Britax Advocate ClickTight Car Seat

A few years ago, Britax introduced ClickTight technology in their Frontier combination car seat for older kids. It was a big hit because it made installation much easier than before. We’ve been waiting for the day when they would upgrade their convertible car seat line to include ClickTight.

Well, that day has come!

We’re happy to say that Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Marathon ClickTight, and Advocate ClickTight car seats are finally here!

In this review, we’ll take a close look at the Britax Advocate ClickTight. We’ll talk about the features, how to install it, and where to get it for a great price.

You can click on a topic in the table of contents below, or keep scrolling to read the whole review.

Britax Advocate ClickTight Car Seat Quick Specs

• Rear-facing recommended weight: 5 – 40 lbs
• Forward-facing recommended weight: 20- 65 lbs
• Forward-facing accomodates child up to 49 inches tall
• Car seat shell height: 29 inches
• Lowest position of harness with newborn insert: 7.5 inches
• Highest position of harness: 18.65 inches
• Expiration of Britax Advocate ClickTight: 10 years
• Lower limit of anchor weight: 30 lbs rear facing and 35 lbs forward facing

Notable Features

• Adjustable crotch strap with 2 positions.
• 7 reclining settings for rear and forward facing.
• Harness does not need rethreading when adjusting height.
• ClickTight installation feature.

Installation of Advocate with ClickTight

Seat Belt

Maybe you’ve owned a car seat before and think you know all about installing them. Well, you can just toss that idea. Installing an Advocate ClickTight is different from any other convertible seat you might have used before.

There’s a good reason that it’s called ClickTight. The ClickTight technology is what makes it so simple to install. You just open the ClickTight, thread the seat belt through, and click it shut.

To open the ClickTight, you push the dimple on the dial with one of your fingers. That will make the dial flip up, and you will rotate it 90 degrees to open the ClickTight.

The path for the seat belt is clearly labeled – green for forward-facing and blue for rear-facing. Thread the seat belt through the appropriate path and buckle it closed.

Now here’s where you really need to forget everything you thought you knew about car seat installation. You DON’T pull the belt tight, contrary to what you would expect. The ClickTight is there to tighten the belt for you.

You do need to remove excess slack before you close the ClickTight. Most of the time it’ll move less than an inch when you secure it. And you won’t need to use the seat belt’s locking retractor because the ClickTight acts as a lock-off.

A word of caution:

If your car has a lap belt only or a shoulder/belt combination with the latchplates sewn on, you must make sure that it is locked properly according to your car user’s manual.

Lower Anchors

The lower anchors for the ClickTight are stored in the compartment in the lower part of the seat.

Britax opted for J-hook connectors in this model instead of the premium quality push-button connectors you might have seen in other models. They’re not any less safe. The push-button ones just aren’t necessary when you’re using the ClickTight to secure the seat belt.

Here’s how you use the anchors:

Take the strap out of the storage compartment and thread it through the ClickTight. The path where it should go is clearly marked.

Hook the anchors to the lower anchor connectors in the car.

Remove any excess slack, and close up the ClickTight.

Note that this only works with a standard 11-inch anchor spacing. Also, there’s a weight limit of 30 pounds for rear-facing and 35 pounds for forward-facing when using these anchors.

Tether

You’ll find the tether in a compartment on the back of the car seat.

The old version of this car seat allowed the use of a tether for both rear and forward-facing. Britax has made some changes on the newer models that remove the option of rear-facing tethering.

But there are options if you still want to use the tether for rear-facing:

If your seat permits, you can attach the connector strap to a fixed location that’s bolted to the floor of your car. This strap is different from the old version which used a D-ring to connect. The ClickTight strap has a loop at both ends instead of metal rings. Be sure to check your user’s manual to see if it’s safe to use this kind of tether.

A second option is to attach the tether to the anchors that you would use in the forward-facing position. It’s possible to do this, but it presents some problems. You will have to run the strap around the car seat, and that will make it hard to get your child in and out of the seat.

If the tether strap is too short, you can buy an extension for it from Britax so it will reach. The extensions for forward and rear-facing are different, so be sure to order the right one.

Since they have phased out rear-facing tethering, Britax now offers an Anti-Rebound Bar accessory. It attaches to the front of the carseat, and limits rebound movement from front-end collisions. It’s an inexpensive option that will help protect your little one.

The manufacturer recommends always using the tether when the seat is forward-facing. You should follow the instructions for tethering in your vehicle user’s manual. If the anchors are on the floor or ceiling of your car, the Advocate tether strap might be too short. If that’s the case, you can contact Britax to order an extension.

Recline positions

The Advocate ClickTight has 7 reclining positions, so you’re sure to find a comfortable position for your child.

It’s simple to adjust. Just squeeze the handle at the bottom front of the seat, and glide it into position.

The seat has a color-coded indicator to help you choose the right position according to your child’s age.

All of the blue settings are for rear-facing. If you have an infant with little neck or head control, you’ll choose the light blue setting. Dark blue is for older babies and toddlers who can sit upright.

The settings in the green zone are for forward-facing. When it’s in the green zone, the car seat will not extend more than 3 inches beyond the edge of the vehicle seat.

There are 3 settings to choose from in the green zone. This is great for kids who need to be reclined more or who are just more comfortable that way. It’s good for sleeping, too!

It would be nice if there were an indicator to tell you which position you’ve put it in. You can only tell by counting the number of clicks you hear as you’re adjusting it. We hope they’ll add that in the future.

If you find that you need to recline the seat even more, you can use a rolled up towel or a pool noodle under the front of the seat. It’s not likely that you’ll need to do that, though. After all, it does have 7 reclining positions!

Features of ClickTight

Click & Safe Snug Harness Indicator:

The Click & Safe is designed to give a loud audible click while you’re adjusting the tightness of the harness. It doesn’t always click when it’s tight enough, though. So, sometimes parents might tighten it too much. You’ll want to be careful not to do that.

You should always be sure to pull up any extra slack from around your child’s hips and torso before tightening the straps. If you don’t, you might interpret the lack of clicking to mean that it’s tight enough when it’s not.

It’s helpful to have that clicking sound, but you shouldn’t rely on it to be sure that your child is in securely. Just make sure that there’s no slack in the straps before you move on.

Easy to Adjust Harness:

There’s no need to unthread and re-thread the harness straps as your child gets bigger. Just squeeze the red handle and pull the harness up or down to get it to the right height.

The straps should be at or below the shoulders when rear-facing and at or above the shoulders when front facing. This is for your child’s safety and comfort.

Comfort Pillow:

This car seat comes with a special comfort pillow that goes under your baby’s bottom. It gives newborns and babies a safe and cozy fit. Once your baby is big enough to sit without any extra support, you should take it out.

HUGS Chest Pads:

HUGS (Harness Ultra Guard System) Chest Pads are designed to absorb impact and protect your child in the event of an accident. They’re recommended for the forward-facing position, and they’re optional for rear-facing. However, they shouldn’t be used if they interfere with getting a snug harness fit on little babies. So if that happens, take them out.

Adjustable EZ buckle:

The EZ buckle on the Advocate ClickTight has a pad to keep it in a forward position while you’re buckling and unbuckling. It makes it easy to get your child into the seat without having to dig under him to find the buckle. It’s attached to a 3-inch long strap and has two positions: one at 5 inches and the other at 7 inches.

SafeCell Side Impact Protection MAX:

Side Impact Protection MAX provides the ultimate in protection for your precious cargo. The Advocate has 3 layers of side impact protection. It shields your child from debris, absorbs impact energy, and keeps the head and neck secure if you’re in a collision.

Storage Locations:

We appreciate the thoughtful design of Britax car seats that makes life easier for moms and dads. They put a handy storage pocket under the Advocate’s cover where you can keep the user’s manual. So when a question comes up about how to install or adjust the seat, you won’t have to go scrambling to find it. And then there are those storage compartments for the tether and anchors – all so convenient!

Removable Cover:

One thing we all know about car seats is that they can get dirty fast. Britax has made it easy for you to clean up the inevitable messes. The Advocate ClickTight’s cover comes off in four pieces for cleaning.

They’re not machine washable, but they’re easy enough to wash by hand. Let them air dry before putting them back on the car seat. The good thing is that you can wash just the parts that are dirty. Plus, you don’t have to disconnect the harness to get them off.

ClickTight Family

In this review, we’ve been talking about the Advocate ClickTight. The good news is that there are two other models that also have the ClickTight technology. Those are the Boulevard ClickTight and Marathon ClickTight. They’re mostly the same, but differ in a few ways.

The Advocate and Boulevard ClickTight models are the same except that the Boulevard does not have the external side impact protection cushions that the Advocate does. It does have two layers of side impact protection, though.

The Marathon ClickTight has a height capacity about two inches lower than the other two. It also lacks the reinforced True Side Impact Protection head restraint that are available in the Advocate and Boulevard ClickTight. It doesn’t have the Click & Safe Sung Harness Indicator, either.

Pros & Cons of the Advocate ClickTight

Pros:

• The installation of ClickTight is very simple.
• It has a generous height capacity for the rear-facing position.
• No re-threading is required for harness height adjustment.

Cons:

• The price tag is higher than the other ClickTight models.
• At 30 pounds, it’s heavy and inconvenient for air travel.
• The crotch buckle is short and sometimes hard to fasten.

Verdict

The Advocate ClickTight  carseat by Britax is easy to install and easy to use. It’s well-made and durable, too.

Even though it has a few minor flaws, we think it’s one of the best convertible car seats available today. It has outstanding safety features, and it’s comfortable for your little one. You’ll be able to keep your child in the rear-facing position for a longer time, which is important for their protection.

Britax stands by their products and offers a 1-year limited warranty on all of their car seats.

There are different places you can buy this car seat, but we always recommend Amazon because they offer secure ordering, low prices, and free shipping. They also always honor their no-hassle return policy.

If you’d like to get one of these car seats for yourself, click below to check out the current price and grab one for yourself at Amazon.

Note: A recall for Advocate ClickTight model was announced on 13th August 2015. You may check if your seat is affected here: Britax ClickTight Recall

Britax Car Seat Comparison

	Roundabout	Marathon	Boulevard	Marathon ClickTight	Boulevard ClickTight	Advocate ClickTight
Layers of Side Impact Protection	1	1	2	1	2	3
SafeCell Impact Absorbing Base	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Easy On/Off LATCH Connectors	✓	✓	✓
ClickTight Installation System				✓	✓	✓
SafeCell Impact Stabilizing Steel Frame	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
SafeCell Impact Absorbing Harness Pads		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Quick-Adjust Headrest Positions		10	12	12	14	14
Click & Safe Snug Harness Indicator			✓		✓	✓
EZ-Buckle System		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Proudly engineered, tested and made in the USA	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓