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ERF on holiday/in rental car??

10 replies

Nightfall1983 · 03/01/2014 21:50

DS is currently 16 months and ERFs quite happily in our Cybex Sirona. We are likely to fly abroad at least twice in the next few months and I am worried about car seats. I desperately don't want him to forwards face before at least 2 years, preferably 3. In the past when we have flown abroad we have taken or rented an infant carrier style seat but he is too tall for these now.

What do others do regarding this issue? I could take our Sirona however it is very very big, with awkward jutting out isofix bars and I worry about it being damaged in the hold (it is heavy and also very expensive). I'm considering buying a 'cheaper' ERF seat for travelling (cheapest I've found is c. Â£220) but still transporting it safely worries me. Have others done this? Would it be wise to get a seat belted in seat rather than an ISO fix one for flexibility?

Argh! No holiday even booked yet and still I'm worrying about it - feel I need to decide in advance as have been told that my. DGranddad is unlikely to make it to February so have to prepare for a short notice trip to Eire, though there is an ourside chance we could drive over.

Help and advice needed please...

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Ihateparties · 03/01/2014 22:16

The joie tilt rear faces to 18kg, it's small, light and cheap. As long as you know what you're getting (ie you're not expecting something directly comparable to higher quality full featured erf seat such as a besafe, axkid etc.) I think they're useful.

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Nightfall1983 · 04/01/2014 19:33

Thanks for that the Tilt actually looks really interesting and exactky the sort of thing I was after. I'm a little confused at some sites including one place on the Joie website says its RF to 13 kg only whereas others (inc another place on the Joie website) says 18kg but I've emailed Joie to confirm. I've also asked my friend who works for Which to tell me what they think of it for reassurance - all being well we will get it as it is currently £90 in Argos!!!

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mrscog · 04/01/2014 19:38

We've got a Britax two way elite which I think would travel ok - it's quite bit but also quite simple. I'm considering taking it for ds but as he'll be 2.5 by the time we go away I don't think rf is quite as crucial for me as it was when he was 12mo so I'm also considering a ff seat.

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Ihateparties · 04/01/2014 20:17

I contacted Joie about that too, they promised me they are all suitable rf to 18kg, the first ones were not labelled as such as certification testing was not complete when they were shipped but the seat is physically the same whatever the labelling. Well... so they said :-/

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oadcb · 05/01/2014 17:40

Joie stages would be fine as long as you don't get a car with short belts is fords.Also you would need to know about buckle crunch and how to check it.

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oadcb · 05/01/2014 17:40

Tilt is quite a small shell. Spend the extra and get a stages.

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Nightfall1983 · 05/01/2014 18:04

That's interesting oabcd will look at the stages too though tbh 'small' is what I want from this seat since we'll be using it for holidays. DS is not a big baby either, people say that the Sirona is small but I can easily see it lasting us till he is 4yrs.

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Nightfall1983 · 05/01/2014 18:05

Sorry I mean oadcb. I don't know what buckle crunch is either - will google. Thanks!

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Ihateparties · 06/01/2014 10:46

^ that's exactly it, we have a tilt precisely because it's small. It fits in our small car with 2 other seats and we use the car infrequently. Which is what made me think it might be pretty good for travel. 3y11m old dd1 still fits it rf, she's 103cm. DS at the same height would not have due to different proportions, longer torso, too heavy etc. Fwiw we have very short belts, the infant carrier was so tight it had to stay permanently belted in but the tilt uses less belt. Buckle crunch would be an issue in some cars. It fits best in the centre of our car on that front.

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Nightfall1983 · 06/01/2014 16:34

Excellent. I've just had an email reply from Joie which said basically exactly what ihateparties said and confirmed absolutely that the Tilt is rated to 18kg rear facing. It is still £90 in Argos so I am reserving one now and I am so so thrilled to have found exactly what I wanted at such a fantastic price. Thanks so much for your help!!