securely in the vehicle?

Forward facing, this seat is awesome. We don't have the latch system in our van, so we never had the opportunity to use the latch belts although I'm sure they work fine. We use the shoulder belt and we've never seen any other seat get as secure as our seat. When we try to move the seat side to side, the van moves instead. The beauty of the system is that after you've tightened the lap part of the belt down as far as you can, you then slide the shoulder part of the belt into a slot that latches down on the side of the seat. Once you've done this, the belt doesn't develop any slack. Then for good measure, you attach the tether to the underside of the rear of the seat (or a tether hook in some cars). This seat doesn't move after that.

Rear facing, the seat could be improved. This is why the seat doesn't get 5 stars from me. The side lock down mechanism is tightened more by the thickness of the belt. Unfortunately, it can pop open without much pressure. (As a side note, the lockdown on the side of our older Roundabout works great. It is a different design. I'm not sure if Britax thought they were improving and have changed the design or if they have a different lockdown on this seat.) The annoying thing about this is that you have to continuously check to see if it has released.

2. Condition of the straps is important. I haven't seen one manufacturer compare to the quality of the straps. The shoulder straps are thick and wide. They don't fold up on themselves or get tangled. They are also wide across your child's shoulders.

3. Child's comfort. The side guards around the head are great for when they are getting tired and the safety foam is the same as you would find in bike helmets.

Overall, the seat is great. If I could have given it 4.5 stars, I would have. The rear facing problem was minor to us because we could use our Roundabout rear facing, but for someone who needs to use it rear facing for a while, it might be more of a problem. I'm hoping Britax improves that one thing, but overall, this seat is highly recommended by me.

146 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Miracle!, August 16, 2007

By 

M. Bostic (West Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Britax Marathon 65 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx (Baby Product)

This car seat was a life saver!

Our daughter is almost 4 months now and cried everytime we placed her in her infant seat, except on the day home from the hospital. We couldn't drive down the road without listening to screams - the only time we went anywhere was if she was asleep and often she woke up the minute we put her in her seat. My 8 year old and I would both sit in the back seat with her, it didn't matter. I read the reviews on this seat so we went to 2 different stores and placed her in the demo. She was fine. My mother offered to purchase it for us so we got it.

Sketptical?

I was skeptical, so I first took her for a 5 minute ride - no crying. The next day I chanced 15 minutes - still no crying. The third day we went to my mother's - a 40 minute drive each way. Within a week we were willing to try her on a 3 hour trip. She did great!

I think the key for us was my daughter can see out and doesn't feel confined like the infant seat. She spends most trips gazing out the window and quietly sucking her thumb.

Size

I've read people complain about the size, but it fits fine in our Toyota Prius and our Subaru Outback. In fact it actually allows the front passanger seat to be further back than our previous car seat with a base (Graco Snugride).

Buy Two!

We've had the seat now for 3 weeks and no crying! My husband asks me everyday "How was she in the car" and everyday I say "GREAT!" We bought a second one for the other car.

Installation

This is the easiest car seat I have ever installed, we use the latch system in the Prius and in my mother's car. IT is so much easier than the latch with the Graco seat. Using latch it takes only minutes to go from one car to another. In the Subaru we use the regular shoulder/seat belt (it's 8 years old so latch wasn't available). Which I still like better than the Graco.

It is quite expensive, but to us well worth it. If you're still reading this then you want this seat! (It doesn't feed hungry babies, so they may still fuss.)

A year late...

My daughter is 15 months now and the seat is still wonderful! We now have the seat facing forward and we still love this car seat.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny!, August 12, 2007

By 

Jean Rhys (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Britax Marathon 65 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx (Baby Product)

My 2 year old daughter has been in a britax marathon ever since she was 7 months old. After hours of research and asking around, I decided that this was a good investment for the safety of my daughter, although it is quite expensive compared to the other carseats in the market. We never had a problem with this carseat and my daughter always looked comfortable in it whether she's sitting up looking out the window or sleeping. I love the headrest on the sides that allows her to sleep in the car without her head bouncing around. After using this for over a year, I decided to move my daughter into a cheaper Eddie Bauer covertible seat so her younger sister can use her Britax. BAD DECISION!! I realized on the first drive that there is no car seat out there that beats this one. In less than five minutes, her head was bobbing around, padding was so horrible, her headrest was so stiff and upright that she was struggling to get out. I thought she was old enough to use cheaper brands comfortably but I now realize how good we all had it by using a high quality carseat. I'm now looking for a larger version (Britax Regent) for my daughter so my younger can use this one. Yes its a bit pricey but I truly truly believe that it's worth every penny considering the comfort and safety of our children. If you're hesitant about spending $100 more on a carseat, consider skipping one nice dinner out with your spouse and investing it instead on a Britax. I highly recommend it and there really is nothing out there that compares to this one. Once you use one, you'll see that there really is a difference.

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