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Top tether (no support leg), 360 swivel, Group 1 (up to 4 years), rear facing until 4 yo

13 replies

depunity · 30/05/2021 11:04

Hi,

I am looking for a car seat which satisfies all these 4 points:

  1. Group 1 (up to 4 years)
  2. Rear facing until 4 yo
  3. 360 swivel
  4. Top tether (doesn't require support leg)

Also preferably i-size I suppose.
FYI, we don't want a support leg as it would take up valuable packing space in the footwell, plus I'm not sure they'd fit due to footwell storage compartments in our car.

The closest I can find is the MaxiCosi AxissFix. However, this only allows rear facing until about 2 years old.

Does anyone know of a suitable seat?

Thank you!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
depunity · 30/05/2021 11:07

...oh and 5) must be isofix.

OP posts:
NC2605 · 30/05/2021 13:24

I don't think what you are looking for exists off the top of my head. Join the Facebook group extended rearfacing car seat safety and they will be better able to advise. I think anything that's 360 is with a support leg if it's an 18kg weight seat and also isofix more commonly has a support leg as well. It may be that you can get fillers for your storage boxes or fit the support leg so it misses the box lid.. but that will still mean you have it taking up the space.

sorryiasked · 30/05/2021 13:38

Have you considered a forward facing seat with a cushion restraint (rather than 5 point harness) instead of rear facing?
So much easier to use, and will go up to age 12 if needed.
Several makes available but like this one

teaandbiscuitsforme · 30/05/2021 13:51

It doesn't exist. You're going to need to decide on your priorities!

For me, my priorities would be rear facing for the longest time so I'd go for a 25kg, Swedish plus tested seat. You could get one like the Britax Two way elite or the Diono radian 5 which has no support legs but they're not isofix and they don't spin.

Better choices would be the Axkid Minikid or Move or the Britax May way plus but both of these have support legs. They're not isofix but are secured with the seatbelt and tethered to the seat in front.

If you go down to 18kg weight limit seats, you can get isofix spin seats like the Joie 360 but these will have support legs. There has to be something to hold the seat securely.

iGetPipAndWork · 30/05/2021 13:54

Two way elite by Britax has no support leg and you fit it with a seatbelt and tether straps (it's piss easy) £140 and will last RF until 25kg (4-7 depending on kids centiles) suitable from about 1 year old. Until then use an infant carrier. That's my advice. This magical unicorn of a seat you want doesn't exist.

teaandbiscuitsforme · 30/05/2021 13:54

If you decide on a seat with a support leg, contact the manufacturer of your car to ask if they make fillers for the storage box to allow a support leg to go on top. We got some from Seat for our Alhambra.

ChocOrange1 · 31/05/2021 18:48

Surely top tether and 360 swivel isn't compatible?

depunity · 31/05/2021 21:05

Thanks all for your valuable help. Following your advice, I looked carefully at the Britax - Two Way Elite, but I think we've decided on the Joie Every Stage. This satisfies the most important points on our wish list - rearward facing until roughly 4 years old and no support leg. It's not isofix and so of course also doesn't swivel. But that's fine. The fact it covers all stages / groups (0-3) is attractive to us.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 02/06/2021 00:53

There's a Cosatto swivel one that rear faces up to 18kg and uses top tether.

There's also BabyAuto Dupla isofix which uses top tether even in rear facing mode, up to 18kg. It's not a swivel one. It has the option to harness to 25kg when you move to forward facing and it does all the stages, like Joie Every Stage.

These brands are not top for safety, but there is not a lot of choice in rear facing seats that use tethers rather than a support leg.

Do you know how much your child weighs and their age? - "age 4" is an average so not all of these Group 1 seats will actually last until a child is 4 years old, if they are big for their age.

You do sometimes find with the top tether seats rear facing that the tether is in the way as children get close to the limit of the seat because it passes straight over their head. Also, the fact none of the major brands uses them up to 18kg (for rear facing) always rings alarm bells for me.

The Every Stage is OK, but what you might find annoying is that the seatbelt is in the way to get the child in at all times when it's rear facing. It's also quite bulky in the car taking up a lot of room. And the safety rating for it if you did ever use it forward facing harnessed is not good - Which? gave it a Don't Buy because of the performance in this stage. If you'd only ever use it rear facing and then as a booster, that's not so bad but it still only got "average" results. The seats with support leg do perform quite a bit better. (This is likely to go for the two with top tether I mentioned before as well).

If you're looking at the FX versions of Joie Stages/Every Stage be aware the top tether/isofix fitting is only for the forward facing stages, not the rear facing stage so you're paying for something you won't use for ages yet.

I also always think the Every Stage is a false economy, as it's about £80-100 more expensive than Joie Stages, and even more expensive compared to Joie Tilt, Joie Steadi or Graco Enhance, all of which are similar in terms of rear facing up to 18kg, fitted with seatbelt so no support leg needed. What you get for your extra £80+ is a high backed booster bundled in, but it's a really bulky booster, not great safety rating, heavy/awkward and because it has to fit 12 year olds, it means the headrest is huge and doesn't fit well for younger children using the seat. You are generally better off going for one of the others I mentioned and then buying a booster seat once your child outgrows the rear facing stage. For example, Joie Traver costs about £80 but is much more practical in terms of moving between cars, fits children more closely, is more adjustable to their size, is among the top 10 highest rates booster seats for safety. And if your child is say 1 year old now, if you wait until they are 4 then this seat may be cheaper or there may be something better on the market.

INeedNewShoes · 02/06/2021 01:19

I can't help on the top tether question, but picking up on the not wanting a base with a leg...

I have a GB Vaya swivel seat (isofix - with a leg) which DD is still rear-facing in at 4yo. I also have a Joie Stages which was our spare seat for a while, which is a belted seat, so no leg and also rear-facing to 4 years.

Assuming you can resolve the footwell compartments issue, I really feel that it's worth putting up with the isofix base/leg in order to have a seat that is much more convenient to use (in terms of the swivel and not having the seatbelt in the way of getting the child in but also I like how sturdy the GB Vaya feels in the car, and the comfort of it suits DD for long journeys). The Joie Stages only has one recline position when rearfacing where as the swivel seats I'm familiar with recline more and have a few positions to choose from.

depunity · 02/06/2021 14:49

Thank you very much BertieBotts and INeedNewShoes for your detailed responses.

Regarding the All Stages - indeed, subsequent to initially deciding on it, I read some comments similar to yours - that it's a false economy and I noticed the Which "don't buy" recommendation. So I changed track and have gone for the smaller, group 0+/1 Joie Steadi. I bought it yesterday. Our daughter is below the 25th percentile at 13 months, so I hope it will last her rear-facing until she's 4 years old. With this seat, it seems relatively easy to temporarily pull the belt down and loop it over a notch to keep it out the way whilst inserting/removing baby, so that's good.

To be honest, given how easy it seems to fit, how small and light it is (consequently easy to remove and facilitating of extra space in the car), the fact that the seat belt can be pulled aside easily, and similar safety levels, I'm now struggling to see the benefits of isofix. I suppose there is the convenience of being able to spin it.

OP posts:
depunity · 02/06/2021 14:50

...oh and also much cheaper than isofix alternatives.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 02/06/2021 16:14

Absolutely! Sounds like the Joie Steadi is perfect for your needs.

Isofix was really invented to reduce misuse of seatbelt fitted car seats. It's not necessary otherwise.

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