Friday, April 2, 2010

Important Features of the Britax Boulevard

The Britax manufactures some of the best and most popular convertible car seats in the world. This British company has been designing car seats for over 30 years. What makes them stand over other companies is that they tend to go way beyond standard safety standards. Being one of the top producers this company designs and makes a lot of different car seats.

The Britax Boulevard is well known for comfort and safety. It is a convertible seat and the reason why this is called the convertible car seat is simply because you can have it rear facing for an infant or you can position it up and covert it into a forward facing toddler car seat. There is a black handle bar underneath the base. You must lift this in order to recline the car seat.

As you probably already know, virtually all baby car seats have a high weight. The Britax Boulevard allows the baby to be rear facing from 5 all the way up to amazing 33 pounds. So, if you have a larger child, the Boulevard will accommodate it. You can turn them forward facing when they have reached the age of 1 year and 20 pounds and it will last you all the way up to 65 pounds and a standing height of 49 inches.

There are 4 strap positions on it. When your little one is rear facing you can have their shoulders just at or slightly above the 5 point adjustable padded harness. In case your child is forward facing, you can have it just at or slightly below the harness. It has a little more padding around the waist. To adjust the straps there is a knob at the back to twists up and down. It also features a front harness adjuster. It enables simple and easy front adjustment when loosening the harness system.



Another valuable feature is the true side impact protection. It shields from car intrusion plus distributes crash forces.

Other relevant features include:
- Energy absorbing foam liner or EPS. Basically, it distributes and absorbs crash forces.
- Body pillow for your infant
- Small contoured base which enables a snug fit in all types of cars.

Furthermore, it has a lot of different fabric options.



Even though the Britax Boulevard handles all of the requirements needed for a baby’s seat most young moms and dads still tend to start-off with some smaller infant seat. Basically, this enables you to be a little bit more mobile. So, the base stays installed in your automobile and the infant-carrier itself can be taken out of the car. The Boulevard just stays installed in the car.

It is possible to install it in two ways, either by old-fashioned seat belt or by the LATCH system. LATCH system stands for Lowers Anchors and Top Tethers for Children. It is generally found on models of automobiles over the year 2000. Note that it can’t be used for babies weighing over 48 pounds.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Britax Car Seat Comparisons: Roundabout, Diplomat, Marathon, Decathalon and Boulevard

There is no doubt what so ever, the Britax manufactures top of the line car seats and the Boulevard is their ultimate model. Basically, all of their car seats attach with latch connectors making them easy to install. On the other hand, if you do not have latch connectors you will be please to know that all of them feature a buckle lock-offs systems so that you can use the car seat belts and the buckle lock-offs easily and you know that you are going to get a nice tight fit. They are also very well-known for their washable removable covers which are made of high quality fabrics. Furthermore, virtually all of them have the versa tether which is absolutely a great thing about these seats. This great feature allows you to install the car seat rear facing or forward facing with the tether. A lot of models available on the market today can be installed only forward facing and not rear facing. So, this is kind of unique to Britax.

The Roundabout is the most basic car seat. It is really meant for babies from five to 35 pounds rear facing or forward facing up to 40 pounds and a max of 40 inches. So, this one isn’t for a larger child because it will not get quite as much versatility out of it.

Next in the line is the Diplomat. The Diplomat is a little bit of an upgraded version of the Roundabout seat, but the idea behind it is that it’s meant to fit compact cars, such as sporty cars are or some coupes. Again, maximum of 40 pounds and can also be rear facing or forward facing. However this model is a more compact version. And it really is smaller when compared to other models from their line.

Than comes the Marathon. It is probably one of the most popular models (and I’m not talking only about Britax), partly because of its price but also because it goes up to amazing 65 pounds. So, you do get to go rear facing from 5 to 35 pounds and you also get to go forward facing from 20 to 65 pounds.



The Decathalon is also goes up to 65 pounds, but it has a couple of added features that Marathon doesn’t have. It has a toddler pillow and an infant positioning system. These can both be removed as baby ages, so this is a great option for a growing child.



And last, but not the least - the Boulevard features true side impact protection and also goes up to 65 pounds. It is a super luxurious seat – definitely the highest end product on the line. One of the great things about the whole Britax Line is that they all feature a tangle free harness and one hand adjustment. That just makes is so much easier to get your precious child in and out of the harness. You do not have to worry about the harness.

And if you have a better idea of which car seat would be better for your child, please leave a comment.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Britax Boulevard – Makes Mothers and Babies Happy

The Britax Boulevard is one of the most popular convertible seats in the world. This company has been producing top quality car seats since 1984. They started out in UK market. They expanded into United States back in the late 1960s. What makes Britax stand over other baby car seat manufacturers is that they tend to go beyond safety standards.

As you already know, the major and the only reason why this seat is called the convertible is because you can have it front facing for a toddler and rear facing for an infant. There is a black handle bar underneath the base. Simply lift it to recline the car seat.

Britax Boulevard allows your child to be rear facing from five to around 30 pounds. You can turn them forward facing when they have reached age of one and 20 pounds.

Next, I will explain to you how to properly install a Britax Boulevard baby car seat. First, you must recline the seat by pulling recline handle on the bottom front of the car seat. If you are using noodles to help with the angle remember to make sure the baby seat is directly on top of the noodles. Britax uses push on LATCH connectors. If you are using them, first attach the LATCH connector to the lower anker by pushing it on firmly and listening firm click. You must repeat the same process for the other side of the seat. Next, working on one side of the seat at the time press down on the side of the seat and pull on the LATCH strap close to the LATCH adjuster; and off course, you must repeat this process until the LATCH belt is tight. After one side is done, do the same on the other side of the seat. By pulling on the unpadded straps close to the adjuster you get more and more leverage and that makes it easier to get the Britax Boulevard tight. Now you only have to adjust the convertible car seat as needed, so that is straight. But don’t forget to check for tightness at the belt path. Remember, it should move less than one inch when you tog side to side and front to back. Also, it is very important to check for the reclining angle. You can use a paper triangle for this. The baby seat should be installed at a 45% angle for a newborn or very young infant. The movement at the top of a car seat is called rebound. That is perfectly normal movement and it happens on rear facing baby seats since it is nothing holding that part of the seat. After installing the seat it is recommended that you check everything one more time.



There are four strap positions on this car seat. When your baby is rear facing you have their shoulders just at or slightly above the harness. When they are forward facing you can have it just at or slightly bellow the harness.



Although Britax Boulevard handles all their requirements needed for a convertible seat most people still tend to start off with Britax companion or some other infant car seat. This allows you to be much more mobile.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Britax Boulevard – Your Child’s Safety First

The Britax Boulevard convertible car seat car seat is suitable from approximately five months and 10 pounds to three years and 35 pounds rear facing; and one year and 20 pounds all the way up to 40 pounds forward facing. So, as the name says, this is a convertible baby car seat. Probably the first thing you will find that the seat itself is it really well padded. It looks comfortable and it is comfortable.

What I really like about it is the head support that actually grows with the child as he or she grows. It is very soft and your baby will love it. Best of all, there is no need to adjust the head support. Also, the Britax Boulevard convertible car seat car seat features a five point harness with all nice padded straps.

And what you have probably already noticed about other car seats is when you do come to release it you have to fiddle around inside and release it off. Well, you do not have to do that with the Britax Boulevard. All it takes is a couple of simple steps and you are done. You will love this easy off and on system. Especially when is really hot day because the harness holders keep the really hot metal buckles out of the way, so you do not have to worry about the child burning at that position. Also, these great harness holders keep padded harness straps out of the path while placing your baby in.



So, again it is all nice and easy keeping belt buckles out of the way from your child. It also means is that when we do want to put the child in we have not got that silly fiddling that we normally have trying to put them in and out. Also, a front farness adjuster provides easy front setting when loosening the straps.

Unique thing with this particular system is the built-in lock-off(s) system. This great feature helps secure the car seat belt, so that your baby seat doesn’t move more than 1’’ front to back or side-to-side at the car seat belt way. As well, unique to the Britax Boulevard convertible car seat car seat is the push-button lower latch connectors. This feature enables fast, easy and firm installation.

Best of all, the contoured base enables a firm installation in most types of cars.



Overall, this product from Britax is really top of the line. It is something that both young moms and dads will find very suitable for their children. And although it is a bit costly, just like other products from this manufacturer, this one is well worth every cent you spend on buying it.