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Best Buy Britax Roundabout

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

After doing much research on Britax Roundabout I decided this was the seat for us. I have been told it was made with the shell of the Marathon stripped down. I would best describe it as a stripped down Decathlon (which is made from teh same shell as the Marathon). It is a very affordable, safe seat to use with a child.

Pros of this seat:

**The seat pad is nice and cushioned. Baby loved the seat.
**Just like the Decathlon, this seat has a 3 position crotch belt placement (Marathon does not have this).
**Reclines FFing upto 33lbs. I have been told Britax do not recline FFing but in the manual it does state a FFing recline up to 33lbs. At 33lbs it needs to be in the straightback position. My 2.5yo is just about to hit 30lbs.
**A lot of room for growth. I placed my 2.5yo in this seat and he has 2 more harness slots before outgrowing the seat.
**Affordable. Even though it is only missing a couple features (**see minor cons**, this approx $80-over $100 cheaper than their higher priced models

Cons:
**Can’t be used with an infant. The shoulder harness slots must be at or below their shoulders to be used properly. With this seat my 4mo (approx 28″) is about an inch shorter than the shortest slots. We still have an infant carrier that he has about 5″ before outgrowing.

Minor Cons: These are things the Marathon and Decathlon have, which makes this seat stripped down version.

**No HUGS. Not a big deal for me. They just ensure the chest clip is level with the armpits and not at the belly.
**No shoulder pads. Technically using the shoulder pads from the store that many use void the warranty of the seat, and the straps are a little rough.
** No seatbelt lock off. This Britax Roundabout does not have it built in, but does come with a locking clip. I have used the locking clip in the past and have no problem using it. If you use LATCH, then you won’t need either until your child reaches 40lbs.
**Harnesses to 50lbs and not 65lbs. Again not a problem. My 6yo weighs 40lbs. Most kids outgrow the Marathon and Decathlon heightwise before they reach the 65lbs. So this seat is very practical.

Best Buy Britax Convertible

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

When our son was ready to transition from his infant carrier to a Britax Convertible (“big boy”) car seat, we read all the Consumer Reports, asked friends and relatives, and then went to BRU to “test drive” all of them with our son. Suffice to say, we selected this seat, no question– it was absolutely the best, hands-down. We wanted something that could keep him harnessed longer, and accomodate a higher height than most of the other convertibles. AND, it had to be able to fit in my compact car. Remember that the weight limit is not as useful a measure of the lifespan of the seat as the height limit is– unless you have a really rotund kid, they are going to hit 48 inches well before they hit the 50 lb. weight limit.

Unlike other seats on the market, the buckles on the Britax models are SO much sturdier and clip securely. With other seats, I found myself squeezing and squeezing the buckles just to get it “snapped” in properly– and this without even inserting the wiggling 7 month old! (And we confirmed this was not just the floor models at BRU by trying the same models out in other stores as well– we continued to experience the same phenomena)

Many pinched fingers later, we were delighted to try out the Roundabout 50. Although the Britax brand is slightly more expensive, there are some things that are just worth the money. Those things being: crib, car seat, and stroller– no sense in “cheaping out” on these three necessities, since you will be using them every single day.

In addition to the obviously higher-quality construction, I also appreciated the ease of installation (and so did the firefighters who initially installed it– I have since done it myself once), and the ease of removing and “reapplying” the cover (for those inevitable baby messes). Best part is that the Roundabout 50 fits in my car, a 2007 Toyota Corolla, easily, while still having ample room for our son to grow– this can not be said about many other brands.

I think this is an excellent choice for children 15-50 lbs. We have since purchased another Britax Convertible model– Decathlon (to 65 lbs)– for my husband’s car, and I can actually say that after using them both for some time, I actually prefer this model, though it lacks some of the pillows and “plushness” of the Decathlon. We expect that both of these seats will make it through to our son’s 5th birthday at the least. We have had this seat for two months now, and I highly recommend it.

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Posted in Cars | Tagged Britax Convertible, Britax Convertible sale, review

Best Buy Britax Parkway

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

I’m a certified child passenger safety technician so when I had the chance to try the new Britax Parkway, I was thrilled. I know child restraints inside and out.

Britax has been talking for over a year about this seat and how it will fit children up to 120 lbs and how it will have the slide guard mechanism. In a crash, forward facing occupants do what is called submarining. This is when the hips slide forward in a crash causing the lap belt to ride up over the lower abdomen. The slide guard mechanism is intended to eliminate that, thereby reducing internal injuries in children. Thankfully, I wasn’t in a crash with the seat so I can’t rate that, but knowing Britax and their extensive testing, it probably does a very good job.

One of the selling points of the Parkway Slide Guard was that it was more narrow and would make fitting three across a back seat easier. I just happen to have one of the old Parkways to compare it to, and the two seats are identical widths. So, I don’t see how this seat can fit three across any better than the old Parkway.

I had my daughter try out the seat for comfort and fit. She is almost 10, but is small for her age (57 lbs 51 inches). She fit well in the seat, but her first comment was, “This is uncomfortable.” The webbing that holds the slide guard mechanism comes out of the seat in an inverted “V” shape. This causes the webbing to press into the inner thighs of the child. My very thin child complained about this. I would imagine it would be worse for a heavier child who had larger thighs.

There are some good things about the seat. Once adjusted to the correct length, the slide guard mechanism was very easy to position on the seatbelt correctly. It is also a very nicely padded seat. Britax has never before had a booster that converts to a backless booster so this is a nice change there. Also, the seat is taller than the older Parkways which is a definite bonus. In the old Parkway, my daughter is four notches from the bottom. On the Parkway Slide Guard, she is two notches and would have years of growth room.

All said and done, it is an okay booster, but certainly not what I expected after all the hype over the past year. If Britax would modify the webbing on the slide guard mechanism, that would be a huge benefit.

Added 5/13/2010
Britax Parkway has now said that you can remove the slide guard from this seat and use it as a standard booster. If that had been an option when I did my original review, I would have given it a better rating so it is important to note. The slide guard is still recommended, just not required.

Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

Pros – This Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat is very easy to use (the adjustable headrest is very convenient). Some have complained about how hard it is to pull the straps tight, but I have found that you can ratchet it tighter by pulling on the tightening strap without much effort several times. This seat is very comfortable, our 7th month old loves it. It is also fully loaded with safety features. Overall a high-end seat!

Cons – it has a bigger footprint than other seats and requires a good deal of room in our back seat. Fortunately we have an SUV, but it is a small one, so while their is enough room between the front and back seats, getting to the seatbelts next to the car seat is quite difficult because of its width. Also, the seat is quite expensive. We purchased a model with fabric from last year on clearance and that brought the price down closer to the Marathon. The biggest difference between the two models seems to be the TSIP system – and for us it wasn’t a straight forward call (they always want to get us parents to feel guilty for not having the “safest” items for our kids, don’t they!) In the end, it was the price that made it worth it for us.

All of my Grandchildren are in these seats. I would not trust such precious cargo to any other seat. Some may say they are big, but the kids are so comfortable in them. I researched them extensively, and Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat is the BEST! I have a soon to be 5 year old grandson that graduated to a Britax at 4 months when he outgrew the Graco infant carrier/seat. We were so glad we went to the Britax. He now has their booster seat as well. All of the other grandkids have started in these, except for our 4 lb granddaughter, she had to be in one suited for preemies. Britax is very easy to install, safe and secure as well.

Best Buy Britax Boulevard 70

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

When my girls were around 6 months old I decided it was time to start the search for a good convertable car seat. There are SO many to choose from and many of them have good reviews. What sold me on the Britax Boulevard 70 even though they are VERY expensive and I had to buy 2?

Here goes…

*REVIEWS/TESTIMONIALS: Not only are there a TON of positive reviews on here, if you go to the Britax website & look at both their Reviews & especially the Testimonials, that should make up your mind if you are having any questions. Look at the Testimonials for the Britax Marathon & Britax Boulevard, they are from people who were unfortunate enough to have the safety of the seat tested from being in wrecks. Some of the pictures & stories are amazing and will bring tears to your eyes BUT EVERY person who wrote their reviews say the Britax kept their kid safe or saved their life! I had already been leaning toward Britax but once I read all of those Testimonials my mind was made up.

*REAR FACING: After reading the importance of keeping a child rear facing as long as possible, I knew I wanted a seat w/ a high rear facing limit. Do some searches for videos to see how important rear facing as long as possible is

*5-POINT HARNESS: After reading about the deaths of children who were not using a 5-Point Harness even though they were tall enough & weighed enough to be in a traditional booster, I knew I had to have a 5-PT Harness they could stay in till they outgrow this seat. Actually I am sure their seats will expire before they outgrow them.

*Latch: Seatbelts CAN fail

*Side Impact Protection: After watching some car seat crash tests I realize how much of a difference Side Impact Protection Makes, it is a HUGE difference

*Padding/Comfort: Considering this is something your child is going to be strapped into, it better be comfortable. This is so padded, soft & very comfortable, my girls fall asleep in them ALL the time.

*Durability: There IS definately a difference in the quality & durability of car seats. We looked at several different car seats IN PERSON and Britax felt & looked more durable than all the others. This is solid & massive, NOT cheaply made at all.

*SIZE: We have a mini van so a big car seat was no problem for us. I feel MUCH safer putting my girls in something that is huge & massive rather than a flimsy & small car seat. Also, despite the fact that many people think this big seat won’t fit in a small car, I’ve read many reviews where they do. You need to go to a BabiesRus and they will let you take the car seat & see if it will fit in your vehicle.

Ease of Use: These are SO easy to use. I love that if they grow I don’t have to undo everything and re-do the straps, I can just move the knob. The front adjust is amazing, so easy to un-tighten & re-tighten.

For the people who say they have problems getting the harness to adjust or tighten, you should get the straps completely loose & try to tighten them all the way w/out the child being in the seat to see if it works that way, try it several times. If that doesn’t work, take the seat out of the car & try it. If you continue to have problems you should contact Britax Boulevard 70.

For the people who said the seat belt strap is too short & pinched your childs legs, make sure you are using the circular piece of material to cover your childs legs. My best friend bought this seat and her daughter has the fattest thighs I have ever seen. She does not have any problems with this being too tight or pinching her daughters thighs.

If you have trouble getting the seat belt snapped, loosen the harness, snap the belts & then tighten. This is what we do when we put our girls in thicker winter clothes or snow type suits.

Also washes well. One of my girls got sick all over her entire car seat. The instructions say to hand wash but we have a hand wash cycle on our machine so that is what I did and hung it to dry. It looked brand new. Getting it back together was a little tricky but I found a video on the web and figured it out.

I think I put my girls in these seats when they were around 7 or 8 months old because one of my girls were getting close to the height limit for their infant seats. They are now 13 months old and we all LOVE these seats. I also get compliments on how cute they are ALL the time. We have the Madison color that I believe was discontinued.

Best Buy Britax Boulevard 65

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

We ordered the Britax Boulevard 65 in the Madison design last week, after looking at the Britax Marathon, we decided to go for a seat with the better side-impact protection.

The first thing I noticed when it arrived was that the thing is absolutely huge. I had an opportunity to see it in a store after buying it, and the Boulevard seriously dominated the shelf. The next thing I noticed was that the build quality is incredible.

Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant about buying in to the almost cult-like following Britax has, but the Britax Boulevard 65 really is the most serious safety seat I have ever seen. And after reading a few posts about Britax seats, and the (alleged) importance of manufacturing dates, I can say that the seat we received from Amazon (not a third party seller) had a manufacture date of 02/27/2009, and we received it on 03/30/2009 — so no need to worry about buying an “older” seat.

A few tips for potential buyers:

1) Look at this seat in the store before you buy, especially if your back seat is small. Make sure you understand exactly how big this thing is.

2) The instruction manual is designed to be permanently affixed to the car seat. Fortunately, I read the manual before nearly breaking the protective foam that its cord is covered by.

Best Buy Britax Boulevard

By sonirobinson on August 23, 2010

When my son started outgrowing the Roundabout, I tried the Britax Boulevard and was very surprised to see that it actually fit well in our 2004 Subaru Forester, which has a notoriously small, narrow back seat. Install was easy and rock-solid.

Although the Boulevard “looks” huge in the store, it’s OK once installed rear-facing because the base is very compact. Also, this car seat has a small footprint so it doesn’t hang off the edge.

Side to side, the Marathon and the Boulevard are about the same size. The Boulevard is actually smaller than the Graco Sport car seat, which has a very large base and could not be secured tightly in the Forester. Seat depth from the back to the crotch strap is 6″ for the Marathon, 6.5″ for the Boulevard and 7″ for the Roundabout, so if you have a boy, go for the Boulevard.

Although the front passenger seat of my car is moved forward more than I’d like, I can still sit there in a pinch (I’m 5′8″ and my knees are 2″ from the glove compartment, with the seat very upright). In back, the car seat takes up the whole right seat (there’s not much of a “center seat” anyway), so there’s really only room for an adult behind the driver. I must clarify that this happens with any car seat I’ve tried – the problem is the size of the back seat, not the car seat.

The Boulevard car seat will not fit rearfacing behind the driver’s seat in my small car. Front-facing, the size of the Boulevard is not an issue.

As with any Britax, the front passenger seat should not be moved or reclined after the car seat is installed – it could interfere with the back tether, the angle of the car seat and the clearance between the back of the front seat and the Britax (there must be about an inch or two fingers, to allow the car seat some give in case of a crash). Follow the manual’s instructions to make sure the seat is level – there’s a red line on the base as a guide.

The Britax Boulevard also fits well in a Honda Accord, Nissan XTerra, Toyota Rav4 and Lexus SUVs. However, if your car is really, really small and you want that side impact protection, try the Britax Diplomat, about the size of the Roundabout but with wings and a 40 lb. maximum weight limit. If the Diplomat doesn’t work, and you need a rear-facing seat, it’s time for a minivan.

Playstation Move Starter Bundle

By sonirobinson on August 22, 2010

Move into the Action. Playstation Move Starter Bundle is the world’s most accurate motion gaming experience. So whether you’re spiking a volleyball, shooting an arrow, or defending yourself in a gladiator duel, your every move is translated into the game with absolute precision. The PlayStation Move Bundle contains all you need to move into the game. It’s the most immersive gaming experience ever, and it’s only possible on the PlayStation 3. Sports Champions: Sports Champions will let you and your friends physically engage in an array of competitive sporting activities as you go head to head in six events. Use your motion controller as a racket in table tennis as you conduct high speed exchanges against your challenger; or ignite the arena as your motion controller becomes a sword and swing your arm forward to battle your opponent.

Wii with Wii Sports Resort

By sonirobinson on August 22, 2010

So the wii with wii sports resort is the interactive game of the decade, blah blah blah, everyone says that. But why should you buy the black wii with the Sports Resort package? First, I’ll say this is my second wii, (lost my first one in a split up), so the wii itself isn’t a new thing to me, so I’m reviewing this package deal.

Well, I bought the black wii to match my tv and other electronics, and was planning on painting the base black to match (does come silver), but after setting it up, it matches the silver speakers built into my 2 TV’s perfectly! That ensured the 5th star for Nintendo.

Getting a basic wii years ago, you’d get a basic sports disc that was short lived, this wii sports resort is a full set of games and challenges, this could keep you busy for quite some time. The inclusion of the Motion Plus is indeed a nice touch also, this is the full package for 1 player.

My recomendations – may as well pick up a second Motion Plus Controller and Nunchuck with your order so 2 people can play from the start, and unless you like changing/charging batteries all the time pick up an Induction Charger like the one I got: wii with wii sports resort Energizer Flat Panel 2x Induction Charger

It’s a wii, you love them or hate them, but this package and color option are well worth the money.

**and don’t forget, Amazon sometimes gives rebates with these, I got a $[...] game credit when this purchast finalized, very useful!!**

Majorca Hotels – Linda Can Pastilla

By Needahand on August 22, 2010

When holidaying on the island of Mallorca in the Spanish Balearic Islands, one of the most popular resorts close to the airport is Can Pastilla, a fine resort with a very nice sandy beach and excellent amenities. For your stay in this resort you might well consider the Linda Hotel Can Pastilla which provides a good standard of accommodation near to the beach and facilities, it offers some 189 rooms all with the usual expected facilities including bathroom and balcony. The fine swimming pool of the hotel is surrounded by a sun terrace for enjoying the lovely weather and topping up your tan. Just a short drive from Palma de Mallorca airport, the Linda Hotel Can Pastilla is easily reached under your own steam if you are not booking a package style holiday, so you will have no problem getting an airport transfer, taxi, or if you prefer a car hire vehicle which you can pick up from the airport. So for an enjoyable stay in Can Pastilla, why not book the lovely Linda Hotel with rooms on offer from just 25 euros per night.

Posted in Holidays | Tagged can pastilla, europe, hotels, majorca, spain

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Best Buy Britax Roundabout

Best Buy Britax Convertible

Best Buy Britax Parkway

Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat

Best Buy Britax Boulevard 70

Best Buy Britax Boulevard 65

Best Buy Britax Boulevard

Playstation Move Starter Bundle

Wii with Wii Sports Resort

Majorca Hotels – Linda Can Pastilla

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