 Worth every penny! Does NOT require huge SUV. |
| Review Date: April 10, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Little Me Beads, Weatherford, TX United States |
We recently switched from an Evenflo Triumph to the Britax Regent. Our daughter is 33 months old, 33 lbs and just under 40" tall. She had reached the top limits of her old seat, but being less than 3 years old just isn't ready for a traditional booster. I shopped for several weeks before finally deciding to take the plunge with this seat. My hesitation was price and size.
Ultimately price is easy to overcome, as what is more precious and worth more than the life of a child?
As far as size goes, it is a large seat, no question about it. However, I drive a 2006 Honda Civic Sedan and don't really see how this seat is that much larger than the other seats I was seriously considering: the Evenflo Generations (hated the flimsy arm rests and adjustable head positioner), Graco Cargo (too narrow, not much room for a growing toddler), and the Recaro Young Sport (head wings were too big).
This seat is installed in the backseat on the passenger side. It DOES indeed fit in my car and does NOT obstruct my view out the back window. In fact, the top of this seat is actually lower than the rear headrests are in their lowest position. It does take up the majority of one side of the backseat. We are only a three person family, so I do not have to consider space in my car for additional carseats. There is still plenty of space for one additional backseat passenger and the person riding in front of where the Britax is installed can still ride in relative comfort. I will take some pictures and post them for others to see.
My daughter seems to really enjoy riding in this seat - I think her only complaint would be that it rides lower in the car and makes it a little harder for her to see out the side windows. As quickly as she is growing, I don't think that will be an issue for long. She often nods off in her seat and the side is just deep enough to allow her to do so without her head flopping all over the place. All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase and would recommend this seat to anyone who asked! |
Great Seat for Tall Children and Worth the Money!
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| Review Date: February 13, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Rhiannon, Highland NY USA |
| My son has grown so fast. He has outgrown the Britax Roundabout and our Cosco Alpha Omega and is now in a Britax Marathon (in daddy's truck) and the Britax Regent in my car. I thought that the Regent would be huge. It really isn't any taller and only slightly wider than the Marathon. I love the fact that my 2 1/2 yr old that is now 40in and 33lbs can still be in a 5 pt harness. The weight was never an issue for us it was the height that made him outgrow all of his seats so quickly. Since the Marathon goes to 49" and the Regent to 53" and they are the same price we thought we better be safe and go with the taller seat. The new Cosco seat out on the market also has a 5pt harness up to 65lbs and is half the price but you have to be careful about the way car seat companies label their packages and market their products. Most companies use the max height as a booster on the packaging and you don't find out until you have it at home and have read the instruction booklet that the height on the 5pt harness use is several inches smaller. Several more reasons we went with the Britax Regent as opposed to the Cosco products (lancer & apex)... We own a Cosco Alpha Omega. So far it is the ONLY baby item that I am giving away instead of storing until we have a 2nd child. My parents, my husband and myself all hated this seat. The harness was such a pain to keep from twisting and the buckle is torturous with a squirmy child. You have to interlock the 2 top pieces and then put that into the crotch buckle. If you use it enough you can get pretty good at it but with the other Britax seats that we owned nobody wanted to. Britax seats are a dream to install - Latch connectors a breeze and belt lock off clips for use when you don't have latch made installation a great experience. My Roundabout was bought pre HUGS system and I still had no problems with the harness twisting. And Britax includes a PERMA-BOOK -which is really just an extra instruction book that is always attached so you never have to worry that a caregiver will not know the correct way to install your childs seat and when you wash the cover you will always have instructions handy for putting it back together. |
5 Point Harness for over 40 pounds
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| Review Date: February 22, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Wendy Kingsmith, SF, CA |
This is the only decent car seat I could find that uses the 5 point harness for children OVER 40 Pounds.
My 2 1/2 year old is not mature enough to sit with a booster and seat belt yet, although she is 44 lbs and 40" tall. The Britax Regent seat only offers the 5 point harness system, but it can be used for children up to 80 pounds. It does not have a seat belt positioner but I don't see this as a problem since i feel the 5 point harness will be safer for my child, and I can't in good conscience put my child in a car with a only a seat belt holding her and some free floating booster seat in the car.
Another important thing for me is that my toddler can easily get into this seat as it rests lower on the car seat verses having to lift her into the Evenflo car seat we just moved from. There are no arm rests or cup holders, but the padded seat cover does have mesh nets on each side for books or whatever. The seat cover and straps are also easy to remove for washing.
Latching the seat into my car was easy and quick and adjusting the straps to fit my child was extremely simple. When my child reaches 48 pounds i will need to use the seat belt to attach the seat to my car, but that looks pretty easy and simple to do, too.
Who knew my child would be well over the 100 percentile in size and I realize now that I should have bought a Britax the first time around, since most do offer the harness system up to 65 pounds. |
Best seat for bigger kids
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| Review Date: June 18, 2007 |
| Reviewer: bfg9k, Eastern Massachusetts |
My 3.5 year old is 44 inches tall and 45 lbs. He has outgrown his Britax Decathalon so we have purchased the Regent. In our car the seat does not obscure rear vision in the slightest, it's the same height as the seatback with the headrest in the lowest position. My son loves the seat and finds it to be very comfortable. The only competing seat appears to be the Radian80, otherwise tall kids wind up in booster seats before they're ready.
Installation is very secure using the "long route" belt installation and top tether in our Honda Odyssey. It's not as easy to install as the Decathalon due to the way it's made, but that's something that's done so rarely as to be inconsequential. I will purchase another for my Saab wagon. |
The Regent is not as huge as I feared!
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| Review Date: January 8, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Benoit, Orlando, FL USA |
| We just got our new Britax Regent. I had read a lot of reviews and was expecting a giant behemoth. Don't get me wrong, it is large, wide and heavy--However, our previous car seat was a Britax Marathon, and the Regent actually sits a bit lower in my car than the Marathon did, so I think my rear window visibility is better than it was with the Marathon. The Regent also seems to fit more tightly. I have a 2007 4-door Honda Civic and have this seat in the center back, and it fits just fine. I have a very tall 4 1/2 year old, who weighs 40 lbs, and she looks like she'll be able to use this for a very long time. Also, her little plastic cups with lids/straws fit nicely in the netting pockets on the side, so she likes that. I am very happy with this seat!! |
Pleasantly Surprised
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| Review Date: February 23, 2007 |
| Reviewer: K. Clayton, |
It was time for our 5 yr old to move out of the Britax Marathon we have. Our problem is that our child is 41 inches tall, but only weighs 32 lbs. Too tall for a carseat, but not heavy enough (based on safety recomendations) to be in a booster (even the label on the Britax Parkway suggests that the child be 40 lbs).
We researched many carseat/booster combinations (we were really interested in the Recaro Young Sport), but found that eventhough they can keep a child up to 40 lbs in a 5-pt harness, the harness straps were not positioned high enough for a tall skinny kid (when we called a dealer for Recaro, they said that we should buy the Britax Regent). So we purchased the Regent.
We were extremely concerned about the size, as everyone has mentioned how big they are. We have a Mazda 626 and upon installing it, I was pleasantly surprised. Height-wise, the view looking out of my rearview mirror seems to be the same as when I had the Britax Marathon installed. Yes, is a bit wider, (we wouldn't be able to fit a 3rd person in the backseat with a Regent and a Marathon installed) but I don't see any difference between that, and when we had the Marathon and the Britax Companion installed. So far, so good. My child is very excited to ride in the big kid seat, and I'm glad we purchased it despite our concerns about the size. |
Worth every penny! Young children can fly out of seatbelts used with normal booster seats during rollovers!
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| Review Date: January 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Melissa Yost, Coeur d'Alene, ID USA |
I am a nurse and at the time I purchased this, my son was 4 yrs old. Many people I know are so quick to get their kids into normal booster seats when they outgrow the normal 5 point harness. They buy these cute boosters and use the normal seatbelts that come in the car. They are easier and more portable. It freaks me out! Two winters ago I was working when a report of a rollover came in where a young girl was thrown through a windshield 150 feet and died. She was 7 years old. Your first thought is "Was she in a carseat?". She was. It was a normal booster with the standard seatbelt. She was too small for that and flew right out. It was sad. I heard the mom yelling for her daughter whom she knew had died...all because of the carseat. There were other children in the car that were fine....they were older and big enough for the normal seatbelt or younger and in the 5 point restaint still. That 7 yr old girl was at the unlucky age were most parents feel a normal seatbelt is fine. Many just don't know better. My son was still under 40lbs so he still fit in his 5 point carseat (Evenflow Triumph which I really like still), but I knew he wouldn't always. My son is thin, so I knew he was way too small for a normal booster! As soon as I got home, I researched carseats and ordered this one online from amazon. It was worth every penney. My family thinks it is crazy I would spend that money on a carseat. They didn't see what I saw. It is good up to 80 pounds!! He will use it forever!! I have it installed in a Mitsubishi Endeavor (midsize SUV). The carseat is bigger and bulkier, but it is worth it. I have a 4 month old baby now and will also buy one for her when she outgrows her infant carseat. It is annoying that the belt doesn't click..only on 1 side. After he is buckled, I do the "pull test" where I just grab above the buckle and yank hard. If they stay latched, we're good. The straps have managed to tangle which isn't a big deal, more of a nuisance. My son seems comfortable in it. I bought those "toddler" pillows (Amazon) for the sides that easily fling to the back when not used or you can use just one side or both for head support when he is sleeping. He is 5 1/2 yrs old now and only about 45 lbs. We have many many more years of use with this carseat. Most people go through life never being involved in a serious crash and that is good, but if you are, you would have wished your child was in this.
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IF YOUR CHILD IS ESPECIALLY IN AN SUV OR TRUCK.....PROVEN TO ROLL OVER EASIER THAN A CAR......BUY A CARSEAT WITH A 5 POINT RETRAINT HARNESS!!!
Cars don't roll as easily, but SUVS especially do, so buy this for your child. Buy any 5 point restraint carseat. Even a cheaper one is 1000% better than a normal booster and car seatbelt!!!!!!!!!
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Britax rules for safety
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| Review Date: December 15, 2007 |
| Reviewer: A Mother of 2 Kidlets, Chicago suburbs |
I bought this to replace a Marathon that my 7 yr old son outgrew. Knowing that children are much safer in a 5 pt than a regular seatbelt made it easy to decide to purchase another Britax seat with a higher weight limit. Look at this product's specifications. They are wonderful. It wasn't that hard to install and my son says it's so comfortable! It is a larger seat but it fits fine in the backseat of my 2002 Taurus with the Marathon that my 5 yr old still uses.
If you are looking at a child safety seat, seriously consider this one. Don't balk at the price...if you spend money on anything for your children, a quality safety seat should be one thing you don't skimp on. After all, you can't control other drivers and your precious children need all the protection you can give them! Visit the Britax website for more product specs, videos and safety information too.
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A few thoughts on the complaints that I've been seeing...
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| Review Date: July 6, 2008 |
| Reviewer: K. Hock, San Diego, CA |
This is the perfect seat for older kids who have outgrown the convertible seats, but still are not ready for a booster-or parents who are not comfortable having their child only strapped in with the car seat belt. I have owned this for about 5 months now and really like the seat. My 4 year old daughter likes it too. A few thoughts on some complaints that I've seen...
First is size. It's a big seat, but it's designed for bigger kids! it's not an infant/convertible seat. You can't have it both ways, a small seat for a large child! If people expect to have high weight and height limits, then they'll just have to deal with the size. I have a feeling most people are used to seeing the compact size of infant and convertible seats, once you adjust to the idea that this is really a 'big' kids seat, it's not that big. It fits just fine in my mini van. And as you read other reviews, parents who have smaller cars than mine are saying it fits fine too.
Second is the fabric. I actually like the polyester fabric. It's not too hot in the summer and really not that cold in the winter, at least where we live. I think that if the whole seat was made out of the same kind of plushy, padded material that a lot of the convertible seats are made out of, then the kids would be hot and uncomfortable. Besides, it's been easy to wipe clean, and seems very durable so far. (Sometimes that plush fabric wears down faster)
Third is the installation and movability of the seat. This seat is not meant to be moved in and out of cars-or traveled with. Use a cheap Cosco seat for that. Once this seat is installed, it's not going anywhere! If you have the mindset that this will be your main seat, and any other cars you travel in you'll just have to use another spare seat then you'll be fine. As for installation, most car seats install the same basic way. Some are more of a hassle than others but once you install one, you've really installed them all. So, that being said, this wasn't any worse than the other seats I've installed. Yes, there is the funky 'long/short' route depending on how much your child weighs, but that's really not a big deal. So, spend the extra 3 minutes it takes to figure it out, and be happy that your child is in a very safe seat!
Fourth is the strap adjustment. With the exception of my Evenflo convertible seat I think this seat is very easy to adjust. The HUGS plastic things on the straps really do seem to help make the child more secure in the seat and when you pull on the lower strap to tighten, it's fairly easy. I've used several different seats and every one of them (except my older model Evenflo) I wasn't happy with how the straps tightened. I was never able to get them buckled in good enough for my taste, but this one passes the test.
This is a well designed, safe car seat that is perfect for your older children. I highly recommend it. |
We were hit by a semi...
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| Review Date: September 26, 2008 |
| Reviewer: busymomof2, Geneseo, Il |
| only a month after I bought 2 of these for my 5 yr old twin daughters. After being rear-ended on the interstate by a semi truck loaded with steel, my daughters walked away. I suffered a neck injury, but my girls were perfect. They didn't even experience any soreness. They are a little bulky, but they protected my precious cargo. It is worth it's weight in gold. I had them in an evenflo booster seat for a few months before this, and didn't feel they were safe. If they had been in those seats when we were hit I am certain they would have been injured. |
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