toddler carseat rf if poss, about £100, fits in lots of different cars as we don't own one...

[anyname2011]

Which one?

Joie stages got a poor Which review (56% for safety, side impact protection let it down).

Britax first class plus ticks most boxes. but am worried that it won't fit in different cars and we will have to use it as forward facing most of the time. Also i can't find a which review for it. It does fit rearfacing in my mum's car.
or something else?

My girl is 14 months, about 11kg, just grown out of her infant carseat by height. If I can get a suitable group 0+/1 seat, she'll be able to rearface until she is somewhere between 18-24 months according to her weight centile.

or am I just overthinking it all, and should pick a ff group 1 seat. or group 1/2.

we are about to buy a car soon so she might be in a car more than she is just now.

Also, what do you do when you go on a train and want a lift at the other end? do people really carry these big heavy car seats about with them? going on a long journey soon with 3 changes, just me and baby, friends at the other end have no car seat and don't know anyone with young kids to borrow from.

We're nearly at the same stage as you, so no actual experience, but we came to the conclusion that one of the Kiddy seats (Energy pro group 1 or Guardian pro 2 group 1/2/3) were the way to go. Forward facing, but good Which scores, lightweight and easy to move between cars.

Apparently.

We had the same issue when DS outgrew the infant seat at about 18 months. We did get a group 0+/1 Kiddicare seat, which is fine if we are getting a lift to and from our house and ok for getting a taxi + coach, but no good for random lifts, train with a taxi at the other end etc. Really heavy and really hard to install. Since he's been 2 we have occasionally just used a Trunki booster seat for taxi journeys where the alternative would be no seat, but he isn't heavy enough for it really.

Anyway, I have just ordered a Kiddy Guardian Pro seat. It's forward facing but gets good safety ratings and is a Which best buy, is for 1 year - 12 years so hopefully worth the almost £200 expense, and very easy to change between cars.

ThAt's helpful thanks. We now have a car of your own- sudden decision! - so I just have to figure out one that matches ours now. Will look again at those 2- both ones with shield instead of straps, am I right?

Cross posted maja! Will def look at that guardian seat then.

Yep the Kiddy seats fit in almost every car, lightweight, and have excellent safety reviews. We've got one and it is great.

If you can stretch to a Britax Two Way elite, then I would. It will last, rear facing, until 4+ years (in fact my quite small DS will still be in the weight limit for a TWE when he's nearly 10!) and is easy to switch between cars.

We have a 2 way elite too. It works well in most cars but won't go in very large cars as it needs to lean on the front seats. (This may be a problem for all RFs, but I only have experience of one).

Better to have one with a harness than a shield. Not even the most avanced test dummies have instrumentation devices in all the areas that are important to meassure injury risk in shield seats. Children dont sem to be as Well restrained in Them ón top of that. I have met and read of situations Where children have managed to escape from Them. This isnt a Local problem as some babygear salesperson inhere suggested a While ago.

Moving onto carseat choices for OP to rearface longer than he babyseat.

You wont find a fullsized rearfacer for £100. But you Will get Britax First Class, to last the Extra 2 kg. Then you must turn it. One Think to consider is the lenght of your seatbelt. It requires a long belt. Spare requirements Can be a bit much. It Can be installed in the front seat rearfacing provided that the airbag Can be deactivated

This is exactly what I am looking for too - a RF toddler car seat, that will go in many cars and taxis (as we don't own one) but preferably isn't too heavy as we'd need to lug it on and off trains a lot.

Is the Britax Two Way Elite suitable for this? It's not too heavy?

You May very Well get another year or so rearfacing in the First class. Next in the pricerange is the Britax Two Way Elite.

Forgot to mention that the shield seats dó not reduce neckloads very much compared with harnessed ones. So They are NOT a good alternative to rearfacing seats regardless of the ADAC test results ( ADAC and Stiftung Warentest in Germany carry out the tests)

Another one vouching for the two way elite

Dont discount the joie stages Just because of the which review. Its a good seat.

Oh dear, so the impact shield ones might not be as good after all? First class has a bit of buckle crunch in car, halfords fitter said was ok, not on crucial part but made me wary. Plus it seemed to sway a bit on seat, not very snug. . Heard that rf seats put child at weakest point in car, any one know anything about that? Twe is similar price to impact shield ones

Oops namechanged. I'm op, honest guv! Not that it matters really :)

Cupoftchai

I know who wrote about Rf being at the weakest point in the car.

What we know from Real accidents is that people push the brakes Right before the impact. The upperbody of the forwardfacing Children are then pushed fast forwards into the harness or shield leaving the child without protection there.

Serious injuries and deaths dont happen in RF seats onless the car is completely schattered, crushed flat, whrapped around a tre and the child trown out of the car.

You Can trust mé ón this as I have had a dialog about it without leaving Experts in the field - VTI in Sweden among others.

Both Stiftung Warentest and VTI have tested shield seats. The Stiftung Warentest showed minor difference in the Q1,5 testdummy. There was no difference with the Q3 dummy compared with harnessed seats. VTI tested one shield seat last year to meet Plus Test critiria. The neckloads Were far to high. From looking at the Stiftung Warentest results, there was no difference compared with the VTI result. VTI only tested it with the Q3 dummy

First Class has a belt route for long bukle stalks so you Can avis buckle crunch

Hmm, writing this ón Mobile device, Can you tell?

I meant to write "with experts in the field". Not without them

I have been to Sweden many times.

I know what the roads are like
What cars the Swedes drive
I know that a Big car doesnt = loads of space

I live only 1 hour drive from Sweden by the Way. I Can go there to have a cup of coffee if I want to (which I dont) and go home afterwards