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

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

Car seats

Need a car seat which is easy to move between cars

29 replies

reastie · 28/10/2011 09:18

We will soon need to get dd another car seat (she is 8mo).

Once I'm back to work she will regularly travel in my car, my mums car and MILs car. I'm not sure whether to get one car seat for my car and another for dm/mil to share between their cars, a separate seat for each or one seat with 3 isofix bases for the 3 cars or one seat for all of us to share.

Are there any cars seats that are really simple to put in and out with the seatbelt (bearing in mind dm/mil are a bit lousy at this type of thing and I would never forgive myself if they were in an accident and they had failed to put the seat in properly)? Maybe the isofix is the way to go?

Any advice or suggestions please

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ragged · 28/10/2011 09:42

Maxi Cosi have been good for us, as a rule. Better when they can go up to the next stage, though.

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reastie · 28/10/2011 09:48

she's in a maxi cosi cabriofix at the min. The next car seat we get will be the stage about this one

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Fisharefriendsnotfood · 28/10/2011 09:50

Kiddy infinity pro. Can't beat it. And safest forward facing car seat.

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Grumpla · 28/10/2011 09:51

I have a Kiddy one (goes from stage 2 right up to booster) which is much lighter than the other stage 2 carseats I've tried. It's still bulky but came out as a Which? Best Buy for safety.

You sit the seat in the car, put child in seat, fit in impact cushion across their lap and strap in with the car's three-point seatbelt. No five point harness to fiddle with or clips etc for the seat base. I find it very easy to use.

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reastie · 28/10/2011 10:07

grump so you don't need isofix or anything? just plonk it in and use the cars seat belt in a foolproof fashion? sounds like a good idea. Is it really heavy or OK to carry to and from cars?

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Yorky · 28/10/2011 10:11

No isofix on kiddy seats, really light and easy to fit, my 3 love theirs
Only downside is they're quite wide so you might struggle to get 3 in a row

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reastie · 28/10/2011 10:15

Don't worry yorky we only have one DC and don't intend on any more . What about rear facing - they're safer arn't they? Should I get a rear facing seat?

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Tw1nkle · 28/10/2011 10:16

We have the Kiddy Infinity Pro - absolutely LOVE it!!!! Always moving it from one car to another - so so easy!!!

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Manathome · 28/10/2011 10:17

Isofix is safest in my opinion, trusting others to properly fit a seat with seat belts is asking for trouble! The only problem with isofix is firstly making sure all the vehicles have it, and secondly check the seat fitting, some are harder than others to get access to e.g. flaps over them, setright into the seat base e.t.c. We have a Land Rover Discovery and the fittings are right there on the seat, dead easy. You don't want people ripping their seats and blaming you.

Isofix seats can also be used with seatbelts, I have used both and would not move back to a seat belt version for safety reasons I have mentioned, but as stated mine are easy for getting in and out, hope his helps!

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Grumpla · 28/10/2011 10:21

No, you don't need isofix. It really is very simple although for some reason my MiL always worries that she hasn't done it 'properly' (maybe it's toooo simple?!? The cheap one they bought for their car is a nightmare to fit!) and wants me to check it. I think there is a lot less to 'go wrong' IYSWIM.

It is fairly light, compared to a lot of other ones, I have taken it away on the train in one of those ikea bags and managed it balanced on top of a wheely suitcase in one hand whilst pushing pram in the other! Wouldn't want to go for miles but in terms of switching from house to car (which I do fairly often) it's absolutely fine!

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reastie · 28/10/2011 10:21

man we have isofix at the min in our car with the cabriofix and it's great - love it. Thing is I don't know if My dm/mil would be able to permenantly keep the isofix base in their car (they may need to take it out to fit people in) and the bases are a faff to clip in and out of the car. I can see DM/MIL not being able to clip it back in! Maybe I should get a separate isofix base and seat in my car and dm/mil can share the kiddy infinity seat

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reastie · 28/10/2011 10:29

is the kiddy infinity pro the same as kiddy energy pro? It looks pretty similar to me

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iarebaboon · 28/10/2011 10:33

Kiddy pro thing here too, for the same reason. So easy to move between cars. I can stagger into nursery with DS on one hip and car seat in the other hand. Grandparents can use it. DS happy and comfy and when he threw up all over it easy to wash

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Manathome · 28/10/2011 10:34

My seat is all in one, base and top, I have always found teh isofix a breeze, you just pull the handle, line it up with the seat fitting and push tight, to get it out just pull the handle and it releases, easy.

Maybe you have a fiddly seat base fitting as I stated earlier, mine are there to see clearly so very easy.

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Grumpla · 28/10/2011 10:39

I have this one which goes all
The way up until your kid no longer needs a booster www.kiddy.de/en/childrens-car-seats/9months-12years/kiddy-guardian-pro.html

I think they also do an isofix version but like the energy I think that only goes up to 4 years. Check on their site though.

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justforinfo · 31/10/2011 21:09

Outgrown at 8MO?? I hope i'm not patronising..... she only outgrows the cabrio when she's 13kg/29lbs or the top of her head reaches the top of the seat.

There is an isofix version of the cybex pallas impact cushion seat.

Yes rearfacing is much safer, but it's equally important to ensure seat is fitted correctly and ERF seats are more difficult to fit.

Something like the Britax duo plus is a breeze but you need to check every car is compatible with it (some cars need a top tether) MIL /DM wont be able to do it incorrectly as it clicks and has green points to show it's fitted. As Britax have pivot link isofix it's much safer than standard isofix (eg safer than priorifix) It's specifically designed to reduce the strain on the child's neck in a crash. The duo plus is only 12.5kg.

The problem i've found my customers having with the cybex/infinaty is not putting the cushion on tight enough, if the cushion isn't on tight enough it'll do sod all to protect the child!

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chocoroo · 31/10/2011 21:17

reastie We just got a Britax Duo Plus and it's working well for us - dead simple to fit with isofix as justforinfo says.

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MercyDulbottle · 31/10/2011 21:20

Oh gosh, get a seat for each car, someone is bound to drive off without swapping the seat over (voice of experience emoticon).

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reastie · 01/11/2011 19:39

just she hasn't outgrown it yet, I'm just being organised and getting her next one planned as I'm back at work in Jan and we need a new one for then so it can be moved between cars easily as our cabriofix isn't great for this. I expect she will still be in our cabriofix for a fair while yet, but we will still need something for gparents car. I'm look at the britax duo plus but they don't seem to sell the isofix seperately - am I missing something? We would need one seat and 3 bases. Tbh both the britax and kiddy look good.

mercy you may well be right, but initially I want just one so we can see if we like it and then if necessary buy 2 more.

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mybootsaremuddy · 01/11/2011 21:22

reastie With the stage 1 seats isofix is part of the seat (built into it) so no bases are needed. I think the only exception to this is one of the Maxi cosi ones. So if you were to get the Britax duo the isofix bars will already be there and stay attached if you also needed to fit the seat in a non isofix car then the isofix bar kind of tucks/slides away at the back and you can use the cars belt to fit the seat.

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reastie · 01/11/2011 21:39

I think all the cars it will be used in has isofix. I assume it's simple to plug it in different cars then [hopeful]?

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chocoroo · 01/11/2011 21:52

reastie It's integral on the Britax one we have. Seriously, it could not e easier to get in and out. But you do need to check about top tethering.

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mybootsaremuddy · 01/11/2011 22:26

What cars will it be used in? Have a look on the britax site. They have a fit finder on there. If you put in the make and model of the cars you are going to be fitting the seat it it will tell you what seats of theirs fit and with the duo one it will say if you need the top tether or not.

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reastie · 02/11/2011 06:28

Right I've looked on britax and all 3 of the cars say it fits, our car (honda jazz) says it need a top tether but the others don't. Is the top tether quick and easy to fit too?

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nicm · 02/11/2011 19:34

hi reastie, at 8mo i would be looking at a rf seat for your dd. i have a britax two way elite which is really easy to move between cars. just get a set of tether straps for each car it needs to go in( i have had it in loads of cars and it has fitted in them all). we have a set in each our cars, 3 gps cars and all you have to do then is belt the seat and clip in the tethers. takes about 2 minutes once you get the hang of it!

:)

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