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Britax Frontier 85 SICT Harness-2-Booster Car Seat

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“Car crashes are the number one killer of children 1 to 12 years old in the United States.”
– National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

It’s a shocking statistic. Fortunately, we can all do something to lower the numbers and to better protect our children – educate ourselves. Despite the numerous books claiming to have the best advice on parenting, children do not come with instruction manuals. Most baby gear products, however, do. Have you read them? According to the NHTSA, 3 out of 4 parents do not properly use child restraints. Some even choose to forgo car seats all together. Three out of four… meaning that only 25% of children in the US are safely traveling to school, play dates, sporting events, and even the grocery store. Now, as parents, our number one concern should ALWAYS be the safety and well-being of our children. Britax, a company centered on catering to kids’ safety needs is, thankfully, here to help us do just that.

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Most parents have the basic car seat process outlined in their minds as such: infant seat, convertible seat, booster seat, then onto the usual car seat belt. While this is much better than those that choose no restraints at all, it is still (technically) incorrect. The best way to protect your little ones is to let them be your guide. Their ages, heights, and weights ALL play very big factors in determining which seats are correct for them to use. An obvious place to start is the infant bucket seat such as the Britax B-Safe. Most children outgrow these within the first year of life. The next step would be a convertible car seat, the Britax Advocate 70-G3 for instance. The current recommendation, as per the American Association of Pediatrics, (and, in some cases, law) is for children to remain riding rear-facing until they are 2-years-old or meet the height and/or weight requirements of their convertible car seat while rear-facing. Once your child is ready to ride forward-facing they, oftentimes, can remain in their current convertible seat for quite some time. After outgrowing a convertible seat completely, the next step is to find the correct booster seat for your child. This is where it gets tricky.

Booster seats vary extremely and there are different types to cater to the needs of children of all sizes. Unfortunately, many parents choose the backless and/or unharnessed booster seats due to cost related reasons. Although many backless/unharnessed booster seats are sold with a minimum weight requirement of 30-40lbs, your child may not necessarily be ready for it based on that aspect alone. For example, my toddler meets that requirement but you will never, ever, see him riding in one of those seats anytime soon. Why? He is only two and not ready, physically or mentally, for that move just yet. A child’s temperament and maturity level as well as their age and physical attributes all come into play.

“Only 21% of children, ages 4 to 8, are ‘at least on occasion’ riding in a booster seat while traveling in a passenger vehicle.”
– National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The numbers are astounding! Luckily Britax, and I, hope to change that. Offering everything from baby carriers and strollers to, both, convertible and booster car seats, Britax has kids covered in all things safety. The Britax Frontier 85 SICT, a combination Harness-2-Booster seat, helps to create a transition for children that are too big for convertible seats but, yet still, too small for a traditional booster seat.

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Most convertible seats only fit children (forward-facing) until anywhere from 60-70lbs (give or take) thus giving a child much more growing to do without keeping the added protection of a harness – until now. With the addition of combination Harness-2-Booster seats to the market, kids can remain using a 5-point safety harness for much longer. After meeting the limits for harness mode, children can then go on to use it as a belt-positioning booster seat. The Britax Frontier 85 SICT allows for children to sit, fully harnessed, until they reach 57” and/or 85 pounds! After which, children can continue using it traditionally with the car’s seat belt until they reach 65” and/or 120 pounds! To give you some perspective, if I was a tad bit shorter, I could properly ride in this seat!

Fit

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As continued proof that we cannot make time stand still and keep our children babies forever, our oldest has officially outgrown his convertible seat. As an already huge fan of the company, the Britax Frontier 85 SICT was an obvious choice for him because, hopefully, it will be his last needed car seat. Although he meets the 40lbs minimum requirement for use of the belt-positioning booster mode, the greatest feature with the Frontier 85 SICT is that we can extend harness use for years to come. As a parent, that is allows for a huge sigh of relief. My baby is safe. And with a nine year expiry, this car seat should last him into his “not a baby any longer” teenage years, of course, assuming that he still fits properly by then. With many of his friends making the transition into combination car seats, he was beyond thrilled to receive his brand new “big boy” seat, and in his most favorite color at that!

Fri, Mar 18, 2011 12:21:08 PM

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The set-up was as to be expected with any car seat meaning that it wasn’t a breeze but was not extremely difficult by any means. I’m currently in the process of getting my Child Passenger Safety Technician certification, so I know my ropes around the installation of seats. However, Daddy usually double checks my installs simply because he is stronger than me and can tighten it that last little bit. If you’re having issues with your installation or would just like the peace of mind in knowing that it is done correctly, you can always contact your local CPSTs through any AAA office or visit the nearest NHTSA certified Child Car Seat Inspection Station.

We did have to make a few quick adjustments including changing, both, the harness height as well as the buckle position but each was quite simple to do. I absolutely love that the Britax Frontier 85 SICT features a Quick-Adjust No-Rethread harness! As he grows, all we have to do is quickly slide up the harness and, voila! Another great feature of the Britax Frontier 85 SICT is the new Easy-Remove cover. In the event of a spill or messes of any kind, the cover can easily be removed while the seat is still installed in your vehicle!

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Also, unlike many seats on the market, the Britax Frontier 85 SICT has Side-Impact Cushion Technology which features energy absorbing cushions on the exterior of the seat. This feature not only protects adjacent passenger(s) by providing them with extra protection but also diverts crash forces away from your child, reducing side impact crash energy by up to 45 percent!

The Britax Frontier 85 SICT is, by far, the best and my most favorite car seat to date. While there are many more car seat safety tips and tricks that I would love to go over with you, I’ll spare you all the lengthy read. Let’s cut right to the basics…

Mommy’s Thoughts:
I love that the Britax Frontier 85 SICT will, very likely, be the last car seat that we will need. The fact that it offers my not so “little” guy the ability to remain harnessed and, therefore, safer for longer is, absolutely, the deciding factor. Now, while it does have a minimum requirement of “2 years & 25lbs” it would be my best recommendation to leave a child of such weight/height in a convertible seat (check out the Britax convertibles here) to allow for extended rear-faced travel. However, if the time has come that your child, too, is not so “little” any longer, then I very highly recommend the Britax Frontier 85 SICT. I am very pleased with how well it fits our needs, our child, and our vehicle. I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking to purchase a new, long-lasting forward-facing seat.

Big Boy’s Thoughts:
“It is so, so, SO cool, Mommy! And it’s red just like Lightning McQueen!” He is absolutely over the moon with his new seat and loves every bit of it. I’m now bombarded with requests to allow his toy cars to travel alongside his water bottle in his new cup holders and, although I’m quite adamant about not having possible projectiles in the vehicle, I happily oblige to this specific request. He also thinks that the arm rests are “Awesome! Just like Daddy puts his arm right there (the center console)!”

In addition to making great car seats and baby gear readily available to all parents, Britax is a generous company. With their recent launch of the Britax Registry Rewards Program users can redeem UPCs from select Britax or Bob gear in each of five categories and exchange them for a brand new and FREE Britax Boulevard 70-G3 car seat! There is absolutely no catch! Be sure to keep up with Britax through their social media pages – Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube – for the latest in car seat and baby gear news, products, and chances to win!

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As if that wasn’t enough, the lovely folk over at Britax are offering one extremely lucky Eighty MPH Mom reader a chance to win as well! With tax returns coming in for many, this is one of the peak buying times for car seats. However, one of you will get to save that pretty penny and then some because a brand new Britax Frontier 85 SICT will be all yours! And in your choice of fabric! Go ahead, do a happy dance! You know you want to (:

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THE GIVEAWAY:

One (1) winner will receive a Britax Frontier 85 SICT in their choice of fabric.

Giveaway open to US and CAN residents only. Ends 3/17/13. ARV of $339.99

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*Randi received the above product(s), free of charge, to facilitate this review. All opinions are those of reviewer only.

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Comments

  40. I love the B-Ready stroller. In fact, I’m planning on purchasing it as our next stroller, just need to save up some more. 🙂

    Reply

  54. Oh I love all Britax products. Both boys have had one since they were babies. 🙂 If I had a new baby I would get a travel system though. i didn’t know they had them!

    Reply

  75. I also like their Advocate 70-G3 car seat with the true side impact protection and side impact cushion technology.

    Reply

  80. I love the baby carrier! I didn’t even know they offered one. We have a Britax Frontier for my five year old and love it… Looking forward to when our younger one will get his own frontier!

    Reply

  126. I like their B Agile stroller. But I like your giveaway almost better because it can convert to booster when we think we are ready for that.

    Reply

  147. I own 2 Boulevards and LOVE them! DS is getting ready to graduate to a booster and I’m looking at the Frontier b/c of the increased harness capacity.

    Reply

  162. I love the idea of a car seat that will work for my ginormous toddler – I love the Marathon I have, but she’s so tall that the Frontier would be a much better choice!

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  171. Looking forward to getting a Britax B-Ready for our son! Wish the Affinity was here so I could check it out.

    Reply

  181. I loved the marathon when my son was in that…he is now in the Parkway SGL. My daughter will soon be moving into the Marathon, Pavilion, or Advocate

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  186. I love my Britax Carseats. I’d love one of the more booster style seats for my older daughter like the Parkway.

    Reply

  215. LOVE the look & safety of the Frontier 85. My daughter would feel so cool in it, & I would feel confident that she is safe!

    Reply

  237. I would love to win one For Cambria for when she is ready to make the transition. We use nothing but Britax and have been extremely happy with the products!

    Reply

  241. I’ve been wanting a Frontier 85 SICT in Cardinal for my 6yr old that is about to outgrow his current seat!

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  242. I’ve never seen this booster/carseat, but what an awesome idea. Having just bought a booster for my 5 yr old I know how few options there are for a growing child.

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  245. I love ALL of the Britax products! We have only used Britax seats for our youngest three daughters, and we love them! I would love to have this seat for my 3 year old! Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply

  248. I love the B-Ready but don’t really need a new stroller. We have an older version of the Boulevard 70 that we love for our little guy. I would love the Frontier for my big guy!

    Thanks for a great giveaway!

    Reply

  252. We have the Britax infant seat and it is great. As my little one is not so little anymore we are now looking into the next big step. We love the safety and ease of the Britax. Would not look at anything else.

    Reply

  257. I love Britax products because of their safety ratings and also for their versatility. I have a Britax B Ready in red and i absolutely love it! We got it because it can grow with our family and we will only need one stroller. I’m happy to say that my 3 yr old still loves to ride in it and she hasn’t outgrown it yet 🙂 I really like that now they also make the skateboard attachment 🙂

    Reply

  264. I have a frontier 85 and a roundabout. We had #3 and are going to be ready to pass the roundabout down. a frontier scit would be perfect!

    Reply

  272. We LOVE our Britax Marathon 70. We purchased it in March of 2012 and it was discontinued in May of that year for a better model. (Wish we would have know and we would have waited a couple months) But it has made a great seat for our daughter and we will definitely be buying another for our son when he outgrows his infant seat.

    Reply

  285. We have one of these in the truck and love it. It is easier for her to climb in and out of and has cup holders. Our daughter loves the cup holders and I don’t have to hand her things while driving because she has them already.

    Reply

  298. I love the B Ready. It’s on my registry along with 2 Britax carseats. I think they are stylish, safe, and affordable.

    Reply

  308. I love all the products Britax puts out!! the Frontier would match her infant car seat!! Thanks for the contest!!

    Reply

  320. I love ALL the Britax products (especially the B Ready) except the front carrier. Wish it were more ergonomically friendly for the child!

    Reply

  325. We love Britax car seats! We have advocates for our girls and our oldest will be in need of a frontier very soon. This would be wonderful!

    Reply

  347. I love my daughter’s Marathon, but now that she’s almost 5 years old I would love to have her riding in a Frontier!!

    Reply

  353. I love our Britax B-Agile stroller and the B-Safe car seat made a perfect travel system with it. We just upgraded to the Marathon, and we love it.

    Reply

  407. We love our Britax Roundabout and will soon be getting the Frontier booster for my older son. I would love to win.

    Reply

  428. The fronteir 85 is(and sict) apparently the only one that’d fit my son of carseats. I always thought their b ready strollers were nice.

    Reply

  432. I also like the Advocate 70-G3. We are happy owners of a Marathon, but now that my daughter is 4 1/2 I’d love something that will last longer than 49″ and 65lbs

    Reply

  452. I have twin boys and I’m in need of two good quality car seats. I also like the Britax Advocate 70-3G Convertible Car Seat. They are all so comfortable looking, stylish and safe!

    Reply

  464. I love the Britax Frontier 85 SICT and the fact that you can use the Harness for so long. Definitely on my shopping list!

    Reply

  476. NEED this carseat…Britax Frontier 85 for my 3 year old! He needs a new one…the red is awesome, but since he’s a boy, black might be best..LOL!

    Reply

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