Britax Pioneer 70 Harness-2-Booster Car Seat, Onyx (Prior Model) (Prior Model)

We just got this delivered today and I love it already. The silver design is pleasant and not gaudy like many other car seat designs. It would honestly work for a boy or girl, although we purchased it for our blue-loving son.The seat itself is surprisingly large and heavy. Its easily as heavy as our youngests convertible car seat. Still, I don't feel like this is a negative. It makes me feel like its pretty sturdy, especially since I know that the heft is due to it being steel reinforced. The included easy latch belt makes it pretty easy to install and gets the seat pretty tight. It even has the belt in the back to secure it further.The fabric isn't soft to the touch but rather smooth and comfortable. The padding is somewhat plush.The belts are incredibly easy to adjust. The push button to loosen the chest straps can be difficult to find but our safety first convertible has a similar set up so it was a natural feeling placement for us.It even reclines! I looked far and wide for a seat that would recline even a little for our three year old since we are constantly commuting to see family and naps in the car are frequent. The britax pioneer is by far the most attractive one I found that was even remotely reasonably priced. With the sale going on, its now priced next to seats with similar functionality like the graco nautilus.Overall, I have been very happy with the seat so far. My son likes it and seems to be comfortable in it. It feels like a safe, reliable seat that is more than just some expensive piece of crappy plastic to prop him up in the seatbelt like the other three booster we went through before getting this one. I'm so impressed I'm considering switching out our younger sons car seat to a britax.ProsEasy to installSteel reinforcedComfortableBig enough to grow with childRECLINESTwo cupholdersAdjustable headrest and beltsTrusted, longstanding brandCon'sHeavyMay be quite tall for a smaller car

We have always used Britax with our carseats because we trust them with their safety rantings. They are top of the line. This seat is no different. It is comfortable and my daughter loves the armrests and dual cup holder. The seat is easy to install and gives three different options to integrate the car seatbelt to grow with your child. instructions are conveniently printed on the the seat so you can adapt and use it anywhere. The buckles are easy to clip and unclip and are comfortably padded so as to not irritate my daughter while wearing them. It comes with a circle liner to go under the lap clip to not burn kids when the heat has made the buckle too hot. There are just a lot of features like that to make this comfortable and safe for my child. The only issue I have is that I had thought this would detach and become just a booster seat once we were ready for that, but I have not been able to figure out how to detach it yet. It seems the back is welded to the booster so I think it is a harness when your child is using the infant clips and belts and a booster when the child is only using the car belt, but the back does NOT separate from the booster seat itself. Beware and do your research better than I did!

The harness on this seat is impossible to loosen/tighten. We used it for about 2 months before i threw in the towel. About 80% of the time, i was never able to fully tighten it all the way. It didn't do the job of keeping my daughter safe.I've owned several Britax car seats through the years and loved them! Before this seat, I always had good things to say about Britax. I don't know what the deal is with this model, though. It doesn't have the typical Britax quality. It's like a cheap knock-off of the real thing. It doesn't work properly and about every 3 days we had to take it apart and put it back together to try to fix the harness strap.Don't waste your time and money on this car seat. Definitely go with the Frontier or Pinnacle, because this one doesn't live up to the Britax name.

This is a good carseat. I feel confident that my child is safe in it and both my 32 month old and 5 year old love it. We got it for my 5 year old daughter, she is very small and was able to fit in the convertible for a long time, however, she didn't want to be in it. Unfortunately, after trying out a simple booster, we just did not feel comfortable having her in it.Unlike some, I found the Pioneer easy to use and install (especially compared to convertible carseats like the Britax Boulevard, etc). It worked very well on the plane for my 32 month year old. He loved the seat, and it didn't put him as close to the seat in front of him as his convertible carseat. But it is heavy. We had wheels to attach to it, which worked well.The reason for 3 stars is that I found the material of the lining/cover very poorly made. It was only a few weeks before the material around insert for the lower harness buckle began to fray. I have two other Britax carseats and neither of them had this problem. Just really disappointed in the quality. Not the same total satisfaction I have had with other Britax carseat models.I also have to agree with other reviews that mentioned that there is a large gap in the carseats upper harness for younger kids. My son is 32 months old and meets the weight, height and age requirements for seat, however without the pads that are on other Britax seats it doesn't get as tight to his chest as it does on my 5 year old.Bottom line: if you are looking for a safe carseat for an preschooler, this a really good option that is not too expensive (minus the quality of the seat cover). However, if you are looking for something for a 2 year old, I would spend the extra money on the more expensive Britax harness/booster or get the Diono.