Which baby car seat would you recommend?

[TinaMumsnet]

We're making plans to test and review baby car seats and we'd love to know which ones you recommend.

If you've used and loved a baby car seat in the past two years we want to hear about it. Tell us the make and model of the car seat you rate, and why you'd recommend it to others. Your comments will help us to create a shortlist of baby car seats to test and recommend to new parents.

Also, if you have any tips on how to choose the right car seat, please share them on this thread. We'll include these comments in our buyer's guide

Thanks!

Are you just reviewing infant car seats? I wrote a long post about the poor reviews that Mumsnet did earlier this year because they didn't review a single 25kg rear facing car seat and didn't make it clear about the huge safety differences between rear and forward facing.

If you're just reviewing infant car seats, the most important thing is how it fits in your car - which you can't get from a review. The key piece of advice should be to have your car seat fitted into your car by a trained professional (not necessarily mothercare, Halfords etc) to ensure a proper fit. Infant car seats tend to be much of a muchness if they fit in your car properly!

Also Mumsnet should contact the Car Seat Advice U.K. people to get some proper advice rather than listening to people who sell car seats.

As a tiny baby DS had the cybex cloud Q and we loved it.

Best bit was that out of the car it can lie flat. Meaning that we could take it out of the car attach it to the pram and then recline it to flat and not need to worry about DS being scrunched up. Very very useful when it came to a sleeping baby out and about and the recommendation that young babies don't spend too long in a car seat. We also had the isofix base and bought a cybex pram to connect to to although other brands were comparable I think.

He now has the gb Vaya I-size seat and it is fab. Love the fact that it twists. And that he can rear face for ages yet. And even though it is a big and heavy isofix car seat it isn't a complete nightmare to move between cars!

Everything teaandbiscuits said.

I don't recommend the Cybex Aton Q because there is very little growing room and my DS outgrew it far too quickly.

Joie 360

Sorry pressed send by mistake. It's a good solid seat and helps with your back with the ability to turn it. And it rear faces too which is great. My DS is 2 and fairly tall and still comfortably rear facing.

I agree with teaandbiscuits

Agree with teaandbiscuits - it would be great to see mumsnet team up with car seat advice uk and produce a great article on the benefits of extended rear facing and why it’s important to see what centile your child is following before you choose their next stage car seat - it would keep many children safer and stop parents forking out on seats that aren’t fit for purpose. Infant seats are much of a muchness to be honest - so long as you go with a reputable brand and it fits your car well - it’s what you get afterwards that is a much harder decision.

All the cradle seats are a pain in the arse. I recommend getting one that can fit in a base that stays in the car. We had maxi cosi but I'm sure there are others.

I second the Joie 360 - the spin feature is so useful

Joie spin 360

Concord reverso plus i-size. Stays in the car and is rear facing to 23kgs.

I don't recommend the Silver Cross Simplicity which is an infant seat.

Agree with teabiscuits.

We use the concord reverse plus. They stay rear facing until up to four years old.

I would really like to see the push towards extended rear facing seats which are miles safer than forward facing seats.

@Lovingit81 how are you finding it? Ours is ready to use and have only ever had concord car seats for DS. Never met anyone irl who have used concord seats.

Unless you are planning on crash testing the car seats PLEASE don’t do this. Reviews based on opinion such as “it’s comfy for the child” or “it’s easy to carry” or “it’s easy to fit” are unimportant in the scheme of safety and may sway somebody to buy a seat without understanding how much the safety of particular seats can vary. Please think this through

We have a maxi cosi pebble which is fab.

Cybex Sirona was a good seat from 6m to 3 years. Wouldn't recommend for likely to be tall children and recline problematic for some rear seats.

Britax 2 way elite a nice 9kg up seat. Less space hungry than the 25kg seats like the axkid. More fiddly to fit than Isofix seats.

Getting to know the Britax baby safe. Feels nice and solid, recline acceptable for newborn, flex base very helpful for that.

Definitely prefer Isofix because the sleep deprived parent is going to be the weak link in anything requiring skill to install. Could not work out SIL's Hauck belted install seat at all, it was never remotely stable in our car.

Also prefer 5 point harness because my eldest started with her Houdini tendencies at about 5 months (ie well before telling off would be remotely possible) and the 3 point harness was much easier to wriggle out of than the 5 point.

We got the Britax two way elite as a spare for grandparents' car and I'm really impressed with it. Loads of growing room (25kg seat with tall shell), seems comfy, easy to get DS in and out (easier than swivel seat in some ways) plus it's compact and light enough to be taken on the plane (as hold luggage) for trips abroad.

What @teaandbiscuits said. Mumsnet is in a huge position of power as a place clueless new parents come to get ideas and advice. Please team up with car seat advice UK and positively influence the safety of countless newborn and toddlers. My 4yo is still rear facing and loves it (axxkid mini kid)

Wanttomakemincepies we have one for our three year old and one for our one year old. I think they are brilliant and I can't see my three year old growing out of it anytime soon but he is small! They do take up a lot of space but so do all rear facing seats. X

Take a look at the ADAC safety tests conducted in Germany. They are carried out at much higher speeds than the standard UK specifications. The ones that pass with good or excellent are the BeSafe, Cybex and Britax ranges. All the others are very hit and miss. We were looking at the Joie 360 until we saw the review and went for the Cybex Sirona.

This is one thing we won't compromise on. Ever.

I'm a big fan of the BeSafe Izi which goes rf and ff and it's really easy to switch around. We've had a range of erf seats and this one is my favourite.

Totally agree that safety is the top priority but if I'm choosing between two well rated seats then actually it does come down to the trivial stuff. And for something I'm using every day and will need to wrestle a tantrumming toddler into, ease of use is a consideration!

I recommend Joie caraeats.
My Daughter had the birth till seven years old
love how long she was rear facing init.
When I had someone crash into the back of me while I was stationary me and the other two children was thrown forward.
Her car seat didn't move an inch took the impact to the point she didn't even wake up!

My son has the Joie I anchor unfortunately I have been involved in another Rta, someone drove into the side of me this time.

Still the seat didn't move an inch he was secure and comfortable and the seat took the impact again he was asleep.

Incidentally due to he's car seat being in the Rta I'm now going to purchase the Joie stages.
The car seat doesn't look like it has any damage or has lost any structural support but to be on the safe side.

@Lovingit81 It is currently in the car, not too bad has have Insignia so plenty of space. My DS is on the smaller side and imagine this one will be too. Started with the ultimax for DS and found that so easy to use. Thanks for the reply.