Britax, Britax, Britax...

We used our Britax Marathon for the first time in weeks, if not a month, just now. It's in Thak's truck, which we normally don't drive when we're going somewhere as a family. In my car, we have the Radian XTSL. To recap, the Marathon is the Mossy Oak camo print car seat, and the Radian is the red one. The Marathon has a 35 pound rear-facing weight limit and 65 pounds forward-facing, and the Radian has a 45 pound rear-facing limit, and 80 pounds forward-facing.

Of the two, the Britax is the better looking seat, style-wise, but the longer Orren's legs get, the more I see that the Radian is the better of the two seats over all. See, the Britax sits as close to the seat back as any other car seat, so for families who extended-rear-face their kids (oh, and we've been EXTENDED rear-facing for 4 months today! Yay us!) that won't work too well. There's just not enough leg room. Contrary to the "forward-face at a year and 20 pounds, or be damned!" idiots, long legs do not present a safety hazard while rear-facing. There has never once been a documented case of injury stemming from that. On the contrary, it's just a comfort and convenience thing. It's just so much easier to have more leg room for the kid who's rear-facing to 2 and 3o, or beyond.

This is just yet another way it is different raising Orren due to his height. We have to look for tall car seats that will accommodate him (since he's all torso, as is very typical for boys), but he's also got longer legs than most babies his age, so he really does benefit from more leg room that he gets with our Radian car seat. In the Britax, he's been completely cross-legged for about 5 months now. In the Radian, he can comfortably prop his feet on the seat back that's in front of him, and ride all day long if that's the plan. Also, the Radian has lower sides in the seat portion, so it's more comfortable to sit cross-legged for kids who are 3-4 years old, and still rear-facing (and with a 45 pound rear-facing weight limit, that's very common!).

Radian did a really good job with this seat. It's not that I don't love our Britax seats. I do. However, I think it's fairly obvious to say they have been completely usurped as the preferred car seat for the Extended-Rear-Facing family. Unless they change their designs a lot, I would say this family has probably bought our last Britax seat.

In order to compete in today's marketplace, Britax, you must do the following:

1) Offer higher rear-facing weight limits in at least some of your models. 35 pounds across the board used to be revolutionary, but today, it is not enough!

2) Redesign your seats to offer more leg room for rear-facing toddlers. For a company which prides itself on being the leader in extended rear-facing, you sure don't make it as easy as it should be.

3) Make more seats that suit compact cars. Nobody drives gas guzzling SUV's anymore. OK, that's not true. Lots of people still do. That number is declining, though. Most of us moms today don't want to upgrade to a vehicle the size of a school bus just to accommodate a few car seats. If you want to keep my business, Britax, you must give me a seat that fits 3 across in a compact car, and has at least a 50 pound forward-facing limit. The Diplomat fits great in my car, and has the standard Britax 35 pound rear-facing limit, BUT it's only got a 40-pound forward-facing limit. Plus, it's the shortest car seat I've ever seen! Orren outgrew it in height at 13 months! For $280, that's ridiculous. If Radian can accommodate 45 RF and 80 FF, and still fit 3-across in a compact car, not to mention cost exactly the same amount of money, then the Diplomat can be improved in such a way as to be competitive.

Come on, Britax. I used to love you, but I fear the spark is gone. My Radian may be ugly, but it's got one hell of a "personality". Wink. Nudge.

Gimme a 45 pound RF limit, a tall seat, and some leg room, or I walk!