4 year old car seats - keep rear face or FF?

[Pumpkinbumkin200]

In the next few months, my 1 year old will need a new car seat and was planning to give him our 4 year old's spin seat.

I can't decide what to do - she's happy RF so I could buy an extended RF seat up to or I could buy a FF seat. I don't want to get the RF and then she hates it when she is a bit older etc. Although, I also feel guilty about putting her FF as I know RF is safer. Is it still much safer when they're 4+?

Thanks all! Ok I'm thinking maybe leaving 4 year old in her spin for the foreseeable and then buying 1 year old a longer lasting RF one - or maybe another spin?

or you could move 4 year old into a 25kg rear facing and move 1 year old into the spin

that’s what I did I had a joie spin seat and baby was growing out of infant carrier

oldest is small and only just gone past 16kg at 5 but youngest is bigger and was predicted to be just short of 4 years when he hits 18kg

so got an axkid move (as was one of the cheapest) for oldest as knew youngest would need it eventually I wouldn’t buy another spin as seems a waste of money but I also wouldn’t rush to put 1 year old in 25kg rear facing as some don’t get the best fit when there smaller my youngest is now 2 and half and 16kg ish and on the odd occasion he is in the move if I need the spin for younger child he has fell asleep a couple of times and gets bad head flop (which isn’t dangerous at this age but doesn’t look very comfy)

if you do decide hbb then look for one with a crotch guard as they will help position the belt and prevent them sliding under in a crash

Yes may do this! Now to decide on a rear facing seat ...I've seen Britax max way a lot? Or will look at the mini kid.

I would keep the spin for the 1yo, it's more useful at that age than it is at 4. Whatever you get for the 4yo now can be used by the 1yo in time as well.

There is no point duplicating the spin IMO - get something that will last longer. As said, I'd go for either a 25kg ERF seat or an 18kg forward facing one that turns into a booster (probably one I mentioned above, as some have crap safety ratings).

Great thanks. I'm going to go for a RF seat. Now to decide which one. Britax max way seems reasonable but keep seeing people saying the straps loosens easily?

We have a silver cross spinny one that converts into a high backed booster

The maxway and mini kid are ones I see advised a lot

no idea about the maxway I believe it’s smaller but also has a stricter fit list (may be making that up though)

but the axkid move is easy to install and use if you plan on swapping cars you might want an extra set of tethers as that’s the longest part

the axkid mini kid is also popular if using for different children as the headrest and straps adjust automatically to the child’s height but once you have changed them once it’s so easy I wouldn’t pay extra just for that feature

if you have an in car safety centre near you they are really helpful I used one and they show you how to install etc they would also test different seats if you wanted to see how they fit in the car

because these seats have tethers some go round the rails that the front chair moves on mine doesn’t in my car as they are boxed in (they did say u can take of etc but so far I haven’t needed to) but bear in mind if it goes thru the seat then you can’t move that seat without fitting the car seat again so I just have mine behind the passenger seat as we have a big height difference between drivers haha

There are not that many 25kg+ ERF seats so not too many to choose from, which makes it (a bit??) easier. These are what I'd look at at the moment:

The Britax Max Way Plus is discontinued so very little stock of it about - I think Little Peas still has a few. £220 so the only "budget" option left at the moment. If I was getting one I think this is what I'd get, however some people say it's a slightly more finicky fit.

Axkid Move is £280 now, which I think is quite a lot for a stripped-down/basic seat. (Still just as safe but lacks some of the comfort features). It sometimes goes on offer, so if you have time you could keep an eye out for this.

You also sometimes get offers on the Axkid Minikid 2 which is about £370. When that goes down to under £300 it's a good option. It's currently full price. (Axkid are consistent about their sales for all retailers.)

Besafe izi Plus X1 is reduced to £270 in a few places which is a good price. However, recommend getting this fitted in person if possible as it's a bulky seat. It does have the advantage unlike many other ERF 25kg seats that you can change the recline without reinstalling it. It's a little bit shorter in the shell than the Axkids, but not problematically short.

Joie i-Prodigi is worth a look if you want an isofix seat, it is a bit more expensive though at £450 (but not as much as the Axkid One2!) People never really seem to recommend this over the Axkid One, so I don't know if there's something not so good about it - it's so much cheaper, it seems like a no-brainer to me - might be worth looking at some reviews.

The rest, which I think are probably not worth spending the extra on for you at the moment (but including for completeness, in case you want to look them up)
Britax Multi-Tech 3
Avionaut Sky
Besafe Stretch
Axkid Minikid 3 / 4
Britax Max Safe Pro
Klippan Century / Opti 129
Axkid One2

Great thank you. I just got the Axkid mini kid 2 for £265 from Little Peas...hopefully all legit then as cheaper than above!

No, Little Peas are good :) I must have been looking at the RRP instead of the offer - great!