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Britax Marathon ClickTight Convertible Car Seat Review

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Overall Score
Ease of Install - Latch
Ease of Install - Belt
Ease of Use
Comfort & Quality
Weight & Size

Bottom Line

For ultimate comfort, safety, and ease of installation, choose the Britax Marathon Clicktight Car Seat for your child. A well-padded restful seat backed by strong steel frames.

What We Like

  • Simple installation through the ClickTight system
  • Comfy quality durable fabric
  • Side impact protection feature
  • Pair of harness spots
  • Steel frame structure

What We Don't Like

  • Not convertible to a booster seat
  • Limited rear-facing room for older children
  • Crash test results are not quite optimal

Finding a perfect car seat for your child hasn’t been an easy task. Bringing a new baby home from the hospital makes the parents think about the most important factor of car seat safety, which would potentially help in the event of a minor or serious accident.

We have analyzed and evaluated every perspective about the car seat in this Britax Marathon Clicktight Convertible review so that you can easily, quickly, and confidently find the best one with tested and proven specifications by our product experts. We have also considered various factors ranging from the installation of the seat to ease of clean up and overall value. Let’s dig into some details.

Overview of the Britax Marathon Clicktight Convertible Car Seat

Among the other Britax portable car seats, the Britax Marathon Clicktight is a Euro-styled premium quality product with excellent safety ratings. The multiple harness settings will advocate the ease of use. Since it uses the ClickTight technology, the installation has been made easy. We think the Marathon is an attractive choice because of the durability and friendliness of its fabric, stylish plastic shell, and non-rethread harness adjustment.

The above-average weight of the Britax Marathon Clicktight seat might be a concern for city dwellers as it is not much suitable for carrying very far. Though it is a bit expensive, and the results of the crash tests taken by our product experts are not quite optimal, the easy Clicktight installation may encourage you considering this smart option.

If we compare it to a closely better option, then the Britax Boulevard Clicktight comes into mind. Although both are convertible car seats and easy to install, the Boulevard Clicktight scored notably higher overall with having only a $10 higher price tag than the Marathon.

See also: Best Convertible Car Seats

Things to Consider Before Buying a Britax Marathon Clicktight

Is your new baby coming, or its time to change your traditional convertible car seat to a modern one? In both of these cases, you should consider buying the Britax Marathon Clicktight Convertible Car Seat, having tons of safety features built-in. Installation of the Marathon is also quite easy, thanks to its ClickTight system, which is equally simple to install with the seat belt or Latch system of your car.

Are you thinking of a convertible booster seat? Well, unfortunately, the Britax Marathon doesn’t come up with that feature. There are plenty of alternative options with that feature like Graco 4Ever, which we will briefly discuss later in this review.

Before buying a convertible car seat, you must consider some important factors which we have brought to you in this review of the Britax Marathon ClickTight by doing comprehensive research and testing. At first, the installation and the setup is the key factor to look upon because many parents find it difficult to install the seat perfectly. As most of the seats are attached through the car’s seat belt system, and some are attached to the Latch system.

Since all of the features revolve around the cost, it proves to be an important factor while choosing a convertible car seat. Selecting an affordable one with essential safety and design features should be considered. Other necessary elements are how easily the car seat could be washed and the age range of kids who can use it. All of the key features of the Britax Marathon Clicktight Car Seat are briefly explained below in this review so that you can have the proven knowledge of the product while selecting the best compatible one.

Key Features

Installation and Setup Process

With Britax Marathon car seats, various configurations are available through its Clicktight built-in feature depending on your car seat placement preference that could be either front-facing or rear-facing. The anchors of your car’s latch system are attached to the Britax Marathon’s Clicktight tethers. However, it hasn’t been stated clearly in the user manual that the latch system of the car is the same terminology used for Britax Clicktight technology, which is an identical feature that connects car frames to car seats.

Most of the time, the installation procedures of many infant car seats have been tricky for you, right? Luckily, not with this one as we have analyzed the easiness of installation and configuration and come up with the results that the process is pretty easy. We ran the tether through the uplifted padded seat of the vehicle seat by using the built-in installation system called the Clicktight. It was quite easy and left us with multiple hooks, one on the left and the other on the right side of the car seat that we connected to the latch system of our car afterward.

Some sort of skillfulness is required when you are about to use the hooks of the Britax Marathon Clicktight convertible car seat with the car’s anchors as their shape is pretty much similar to the carabiners. Hooking procedure is also quite easy as you just have to make sure that you get these hooks all the way around before engaging them. By using the guide sleeve, just pushing down on an embedded system is not a good idea.

We recommend attaching the Marathon Clicktight Convertible car seat to the car’s latch system. Although there is a good additional option to attach the strap to your vehicle’s seat belt system. This seems a bit easier as well as you thread the strap relevant channel in the seat by lifting the seat and using the handy Clicktight feature then buckle it into the car’s seat belt. Some parents find it much easier using the Clicktight seat belt installation because you just have to thread the seat belt through the simple belt path.

Have you ever felt difficulty teaching the installation of an infant car seat to someone like a temporary babysitter or visiting relatives? If yes, then it’s not a problem anymore because the Clicktight seat belt method is much simpler to teach and to be understood. Therefore, the Britax Marathon Clicktight Convertible Car Seat is proved to be bringing up the most straightforward seat installation method. The Britax is awarded a Five Star Ease of Use rating by various national road administrations as well.

Are you facing problems evaluating whether to put the car seat rear-facing or forward-facing for your child? It’s simple because the equation revolves around the age of your child. If your child is newborn or around 20 months old, then you should consider the Britax Clicktight Marathon seat to be in the rear-facing position, but if your child is about three years or older, front-facing proves to be a helpful configuration.

To accommodate an older child, switching from rear-facing to the forward-facing configuration is also an easy task by using the Clicktight system. Just lift the seat and turn the strap around instead of rethreading the strap blindly through the car seat. After that, we are ready to re-install the Britax Marathon Clicktight into the vehicle.

If you have to consistently change the configuration to transport different children daily in case you are a grandparent or childcare provider, then it is a great fit for you rather than the traditional convertible car seats, which couldn’t provide that much flexibility. Please remember to ensure the Clicktight emblem on the front is in the horizontal position after you have done installing it.

Age Range: Birth Through Age 10

Changing the configuration of the car seat is a great deal, especially when your child is growing. Some parents prefer buying a rear-facing infant car seat that can be used in a stroller travel system. Still, after your child reaches one year old, the natural growth of your child will require you to think about upgrading the infant car seat to a permanent convertible car seat. On these grounds, some parents go for the convertible car seat to buy from the beginning.

In the rear-facing configuration, children from 5 pounds to 40 pounds are advised to sit. On the other hand, the forward-facing configuration is recommended for the 20 to 65 pounds of children. Make sure to adhere to the state and local car seat laws, and if you don’t know about them exactly, the police or fire station officials can do a free inspection of your car seat and will guide you about the laws.

Some of the recommended ranges of the Britax Marathon Clicktight are mentioned below.

  • Rear-facing weight range is 5 to 40 lbs
  • Forward-facing weight range is 20 to 65 pounds
  • The forward-facing height range is 49 inches

Are you fed up of changing convertible car seats while you already had broken or replaced a dozen of them? Well, you don’t need to worry about them from now on because the Britax Marathon Clicktight comes with a lifespan of 10 years. Exciting! Yes, fortunately, you can now use it for multiple kids.

Design: Comfortable and Practical

For the safety of the child, the Britax Marathon Clicktight car seat has a five-point harness system, and it can be used in multiple configurations, namely the rear-facing and the forward-facing. Your child might have felt discomfort while using a convertible car seat because some kids are taller, and the others are short. To solve this problem, it offers multiple harnesses and buckles heights so that it could equally provide comfort to all the kids.

We have mentioned some of the great elements below, which make it a top car seat pick among parents after comprehensive research.

  • 14 different harness settings
  • 7 recline positions
  • Comfortable foam padding
  • 18 neutral patterns and color options

This car seat provides premium comfort for your child with having our favorite design components and much adaptability with fourteen different harness settings and seven recline positions. If you are planning to use the Marathon for multiple children, it will save a lot of your precious time and will get you out of frustration because you just have to make simple adjustments of the harness without bothering to remove the pads or rethreading it.

For your ease of evaluating the design factors, we have tested the Britax Marathon Clicktight with a medium-size SUV placing one other convertible car seat and an infant seat in a single row and find out that they fit perfectly in a single row. Because of its 18.5-inches wide base, it is one of the narrowest convertible car seat choices out there. Although it is not the lightest model in the market with a weight of 28.5 pounds. But as a convertible seat, it is designed to be perfectly fit in a car.

Cleaning: As Easy as It Can Be

Cleaning the Britax seat has not been difficult anymore. Since the seats are not machine-washable, you just have to remove the pads by getting a bit of help from the user manual and the illustrations it contains. You can easily wash them in the sink by using cold water and mild washing-up liquid. The harness has the flexibility to be removed as well, and if you don’t want to remove the seat from the car, you can use a wet washcloth to wipe out stray crumbs and stickiness.

Additionally, you can also use the Britax Seat Saver Waterproof Liner, which is an optional accessory. If you see moisture from a diaper leak or wet bathing suit, then you must consider buying it as well because it will keep moisture away from your child with an extra layer of no-slip grip and deep sides fit. It is also machine-washable and reliable.

See also: Baby Car Seat Cleaning Guide

Safety: Top-Notch

Britax has been very much concerned about its quality and the qualified measures it takes from the safety perspective. Since the implementation of the safety features into a sleek design, it has proved its worth by providing Clicktight installation, the quality of the actual frame, and the tested materials used in the car seat. Some of its appealing safety features are as follows.

  • Deep side impact protection
  • SafeCell impact-absorbing base
  • Versa-Tether

The well built heavy steel frame and other safety features make the Britax Marathon Clicktight convertible car seat an all-around safe and reliable seat. For minimizing the seat rotation and reduction of forward-movement, the V-shaped versa tethers and staged-release stitching are equally beneficial for providing one step ahead against the head, neck, and spine injuries. At the same time, the foam-lined shell does have the extra side impact protection capabilities.

Since the rear-facing tethers are not used in these seats, an anti-rebound bar is available, which could be bought from the Britax separately that will protect your child during the front or rear impacts. The Britax anti-rebound bar is soft and will provide comfort to your child. Last but not the least about this anti-rebound bar magic accessory is that it can be used with any of the Britax rear-facing convertible car seats.

The new Latch regulations recommend having a Latch weight limit of 35 pounds for rear-facing and the seat’s rear-facing weight limit of 40 pounds. So, if you are about to use the forward-facing, instead of using the Latch technology, use the cars’ seat belt system, and if you are going to use the rear-facing, keep in mind the lowered anchor weight limits of the Latch mentioned earlier.

Note: Between August 2014 and July 2015, some of the seats manufactured were recalled, so please make sure to double-check the model numbers on the Britax recall notice.

Is safety your number one priority while choosing a convertible car seat? The convertible car seat Britax Marathon Clicktight has been reviewed by our product experts and found that it complies with the US Federal Guidelines for car seat safety but has a basic and somehow below the average score while comparing it to its competitors’ product results. Having a score of 5 out of 10, the average crash test results have an average of 7 in this group. So, the Britax Emblem and the Britax Allegiance, both having a score of 8, are a bit better options.

Price: A Worthwhile Investment

Are you planning to use the car seat for a longer period? With a price range of $300 – $320, the Marathon car seat is a big-budget investment, especially when you are not going to use it as an alternative to an infant car seat. In the long run, as your child grows, you would need to have an additional booster seat; that’s why it seems quite costly with the usage of a relatively shorter period.

But wait a minute! It comes with a powerful steel frame, side-impact protection, flexibility with various recline positions, and many other design and safety features that make it worth paying. You can also have additional peace of mind by paying some extra money, which is beyond the price.

Specs

  • Product Name: Marathon ClickTight Convertible Car Seat
  • Product Brand: Britax
  • UPC: 652182723927
  • Dimensions: 23 x 18.5 x 23.5 inches
  • Color: Dual Comfort, Ollie, Oasis, Verve, Cowmooflage, Vue, Ashton, Bubbles
  • Expiration Date: 10 years lifespan from manufacturing date
  • Warranty: 1 year under material and workmanship defects

Competition: Outstanding for Comfortability

Evenflo Tribute LX Convertible Car SeatWhen compared to the Britax Marathon Clicktight, the Evenflo doesn’t have Latch system installation, adjustable harness, or recline, but it can be used with the cars’ seat belt. Its price is much lower, around $50 to $60 because it doesn’t contain as many features as the Britax one. Therefore, it isn’t our top pick for daily usage, although a good option if you are looking to have a second seat that won’t be a burden on your wallet.

Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 Convertible Car SeatThe durability of the Graco 4Ever has made it a good choice as it has the ability of forward-facing, rear-facing, highback booster and backless booster seat falling in the price range of about $290 to $310. Its easy installation of Latch tethers, seat belt threading, machine-washable pads, and the convertible lastingness from birth to a booster seat has made it an attractive choice. Although it doesn’t come up with so many safety features as the Britax Marathon one, its comfortability is a plus point to be listed as a healthy choice to consider.

Britax Boulevard ClickTight Anti-Rebound Bar Convertible Car SeatHaving the price range of $340 to $360, the Britax Boulevard has some extra safety features such as an anti-rebound bar which enhances the seat’s stability in the rear-facing configuration. The second layer of side impact protection has also been a critical addition that comes with the Boulevard. As most of the parents using it believe that it worths the extra cost, the Britax Boulevard goes the extra mile when you put your youngster in the rear-facing mode with confidence.

The Verdict

Worth buying the quality and comfort.

If you can afford the Britax Marathon Clicktight Convertible car seat, it will be the best decision you would make buying it and getting rid of the worries about kids’ safety and comfort while driving with your family.

Though it is an expensive one, the Marathon Clicktight convertible car seat set itself apart from others by providing these worthy features, namely ease of cleaning, installation, adjustment, safety, and the ultimate comfortability.

See also: 14 Best Car Seats to Buy Right Now

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