jesi's Full Review: Britax Boulevard - Shannon Booster Car Seat
We bought this Britax Boulevard carseat in Shannon in the Spring of 2007 for my daughter to switch to when she needed to be in a forward facing carseat. We loved this one because it seemed to be the safest one and the one that looked as though it cradled the child the most to help with side impact especially.
It's very heavy, but, it's not like an infant carrier...it's meant to stay in the car, so the weight isn't much of an issue. It's only an issue because when we clean the car, it's heavy to take in and out to vacuum and shampoo the car.
We have had several spills, leaks, etc. in this seat, and the material seems to be holding up well as it's been washed at least 5 times since we bought it, probably more. We have a Whirlpool High Efficiency washer and dryer and we wash it on the delicate cycle and dry it on a very low setting to help keep the fabric looking nice. I noticed the last time I washed it, the fabric seems to be sun fading at the top, the purple isn't as vibrant, it's more of a light lavender color now. That makes me not want to put it anywhere but the middle because then one side will be sun faded, at least the top isn't as noticeable.
My daughter always falls asleep in this carseat on long trips because it's so cushy for her! Sometimes we still use the body pad that wraps around the back when she's not wearing bulky clothing like a winter coat.
I love the fact that this carseat can go from 5 to 65 pounds. She started out in it forward facing, though you can start rear facing for newborns. She was 20 pounds at that point, and now she is 2 and is 27 pounds, so we still have a long time before she will outgrow this seat.
The headrest also adjusts to grow with your child, a simple crank feature raises it and lowers it to get a good fit to brace your childs head in the event of a crash.
The 5 point harness has velcro on the sides so you can attach it to the side of the seat for when you're putting your child in next time, that way you can put the kid in and strap them up instead of them sitting on the straps and trying to get them out from under them and then strapping them up. Sometimes the buckle doesn't click very loud, so it's hard to tell if it's attached or not, but I'm seeing they've made a Boulevard CS which means Click Safe to assure you that it's buckled...but for those who don't have a CS a simple tug check is all that's require to make sure it's buckled.
The straps are very easily tightened and loosened for adjustment, which comes in very handy when you have changing weather to adjust for bulk of clothing and jackets.
My only other "complaint" is that in our car, a 2005 Dodge Neon, she is in the middle. We are expecting in December of 2008 and expected to put that carseat, a Britax Companion, in the middle and move her seat to one of the sides... The thing is, her Britax Boulevard iss so wide that we will have to put one child on each side and nothing in the middle. It's only a small complaint though because the size and bulk of the Boulevard will keep my daughter safe. So even though we won't be able to put our newborn son in the middle, I still feel like they will be safe because they are in such good quality seats.
We have never been in an accident with the children in the car, but I've read several reviews from people that have been, and their children were either completely unharmed, or very mildly injured when they "should" have been worse off.
These are very pricey carseats...but in my opinion worth it. Think about it...you can't put a price on your child's life!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 249.99
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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