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Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here.

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here.

Car seats

What to get for 3.6yr old after BeSafeiZi Kid? ERF to 6yrs or HBB?

18 replies

Laquila · 27/02/2017 23:43

i feel like every time I decide on a new car seat, I have a fe wmontha of respite and then I need to start looking for another bloody one 🙄

And I only have two kids so this can't actually be the case, but we had a bump and needed to replace our seats, and I've also had to find ones that fit grandparents' cars. So basically I'm sick of bloody car seat research!! Anyhoodle. My average-size 3.6yr old is in a BeSafe iZi Kid (in a 2006 Nissan Note), which I will shortly need for my 1yr old.

I don't know whether to put him in a TWE or to buy a Joie Every Stage and turn him round. I'm confident that he wouldn't try and undo the belt if ff, but the idea of using it as an HBB and having him only strapped in with the belt makes me slightly uncomfortable. I know everyone raves about the TWE but I've heard that the harness isn't brilliant, and the Joie has the advantages of being easier to move and also more futureproof. Any advice??

(I guess the other option is a cheaper HBB but I don't know where to start with that!)

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Laquila · 28/02/2017 08:44

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OP posts:

Laquila · 28/02/2017 21:04

Anyone at all??...

OP posts:

Phalarope · 28/02/2017 22:09

Hello - we're starting to think about this for DD (3.4) who looks like she'll outgrow her Britax Maxway for height around the same time DS outgrows his baby carrier. The Maxway goes up to 25kg but her eyes are getting near the top.

I think we'll turn DD round - I've not tried the TWE but it can't be that much bigger (can it?) so how much longer would it last heightwise?

You and others had some helpful advice on HBBs in a thread I started a couple of weeks ago. DD sat really nicely and sensibly in one on a visit to her grandparents and looked secure, so I feel much more reassured about her moving to one in our car in a few months.

savagehk · 28/02/2017 22:11

We have the twe and the harness is fine? It's also one of the longest lasting seats.

Babylonmood · 28/02/2017 22:14

What's a twe?

Babylonmood · 28/02/2017 22:16

Also - would a minor bump with car seat in car (but no child) damage the car seat?

savagehk · 28/02/2017 22:17

"car seat advice for mummies & daddies" on Facebook has a doc on the twe, they say most kids will be 6 when they outgrow it, but higher centile children for height or weight might do so at about 5.

savagehk · 28/02/2017 22:18

Britax two way elite

Laquila · 01/03/2017 09:53

Thanks all!

Ahh yes Phalarope I remember your thread. I think once I see my son in a HBB I'll probably feel ok about it - it just feels like a big jump from a harnessed ERF seat! I emailed Hakan at carseat.se, who I've spoken with before, and he said the following:

"TWE and Multi Tech are combination seats while HiWay is rear facing only. TWE and MT have a much taller seat shell than HiWay which last to around age four or 110 cm. MT will las to age six or about 120-125 cm and TWE slightly longer.

Other good choice is likely Britax MaxWay which is an upgraded HiWay with head support and integrated harness. Axkid Minikid and Axkid Wolmax are together with HiWay the most compact seats but the Axkid seats have a much taller seat shell lasting to age six or 125 cm. These two seats are a good combination of compact size and very long rear facing time.

Using a harnessed FF seat for older kids is not any safer than using a high or low back booster. We actually consider a high back booster superor and advice against placing any older children forward facing in harnessed seats."

It sounds as though he means that something like the TWE actually should be used ff with the harness after a certain age/weight, presumably 18kg? That goes against the manufacturers' guidance so I've emailed him for confirmation.

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savagehk · 01/03/2017 16:37

He's great isn't he. I think you've misread him though, using the TWE ff with harness is what he's advising against, using it harnessed rf is fine.

Phalarope · 01/03/2017 19:52

Oh bum, if the TWE lasts until 125cm, I'll have to have a rethink.
Why don't they publish the height stuff? A 25kg 110cm 4 yr old would be spilling over the sides of the MaxWay.

savagehk · 01/03/2017 21:28

I think the new i size regs will cover height, but if you have a child relatively long in the body looking at "absolute" height might still not work?

MelinaMercury · 01/03/2017 21:41

We've just reluctantly moved our daughter (she'll be 4 on Sunday, weighing 17kg) into a high back booster because she wasn't comfy rear facing in our car and the harness wasn't above her shoulders FF :(

We went for a Cybex M-Fix seat which looks pretty much like a group 1 but without the harness. It's solid as a rock with the isofix and the belt is well positioned which boosts my confidence a bit :)

Laquila · 02/03/2017 09:05

Ahh Savage sorry - I meant "the TWE actually shouldn't be used ff with the harness after a certain age/weight" - he's now confirmed this by email:

"We strongly recommend rear facing to age four or perhaps a bit longer if possible. After that we recommend to place kids in a high back booster and not a harnessed FF seat. Exceptions could be that a child has special needs or perhaps is extremely tiny.

Most kids are not mature enough to ride in a booster before age four. If a child must ride FF at say age three it would then likely be better to a use a harnessed FF seat."

I'm surprised as I thought that one of the benefits of the TWE would be that if you did want to turn them round between 4 and 6yrs, you'd have the extra protection of the harness, but apparently not.

I'll take a look at that Cybex, Melina - thanks. Although at the mo I'm leaning towards the Joie Every Stage if we just get a HBB.

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savagehk · 02/03/2017 10:32

I think you can use the TWE ff with seatbelt rather than harness if necessary, but I've seen mention elsewhere that the routing is not great.

savagehk · 02/03/2017 10:44

Yep - see the multilingual manual linked to from the carseat.se site.
You need the funny adjuster strap that came with the seat though.

Laquila · 02/03/2017 10:50

Ahh thanks Savage - I knew you could use it as a HBB but didn't realise the routing was weird. Seems a bit daft to buy it as a HBB though, rather than using it rf.

Maybe we should just bite the bloody bullet and turn him round into a HBB after 18kg/4yrs!...

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savagehk · 02/03/2017 11:02

We'll be the nasty parents using the TWE harnessed rear facing till he outgrows it I think :) Even if the other kids face the other way by then. He's not that tall so will probably reach the 25kg first.
Luckily we don't use a car often so it's not as much of a big deal for us as he's not in the seat that frequently.

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