Britax Boulevard vs. Advocate ClickTight Convertible Car Seats

So, the ClickTight installation system is all the rage right now when it comes to children's car seats, and the Britax brand has embraced the technology in its Boulevard and Advocate convertible car seats.

And even LATCH system diehards have begun admitting that this way of securing the child car seat using the vehicle's seatbelt makes the Boulevard and Advocate goddamn delightful.

In these two models, gone is the shoving, pulling, and having to second-guess the tightness of straps and latch. Now you just have to open the panel, thread the car seatbelt through either the forward-facing or rear-facing belt paths, buckle it, then click-close the compartment. The Click-Safe feature will notify you that the tightness is proper.

But between the Boulevard and the Advocate, how do you pick a winner? Let’s break down the features of the two seats.

What features does the Boulevard have in common with the Advocate?

Built to guarantee safety and comfort

In both the Advocate and the Boulevard, there're no corner-cutting hacks, such as adding extra foam or using an extra bolt here and there to make the seat secure. Britax understands that car crashes are the number one cause of injuries and even deaths for children under the age of six. So, right from the start, the Advocate and Boulevard convertible car seats have been designed to provide maximum safety and comfort. Safety features include:

Multiple layers of protection – A foam-padded headrest, an impact-absorbing selfcell steel frame, and adjustable side-impact protection.

Energy-absorbing base – The base features impact-absorbing rubber too. In the event of a crash, these specially designed rubber pieces compress and take away some energy from the impact.

V-shaped patented Harness Tether – These straps at the back of the seats tethers them to the vehicle such the seat won’t move forward suddenly during collisions. The tethers meet each other in a V-shaped manner.

Harness pads on the straps – Both as a safety feature but also a guarantee for everyday comfort. Attached where the shoulder straps rise and falls, these pads make the straps more rigid, absorb impact and prevent bruising.

Easy-to-use ClickTight Installation system

The ClickTight feature makes both the Boulevard and the Advocate user-friendly. With this system, the car's seat belt is used to secure and lock the convertible children's car seat down. And though the Boulevard and Advocate are heavy models, the ClickTight feature makes it easy to switch seats between cars.

Customer reviews say that while even tightened latches tend to wobble, especially when in forward-facing mode, you can expect no such issues with ClickTight Convertible Boulevard and Advocate seat. Peace of mind is achieved without the need to use a combination of latch and seatbelt.

Convertible

Both the Boulevard and Advocate are high-back seats can convert from rear-facing to forward-facing with the following weight and height limitations for both seats:

Rear-facing - 5 to 40 pounds and max 49-inches height

Forward-facing - 20 to 65 pounds if forward-facing and a max 49-inches height

Although not useable as booster seats, both the Advocate and Boulevard are designed to grow with your child. They feature adjustable straps and can be used until the child is 49 inches tall.No Re-threading needed

Damned, be those infant car seats whose parts have to be taken apart to readjust the straps. In both the Boulevard and the Advocate, the pain of manually configuring the straps and headrest to a new position has been eliminated. Now you just use a lever located on top of the car seat to set both the headrest and strap to any of the 14 different positions allowed.

But even so, Britax does make use of shorter straps. Therefore, there's the nuisance of constant adjustments that have to be made. The other thing is there are two different locations for the bottom buckle, and you've got to take out both the belly pad and the buckle entirely to readjust the bottom buckle strap.

A lovely Harness System with a Click-Safe function

Both the Advocate and Boulevard boast of a lovely harness system with the bottom strap being quite accessible. Additionally, instead of pulling on it and second-guessing while tightening, you can now depend on the Click-Safe function, which comes in play when tightening the straps; it makes a small click to notify that proper tightness has been achieved. That way, you can rest easy knowing your child is comfy.

But there have been complaints that Click-Safe tends to give false positives, clicking satisfactorily when it’s something else such as strap being stuck or puffy child coat that’s making strap tight

Multiple Recline Positions

You can set the newborn to stare at the ceiling and the toddler to sit straight and face the world. Both the Advocate and Boulevard seats can recline to 7 different positions. Additionally, the level indicator on the side notifies you of the right recline angles depending on the mode at play.

Britax Boulevard vs the Advocate: What Differences should You Expect?

1. The Advocate is heavy on the pocket

Both the Boulevard ClickTight Convertible car seat and the Advocate ClickTight Convertible car seat are moderately priced. But of the two models, customers tend to lean towards the $296 Boulevard convertible as the $336 Advocate is a bit heavier on the pocket still.

2. Expect more side-impact protection from the Advocate

Definitely the Advocate. In this model, the outside features impact-absorbing plastic and extra cushions. This additional material on the outside of the seat guarantees a third-layer of protection against side impacts as compared to the two-layered side-impact protection of the Boulevard.

But while a great feature, it does make the Advocate slightly wider, resulting in space issues if multiple seats have to be installed or room is needed for an additional person on the back seat.

3. Boulevard is a bit lighter and narrower

While both the Boulevard and Advocate are damn heavy car seats, at 29.4 pounds, the Boulevard is noticeably lighter than the 30.6-pound Advocate. Again, in terms of width, the Advocate's extra side padding result in space issues when the car is small.

Lastly, when it comes to the NHTSA ease-of-use rating, both the Boulevard and the Advocate have a 4-star mark. But on Walmart, Kohl's, and Target customer ratings, the Advocate seats on top with 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8 stars compared to 4.4 in all for the Boulevard.

Lastly, which one between the Boulevard and the Advocate is cool for the summer? Both the Advocate and the Boulevard use breathable fabric. The Advocate may get hotter because of extra-side cushions. Feel free to check out the Britax Cool Flow collection Boulevard and Advocate breathable fabric.

In retrospect, both the Advocate and Boulevard have so much in common: Reclining system, wonderful harness, fantastic breathable and washable material plus exceptional safety features. It’s hard to decide which seat is better. But if I’m to pick a winner, I’d go with the Advocate here on Amazon; I don’t mind ponying up a little extra for an extra layer of safety.

Be sure to leave a comment below if you have any questions.

 

 

Britax Boulevard vs. Advocate ClickTight Convertible Car Seats was first published on: BestStrollersForYou.com