Britax Decathlon Review

I am really impressed with the Britax Decathlon Car seats.  I have four boys under the age of five and therefore, I own 3 of these seats.  My oldest boy is in a booster seat and my infant is still in a rear facing seat/base combo but will move into the third Decathlon very soon.  I have also owned the Britax Marathon seats and was equally impressed.  The Britax brand all around seems to consistently rank very well in the safety seat ratings that I have researched and as a result, I have always felt comfortable making them my choice each time I buy a new seat.  The price is a little high, but I see it well worth it considering that it keeps my boys safe. 

My 2 year old and my four year old use the Decathlons and are able to be safe and comfortable at the same time.  I joke that they are the "lazyboy" recliner of car seats.  On long trips, both boys can easily fall asleep and I don't have to worry about their necks falling over and hurting when they wake up.  They are able to easily keep their heads upright and the side safety guards act as little pillows.  These seats are easily washable because the covers slip off and are machine safe.  The 5 point harness system securely keeps my boys safe and the height of the head safety padding is easily adjustable with the simple turn of a dial on the side of the seat.  The latch system makes this seat vary easy to install and difficult for people to accidentally unbuckle the seat when they are unbuckling their seatbelt next to them. 

In addition to being both safe and comfortable for my children, they are also available in many different colors and patterns (which isn't necessarily important to me, but may be to others). 

The only negative aspects I found in these car seats was the high price and the fact that they put my boys feet very close to the seat in front of them, so I question how well they would fit inside a compact car.  I have a mercedes station wagon and a minivan and they fit fine, but my boys feet are all over the seat in front of them, so I purchased seat protectors in order to prevent too much damage to the seats.

I would definitely buy this seat again and would recommend it to any mom that asked me for advice on baby must haves.  The only addition that I would recommend when you make this purchase would be a car seat pad to put underneath the seat because when you tighten the latch system in, it make a big indentation in your seat without the pads.  This concern would only be for car resale value, so if you're not worried about that, then I wouldn't worry about it.

Overall, I think this is a great buy!