Maxi Cosi Mica or Joie I-Spin 360

[MaltedMilk88]

Hi

Can anyone help me choose between these 2?

Steering towards Maxi cosi because of the brand; we have a pebble at the moment and love it.

But heard lots of good things about Joie I-Spin 360

Can anyone steer me one way or the other?

Both seem to fair roughly the same on safety points but I can't find much info re usability of the Mica

[MaltedMilk88]

Hi just a little update, we went to view and bought the Mica
Side by side the Joie and the Mica were very much a muchness of a muchness
We really chose the Mica as I preferred the swivel and it was a little more compact so more room in the car. If the Joie had been significantly cheaper I'd have probably got that one but for £20 it was neither here nor there

[BertieBotts]

Yes 40cm is generally premature territory, average newborn size is 50-56cm.

[Caspianberg]

We have the mica. Have used since newborn, we like it. The rotate is easy, and the straps fine. It doesn't wobble at all on the isofix

One point is the newborn insert is for babies 40-60cm, I though baby wasn't fitting in properly at around 1 month old, as assumed the newborn insert would be used longer, but he was already 60cm+ so we took the insert out and then the straps were fine again. 40cm would be a very small baby i think? Ours was 54cm born!

[BertieBotts]

Easy answer - can you get to a store which sells both of them and try them out in your car? What you really want to know won't be able to be told by any review or youtube video. Telephone to check but lots of stores are now allowing fit checks.

What I'd recommend to compare would be the following:

Ease of install (nb these types of seats are easiest to install forward facing).
Stability of install
Ease of use (to reach recline/rotate buttons)
Angle of recline, at most upright and most reclined. If planning to use for a newborn, use a phone app to check the most reclined position (with all inserts in) is no steeper than 45 degrees.
Put the seat in full recline with the headrest as far up as it will go and push the front seat back so it's just touching (but not pushing on the seat) - how much space for your front passenger/driver?
Height of seat - can you put the child in easily, without clonking their head? Take a doll or teddy if your child isn't born yet. Does the child seem to have a good view out of the side and back windows?
Adjustment of straps - how easy to do and how far do they go up? If planning to use for a newborn, how small do they go, and can you tighten them around your doll or is it tricky to get them to go that small? With the Joie, there is a progressive insert - some people hate this. I'm not sure what inserts there are on the Mica, but you could compare.

I guess from saying you have a pebble, this is for a child around 9-12 months old - do you know how tall they are and/or what centile for height (or weight) they are on?

[teaandlotusbiscoff]

The main difference is that on the mica the spin function is on the base, while in the i-spin it is on the side of the seat. IMO the mica looks easier to install and I have heard about Joie seats sometimes rattling when the child isn’t in the seat.

The i-spin has little pop out bits for side impact protection, whereas the mica doesn’t.

[Tibtab]

I’ve got an I-spin, it’s easy to use when installed. It was a bit tricky to install the Isofix and it does wobble from side to side slightly (but Halfords said this was normal). When in use it seems secure and we’ve used it since birth with DD - now 19 weeks old. We’ve done 1 big journey (4 hrs each way) and DD slept most of the time so must be comfy!