Is the Axkid Spinkid safe and stable?
Made by Swedish manufacturers, Axkid, this seat comes with incredible safety credentials and has passed the Swedish Plus Test, the most rigorous crash test in the world.
Every component is tested beyond regulations and the Spinkid conforms to the R129 European car seat safety standard, which classifies child car seats based on height, not weight. This means the seat has gone through side-impact and frontal impact crash tests to ensure it provides maximum protection in the event of an accident.
All baby car seats have to be rearward facing for up to 15 months, but the Axkid Spinkid can be used for up to four years or 105cm, so your child can stay safer for longer. In fact, this seat can only be used in the rearward facing position, which is a big plus for parents who need extra reassurance.
The car seat is fitted with ISOFIX and has a five-point harness, which is fiddly to secure but, once fastened and tightened, kept our tester Claire's son comfortably in place. She says, “It can easily be loosened with the button on the front, and then tightened again by pulling the strap between your child's ankles, but that doesn't help with the buckle itself, which I found to be quite difficult to connect together and click in - not great if you're in a rush. Once done up, my son seemed to be quite happy and comfortable in the straps.”
During testing, Claire also checked how sturdy the Spinkid felt and if there were any loose parts that could pose a danger. It scored top marks in all safety areas and she was very happy with how safe and secure her son felt in the seat.
“As a parent, safety is more important than anything else. The Spinkid is made with a premium harness and safety system from the Swedish technology provider Holmbergs. It also features force-absorbing technology. Thankfully, I haven't tested this car seat in a crash but I feel comfortable that it's offering the best possible level of protection for my son.”
What's the Axkid Spinkid like to use day-to-day?
The Axkid Spinkid has been designed with busy family life in mind with a 180 swivel seat, easily adjustable height and various recline options.
At just 44cm, it fit easily into the back of our tester Claire’s seven-seater Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. There was space for someone to sit in the middle seat, even with her two-year-old daughter’s Graco Turn2Me 360 spin car seat (with a width of 54cm) also installed in the back - however there would be less space in a smaller car.
The seat wasn’t tested in other cars and, with a weight of 14.5kg, it’s not a seat you would want to move between cars anyway. The integrated ISOFIX base also prevents you from being able to use it on a plane for family holidays.
Although the seat has been designed to make getting your baby in and out easier, the 180 swivel action didn’t live up to expectations for Claire. “A huge flaw with the design of this car seat is the positioning of the button to rotate it. You need two hands to press the button and turn the seat at the same time, which was a nightmare when I had my son in my arms. For me, this makes the spinning feature almost pointless. This was a big disappointment,” she says.
However, Claire loved that her son could stay rear-facing and used a mirror attached to the seat to help her see him during car journeys.
Read next: The best car seats to take on the plane
How comfortable is the Axkid Spinkid?
Whether you’re making long or short journeys, comfort is key when it comes to a car seat for young children, especially if the journey falls around nap time. Our tester Claire’s son travelled in the car for a mixture of long and short journeys and was comfortable throughout.
There’s plenty to adjust on the Axkid Spinkid to allow for more room for your child to grow comfortably. The headrest can be adjusted to 12 different heights and the Spinkid’s Advanced Sleep Well System allows it to be angled by up to 42 degrees by pressing a button underneath the seat. The rebound bar can also be adjusted to offer an additional 7-degree angle so you can get up to 14cm of leg room.
An extended rear-facing seat does mean there's less room for longer legs, which could limit how long you use the seat for. Claire says, “Despite this, I'm happy to have my son rear-facing for as long as he is comfortable.”
The seat’s infant insert allows you to use the Axkid Spinkid with a newborn, however Claire found it still fitted her small 13-month-old. She removed the newborn head support as she felt it was pushing his chin towards his chest when he slept, but he managed to fall asleep when the seat was both upright and reclined.
She says, “He was much more comfortable sleeping in the car once I'd reclined the seat, but to do that I had to move the driver’s seat forward. There is much more room in the rear footwell of my car than most others, but it still didn't have enough room for the driver to sit comfortably while the Spinkid was reclined.”