Product Description

Britax Advocate CS Convertible Car SeatThis convertible car seat exhibits superior energy management, fit and comfort, and ease-of use. With it's True Side Impact Protection and Click & Safe snug harness indicator, the Britax Advocate ranks top notch in safety. The True Side Impact Protection distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, contains the head and body, and "trues" the head, neck, and spine, keeping them aligned to limit injury. Click & Safe is an audible aide that provides extra assurance when the harness is within range of appropriate snugness. The Advocate Car Seat features a tangle free, five-point harness, HUGS, patented versa-tether, and an energy absorbing base. Rear and forward facing recline, 65-pound weight capacity, high density comfort foam, and a plush, premium cover set provide the ultimate fit and comfort. The quick-adjust head restraint and no re-thread harness allows for easy adjustment of the harness shoulder height and head restraint without disassembling the harness. Built-in lock-offs secure the vehicle seatbelt so that the child seat does not move more than one inch side-to-side or front-to-back at the belt path. It's small contoured base ensures a tight installation in all types of vehicle seats and convenient belt holders keep the harness straps out of the way while placing child in the car seat.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7675 in Baby Product
• Color: Onyx
• Brand: Britax USA
• Model: E9L7369
• Dimensions: 27.00" h x 21.00" w x 25.50" l, 21.00 pounds

Features

• Convertible, rear facing five to 35 pounds and forward facing from at least one year old and 20 pounds up to 65 pounds
• The quick-adjust head restraint and no re-thread harness allows for easy adjustment of the harness shoulder height and head restraint without disassembling the harness
• True side impact protection distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, contains the head and body, and minimizes side to side head movement
• Side impact protection and click & Safe snug harness indicator
• It's small contoured base ensures a tight installation in all types of vehicle seats and convenient belt holders keep the harness straps out of the way while placing child in the car seat

Amazon.com Product Description
With the Britax Advocate CS Car Seat, you get the premier safety features in a versatile car seat that your child can use from birth through toddlerhood. Featuring Side Impact Cushion Technology and True Side Impact Protection, this seat offers the latest in Britax's car seat safety technology. Allowing for both rear-facing and forward-facing configurations, this convertible car seat can handle a weight load of up to 65 pounds, which means that you can use it for a longer period of your child's life, making it a practical and economical choice for your family

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Side Impact Cushion Technology reduces side impact crash forces by 50%, by diverting crash forces away from the child

True Side Impact Protection™ distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, contains the head and body, and minimizes side to side head movement

Convertible Car Seat Offers Years of Use
The Advocate CS is a convertible car seat, which means that it can be used in both rear-facing and forward-facing configurations. Infants are required by law to sit in a rear-facing position until the age of one and until they weigh over 20 pounds. After that, they can sit in a forward-facing car seat. Rather than spending your money on separate seats for each configuration, you can economize by meeting the needs of each stage with the Advocate CS.

The Advocate CS has higher weight limits than many other car seats, allowing infants between five and 35 pounds to ride in the rear-facing position and toddlers up to 65 pounds in weight and 49 inches in height in the forward-facing position. These higher weight limits extend the seat's usability and make it more practical, more economical, and also more comfortable to use with larger children.

Cutting-Edge Safety Features Offer Innovative Protection
With the Advocate CS car seat, you can provide your child with Britax's latest, high-quality protection. This seat features Side Impact Cushion Technology, which reduces side impact crash forces by 50 percent, using specially designed energy-management cushions at the upper sides of the car seat. The seat's True Side Impact Protection system combines deep side walls, energy-absorbing foam, and an adjustable head restraint to offer your child further valuable protection from side impacts.

The Roundabout 50 also features the patented Versa-Tether, which tethers the seat at two top-located points. This unique system is designed to minimize forward movement when the car stops suddenly. It also can be used for seat stabilization in the rear-facing configuration. Another signature of the Roundabout 50 is its innovative, energy-absorbing seat base, which is contoured to fit most vehicles.

Comfortable, Stylish, and Convenient
Yes, the Roundabout 50 is safe and versatile, but it's also designed to give your child a comfortable ride. It features the patented Harness Ultra Guard System (HUGS), which offers safe and gentle cushioning for your child's neck and chest while limiting forward head movement in the event of a crash. The seat's high-density foam offers plush padding and rear- and forward-facing recline functions that let you position the seat to your child's comfort, making this seat an ideal choice for long trips. And the plush, washable cover comes with matching comfort and belly pads to keep your child extra-snug.

The seat is built with parents in mind, too. Moms and dads will appreciate the tangle-free, No Re-Thread Harness, which easily allows the five-point harness to be adjusted without cumbersome disassembly -- both the harness and the headrest can be repositioned with the turn of a knob. Also, convenient belt holders hold the harness out of the way while parents place their child in the seat.

The Advocate CS installs easily with a premium LATCH connector that's designed for easy, tight, and secure installation. It releases easily with the push of a button.

The Advocate CS measures 21 x 27 x 25.5 inches and weighs 21 pounds. Its contoured base is designed to fit most vehicles.

Also Available:

From the Manufacturer
The Britax Advocate CS car seat introduces side impact cushion technology, the latest advancement in child safety, which protects both the child in the seat and adjacent passengers in the event of a side impact crash. The side impact cushion technology reduces side impact crash energy by 50% by diverting crash forces away from the child. In a side impact crash, the side impact cushions compress to absorb and distribute incoming crash forces while Britax's true side impact protection shields and contains the child. The click and safe snug harness indicator feature is an audible aide to help determine when the harness is secure by clicking when the harness straps are snug. The easy turn knob quickly adjusts the headrest and harness height without having to uninstall the seat. This is a higher forward facing seat. This allows children up to 65 pounds remain harnessed up to with a tangle free five point harness to ensure a snug and secure fit. For a quick, simple and tight installation, premium push button latch connectors are provided along with the patented Versa Tether for energy management. Children ride in comfort with both rear and forward facing recline and a plush body pillow for positioning. The Britax Advocate CS fits children rear facing from five to 35 pounds and children forward facing from at least one year old and 20 pounds, up to 65 pounds. The Britax Advocate CS is made in the USA with U.S. and global components.

Customer Reviews

Advanced Safety, but large and at an extreme premium
The Britax Advocate CS appears similar to the Boulevard model but with the Side Impact Cushion Technology. The CS stands for Click & Safe Harness Adjuster, which tries to notify you of the proper "snugness" of the harness with audible clicks. What most Amazon readers probably want to know is, is this car seat worth the premium and how is it different from the other Britax models? Hopefully this review will help you make the best decision for you, but I cannot provide a definitive answer to the question of whether it is worth the premium. It is to my family.

My Configuration:
2002 Toyota 4Runner
Rear Facing
Shoulder Belt Install

Pro's:
- Britax safety history
- Side Impact Protection (including Side Impact Cushion Technology)
- Fantastic weight range (5-35lbs rear facing) (20-65 forward facing)
- Comfortable and super soft cover with shoulder pads, belly pads, and infant body pillow
- Push-button LATCH connectors
- Versa-tether allows tethering even if your vehicle does not have built-in tether anchors
- Easy harness adjustment without rethreading
- Built-in Lockoffs
- Easy to recline
- Expires 6 years after manufacturing date
- Britax website provides manuals and video installation guides

Con's:
- Expensive, expensive, expensive
- Enormous size may not fit smaller vehicles well
- No ball/bubble recline level indicator
- Click & Safe system marginally useful
- Serial number difficult to locate

The Advocate CS is one of 4 high-capacity convertible car seats that Britax currently sells. The others are the Britax Marathon, Britax Decathlon, and Britax Boulevard. The Marathon and Boulevard are also sold with CS (Click & Safe). From what I can tell, the Marathon and the Decathlon have smaller bases for installation in smaller vehicles. The Decathlon has an infant body pillow and multiple buckle positions, but otherwise, it is similar to the Marathon, including height and weight ratings. The Boulevard and Advocate CS are very large yet still have the same child size ratings, and include what they call True Side Impact Protection. The Advocate CS is their most advanced, and expensive convertible, because it adds Side Impact Cushion Technology.

The Advocate CS is one of three Britax car seats that we actually own. We started with a Boulevard 2 years ago and recently got a Marathon CS and the Advocate CS. We installed the Advocate CS in our Toyota 4Runner in a rear facing position for our 9 month old. The Advocate CS is HUGE but fit in our vehicle pretty well. The front seat can still be far back enough to be comfortable for adult passengers to ride in. The Advocate CS may not have fit in our VW Jetta as well. We have the Britax Boulevard installed in the adjacent seat to the Advocate CS and the Advocate CS dwarfs it. The Side Impact Cushions make the back of the seat quite a bit wider, but ultimately safer.

The shoulder strap installation took about 15-20 minutes, even after having watched the installation video and read the manual before installing. I recommend that new owners do the same. Because of the sheer size of the Advocate CS, it was difficult for one person to thread the belt through, buckle it, and tighten it. I didn't have a lot of interior room to work with, but maybe it would be easier in a mini-van. The built-in lockoffs were a bonus and much easier than having to install a separate one. I took the seat to our local police station for a car seat check and they gave it their blessing.

Our baby seems to like the Advocate CS and sits comfortably in the seat. One mistake I made at first was putting the lap belt OVER the buckle strap, under the cover. That made the buckle considerably shorter and as a result, uncomfortably tight. So be sure if you are using a shoulder belt, to put it UNDER the buckle strap. The shoulder pads, belly pads, and infant body pillow help make it more comfortable for our baby. However, the police officer recommended that we remove any pads on the actual harness because they can hinder getting the correct harness tightness. The Click & Safe system is supposed to help alert you when the correct snugness has been reached, but from my experience, it's not really that useful.

The service life for Britax car seats is 6 years from the manufacturing date. I had to look this up on their website, which has a lot of useful information including installation videos and user guides. It would be nice to have the expiration date located right on the serial number sticker. Until recently, I wasn't aware that car seats even had an expiration date. The serial number can be hard to find on the car seat itself so be sure to make a copy of your registration card, which has all of the information on it.

For me, there are only two drawbacks to the Advocate CS. The first is the enormous size. It would be easier to install with two people because of the size and it may not fit smaller vehicles as easily. The second, is the price. We could have easily bought two of the Consumer Reports Best Buy recommended Evenflo models and extra toys or accessories for the price of one Advocate CS. We decided on the Britax anyways because of the number of safety features available along with our previous experience with Britax. The fact that the car seat technicians at the police station and AAA both said that they chose Britax car seats for their children, only reinforced our decision.

We are very happy with the Advocate CS. We feel confident that our child will be safe and comfortable in the Advocate CS and that it will easily last the full 6 years of service life. It is not a great value, but that wasn't our number one priority. It probably has the most and advanced safety features of any car seat available in North America. I can only justify the cost for ourselves and I certainly would not fault anyone for going with better value alternatives.

The best safety money can buy!
My son is eight months old and was ready to move out of his starter seat into something bigger. I wanted something that we could, of course, still use rear facing until he was at least a year old, then use forward facing until we no longer needed a car seat.

I also wanted the top notch in safety that I could buy. As I researched this purchase, I learned more and more about the deadly effects of side impact collisions and how limited most children's car seats are in terms of protection from this type of event. Fortunately, Britax has done their homework and this seat builds on the pioneering work they've already done with side impact protection on the Boulveard. This seat has two huge crash energy absorption pads on either side to limit damage and protect kids from smashing their face into glass in a side collision.

The seat also has a tether feature that I've attached to my overhead tether connectors in the back of my Infiniti FX35 and this monster is going absolutely nowhere.

Installation was a snap, took me about fifteen minutes. Just remember to put it in full recline before installing it if you're installing it rear facing.

While the safety is clearly the key rationale for spending this money, I also feel good knowing my little guy is comfy cozy in what has to be one of the plushest car seats ever made. This thing is the kid version of a Heavenly Bed.

While the side panels certainly make it larger than the Boulevard, it is easily manageable for taking on airplane trips if you're going on vacation. We took it with us to St. Croix and had no problems. However, I do feel it is big enough that it's not something you're going to want to remove from your car on a daily basis.

Feel good knowing you purchased the safest seat money can buy and your baby won't mind the fact that he's sleeping in a giant marshmallow!

Compare to: Britax UK (Side Impact, Solid Base) / Swedish Models (Rear Facing to 55lbs)
Comparing this rear facing until 35lbs car seat to others available in the Britax USA line, the Advocate seems to be the best available.

The most obvious change beyond the Boulevard, is the air bag like cushions affixed to either side of the head area.

Less obvious differences are: weight, the Decathlon weighs only 15.5 lbs, the much loved Marathon only weighs 16.5 lbs, the Boulevard weighs 19lbs, and finally the Advocate weighs a hefty 21 lbs; the depth/width measurements of the wider and deeper Decathlon are 9.5/11.5, the Marathon, Boulevard, and Advocate are all 9/11 inches; seating compartment height, the Decathlon is tallest, only by a fraction of an inch, the Marathon is the shortest by 1/4 inch; the Advocate and the Boulevard offer the most shoulder space, greater than 1.5" difference.

However, after researching car seats, I am profoundly sorry to say, this *NEW(!)* car seat is still not as safe as those available in Sweden and in the UK which can cost less than half the list price of an Advocate. Let me rephrase this comment, Britax UK/Britax Sweden car seats are safer for children passengers, than Britax USA car seats, and they're ALSO less expensive on average.

According to most recent research the most vulnerable areas of car crashes are the solidity of the base, and side impact. However, it is also important to note rear facing children are 5 times more safe than forward facing kids in a head-on collision. Safety experts say children's skeletons and muscles aren't able to cope with the forces in a head-on collision until they are four years old, which is why in Sweden, children are rear-facing until they weigh 55lbs.

This appears to be an unfortunate corporate decision, rather than a decision based on regulation. US regulations state seats must meet a certain threshold to be deemed "safe", UK/Swedish seats exceed the threshold. Clearly deciding to sell less safe seats in the USA was not based on cost or market: it's less expensive to manufacture in the USA than in the UK or Sweden, free trade enables duty free importing, the US market supports a product line of seats which already exceed the cost of UK seats.

What kind of company would make a decision to sell less safe car seats for substantially more money, to parents of American children, because there is a lower threshold of regulation in which to meet?

For skeptical parents, please visit the Britax.co.uk website to compare side-by-side photos of (larger & more advanced) car seat bases, and the width and depth of side cushions on: the Eclipse, First Class plus, Evolve 1-2-3, the Baby Safe line, and all the others for that matter. Then visit the Britax.se site, to examine rear facing until 55lbs, Britax MultiTech, Britax Hi-Way, Britax Two-Way.

I am disappointed that this appears to be the best seat available to US children, and look forward to one day buying a much better American made product.

Most, if not all of us would prefer safe to sleek any day.

(Apparently carseat.se is one vender who would sell to english speaking American buyers. But I'm not sure if there is a premium for doing so!)