Disclosure: The car seat below was provided compliments of Britax.

Purchasing the right car seat for your child is one of the most important purchases that you will make. There are many features, sizes, prices and types to choose from- but the bottom line is, if it’s not used right- it doesn’t matter what type of seat they are in. The Britax Pavilion 70-G3 (please note, this car seat is no longer sold by Britax) is a convertible car seat (a seat that can rear and forward face) that has a ton of features to make buckling your child in the car seat easier.The first thing you need to do to make sure your car seat is used right is read the manual! The Britax Pavilion manual is very in depth, very easy to read and answered all questions I had. After you read your manual it’s installation time! It is so, so important to make sure your car seat is installed right! More than 80% of car seats are used incorrectly. The premium LATCH connectors make installation quick with an easy to use release button and the anti slip base grips and protects the seat you install it on. If you can not get a secure installation you can find a Car Seat Technician near you that will help you, for free by clicking here!After your car seat is installed you need to put your little one in. For me, sometimes this is the hardest part! I think Britax knew that because this car seat is loaded with features to make buckling your child in a bit easier. Like the EZ-Buckle System. It retains the crotch strap in a forward position and prevents the child from sitting on the buckle when climbing into the car seat. You no longer have to dig under you little one to find their crotch strap.

Like almost all Britax seats the five-point harness is tangle-free, however Britax went a step beyond this and added two small velcro squares on each interior side of the seat that the harness sticks onto- holding the harness straps and making the actual buckling process easier.  The quick adjust, no-rethread harness makes the Pavilion easy to adjust when your child has a growth spurt.  You simply grab onto the handle at the top of the car seat and push down or pull up. You can easily raise or lower the harness without disassembling the straps. This makes it easy for one seat to be used for multiple children as well.

The image below is of Carlee, who is 37 pounds, rear facing in a Toyota Sienna.

The Pavilion 70-G3 can be used rear facing starting at five pounds, which means for the majority of babies this can be their first car seat with the use of the included infant body pillow. Your child can remain rear facing till they reach forty pounds or their head is less than one inch from the top of the car seat shell. (Note: Child’s head must be one inch from top of car seat shell, not from the top of the headwings if extended beyond the shell.) Emmitt is 27 pounds and Carlee is 37 pounds and they both fit rear facing in the Pavilion just fine.

Installing the Pavilion rear facing was a breeze. My only complaint is the lack of a real level. They have a “level line” but for 339.99 a real level would of been nice.

The image below is of Emmitt, who is 27 pounds, rear facing in a Toyota Sienna.

Emmitt and Carlee both meet all the requirements to forward face in the Pavilion. However, as their parent I have made the decision to keep them rear facing till they out grow the car seats rear facing limit.  Carlee is very, very close to these limits. I find in most seats my kids outgrow the rear facing height limit before weight limit- however I think Carlee will out weight the Pavilion’s rear facing weight limits before height!

The image below is of Emmitt, who is 27 pounds, forward facing in a Toyota Sienna.

Both Emmitt and Carlee fit in the Pavilion perfectly forward facing, with tons and tons of room to grow.

The image below is of Carlee, who is 37 pounds, forward facing in a Toyota Sienna.

Derrick is six and 45 pounds and he also fits in the Pavilion forward facing- but not for long. The harness adjuster is up as far as it can go and the straps are just a hair above his shoulders. After his next growth spurt he will no longer fit in this seat.

The image below is of Derrick, who is 45 pounds, forward facing in a Toyota Sienna.

The Pavillion is out grown once your child reaches it’s 70 pound weight limit, becomes 49 inches tall or when the harness straps can no longer be placed above the child’s shoulders. I feel that the weight limit of this seat is a bit over zealous. The average 7-8 year old is 49 inches. If your 49 inch tall 7 year old weighs 70 pounds they would have a BMI of 21.4, making them larger than 99% of other children their age.

To Buy: If you have a full term baby and are looking to skip the infant seat the Britax Pavilion 70-G3 could very well be the one seat you need till your child is ready for a booster.  If you used an infant seat and are looking for a seat that will allow you to rear face for a few more years, this seat is also a great choice. The Britax Pavilion 70-GS can be purchased for around $250.00.

Or Not To Buy: If you are looking for one seat from birth to seat belt, keep looking. The Pavilion is also a bit pricey and may not work for everyone’s budget.