Britax Babysafe or Maxi Cosi Cabriofix?

[AmandinePoulain]

I'm looking for a car seat to fit in an Oyster that I've been offered second hand. I don't really like the Oyster own brand seat, so it's a choice between a Cabriofix and Babysafe (not the SHR, that won't fit, the basic one). Any opinions on which is best? We've got a Golf Plus if that makes any difference, and we do intend to try them both in the car for fit.

Thanks

If you look at the britax web site here the SHR does fit. I would get the britax plus SHRII as it has the release bit on the handle which will make it easier and the covers are easier to wash on britax seats

Hmmm...I didn't realise that. The pram is being sold with maxi cosi adaptors though, and as the SHR and Cabriofix are very similar prices if I had to buy Britax adaptors to use the SHR rather than the Babysafe it would bump the cost up. It's a safety issue for me mainly though, and which seat looks cosier.

Hi dont know anything about the pram. But We have 3 of the Britax seats (for almost 2yr old and 9mth twins) and a friend of ours has the Maxi cosi. I would say i deff prefer the Britax ones. DC4 is almost 2yrs and still fits his Britax one (hes teeny tiny) but his head just reaches the top of our friend maxi cosi. The Britax one has a taller back so may well last longer if your baby is likely to be tall (or like ours take their time to gain weight). I also prefer the headrest on the britax.

if you look here it is only a adapter to make it a bit to higher. The adapters are on the car seat it just fits on. If you want it a bit higher it looks like they are £10

I have been trying to make the same decision. Its made a bit harder because we have to fit 3 car seats into our Ford Focus for a couple of months.

I did find out that you don't need adaptors for the Britax but you do need them for the Maxi Cosi.

I would choose the britax for the sole reason your baby will be able to stay in it longer than the maxi cosi and rearfacing is safest.

I have been looking for an infant carrier and looked at the Cabriofix and the Baby Safe SHR II. I got the tape measure out in Mothercare and measured the seat backs (i.e. from where their bums go to the top of the seat).

Cabriofix was 16" (so will only take a 15" torso'd child before it is out grown*)

Baby Safe SHR II was 20" (so will take a 19" torso'd child before it is out grown*)

Roughly speaking your child can be around 6-8" taller in a Baby Safe than a Cabriofix before the seat is outgrown (assuming they grow roughly equally in torso & legs) and given that they have a 13kg max limit I very much doubt many children grow out of the Cabriofix by weight than height.

I have just bought the Baby Safe as I have tall (or short-average in the case of DD3) and light children (DD3 is 33" and 28lbs /86cm & 12.8kg at 2.5y) and want the carrier to last as long as possible for DC4.

*You have to have 1" of shell above their head for the seat to still be safe.

Thanks all. The consensus seems to be Britax then.

I have got the Britax with the isofix base in my Golf, it is so easy to take in and out of the car and my DS has been really comfy in it. The only thing I don't like is the sunshade doesnt come down very far compared to my friend's maxi cosi. It scored really highly in the Which safety tests which is why I chose it.

I switched from a Cabrio-fix to a Babysafe for DC3, the main reason was fitting 3 in the car. Whoever mentioned fitting them in a Focus - the Britax is easier to fit with 2 other seats due to the position of the handle, the maxi cosi did fit too but not as well. The longer backrest on the Britax is a unexpected bonus.

Thanks again everyone! We bought a Babysafe SHR II this weekend from Halfords as it was £50 off and if the rear facing until 15 months law comes in as rumoured we'll need a seat that will last as long as possible.

Don't forget that it's perfectly possible, and much safer, to have your child rear facing until about 4. There are lots of rear facing group 1 seats.