Avionaut Pixel Pro or Cybex Cloud

[toastofthetown]

Thinking (way too early probably) about car seats and I think I've narrowed option down to these two. I like the Pixel Pro because I believe it has one of the best positions for newborns, but the Cybex seat has the lie flat feature (but I don't believe it's fully flat). I also love that the Cybex seat is huge and will be able to last a long time. The Pixel Pro has very similar limits for height and weight, but realistically is the seat going to be outgrown before the Cybex would be?

Hi OP,
If I had another baby tomorrow, hands down I’d get a Pixel Pro. The inserts and positioning are perfect for a newborn, plus it’s really light. I believe the Cybex is pretty heavy, and the lie-flat feature is a bit of a gimmick really. As you say, it’s not lie-flat like a bassinet and the same rules apply for length of time in the seat regardless.
Once they get to 12-18 months, they often want to sit up a little more. At this point you’ll have a better idea about their centiles so you can invest in their next seat which will hopefully take you through to a safe HBB age.

Thanks, that’s really helpful. At the moment (and I know things change) I’m thinking of an ERF seat for the second stage, so I wouldn’t need the base for the second stage seat. Based on my husband and I’d I’d guess the baby would be around 75% for height, but it’s impossible to know for sure. But having a big infant carrier seems like it gives more options and time to decide what to do with next stage car seats.

For the situation you say, the longevity of either of them isn't an issue. You'll have plenty of time to decide with both. The only thing you want to look out for is a height limit under 80cm. But honestly, even if you have this, it's not a dealbreaker because most of the ERF seats on the market now are suitable from around 4-6 months. It used to be a problem with the older seats which started at 9kg/9-12 months but these days it doesn't matter so much. As Family says, most people get fed up of lugging the baby seat around by the end of the first year and the baby also wants to sit up and look out of the window.

I will throw a spanner into the works and suggest you look at the Besafe Go Beyond, specifically for access to the second stage ERF seat which goes on that base, because it's the only one like it on the market currently. But in any case, the Pixel is a great seat, the Cybex is nice (though IMO overpriced unless you want the longest possible lasting infant carrier).

And, it is also worth comparing all of these extremely fancy seats to something cheaper like the Britax Babysafe Core, Avionaut Cosmo, Cybex Aton B, Joie Sprint. You're looking at £450-odd for some of the pricier car seats once you include the base, whereas there are also some really good options for less than £300. If you're going to pay more then it makes sense to weigh up whether a rotating base (for example) is worth an extra £200, especially if you're only going to use this seat for around a year.

Thank you, the Besafe Beyond looks incredible. I hadn't realised there was a modular system up to 22kg/125cm. And makes me feel better in a way buying a rotating base because I've heard in the toddler years is where it becomes really useful. My friends with toddler stay their spinning car seats are a necessity so having that and ERF is amazing. I also like the idea of Isofix fittings, just the ease and reassurance of seeing green buttons to know I've done it right - but the Axkid One is so expensive.

The price aspect is a good point, I've joined a car seat Facebook group and the Pixel Pro seems the firm favourite on there. Maybe I've heard the phrase "you can't put a price on your baby's safety" once too often though and probably internalised it (and they do seem to love spending people's money on there). And everyone on TikTok seems to love the Cloud and raves about the lie flat - even though I think the babies still look a bit scrunched.

Remember that TikTok is full of influencers who jump on bandwagons, and the big companies give out car seats like sweets to influencers because they want other people to buy them.

Similarly, the facebook groups end up echo chambers where everyone just repeats what everyone else says even if they have no experience of any of the seats. And they are usually run by retailers. I do think some of the retailers are in it to spread awareness and give genuine advice about ERF, I'm not disputing that they exist at all. But you've got to see through the fact that for some, it will be about money and they are likely to nudge the group consensus towards pricier seats, because it suits their business model. And retailers also get visited by brand reps all the time who will push the top line models and not so much the cheaper ones, so they may not have a totally objective view either.

The Pixel Pro is a nice seat, but the Cosmo is very similar and much cheaper.

With infant carriers you don't get a direct correlation between price and safety, so the idea of "putting a price on baby's safety" doesn't make sense in this case. There is actually very little difference in safety terms between the cheap/basic infant carriers and the high end, all singing all dancing ones. For example, Joie i-Snug, Cybex Aton B, Graco SnugEssentials, Maxi Cosi Cabriofix i-size, these seats are all about £100 or less, and the bases priced similarly, yet they get safety ratings equivalent or better than seats like Maxi Cosi Pebble 360 Pro, Britax Babysafe 5Z2, Cybex Cloud T, Nuna Arra Next - which are all top of the line with prices to match (Over £400 for any of these base + car seat sets).

It makes a bit more sense in the context of the next stage seats because you do get a progression in safety from the £25-60 supermarket seats > £80-150 cheapy seats > £200-300 ERF, Swedish Plus Tested seats.

But again the comparison then stops there. You can find ERF car seats on the market going right up to £600+ but they aren't any safer than any other Swedish plus tested seat.

I think there's an issue there in that £200 (and especially £300, if there aren't any good offers) is a lot of money to a lot of people, especially if you're comparing it to under £50. I don't actually agree with the way that the FB groups approach this, because I think a lot of the time, it amounts to bullying. But there is an aspect of cost mattering when it comes to second stage car seats. Whereas you just don't even really have the extremely budget/basic/flimsy seats on the market in the infant carrier section (at least at the moment) - Joie Juva tends to be the cheapest at about £65.

Remember that TikTok is full of influencers who jump on bandwagons, and the big companies give out car seats like sweets to influencers because they want other people to buy them.

Similarly, the facebook groups end up echo chambers where everyone just repeats what everyone else says even if they have no experience of any of the seats. And they are usually run by retailers.

This is it exactly! I've never felt as aggressively marketed to since finding out I was pregnant. And it doesn't stop at car seats, it's literally everything. And there are so many car seats all saying they're the best it's overwhelming.It feels that everyone who is reviewing and recommending baby items seems to be trying to sell them to me at the same time. Probably just going to buy the minimum I can, pick up a lot second hand, and remember the shops will still be open when I've had the baby. And might quit the car seat FB group too (or at least mute it).

Hi @toastofthetown
Just reading your posts and I could have written them! 😅
I'm going to go and look at both the Cloud T and Pixel Pro today but would love to know which car seat you landed on and if you're happy? Hope you don't mind me asking. Thanks

I went for the BeSafe Go Beyond in the end and I’m really happy with it. The next stage seat having a 125cm/22kg limit swung it for us and now baby is here I’m glad because our 25-30th centile baby on growth scans ended up on the 98th centile for height!! The seat is really nice, I’ve only used it with the lie flat , but his position is lovely in it and his chin is always well clear of his chest. I did end up buying the newborn insert as an extra in case he was small 😂 and it goes up to 60cm so we got some use out of it still but he’s outgrown it now. Maybe a future child might get some extra use from it! And it has such a long lifespan that it will easily do two children. One thing which I unexpectedly loved is the canopy, where I can shield him from the sun on one side, but have the other side open so I can see him. It’s expensive but almost everything else he has is second hand or gifted and if thoroughly recommended it.

Though if I were buying now, I might also have my head turned by the Avionaut Stardust 360. I know multistage seats typically aren’t worth it, but even for the infant/toddler stage it looks really worth it. I’d want to see how the newborn fit is in reality, but Avionaut seats are usually really good. And a month in, we still haven’t clipped the car seat on the pram frame - but that’s really lifestyle dependent. I’d actually be really interested to see Bertie’s POV on it.

I haven't seen much about the Stardust so honestly, it sounds like you know more than me!

I'm not hugely keen on multi stage seats in general, and I think if you're planning to have more than one child they definitely don't make sense because you can hand seats down between children and therefore have a narrower focus on a specific stage.

It's good that there will be another longer-lasting rotating seat though, people have been looking for that for a long time.