Can I take the base off of my Marathon?

Hmmm, I have seen ppl use marathons on flights, but they have never removed anything from it (at the time, my baby was still in his infant carrier or else we would have lugged his marathon along too). I don't know if it would be safe if you removed it (in fact I did not realize you could remove the base... are you sure it was a marathon?). If you are not sure, I think the best thing to do is call britax and ask them, since it is their product and they know best about the safety of their own product. Personally, I do not trust airline personnel, b/c there are sooo many different carseats out there to deal with and from what I have heard, they are often inconsistent with knowing the, "rules" of carseats on planes to begin with, etc.. It's best for you to get the information direct from the manufacturer. GL!

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I am not sure how the guy managed that. But no you cannot take the base off the Marathon, it would make the seat totally unsafe to use.

i too would call britax if you have the number ready.

i don't think removing the base would make them "totally unsafe". what degree of safety are you looking for in an airplane anyway, yk? if you can find a way to make the seats easier to fly with (and that you can change back when you put them in the car, you could check the bases in your luggage...) i say go for it!

when we flew no one (at the airport) even cared what sort of carseat we had.

i am flying alone with the kids in a few weeks- but only tristan has a seat (which we will put the marathon in). kassi will be in my lap. so i wont have to worry about lugging two seats.

whatever you do, make sure you buy a smartecarte! <3

tabitha

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You can absolutely not remove the base from the Marathon without compromising the whole seat whether you use it on an airplane or in a car. It just isn't designed to be used without it. I think you are confusing the Marathon, which is a convertible car seat, with an infant car seat which has a separate base that is installed in the car and into which the car seat clips.

i'm not confusing the car seats. for pete's sake, i know what kind of carseat i have.

i only asked because i SAW the other guy in the airport with two marathons (YES, i will repeat, i KNOW what a MARATHON looks like...) with the bases removed.

obviously i'm not going to remove it, but i will call britax tomorrow to confirm that it cannot be removed just to make sure.

i realize everyone here is really passionate about car seat safety (as am I,) but you'd think we could settle down a little. i never said, "OH I KNOW ITS NOT SAFE TO TAKE IT OFF BUT I'M TAKING IT OFF ANYWAYS TO SPITE YOU."

i asked because i had seen it, and i thought it looked easier to carry them.

anywho. moving on now....if i call britax i'll post here.

oh, tabitha, smarty carty

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Calm down no one is accusing you of not know what car seat you have. I didn't quote you I quoted tabitha who seemed confused about car seats. I for one didn't think you implied you were going to take it off and use it that way. Anyway, I wouldn't bother calling Britax, I know of someone who called and asked them if she could loosen the LATCH bar so she could get her seat belt through it to installed, and then tighten it up again, and they said absolutely not. So I don't think they will give you the go ahead to take the base off it.

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It has two black knobs either side of the base which you could unscrew but I would hardly call it a (re)moveable piece, except for the recline action. However, I fail to see how the car seat could be stable when install without the base on.

If Britax permits the MA to be used without a base it would be in the manual and I can assure you it is not. So by using it without the base you are absolving Britax of any liability if it failed in a crash.

I guess I am exasperated by this conversation because I find it incredulous that anyone would do something like that and think it is safe.