Seeking advice: second car seat following Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro

[MaggieCorvidae]

Hello,

I received fantastic advice from @BertieBotts and the Mumsnet cohort when selecting my first car seat and I am hoping for the same again now we're moving to the next size up.

We started with the Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro i-Size (such a comfy newborn insert and soft padding!), installed using the seatbelt rather than base and it has been perfect.

Can anyone suggest a follow on model in the same vein (comfortable but not too many bells and whistles and reasonably priced/mid-range) that is not much bigger in terms of footprint despite being a different shape for a growing toddler (thinking of car size limitations) and that can also be installed securely using a seatbelt?

Many thanks!

You'll want one of the ERF seats up to 125cm if you're looking for seatbelt fit, smallish footprint front to back, comfort and safety.

I'm not really up to date any more on which of these are the most compact so I would suggest contacting an ERF retailer, preferably one local to you. If you check on the Axkid website for their stockists, they are the most commonly stocked brand so will hopefully show a specialist near you.

There are a few around the £250-300 range which I would say is mid range for car seats in this stage. They last until approx 6-7 years, so it's not too bad value for 5+ years of use.

There are cheaper rear facing seats, but they are all very reclined which is not so good for fitting front to back. Possible exception would be Joie Steadi R129 but I am not sure it is as luxurious as the Maxi Cosi.

I wouldn't recommend forward facing straight after the infant carrier and particularly not if seatbelt fitting.

Thank you so much @BertieBotts for your helpful reply - as always!

Hmmm do you think we should consider using a base for this next size car seat? We originally bought an isofix base for the Maxi Cosi Pebble but it didn't seem as stable as a seatbelt because the foot of the base can 'jump' if one goes over a speed hump etc. since it is not fixed to the floor. We had it professionally fitted and they confirmed that's just the way they are and checked with friends with different car seats/cars and the same issue appeared...hopefully the leg will stay extended and in contact with the the car floor but they can move about on uneven terrain or one imagines during an accident. As well as taking up more room in the car, we also realised we wouldn't want to take the car seat in and out of the car since the seat plus baby gets heavy quickly and that seemed like the big bonus of the isofix base.

Having said all that ;) .... I'd consider getting a base if the footprint could still be kept on the small side, similar to the Maxi Cosi Pebble, if it opened up more good options. I wonder, for example, if there is a natural 'next car seat' for fans of the Maxi Cosi Pebble in the same or similar brands?

I don't mind if it doesn't last 5+ years if there is one that has all the other boxes ticks.

Thanks so much again BB!

For the next stage up, you don't usually get separate bases, the seats either have isofix built in or they don't and are seatbelt fit only. There are a few exceptions, and if you already have a Maxi Cosi FamilyFix base, then there will be a next stage seat you can buy to go into it (check compatability here: https://www.maxi-cosi.com/c/international/base-compatibility ) however IME these are usually just as expensive or even more so than the isofix seats without a base, or the 125cm limit ERF type seats.

Because the seats for the next stage are much heavier and they generally have some kind of anti-rebound bar, they won't move up and down like a baby seat base can do. But as your retailer said, this is totally normal and not a concern anyway. In an accident, the force would be making the seat/base rotate forwards and down, so the leg acts as a brace and prevents too much movement in this direction as seen in this video. Rest assured BTW, this is an American seat and they have a different belt routing. UK seats don't move this much because the seatbelt goes around the back, but it illustrates the job of the leg very well.

To be honest isofix seats usually take up more space than tethered + seatbelt fit ones. So if space is a concern, then the longer-lasting seats are actually great for that aspect too.

The kinds of seats people usually go for for the next stage if they want isofix for a mid range budget would be things like Britax Dualfix M Plus, Maxi Cosi Mica Pro, or Cybex Sirona Gi i-Size. Joie 360 Spin is also popular for a more budget friendly option.

Bear in mind that these don't last as long - usually up to 18-20kg and 105cm. Whereas the 125cm limit seats have much higher weight limits of 23-36kg. You can get seats which promise to be usable up to around 10-12 years, but these incorporate a booster seat mode and honestly, this just makes them more bulky and you get compromises in performance in each mode, so it's better usually to get a seat just for this next stage (rear facing, some also include forward facing) and get a high backed booster when this seat is outgrown.

How big is your LO now and what age are they (in months)? It can be useful to make a rough estimate for when they might outgrow a 105cm limit seat vs a 125cm limit seat. For example if they are very tall then it can be worth the investment for a 125cm one so that you don't end up needing to buy two.

I had the pebble pro and isofix and opted for the two way pearl pro as I didn’t know better. When child 2 arrived I bought an Axkid Minikid 2 rather than a second isofix base as I realised my older child wouldn’t be ready for a HBB by the time my younger child needed the Pearl pro.

It means that for 2 DC we have managed with one isofix base and three car seats. Mine are quite low centiles so it will be sometime before they outgrow their current seats.

@BertieBotts sorry for the delay with my reply and thank you so much again for your continued helpful advice, video and knowledge! I didn't realise the next size up don't usually have separate bases, so that's good to know. We didn't keep the Maxi Cosi isofix base so no need to look at compatible models from that point of view. Definitely not looking for a the one that lasts longer with a booster seat included but will consider the 125cm limit seats because our DC has been in the high percentiles for height during the last check ups. We actually have the 10-12 month one coming up, so it will be interesting to see is this is still the case and helpful given we're keen to get the car seat asap. When you say tethered + seatbelt fit - do you mean the seats connect directly to the isofix 'hooks' (rather than via a base) in the car along with the threaded seatbelt - or are there other ways of tethering a car seat? Sorry for being dense!

@Noseybear38 Thanks very much for sharing - I appreciate it!

The tethers are usually attached to the seat rails of the seat in front for seats like the Axkid. The seat is then secured by the seat belt which passes through the seat so doesn’t actually get in the way like the seat belt does with non-tethered rear facing seats like the Joie ones.

It is worth finding your local independent stockist to try some of these seats out as you won’t find them in JL, Halfords or Smyths.

There is another way to tether 🙂 this is not common in UK seats but there are seats sold in Sweden which have done this for a long time. These tethers you don't need specific anchor points for and can put them through the front seat rails or the seat itself. I will try to find a YouTube video showing this.

Thanks so much @Noseybear38 and @BertieBotts for this helpful info about tethering car seats - all new to me! Plan on looking this weekend...hopefully I will find something comfy and not too big for our growing babe and compact car!

The maxi cosi mica is good and comes with base. There’s also the new maxi cosi emerald which is on base and cone be used as high back booster after.

Sorry I've only just seen this thread again and remembered to come back.

This is showing the installation of a seat which uses tethers. s

@Caspianberg thanks for this tip! can you suggest any that don't use a base? @BertieBotts said these can have a smaller footprint? we have the maxi cosi pebble and it takes up about as much room as our compact suv can handle and still have a useable front passenger seat (much bigger and it would have to be pushed further forward leaving no leg room). Thanks!

This is very helpful - thank you!

@MaggieCorvidae - sorry no idea. But we used the maxi cosi mica in a tiny corsa for the first 2 years and it fitted fine. It was one of the more compact options when we looked at the time. It swivels, base and seat included for around £200-250 mark so pretty good value. We just swapped at 4 years to the next stage maxi cosi high back booster and both seats at every good quality.

The most compact ERF I believe is the avionaut sky.

https://avionaut.com/shops/

I would find your local independent stockist and see what works best in your car. Ideally you want to wait to use a HBB until closer to 5/6 to allow bone development.

The only problem with the Avionaut is it has a much shorter back than the other 125cm limit seats as demonstrated here:

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