As a parent, can you imagine anything more important than your baby’s safety?
Britax has been exceeding the minimum standards for car seat safety for years, and this is especially true of two of their latest models.
So, what exactly are the differences: Britax Advocate vs Boulevard?
Britax Advocate vs Boulevard
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There is a grand total of ONE major difference between these car seats, and that is that the Britax Advocate has a third layer of side-impact protection.
This extra layer is made of a hard plastic and protects your baby’s head from shrapnel and debris during a crash on top of adding thickness to the already impressive side-impact protection.
This enhanced layer of protection will cost you an extra $50-ish, as well as take up 2 more inches of room within your car.
This can pose a problem if you need all available seats in your vehicle
and you do not want to pick and choose which of your kids can accompany you in your vehicle.
Let’s learn more about both of these car seats, shall we?
Product Britax Boulevard Britax Advocate
Item Weight 24 pounds 30.1 pounds
Minimum weight recommendation 5 Pounds 5 Pounds
Maximum weight recommendation 65 Pounds 65 Pounds
Rear Facing Weight Limit 40 Pounds 40 Pounds
Forward-facing Weight Limit 65 Pounds 65 Pounds
ClickTight Yes Yes
5-point Harness Yes Yes
Dimensions 23L x 18.5W x 23.5H 23L x 20.5W x 23.5H
Britax Boulevard ClickTight Car Seat
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Britax Boulevard ClickTight Safety Features
The Britax Boulevard ClickTight car seat, like other Britax car seat models, far exceeds minimum safety requirements set forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA.
Utilizing SafeCell Impact Protection, the Britax Boulevard boast a strong steel frame, energy-absorbing base, and impact-absorbing tether with staged release to minimize forward movement during a crash.
The honeycomb design of the SafeCell technology is visible in the base, as well as on the harness straps and offer added energy absorption during a crash.
Since children in car seats are most often injured by side-impact during a collision
Britax Boulevard offers two levels of side-impact protection and energy absorption including its foam-padded headrest and thick plastic outer shell.
Britax Boulevard ClickTight Convenience Features
ClickTight technology is now standard on all Britax car seat models, which is great for those who did not want to spend extra for this small, but useful convenience.
Implemented because newer laws dictate the maximum weight for parents to use the LATCH (Lower Anchor and Tethers for Children) system in their cars is 65 pounds.
This includes the weight of the car seat and child combined.
Combined weights in excess of 65 pounds requires the car seat to be installed using the vehicle’s seatbelt.
ClickTight is a simple way to install your Boulevard into your vehicle.
For those of us who have spent any time pushing, pulling, straining, and sweating to install a car seat utilizing the seatbelt, this is HUGE.
The simple steps are as follows:
- Locate the key to unlock the seat portion of the car seat, and turn it.
- Lift the bottom of the seat up, and thread the seatbelt through the channel to buckle it.
- Push the seat back down until you hear an audible click, and you are set.
Aside from the ClickTight easy installation, there are a few other features Britax offers in this car seat to make life easier on us parents.
First, there are 7 levels of recline with an indicator level showing your seat is in the correct position.
Next, there are 14 different harness adjustment levels, ensuring this car seat will grow with your child.
The harness is adjustable by quickly pushing a button and raising or lowering the headrest.
Probably my favorite convenience feature is the ClickSafe harness.
Once your child is buckled in, simply pull on the tether to tighten the harness.
Instead of wondering if you are straight-jacketing your little one, or leaving him to bounce freely as you dodge potholes
you will hear an audible click when the harness is tight enough.
Are you seeing a pattern with the audible clicks?
Finally, Cool Flow technology offers a mesh type seat covering that promotes air flow keeping baby comfortable in all conditions.
You will love this feature if your child is anything like mine and both falls asleep as soon as she’s buckled into her car seat and nap sweats like she’s just run a marathon.
We could call this a “One Less Clothing Change” bonus.
Britax Advocate ClickTight Car Seat
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Read Customer Reviews Here
Britax Advocate ClickTight Safety Features
As mentioned with the Britax Boulevard, the Britax Advocate ClickTight car seat has a plethora of safety features exceeding the NHTSA’s standards.
Like the Boulevard, the Advocate has the same SafeCell Impact Protection with the rugged steel frame, energy-absorbing base, thick plastic shell
and staged release harness all helping to slow forward movement and absorb impact energy.
The sole difference in safety features between the Boulevard and Advocate is that the Advocate offers 3 levels of side-impact protection
with its dense foam-padded headrest, thick plastic shell, and an additional plastic layer on the outside.
This third layer helps to protect your child against flying debris during a collision.
It also adds about $50 onto the price of this car seat along with 2 inches of width.
Britax Advocate ClickTight Convenience Features
The Advocate has the exact same convenient features as the Boulevard including ClickTight installation, 7 levels of recline, and 14 headrest adjustments.
All of these features are easy to use with the push of a button and clicking into place.
The ClickSafe feature takes the guesswork out of knowing if you have tightened the harness appropriately or not with, you guessed it, an audible click.
The Cool Flow seat cover keeps your child comfortable no matter what season it is.
It even helps to keep the car seat cool when the car has been parked in the sun for a while. Hooray for no baby bum burns.
You can learn more about the Britax Advocate Vs Boulevard in the video review just below.
Britax Advocate vs Boulevard: How do you Choose Between the Two?
Here is the thing: both the Britax Advocate and Britax Boulevard are exceptional car seats with abounding safety and convenience features.
With the single difference between the two being the extra layer of side-impact protection on the Advocate, choosing one over the other can be tedious.
Britax is known for far exceeding minimum safety standards, so either car seat would be an ideal choice.
The simple truth is that it comes down to your budget and space requirements.
The Advocate will run about $50 more expensive than the Boulevard, and it will take up 2 more inches in your vehicle.
Two inches of vehicle space does not seem excessive, unless you have a child occupying each seat in your vehicle.
When the child next to the car seat is complaining and whining that they cannot reach their seatbelt buckle, those two inches become very excessive.
So the choice is really simple, if you have the space and extra cash, why not go for the added side-impact protection with the Britax Advocate ClickTight?
If every seat in your car is reserved for years to come, or you do not have the extra money
you can rest assured that you are still getting a high quality and incredibly safe car seat by choosing the Britax Boulevard ClickTight.
Additional information:
- Find The Best Portable Car Seats For Travel : (Safety & Maneuverability)
- Best Small Car Seats to Buy
- 3 Lightweight Strollers For Travel (Under 13 Pounds)
- ABOUT NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
- What is the SafeCell Impact Protection?
- Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) Restraint System
- What is the ClickTight Installation System?
- Britax Cool Flow technology
- National Safety Month
