Britax offers three combination seats: the Pioneer, the Frontier, and the Pinnacle. These seats are forward facing seats that have a harness, but convert to high back boosters as well. We’re often asked what the differences are, so we’ve compiled a comparison for you.
Pioneer
Britax Pioneer
Summary: The Pioneer is the entry-level seat in this category. At 21 pounds, it’s the lightest of the three seats. Pioneers made after 4/4/14 have a 19.5″ top shoulder height — Pioneers made before that date feature an 18.5″ top shoulder height.
The Pioneer does not include the ClickTight Installation System. This is the biggest difference between the Pioneer and the Frontier or Pinnacle.
The Pioneer also does not include the EZ Buckle or HUGS pads, both of which can be ordered separately.
Translation: the lowest price option requires the most effort for installation of the 3 Britax combination seats but has a lot of nice features for the price. Rated to 70 pounds, the Pioneer would get most children to booster age without issue.
Learn more about the Pioneer in our review.
Frontier
Britax Frontier
Summary: The Frontier 90 is the middle seat in this category. At 25 pounds, it’s 4 pounds heavier than the Pioneer. The Frontier includes a 20.5″ top shoulder height, the tallest available.
Main Difference: The Frontier includes the ClickTight Installation System, which makes installing the seat quite simple.
Translation: the mid-point option among the three Britax combination seats offers a high weight limit of 90 pounds, a very tall 20.5″ top shoulder height and the revolutionary ClickTight Installation System. If you need to move the sear around fairly often or need to have a variety of people install the seat, the Frontier is an excellent option.
Learn more about the Frontier in our review.
Pinnacle
Britax PInnacle
Summary: The Pinnacle 90 is the top of the line, most featured seat in this category. At 26.5 pounds, this is not a lightweight seat! The Pinnacle includes the same 20.5″ top shoulder height of the Frontier. It also includes the ClickTight Installation System,
Key Difference: In addition to all of these features, the Pinnacle includes SafeCell Complete Side Impact Protection MAX around the headwings. This makes for a fairly wide, fairly heavy seat.
Translation: this full featured seat has a lot of ease of installation features. It’s a pretty heavy, bulky seat, but if you don’t need another car seat directly next to it, it’s a nice option.
Learn more about the Pinnacle in our review.
Side by Side Comparison
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This brief guide should give you a sense of what sets each of these seats apart. Like all seats, they’re safe when installed correctly and used properly every time.
