Travel car seats - suggestions needed.

[Antsinmypantsneedtodance]

3 year 9 month old. High centile. Over 100cm and over 18kg.

Looking for a car seat to take on holiday for airport transfers, but also car hire in the future.

At home we use an ERF seat but due to age and height/weight thinking a HBB is an option for travel.

I've considered the following but am struggling to decide what's best and find safety ratings for some of them. Anyone got an insight? Or experience. We travel a fair amount so want something to keep for holidays for now and future.

HBB options i've considered

1. Urban kanga wallaroo. Some reviews say side protections not great?

2. Chicco fold and go (struggling to find stock though so maybe they've discontinued).

3. My babiie fold and go HBB. Not a brand i know which makes me cautious. Can't find safety rating info on it.

Other options that would be potentially okay for short transfers only.

1. trunki boosterpak. Cautious using this with such a young child. And wouldnt be happy using it for more than a short transfer

2. bubble bum. Really cautious of this. Seems unsuitable for such a young child despite height and weight. But very easy to transport.

So what would you go for?

if you have a higher budget then I'd get the new Tiny Seats one

The TinySeats one looks brilliant!

Sadly dont think I can stretch to £500. For high centile children it also doesnt rear face that long. So lot of money for what will essentially be a HBB for us.

Yes not much point buying it if your child is nearly 4. But probably worth it if your child is younger and you're likely to use it quite a bit.

FWIW we have the trunki boostapak and it's good, although like you I'd be reluctant to put my 3yo in it. Maybe see if you can find a regular HBB that's reasonably light and not too expensive?

Have you looked at the Recaro Monza CFX, or the Becool Foldy?

In terms of brands, Recaro have historically had very good results both on their harnessed seats and high backed boosters and the Monza line is good so I'd trust this.

Becool are a generic, but they use the same supplier as Silver Cross who again have had good results. The German ERF specialists used to stock them and are currently touting the Becool Foldy as a good travel option.

Another option if you will be in fairly modern cars might be Cozy n Safe Hudson (not the i-size, it has an 18kg limit) or I've seen Enfasafe Event FX back on amazon in the last couple of days. Those both harness up to 25kg forward facing and are less than £100. They need top tether, but any 2013+ car in EU will have this. It will be a problem if you're elsewhere though.

Also depending on exact height and weight, Graco Slimfit R129 or Joie Everystage R129 are both belt fitted and rear facing up to 105cm/21kg. They are the same seat but price varies based on sales. Joie Elevate R129 is FF with the same limits and belt fitted and converts to a presumably reasonable booster, since Joie HBBs are normally fine.

The current Graco Junior Maxi i-size also looks decent for the price - I can't be 100% sure, but I think it's a rebranded Joie i-Trillo maybe with some features stripped. It is certainly different to the old Junior Maxi which used to get poor reviews for safety.

I always expect you to know your stuff Bertie but am nonetheless in awe of that post 👏
I'm after a seat for travel myself and will look those up! So thank you.

Haha - just coincidence that there have been a few new seats out recently and it seems it is the time of year for these queries as I've looked up a few in the last few weeks.

I've not come across the MyBabie before but it looks like it could be a rebranded Wallaroo?

This is amazingly helpful thank you. Loads of seats i'd not considered or heard of.

We go away in 2 weeks and for this holiday it will be litterally a 15 minute taxi to and from airport the other end. In my head i'm like a full on car seat is overkill, which is why i considered a trunki as a better than nothing option for this holiday and for short city breaks with short taxi rides. It makes me anxious though as it obvious has no side protection. But practical wise being able to easily carry around it appealed.

Then thinking about it we usually hire a car, so is it worth spending £50 on something just for city breaks. When for next holiday with car hire i'd want something more substantial safety wise. We travelled alot pre child (4-5 times a year) and are starting up again to similar levels so wondering if its an investment to get something usable for both now.

Never really travelled with car seats to know what other people do. I'm thinking if i turn up for a taxi with my full size HBB in tow for a 15 minute journey i'm going to be hated/judged/avoided. Plus lot of lugging around a HBB in the airport for a short taxi ride seems a bit over the top. But maybe this is what others do?

Would you not consider taking your ERF seat? Although your little one is high centiles, he’s still (too) young to be FF in a HBB. We’ve taken our ERF on holiday lots of times - bubble wrapped and in the original box or a travel bag.

I couldn’t give two hoots what anyone thought of me bringing my own car seat for my child on holiday, other than I was keeping them as safe as possible.

I wouldn't take our primary ERF seat on holiday ever. Risk of damage is too high, plus nightmare having to pack it up at the airport before checking in. Then having to find tether points on whatever taxi etc. Not with a tired and cranky child in tow!

I have considered a cheaper ERF seat for car hire trips in the future as a possibility. But next time we go away we'll have a 4 year old so am open to FF. I do believe ERF is best and as our current seat goes to 36kg we'll be maxing it out before changing. So 6-7ish maybe. If we didn't have a 36kg ERF seat though we'd probably be looking at FF from 4.5 anyway.

It's tricky, isn't it?
When we fly - not that we've done it much at all since having children - I don't mind taking bulky car seats, because it's only a minor faff at the airport and you can usually chuck it on a luggage trolley.
However, we travel by train more (Eurostar + TGV) and then sometimes need to take the children in a car. It's obviously a massive faff to take just one car seat on the train, let alone two! (I have two kids.) in the past we've managed to borrow a car seat from a friend. When DC2 was still in an infant seat I took that with the travel system base. But DC2 is 3y7m now.
We're travelling by train soon and I think we'll have to take our Two Way Elite for her and Trunki Boostapak for DC1 (who is 7). It's not ideal though, the TWE is quite big even though it's light... and I'd rather have a folding HBB for DC1.

It is such a difficult decision. It's a battle between practical head and anxious everything is a risk head.

Train travel must make it more difficult for sure! Though a lovely way of travelling. Plus of flying is most airlines allow car seats free of charge for under 12's, so not so much of an issue in that way. Though sticking it through baggage handlers fills me with anxiety for damage and what happens if it doesn't turn up the other end?!

Wondering now about a fold up travel option in a carry on suitcase as i think it would fit, and paying the extra for it...but then they're not as safe as a non fold option...

Argh if someone could make decisions for me that aould be great haha

Beware international car seat rules- they may be different/stricter than here. Many countries also mandate that the taxi provides the car seat
We have a trunki boostapak, but also have a Halfords HBB that we use only for travel-we put it in a car seat travel bag and check in.

We bought a padded travel bag for car seats when flying, put my mind at ease a little, but we have only really used it for the Two Way Elite (which is our spare seat for travel)... occasionally used for another seat but would always rather not put the seats we use all the time in the plane.

@BertieBotts what do you think of the mybabiie compact HBB? It's inexpensive so I'm wondering what it's like safety-wise...
https://mybabiie.com/collections/isize-100cm-to-150cm-car-seats-group-2-3/products/mbcs23-i-size-100-150cm-compact-high-back-booster-car-seat-black-grey

I think the MyBabiie one might be a clone of the Urban Kanga Wallaroo? But I don't know. I literally only heard of it for the first time yesterday so I don't have any further info about it.

For sure a Trunki is a better option than the seatbelt alone and a better option than nothing. You could sit him in the middle if worried about side impact protection.

I don't think a taxi driver will be annoyed at you turning up with a HBB. But I can't say for sure because I haven't done it. It is worth looking up the law where you're going, I think in Germany children do need a booster seat in a taxi, so the driver isn't going to care what type it is as long as there is one.

Remember that the biggest difference is between any restraint (including seatbelt) and no restraint, particularly for children over 3. (Under 3, the seatbelt doesn't do a good enough job). The difference between HBB and backless booster is significant but it's not as big as the difference between restrained vs non restrained. If it would represent a large difference in practicality then the extra safety offered by a full HBB might not be worth it. OTOH the guidance these days for backless boosters, which is what the trunki is, is that children ought to be at least 125cm and 22kg to use one. The trunki is legal from 15kg because it was already approved when that law came into force.

Sorry not to just tell you what to do 😁 I think what helps is to consider the difference between specific options rather than trying to work out what the best possible option is and then trying to bend that into working.

So for example say ok - we can take nothing or we can take the trunki, which do I prefer and are the downsides worth it. We can take the trunki or a foldable HBB, which do I prefer etc. Don't compare the foldable HBB to a non foldable HBB or harnessed seat if you can't take it anyway. Does that make sense?

Yes that makes complete sense - thank you Bertie!

My 7yo is above 125cm and 22kg. And it's a good idea to put him in the middle seat, thanks. So I think the trunki will be fine.

That doesn't help your dilemma, OP, sorry! It's a shame they don't sell the Britax TWE any more as it's a good'un.

Thank you. This is helpful. Can I ask how much you know about the becool foldy? Can't find any safety ratings online for them at all. Are they ADAC tested? Or are any of their products? It's not a brand i've ever come across.

My problem is I'm also thinking of future holidays that may involve more driving and be more USA/Canada based than europe. When really i should plan for now and tackle those problems in future.

Also although a full size non travel car seat is preferable safety wise. I'm also weighing up the risk of damage 'during flying. So potetially being wwithout seat or with a damaged seat. With a travel one i can take it on board lessening that risk. I am a worst case scenario type person and anxiety ridden overthinker in general.

To be honest i can't make decisions to save my life. But need to really. Thank you though has really helped.

How tall exactly, OP? You said over 100cm, just wondering if he's close to 105cm or if he will be under 105cm for a while longer?

About 101-102cm. So just over the 100. Difficult to get a perfect measurement.

After reactivating my fb account and doing a search on posts on the car seat groups I was on, the becool foldy seems like a good option. Although size wise it won't be hand luggage compatible, it'll fit in a medium size hard shell suitcase which would make it wasy to transport and give some decent protection with some padding added in. Though anyone any idea if they'll accept it like this as a car seat? (Easyjet) or doss it have to be in a car seat bag/nothjng at all?!

Cost wise it seems reasonable.

Safety wise its rated reasonably and better than the other foldable hbb's. Although not ideal for age range. We meet the minimum height and weight of the seat. Going forward for future trips they'll be nearer 4.5 anyway so HBBish age. So for this trip its a compromise but seems like best of the options and is future proof for later holidays.

In that case, and if you're likely to travel by plane again before he hits 105cm, I'd be leaning towards getting the Joie Elevate R129. It's forward-facing but harnessed up to 105cm and you can use it as a HBB once he's 105cm and over. It's only £80.

Oh and I would get a padded car seat bag and put it in the hold.

I am not convinced by the idea of getting a folding HBB and putting it in a suitcase as cabin luggage. You'd have to check that the folded dimensions are small enough for a cabin-size suitcase. And you'd have to pay extra for the suitcase, whereas it's usually free to check in a car seat.

I debated this. I think its the transporting of it that i'm more concerned with as potentially easily damaged in transit. If anyone can recomend a good travel bag for it i may be more tempted.

I think I got ours from Amazon, can't find it in my orders but it's very similar to this:
https://amzn.eu/d/8V1Opfc

If we're feeling extra cautious/meticulous we wrap the car seat in bubble wrap too.