April 23, 2007

Review: Britax Decathlon

Last October we were faced with our second car seat purchase as Anderson had outgrown his infant car seat. We decided to go with the Britax Decathlon in Onyx. Since that time we've gotten some good use out of it and just recently we turned it around so that Anderson is facing forward.

The installation was very simple. It used the LATCH connectors in our Subaru Forester, and just snapped right in. A few tugs and everything was nice and tight. Make sure to closely follow the directions when installing every car seat, because an incorrect installation can be very unsafe!

When we turned it around, I was a little puzzled with the directions. You have to thread one of the belts through the car seat a different way, and the directions weren't entirely clear on how exactly it was done. But once I got that figured out it was nice and simple. Again, it snapped right into the LATCH connectors, and with a few tugs everything was snug again.

The great thing about this car seat is it really grows with your child. Its rated up to 65 pounds, and even though Andy is enormous for his age (97th percentile), he still has lots of head and legroom. The 5 point harness adjusts at the shoulders and at the crotch. We still have plenty of room, so I think we'll be using this car seat for a while!

I definitely recommend this car seat as a second car seat after your baby outgrows his infant seat. If you don't like the Onyx, its also available in Taupe/Gray and Pink Floral.