A Canadian Mom of Twins + 1

When it comes to buying essential baby and toddler gear like a convertible car seats – you appreciate knowing all about the product, before you make that big purchase. Thanks to Britax, I was able to review their Advocate CS High Capacity Convertible Car Seat. At $399.99 CAD, you may think this is a steep price to pay for a car seat, until you take a closer look at the design, product features and most importantly the safety features of this seat. Only then do you realize that the cost is relative to quality.

As you can see, this seat is suitable from infancy to school-aged child. This is truly an all-in-one seat that can you’ll be able to use for years.

One of the first things I noticed about the Advocate CS car seat form Britax, is the side protectors on each side of the seat. Please note that they are not inflatable air bags, and pose no risk for the child.
They are actually air-filled rubber cushions which are side impact protectors, which can be crucial in the event of a side impact collision. It distributes crash forces and keeps the head, neck and spine aligned to limit injury. These side impact protectors reduce the energy produced by side impact crashes by up to 50%!  Now, being a protective parent, I like knowing that extra steps are taken by companies in their product designs – to ensure child safety.

Installation was so very simple for this seat, I was almost shocked when it compares to the instillation of other brands of convertible seats which I own. Brilliant in design are 2 lower latch connectors that are located on each side of the seat. My other seats’ latch connectors thread through the back of the seat, and it was always a struggle to ensure that the straps weren’t twisted and crooked inside. With the Advocate CS, you can very easily see when they are in perfect position. And, this design also allowed me to tighten the seat so well, that I have absolutely no give at all when I try to move the seat. With my others, no matter how hard I pulled on the tighteners, I always had a little movement in the car seat. So, I am very pleased with how fast and little effort it took to secure the seat into position. And, if you ever need to refer to the manual, the instructions for the Advocate CS are detailed and leave little room to question.

Let’s talk twisted chest straps, yes – I despise twisted car seat straps! Since I have used the Britax Advocate CS, I have not once had a twisted chest strap thanks to a smart design there too {when a parent is trying to get Twins in and out of the car in the cold weather – it may be a simple pleasure, yet it is a pleasure nonetheless}. The design of the 5 point harness is called the Harness Ultra Guard System {HUGS}, and keeping the straps straight is just a bonus – it’s real purpose is for safety as well.

The Advocate CS comes in many fabric options, and I chose the Opal Grey. It is very soft, with extra features to make this seat even more comfortable that just the fabric you see. For one, it has High Density Comfort Foam on the seat and an extra belly pad which provides cushioning to the lower back. This is another extra feature that I hadn’t really thought about until I compared shape of the seat and padding with my other 2 brands. The Advocate CS has them beat when it comes to luxury seating!

Another smart feature of the Britax Advcoate CS is the one handed turn knob that adjusts the harness height. One of my others had to be lifted with 2 hands and the other required re-threading of the harness straps – both of which wasn’t a pleasure to do at all. I really take a liking to this feature just because it’s so simple and effortless, which would really be an asset especially when you have more than one child that may use that seat. Also note the handy and secure bag to hold the anchor straps at the back of the seat. My other car seats don’t have these and when the straps aren’t being used I had to duct tape them to the seat {so they didn’t fly loose everywhere, which is a huge safety hazard}. This also may be a simple pleasure, but indeed – a very smart one.

Detailed features of the Advocate CS are:

• Patented, Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether with staged-release tether webbing, anchors the top of the child seat at two points to minimize forward movement in a crash
• Infant Body Pillow for infant positioning and a custom fit
• HUGS™ (Harness Ultra Guard System) reduces forward head movement and cushions the chest in the event of impact
• Built-in Lock-Off(s) secure the vehicle seat belt so that the child seat does not move more than one inch side-to-side or front-to-back at the belt path
• Convenient Harness Holders keep harness straps out of the way while placing child in the car seat
• Small Contoured Base ensures a tight installation in all types of vehicles
• Energy-Absorbing Foam Liner (EPS) absorbs and distributes crash forces
• High Density Comfort Foam provides an extra layer of padding to gently cushion the child
• Front Harness Adjuster provides effortless front adjustment when loosening the harness system
• Premium, Push-Button Lower LATCH Connectors for a quick, simple, and tight installation
• Plush, Premium Cover Set with matching belly pad provides extra comfort
• No Re-thread Harness Adjustment allows you to adjust the harness height without having to re-thread the harness straps
• Flexible Mount System allows the side impact cushions to move multi-directionally for easy access to the installation and height adjustment features
• Five-Point Harness makes contact with the strongest parts of the body
• Quick-Adjust Head Restraint & No-Rethread Harness easily adjust the harness shoulder height and head restraint without disassembling the harness
• Energy-Absorbing Base deforms in the event of a crash to absorb impact forces
• 65-pound Weight Capacity for safety and comfort through the toddler years

I am so very impressed with the instillation, features, comfort and design of the Advocate CS. The Twins have taken a preference to it, over the other that is installed in my Grand Caravan. I have actually had to enforce a ‘take turns in the car seats’ rule, just to prevent some fighting over the Britax seat! As a parent, I do have a sudden peace of mind knowing that my child is in this car seat. It just feels safe, and that is worth it to me. And although I have 2 other convertible car seats, I highly prefer the Britax Advocate CS in comparison.

Readers, make sure to thank Britax because they would like to send one lucky My Organized Chaos reader, their own Advocate CS car seat,
in the fabric of your choice! {ARV $399 CAD}

To Enter, Visit Britax and tell me one other product you’d like to have and WHY.

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