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- Convertible car seats can save parents money since they can be used from when your child is born until toddlerhood.
- The Britax Boulevard ClickTight car seat is a comfortable and safe option for my daughter.
- It fits in our small car and SUV, although it does crowd the front seats in the car.
Choosing a proper car seat for your child is nerve-wracking. It's more than a financial investment; as a parent, you want to make sure you're choosing a safe and comfortable car seat for your child, as well as one that can grow with then as they mature into toddlerhood.
Even after doing research into car seats, I ended up sending back the first infant seat I bought for my daughter, Ellie. It wasn't supportive enough for a newborn
We've been happily using the Britax Boulevard ClickTight car seat since Ellie was 6 months old. She's around 16 months now and still loves being in the seat. The construction feels safe and sturdy and the thick padding is comfortable. She's still sitting in the rear-facing position because of her age, so I don't have experience with the forward-facing position.
We recently tested out another brand and Ellie cried almost every time I put her in the seat. When we went back to the Britax ClickTight, she was happy as a clam.
Design and specs
- 18.5" W x 23.5" H x 23" D
- 2 layers of side impact protection
- Click tight installation
- Impact-absorbing base
- Integrated steel frame
- Click & safe snug harness (clicks when the straps sense tension to help get a secure fit)
- Auto-level safe recline indicators
- Multiple recline positions
- Quick-adjust harness doesn't require re-threading
Compared to other seats we've tried, Ellie is comfortable and secure in the Boulevard ClickTight. The seat comes in a few colors, but I just went with plain black. Some color options use really breathable fabric — perfect if you live in a hot climate or your child tends to get hot and sweaty in their seat.
As a convertible seat, it's safe for children 5 to 65 pounds and up to 49 inches.
Installation
The seat installs painlessly and can be done in just a few minutes. Just thread your car's seat belt through two loops in the car seat and secure the seat belt. With the ClickTight installation, you'll know the seat is placed securely when you hear (you guessed it) a click. Again, this is a built-in feature that helps me breathe a sigh of relief knowing Ellie is securely fastened.
We like to install Ellie's seat in the middle of our cars because it's easy for someone in the front to pass something back to her, and passengers in the back can sit on either side of her. The seat fits well in our Chevy Equinox (a small crossover SUV) and it doesn't crowd the front seats. In our smaller 2012 Chevy Cruze (a compact car) though, the front seats have to be pushed up pretty far for the seat to safely fit in the back. It's doable, but not the most comfortable ride.
I do wish it were possible to adjust the seat's reclining position once it's installed. Ellie likes to sit upright, but I like her to be more reclined when she falls asleep in the car so her head doesn't slump down. Unfortunately, in the rear-facing position, you can only change the angle of the seat when you're installing it, so if she falls asleep while it's very upright, she's stuck that way.
Britax also offers a similar model called the Boulevard ClickTight ARB (anti-rebound bar). It's the same seat with an additional bar that attaches to the front of the seat to help stabilize children in the rear-facing position in the event of a frontal collision. Additionally, you can purchase the ARB separately and add it to the base Boulevard model if you decide to add it on later.
What it's like to use
Buckling and unbuckling Ellie is very easy; to tighten, just pull a strap at the bottom of the harness, and to release, just push a button and pull the harness down. When I tried seats that didn't have a pull-tight harness, it was hard for me to get the straps tight enough to secure Ellie. When Ellie is in the Boulevard ClickTight, I never worry that I didn't secure her properly.
The straps have thick padding with full coverage where they meet your child's neck. I never worry about them accidentally rubbing against Ellie's neck when I'm tightening them, which was a problem I had with one of the seats I tried and didn't like.
It's also easy to adjust the height of the shoulder straps as your child grows, you don't have to uninstall the seat or re-thread the straps. You simply push down a lever at the top of the car seat and pull the headrest up or down until the straps are at or just below your child's shoulders.
Notes on car seat safety
Before buying any car seat (even this one), check to see if it's part of a safety recall; I bought our Britax Boulevard in 2017, but 2014 and 2015 models were recalled
Britax issued a voluntary recall of its ClickTight seats in 2015 for seats manufactured in 2014 and 2015, so anything beyond that should be safe. The problem with the affected seats was that the harness adjuster button would stay pushed down after you adjusted the harness, which meant that the harness wouldn't stay tightened. After I buckle Ellie into her seat, I always pull back on the straps just to test them, so I would know immediately if this were an issue with our seat.
If you have concerns or questions about choosing a car seat, you can learn more from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or find your local Child Passenger Safety Technician.
The bottom line
I'm impressed with the quality and safety features of the Britax Boulevard ClickTight, and my daughter is always comfortable sitting in it too. It's sturdy and has lots of safety features that will appease parents, and plenty of comfortable padding and two different seating positions to keep children comfortable and happy. Toddlers can be a tough crowd to please, but mine is thoroughly impressed with this seat.
Choosing the right car seat for your child is not an easy decision and I strongly encourage you to do thorough research and even try out a few seats like I did. With the Boulevard, I never worry that Ellie isn't strapped in tight enough or that she's uncomfortable. In under than a minute, I can have her happily and securely fastened in her seat, ready to start a road trip or just drive five minutes to the grocery store.