Joie Tilt - anyone got any comments about this car seat?

[zoomzoomzooom1234]

Does anyone have one? Is there enough space for older toddlers to sit rear facing? Can you forward face with the tilt? Any other comments particularly about safety?

I bought the steadi (for a holiday seat) over the tilt because I found it quicker/easier to fit in the car, so much easier and quicker to adjust the harness and bigger for an older child. It can be forward facing.

yes you can rear face in the tilt until 18kg and forward face from 13kg. Toddlers rearfacing tend to cross their legs or bend them. (most toddlers/small children are actually more comfortable doing this as when forward facing their legs are just dangling which isn't comfortable for them and can sometimes cause pins and needles in their legs.

We have a joie steadi and I think the main differences between the tilt and the steadi are the steadi has a longer/higher seat shell (so should last a little longer) and has a belt locking part to the seat so tends to make a more solid fit.

For the price either of these seats are a good bet for more extended rear facing.

With any seat that uses the cars seat belt to secure into the car you need to make sure there's no buckle crunch.

I wasn't sure how such a compact looking seat would work for extended rear facing but my 2.3yr old is still perfectly comfortable and doesn't look like he will need moving for a good while yet. The straps occasionally get twisted but easy to fix. I plan on buying another one for baby due in April, excellent value for money.

We got a tilt reduced to £45 after having problems with DD escaping from her I-anchor. It seems like a good seat, comfortable but is quite reclined when rear facing. It seemed a little short by the time DD was 2.5 but we're now using it for dd2 who is one and is very comfy in it.
It's a great budget choice for rear facing with no isofix but won't last as long as some of the other belted rear facing seats.
Dd1 is now in a two way elite which is also belt fitted and compact and will last a lot longer (up to 25kg) but isn't suitable for very small babies.

I can't comment on the seat, sorry, but I have been doing a bit of looking (online only so far) for a rear facing car seat to go in the grandparents car for occasional trips and the joie stages, tilt and steadi all look good from a price point of view but I was concerned that the car seat belt looks like it would be in the way and make getting the baby/child into the car quite awkward. For those with those seats is that a problem you have? Thanks.

We have the Tilt and I recommend it highly. 3.5 yr old DS can still fit in it RF but depending on the car if is becoming a bit uncomfortable/cramped and I would no longer do a long journey with it but up till 3ish it was fab.

I've had it in dozens of different (hire) cars and it is very quick and easy to fit and I've always managed to get it in safely (in some cars it only fits in the middle space due to buckle crunch in the outer seat but that's not a problem for us).

To answer a couple of questions: it can go FF but personally I wouldn't recommend it, it's a cheap seat and works surprisingly well RF but if you need FF I'd consider a different seat.
The seat belt routing does get in the way a bit when you are putting them in, for us this is a temp/holiday seat and this isn't a problem - you move the seatbelt out of the way to get them in and then move it back again - whether it would be annoying if this is a permenant seat depends on you I guess.

HTH

What's buckle crunch? A couple of people have mentioned it...

Thanks for all the info! Might look at the tilt and steadi then

Buckle crunch description

Buckle crunch is when the seatbelt buckle fastening the seat into the car falls in such a way as to not lie straight. Hard to explain but depending on the length of the bit it plugs in to it may end up being at the point it needs to go behind the seat and ends up pressing against the seat and therefore having extra pressure on it. This compromises the integrity of the belt and it could pop open. All cars/seatbelts/seats will vary hence the importance of actually trying a given seat in your particular car....

Argh, didn't see Alice's post! Much better explanation!