I have two Britax Marathon car seats which I believe go to 48 lbs. I have a 2-1/2 year old and a 4 year old. The 2-1/2 year old weighs about 34 lbs and the 4 year old weighs about 38 lbs.

The car seats are in the van that I drive, I don't like to take car seats in and out of vehicles so they stay in the van and we have to go somewhere with the kids we take the van, now that they are getting older they will soon have different activities at different times and one of us may be going in one direction and the other in another each with one child.

I will need to upgrade to a larger car seat for the 4 year old within a short period of time so I'm wondering which would be the best? I would like one that goes from 40 lbs to 80 lbs or 100 lbs, I'll put this one in the car and use it now for the oldest child if we need to split the kids up.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

By Trina~moderator on Monday, April 28, 2008 - 01:01 pm:

Britax Marathons go up to 65 lbs.

There is a new car seat on the market that I've heard nothing but raves about. It's the Graco Nautilus. It harnesses up to 65 lbs. and then transitions to a belt positioning booster up to 100 lbs..

Graco Nautilus

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 05:25 pm:

Here is another seat new to the market worth checking out.

Britax Frontier

By Chai~latte on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 05:58 pm:

Thanks so much, I re-checked my seat and called the manufacturer and it is in fact 48 lbs.

By Chai~latte on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 06:06 pm:

They both look great, I'll have to check them out in the stores and compare right now though I'm liking the Frontier. I've just been so happy with Britax I'll probably stay with them.

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 08:03 pm:

Chai, are you in Canada? Older Marathons in Canada only went up to 48 lbs, but now all Marathons sold in US and Canada go up to 65.

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 08:05 pm:

I don't know if the Nautilus or Frontier are available in Canada yet. I'll see if I can find out for you.

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 08:47 am:

Neither the Nautilus or Frontier are available in Canada as of yet.

The Sunshine Radian harnesses up to 65 lbs., and is available in Canada.

Sunshine Radian

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 12:48 pm:

There are no harnessed car seats in Canada that harness past 65 lbs. I just confirmed this with my cyber pal Canadian car seat technicians.

The next step after a harnessed car seat is a belt positioning booster, however, we recommend kids stay in a harnessed car seat until at least 4 yrs. and 40 lbs.. Longer is even better, especially if a child is wiggly and unable to sit properly in a booster. They tend to pull the shoulder belt out of place, which is very dangerous in the event of a crash.

When your DD reaches 40 lbs -
Boosters worth checking out:
Graco Turbo Booster
Britax Parkway