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Britax Diplomat Convertible Car Seat Cowmooflage | 
| Brand: Britax USA
Buy New: $259.99
New (7) from $259.99
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 6968
Color: Cowmooflage
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 24.5
Dimensions (in): 24 x 20 x 18.5
MPN: E9L6634
Model: E9L6634
UPC: 652182058678
EAN: 0652182058678
ASIN: B0017LA4JS
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Baby Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLBABYI at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 5 point harness with patented Floating HUGS system and True Side Impact Protection | | • | Built-in lock-off clips, Versa-Tether & Safe Guard LATCH Connectors | | • | EPS and Comfort Foam for safety and comfort | | • | Quick adjust headrest and recline | | • | Rear facing: 5 to 35 pounds. Forward facing: At least 1 year old and 20 to 40 pounds |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Learn more about the Diplomat. Ideal for use in smaller vehicles. A compact child seat with patented deep EPS Foam Filled side walls and deep side wings for True Impact Protection Patented protection barrier distributes crash forces and minimizes lateral head movement. Fits children 5 to 33 lbs. rear facing, 1 yr. and up to 40 lbs. forward facing. 23"H x 19" x 24"W. Taylor Stripe,Huntington,Cowmooflage or Onyx.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Outstanding car seat! September 14, 2007
Leo's Folks (Boston Area, MA, USA)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
The Britax Diplomat Onyx car seat is outstanding! We had purchased a Britax Boulevard over a month ago and had a few pet peeves... also, the Boulevard was too big for our cars. We were sure that we wanted the beefy side-impact protection, though; so we were thrilled to hear that the Diplomat was coming out - a compact version of the Boulevard - and signed up. The car seat arrived today and we have noticed that none of our pet peeves were carried over to this model! We easily got the car seat installed, ordered another Diplomat Onyx for the second car, then took junior for a spin to return the Boulevard model.
Specifically... the fabric is fine, the headrest and straps are easy to adjust, the padding is superior, and the placement/length of the buckle and belly pad (which were problematic on the Boulevard) are very good. Although the seat only goes up to 40 lbs. max, its compact size (versus the Boulevard) should make it easier to use on a plane. We are entirely happy with this car seat, and are so glad the timing worked out that the Diplomat was introduced just when we needed it!
Excellent choice for small cars or moms of multiples January 14, 2008
Jamie A. Neidig-wheaton (Herndon, VA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
We are very pleased with the Diplomat and it has many improvements over the original Boulevard. Foremost, it does fit behind the seats in the front of the car - and someone can still fit in the front seat. This is a must of you have multiple carseats in your car. The push button release to adjust the straps in an improvement over the "pull-up" bar on the earlier Boulevard. The button makes it very easy to loosen the straps, put the child into the seat, and then pull the harness tight. As with the Boulevard, the adjustable headrest/ harness movement is wonderful. You don't have to move the straps to a different hole (and the spend an hour trying to make sure the seat's put back together correctly) - simply turn a knob as your child grows. The recline feature is great because you don't have to uninstall the seat to adjust it. The fabric is soft, but not so soft that you worry about it absorbing every spill. Finally, the carseat is easy to install.
I've heard some children find the "wings" around their heads objectionable. None of my children have had any problems with the side impact protection, but none have ever been in a carseat without side impact protection, so they may just be used to it.
Because the carseat is smaller and more narrow than the Boulevard, I don't think it would be comfortable for a tall, husky toddler. Our 2.5 years old is very tall (about 3 feet) and thin (27 pounds) and although he fits in the Diplomat, he is clearly more comfortable in the larger Boulevard. Thus if you child is over 2 and over 25 lbs, I'd recommend the Boulevard over the Diplomat, especially considering that size isn't as much of an issue when the carseat is forward facing.
 Great for smaller kids but watch for minor issues February 16, 2008
Constantin (US)
15 out of 20 found this review helpful
The Diplomat is the smaller companion to the Boulevard series. Due to its compact size, it's great for parents whose children are in the lower size and weight percentiles - it's smaller overall size will free room in your car also.
Per Britax, the Diplomat can accommodate children in a weight range from 5lb to 40lb and a maximum height of 40 inches. The child can weigh between 5-35 lb while facing rearward and 20-40 lb while facing forward. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends rear-facing seats until the child is at least one year of age and weighs 20 lb.
The car seat is permanently attached to a hard base that allows the seat to be swiveled forward and backward. Ideally, the swivel base would allow a wider range of motion - our seat could not be made level without the addition of padding underneath the base. Also, the Chicco infant carrier that preceded the Diplomat in our car had a separable base, making the base install easier. A separable base would be a big plus in my opinion. The Chicco base also held the infant carrier more snugly to the car.
The Diplomat headrest can be adjusted up and down to maximize the comfort of your child, and there are multiple seat pads that can be removed as the child gets bigger. The seat cover is removable (with work), so this seat works for parents that have to deal with spit-up, spills, and other debris that is left in the wake of the typical kid. Because the seat is big enough to accommodate a 40" long, 40lb kid, a one-year old transitioning into it may feel a bit "loose" after the snugness of the infant carrier preceding it.
A variety of attachment options are possible, from standard car and aircraft seat belts (3-point or lap) to the LATCH system, which is my personal favorite. The seat is certified for use in aircraft, a big plus if you have to travel. Here, the smaller size of the Diplomat really becomes handy since running through an aircraft aisle with all the baby goodies is hard enough as it is. Threading the seat belt through the base might get interesting, depending on the size of the aircraft.
I noted two minor annoyances with the unit that was shipped to us. The fixed base has a single set of LATCH buckles, requiring them to be reversed every time the seat orientation is changed (i.e. left has to become right). A separable base and seat would not require this extra step. Also, our old Chicco infant carrier base had a air-bubble level to make a proper install easier to gauge than the "this line should be level" instruction on the side of the Diplomat. The Diplomat base is also wide enough where attaching the LATCH buckles is not necessarily easy.
This unit really requires the careful study of the manual... which is permanently attached to the unit in a location that is inaccessible when the seat has been installed in a rear-facing orientation. I wonder how many parents will struggle and/or install their seats incorrectly because they did not notice the fine print in the manual. A nice to have would be a small manual attached to the chair, and a bigger one (with a text font size above 4pts) delivered separately inside the same box.
Another minor ding is that the injection molded base that the seat is permanently attached to was still covered with fuzz from the injection-molding process. Most manufacturers deburr such edges to make them smooth and to remove such fuzz, but Britax has elected not to. In my opinion, such fuzz is undesirable around children, you cannot discount the possibility that a kid will try to eat it. Fixing the problem is easy enough, just run over those coarse edges with a Brillo pad to remove the fuzz and smooth them over.
Which brings me to my last issue with Britax and their web site. They want you to register your e-mail address as part of the product registration process, but they do not reciprocate by allowing you to contact them by e-mail once you have registered the product. Perhaps there is a legal reason, but there is no means to contact them other than snail mail or to wait until weekday business hours and to call them. Curiously, they do publish one e-mail address on their site for employment opportunities.
Still, all in all a great seat. I expect this seat will continue to delight our daughter and keep her safe while we're driving.
Britax Diplomat - great choice for a convertible seat November 21, 2007
Sherry M. Noud (Burke, VA USA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
We bought the Britax Diplomat to replace the Britax Boulevard we had been using for our 15-month-old daughter. The Boulevard takes up way too much room rear-facing - our front passenger seat (in a compact car) was basically unavailable because it had to be pushed all the way forward in order to accommodate the Boulevard.
So far, we love the Diplomat. The LATCH installation was a breeze. The seat is a few inches shorter than the Boulevard, so we were able to move the front passenger seat back and resume using it. We like the side impact protection feature, the fact that it is one of very few convertible seats that you can tether rear-facing, and the fact that you can adjust the harness without uninstalling the seat.
Also, the Onyx fabric is far more comfortable for our daughter than the Central Park fabric on our Boulevard. I didn't realize how hot the Central Park (velour) fabric would be in the summer. I would definitely recommend the Diplomat in the Onyx fabric.
Great for small cars - lives up to description October 6, 2007
First time mother (West Hartford, CT)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
We have a small car, and ordered this based on descriptions that it would be a smaller Britax that would fit in smaller cars. The car the seat is installed in is a Saab 92-X (wagon), which is built off the Subaru Impreza, and we have learned from several online car seat sites as well as in person from car seat sales people that Subarus are a tight fit and that many car seat models cannot be safely installed in these vehicles without losing use of the front passenger seat. We were able to fit this seat in rear-facing on a passenger side very nicely (seat works rear-facing to 35 lbs, up to 40 lbs front facing). If you are not inclined to change your vehicle -- and possibly give up use of your front passenger seat -- just because a car seat cannot be properly/safely installed, look into this seat! Disclaimer: We have not yet had the seat installation inspected by a traind car seat installation expert (such as local police), but I can tell based on how this seat compares with our previous one that it will be a good fit even if we need to tweak the installation for added safety.
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