Stage 2/3 car seat that tilts

[Asiama]

Hello, DS1 is currently rear facing in a Joie Stages. He will soon be too big to continue rearward facing and I would like to look for a new car seat for him (I know he could forward face for longer in his current seat, but DS2 will use his current one, rearward facing).

Ideally I would like DS1's seat to tilt back so he can snooze in the car without getting a bad neck.

I think the Joie Fortifi and Britax Romer Evolva 123 both have this feature. Are there any other tilting seats people have used that they would recommend?

Thank you.

How old is DS1?

DS1 will be 4.5 years when he moved out of his current seat.

In that case it would be better to get a HBB with a lap belt positioner, so I suggest the Besafe Izi Flex Fix I-Size, as it can recline.

incarsafetycentre.co.uk/izi-flex-fix-i-size

You might want to try it out though and see if you agree with this review

Are there different seat positions? Does it recline?

The iZi Flex Fix does have a recline function. You have to pinch two levers on both sides of the seat to ‘recline’ the backrest. However, the change in recline seemed minimal to me, and my daughter didn’t seem to notice either way.

www.madeformums.com/reviews/besafe-izi-flex-fix-i-size-review/

My DD has the Cybex Solution Z I Fix which has a reclining headrest. We’ve done a lot of long drives with it including at night not to mention she loves a car nap and she always sleeps perfectly in it. It also has excellent safety ratings (for a booster). Only downsides are that it’s on the expensive side compared to other HBBs and it’s wide so not an option if you need to fit 3 in the back!

I have the excelsior one from Halfords. That has a recliner option and my 7 year old snoozes more comfortably in long rides. It’s one handed operation, too, so quick and easy.

It sounds like you want to move to a high backed booster seat, not a 123 seat with a harness on it. If your DS is outgrowing the limit on the Joie Stages then he'll be too big to use the harness in any of those seats anyway.

There are bigger rear facing seats if you wanted to look at that as an option. For example Britax Max Way which is on offer at the moment. Those have a recline function.

For the high backed booster seats, any recline is generally minimal and in addition it's better not to use the recline function if you can avoid it, because it pushes the hips further forward which can make the belt fit incorrectly. If you are going to use one with a recline, it's a good idea to get one with a lap belt "hook" that goes between the legs to prevent sliding out under the belt, such as the Britax Kidfix series (or Advansafix if you do need the harness) or the Besafe izi Flex. Otherwise, you could look at models that have something in the headrest to accommodate sleeping, such as the Cybex boosters that the headrest itself reclines, or the V-shaped headrest in Britax booster seats.

I will also agree with PP though that we have the Advansafix and you can't really see a difference with the recline. DS2 also sleeps in it perfectly fine without it being reclined and has not complained of a bad neck, so I don't think a recline is really necessary. Maybe go to a shop and try out the high backed boosters that they have and see which ones he finds comfy.