Hifold

[LeeMiller]

Has anyone got one? How quick and easy is it to install and fold up?

Are there other fold-up alternatives with a high back (legal requirement where we are)?

Ds is just 4, 15kg, 103cm

It would be for weekly 2km taxi trip and back on rural roads to an appointment, I can’t carry anything bulky once there.

Chicco Fold and Go is the one with the best safety rating. Not sure how bulky it is folded though.

Thanks, I looked at the Chico one but judging by the photos it is too big, I need to carry various other things and have a hand free for DS. The hifold looks manageable but I’m wondering how it is in practice.

Not sure on that, sorry. I know it didn't get a great safety rating. I know it's not ideal but have you thought about something like Trunki Boostapak?

Or to save you having to carry around, a normal (not fold up) HBB and ask the driver to keep it in the car during the appointment? Or could it be left e.g. at reception?

I was planning on the trunki or bubblebum but legally where I live a backless booster is no longer allowed until a child is 122cm tall. Though would a trunki be any safer? I thought the hifold issue was side impact.

I can’t leave the seat in the taxi as it won’t necessarily be the same vehicle collecting us. There is nowhere to leave it unfortunately until after I’ve carried it a fair distance and up a load of stairs, so anything big or heavy is impractical. DS is normally in a rear facing axikid and I feel uncomfortable about the hifold but the options are so limited.

still hoping to hear feedback on how easy it is to use, if anyone has tried it.

The hifold seems to be out of stock everywhere. It's light (4.6kg) but the safety ratings are ok, not amazing.

The Chicco fold n go is 6.2kg so not ridiculously heavy and it does have better safety ratings.

Couldnt you carry it in a backpack and then have a handbag/tote for other stuff? DS could carry a small kids backpack with his essentials in it?

Hifold is in stock in the EU where we live. I will go and look at the Chicco one in person since that seems to be the only alternative, but I am petite and it looks too big/long for me to manage with the other equipment I need to take. Not worried about weight so much.

still interested in hearing about experience with the hifold!

And thank you both for your suggestions, sorry if my responses sound negative!

I know it sounds ridiculous but could you get one of those folding pull along trolleys (like a wheeled suitcase but without the suitcase but and just pile up all your stuff on it? Like this

The Trunki has a better lap belt position, which is the most important part of any booster seat. The Hifold has pretty much non existent side impact protection so there's not really any benefit to using the Hifold over a backless booster. I'm not sure if "legally" the Trunki counts as a high back, it does have a tiny little backrest and shoulder belt guide, just no head support.

Are you sure about the 122cm rule? I appreciate you are in a different country and I don't have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all country's laws, but for instance the UK law specifying minimum 22kg / 125cm for backless boosters is often misunderstood, it applies only to newly approved backless boosters, even though many people think that it applies to all (or that backless ones are now illegal). There is a long and boring explanation relating to the newer regulation but the upshot is if you use a booster seat that was approved under the regulation before that rule change, it's still legal from 15kg, and won't stop being legal. Both the travel seats Bubble Bum and Trunki were approved well before that regulation change, although they are really more suitable for older children.

Ideally a just-15kg child should still be in a harness, but I appreciate that makes finding a portable seat even more difficult. If we're talking alternative to just seatbelt though, a booster seat of any kind is better than nothing.

There are a lot of steps involved, no good for a pull along case. Not an accessible building. Sorry, I know this sounds ridiculous but the benefits for DS mean I want to get him there which is why I’m seriously considering the hifold.

I have thought a lot about the options and I think the only choices are 1) hifold 2) possibly a Chicco Seat somehow carried with a shoulder strap or shoulder bag 3) cycle with DS on the back of my bike (I think is the least safe option in the dark with no pavements or cycle lane)

There are lots of youtube reviews/demos of the hifold in case you want to look and haven't found them yet.

Looking at it again, the lap belt position is better than the Mifold. I thought it was the same. So it may actually be OK in that sense, and it does offer more stability for the shoulder belt position than the little piece of belt that most backless boosters use.

Annoyingly Mifold put up their own crash test video of the Hifold but cut it off before you can actually see anything - which makes me a bit suspicious!

Yes I completely understand. Sometimes there are other things to consider than optimal car safety Hopefully you can find a workable solution. It does sound like a car with any kind of restraint is probably safer than the bike for that road.

Hey OP - definitely look into getting some kind of trolley to pull along the seat when you arrive. Even a decent shopping trolley thing would work. (take the bag off and just use the frame + bungee cord or similar to secure the seat) I know these are sometimes associated with the elderly and infirm but honestly when you live in a European city with lovely local outdoor markets, everyone has one, especially once kids come along.

Thanks @BertieBotts for that detailed explanation. We are in Italy. I will double check the rules, but as I understand it there was a transition period where a booster approved before the rule change was legal, but from this year there are no exceptions to the high back rule. So that would be the “benefit” of the hifold over the trunki - I will double checK if that counts as having a back. I would much rather DS be in a harness (and rear facing) like he is the rest of the time but I won’t have the car at this time/day.

If wheels are no good then consider a back pack carrier for the seat.

I'm a big fan of cycling with kids, and in the dark is ok with good lights and lots of high vis, but you know the roads on the route and if you wouldn't feel comfortable cycling, fair enough.

I wonder if the Maxi Cosi Nomad would be an option - it would be outgrown when DC reaches 18kg and I don't know the height limit, but at long as DC isn't on the tall side you might get a decent amount of use out of it.

If you're on Facebook, join the group Car Seat Advice UK and search and/or ask on there. Lots of helpful people in that group!

"I won’t have the car at this time/day."

Assume this is because your partner will have the car? Could they use alternative transport (bike/public transport) so you can have the car? Maybe even get a taxi?

Although you can get wheeled trolleys that will do stairs - 6 wheels on the back.
I’m in France and I see these a lot.
www.lacasserolerie.com/A-23419-carlux-bicyclettepoussette-de-marche-chariot-de-courses-6-roues-sidebag.aspx?tracking=Comparateur_GoogleShopping

Thanks @NameChange30 I cycle in town and on pavements/cycle paths with DS but I checked the road and I wouldn’t feel safe on it in the dark, though it’s a very short journey.

I will check out the maxi così and that Facebook group, thank you.

I have a trolley @TeaAndJaffacakes but there are tons of steps to go up and down.

@NameChange30 no, DH has to use his own car for work for insurance reasons. He could occasionally take an afternoon off but not each week. Similarly, a friend might be able to give us a lift some weeks (using her DS’ seat) but most of the time I will need to get him there by taxi myself.

This is clear and helpful, thank you 😊

Thanks, I will look into these.

Actually ignore my suggestion of the Nomad, apparently it doesn't have great safety reviews, so you'd be better getting the Hifold I think.

I'm looking and it seems that there is an exception in Italy for taxis, so actually it should not matter what the type of car seat is as I believe he may not actually legally need one at all.

Can't find anything about the law change to 122cm - I can see about the regulation but everything also states that you can continue to use older booster seats for children from 15kg, they just strongly advise you don't due to the safety implications. However I appreciate my Italian googling may not be much use - I don't know how to find the official law page for example so I'm going by various articles which might also have mistakes in.

There is some confusion regarding group 2 and group 3 - it seems to be assumed that group 2 = high back booster and group 3 = backless booster, but that's not actually how the group system in R44.04 works, they are simply weight categories and the majority of backless boosters on the market are older and approved under both group 2 and 3. Likewise many high back boosters are approved for both group 2/3 even though the back does not detach.

At 103cm I think he will probably (not definitely) be too big for the Nomad. Maybe try it in a shop to check. It does get really bad forward anchorage though.

Do you get Joie seats in Italy? Joie Elevate has a tall harness, though that gets issues with forward anchorage too and it's not really compact. Same for Joie Stages/Graco Enhance which would be my other international tall 18kg harness suggestion. (Graco is often more prevalent).

I wouldn't bother with the FB groups personally - there is no nuance on them, they are obsessed with the optimal safety in cars disregarding every other factor, I don't think it's helpful. OP will just get a load of guilt trips. Sometimes you have to consider the cost/benefit of the entire situation, and a crash is after all unlikely.

We've got a hifold, mostly for holidays and occasional trips. It's very quick and easy to fold up and unfold, my daughter likes it, easy to use. It doesn't feel very substantial compared to her others but for us it's better than the alternatives.