Britax Boulevard Review

Am enthusiastic about the Britax Boulevard convertible car seat, and give it excellent rating overall l. The standout feature here is the safety wings with EPS designed to provide additional protection in a side-impact collision. This feature adds safety but blocks the child's view somewhat. If you're considering the Boulevard, it might be a good idea to see how your particular child reacts to it first. The Britax Boulevard also has  extra-high weight limit. While most convertible car seats -- including the popular Graco ComfortSport are only rated for kids who weigh less than 40 pounds, the Boulevard can accommodate children weighing as much as 65 pounds in a five-point harness. The Boulevard is bulky, though.

BASIC FEATURES AND MORE
The purpose of a basic carseat is to protect infants and toddlers who are too small to be restrained by the built-in seatbelts adults can use. More advanced seats like the Britax Boulevard offer:

• 5 point harness - Not all seats have this, though more and more do because a 5 point harness prevents your child from slipping underneath the straps, as might happen with a 3 point harness. Imagine a Y, with a strap over each shoulder and one between the legs. A 5 point harness has two additional straps coming across each hip to connect with the other 3 straps.
• Built in lock offs - This is an installation feature, which means you can lock the seatbelt in place so it doesn't retract or let loose additional strap in an accident.
• Push-button LATCH system - This is another installation feature, where you just push the LATCH tether's "buckle" into the lower anchor to click in.  
• Deep side wings for impact protection - These are large shields on either side of your child's head to help protect from excessive head movement/whiplash if you're hit on the side. 

• Comfort foam and HUGS system to secure baby - The HUGS system is on the shoulder part of the straps, which makes sure your child is securely strapped in and limits head movement/whiplash. The comfort foam is underneath the fabric cover and adds further cushioning so it's a comfortable chair. 

• Easily adjustable to grow with your child -  The headrest/harness system has a very convenient knob to adjust the harness height as she grows. I also found it easy to switch from rear-facing to forward-facing.

• Patented VersaTether - This is a tether strap to further secure the carseat to your car. It attaches from the top rear of the carseat to special anchors in cars equipped with them. 

• Children weighing up to 33 pounds should ride rear-facing

• Belly pad for added comfort and protection - This helps prevent the bottom 3 straps from pinching/chafing your child's thighs/crotch.

• Knobs on either side raise and lower the adjustable side impact protection and the shoulder harness height.

• Sculpted base for a perfect fit -  With the bar underneath the front but above the base, you can also adjust the angle of the seat for when you're rear-facing or forward-facing.

• Aircraft approved - This is a HUGE seat so I imagine it would be awkward to carry it through the airport unless you bought one of those special airport carseat wheeled things.

• Plush, hand-washable seat cover - After my daughter had a messy accident, I took apart the cover and the Styrofoam insert to clean it. I handwashed the cover and it was good as new. I don't think it's worth washing it every month as it's still a hassle to take apart, but at least the option is there for messy accidents.

• Seat width is 14 inches and seat height is 28 inches

• Seat bottom to lowest harness slot: 10.5 inches, Seat bottom to highest slot is 17 inches

• Seat dimensions: 19.5" W x 27" H x 25.5" D

• Car seat weight: 19 pounds