Joie I-spin 360

[Tabby321]

Hi everyone ! To-be-FTM here. I am considering getting a Joie I-spin 360 for DC1 who is due later this year. Was wondering if anybody could share their experience-is it comfortable in the newborn/infant period given that it doesn’t recline fully ? Is it easy to clean (I imagine there will spit ups etc over the years) ?

Hello! So it won't provide a good fit for a newborn at all, you are better off getting an infant carrier. My little girl fit into her infant carrier until she was approx 15 months. We then bought an extended rear facing seat that will rear face until 25kg. I joined a few car seat safety groups on Facebook and they have been super helpful. The joie 360 is a good next stage seat though but be aware it only rear faces to 18kg and I think once your child is a bit heavier the spin function doesn't work as well, and it also sits a lot higher up in the car on account of the base so it is actually harder to get your child in.

I like it, but definitely not a good fit for a newborn so would recommend an infant carrier first. I'd say at least 4-6+ months before even trying the 360. Cover comes off to wash - not the easiest but can be done. I like the spin feature, but be aware they are huge, bulky seats so can still be awkward to get the child in and out of, unless you have a high/large car in my experience - entirely doable of course, but admit ive bumped DS head off the door frame more in my smaller car than DH car!

I agree with everything @fancyfrogs said.

I'd disagree slightly, I think it's one of the better multi-stage seats for using from newborn, although it's not as easy to get a good fit as it is in a well-designed infant carrier, it's not as simple as saying all infant carriers good, all multi stage seats bad.

Whether or not a good fit in the newborn stage is possible or important will also depend on several things; the angle of the seats and the isofix in your car, how big your newborn is likely to be (any idea?), how confident you are at fitting babies in car seats (totally normal for this to be 0/10, BTW) and how often you're likely to use the car within the first few weeks.

And whether or not it's better than an infant carrier totally depends on the infant carrier you're comparing with.

Newborns grow rapidly and it's common for a day-or-two old baby to fit terribly in all car seats, and for new parents to be so anxious about hurting their newborn that they fit the straps much too loose, but by 6 weeks most of them can get quite a good fit in the majority of car seats and parents have gained a bit more confidence too. You do have to be a bit more willing to get right in and manipulate the fit of the baby in the Joie i-Spin because the pads are so bulky they really get in the way, and you might want to consider likely weather, and how comfortable you will be standing in the car park trying to do this for the first time, perhaps with a screaming/uncomfortable baby, compared with a seat that you can take your time getting them into, then add blankets/sunshade as appropriate and then carry to the car.

The premium infant car seats are so expensive these days that I'm not surprised people are looking at multi stage seats from birth and for many people they can work well. It's about deciding whether you're likely to miss the convenience of being able to carry the baby around in their car seat or use it on a buggy etc.

If you have a big baby you'll get a just about acceptable fit, but most babies will not fit when they are fresh newborns. That said, it's still a lot better than a lot of 18kg seats. Covers come on and off easily. I have it for my older child and got an avionaut sky for my newborn which is a 25kg seat so will last a lot longer than the ispin which is only 19kg. That said, if budget doesn't stretch to an avionaut sky the Joie I spin is very safe when used rear facing and you'll get a decent fit fairly quickly.

I would suggest a Joie infant seat followed by the Britax Romer Dualfix M Plus 360 Spin Car Seat (suitable up to 20kg) or a 25kg ERF seat like the Britax Max Way Plus.

We have this one. The issue we had with our son as a newborn was that his head would flop forward before he had great head control. But we managed to solve it by removing one of the top inserts. We’ll be using it again with our next baby this winter. The head flopping wasn’t every time either.

We have these seats for both mine but didn't use them til 6 months when they had filled out abit. Used a maxi cosi cabrio fix before then. please look up car seat safety uk page on fb and realise how important and safe extended rear facing is before choosing your seats / future seats

I love it (still use it for my 2 year old). It was fine for our newborn, no flopping or discomfort. Its much easier with a flailing toddler than our other Joie one that doesn't spin.

Used this for both mine. Agree with others saying not great for newborn. We used an infant seat but DD hated it so moved her into the 360 around 4 months. She was much happier being a bit more upright. She's just moved out of it now at 4.5 so got lots of use out of it.

Thank you everyone-that was helpful !

Hi all. Does anyone with the Joie I-spin 360 know whether you can remove the seat from the isofix base to transport baby?

No you can't, it's one unit

When should I move my child out of the hood 360 spin and into a booster seat? Any advice would help

The seat is outgrown when the child reaches the weight limit, the height limit if it has one, or when you move the headrest up to the highest point, their shoulders don't fit under this any more. Any one of these means the seat is outgrown.

The weight limit is 18kg for the Joie 360 Spin, and 19kg for the Joie i-Spin 360. If you have a different model, or aren't sure which one you have, check the labels on the seat or the instruction manual.

The i-Spin also has a 105cm height limit.

For these seats the max limits are the same for rear facing as they are for forward facing. Some seats have different limits for each mode.

General rule of thumb is you can move them into a high back booster seat if they are at least 100cm tall and 15kg, and at least 4 years old, although some children benefit from keeping a 5 point harness for longer. It's best to wait as long as possible before moving up a stage, especially if they are only just over the minimum requirements.

Sometimes you'll find that they meet one factor for outgrowing the spin seat e.g. 105cm tall, but they only weigh 14kg or they are still young (e.g. only just 3). In that case it's worth looking at keeping them in a 5 point harness for longer. There are forward facing options (e.g. Joie Bold) or rear facing options (e.g. Axkid Move). You might also be able to use a combo seat like Britax Advansafix though be careful to check what the limits are for the 5 point harness mode - often these stop at 105cm, so may be better for the opposite profile e.g. 18kg but 92cm.

Thank you very much this is really helpful!