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Best carseat without a base unit?

14 replies

PurpleOrca · 12/02/2025 12:35

So here is our situation:
We live in London so don't have a car of our own that we would fit a carseat base unit into. We would likely be getting Taxis or Lifts from friends/relatives so we need a car seat that is adaptable and can fit in many types of cars.
I'm looking for a car seat that has an inbuilt Iso fix, or (less desirable) is secured with a Seatbelt.
I've seen the Nuna Pipa suggested but at £300 it's pricey for something we realistically won't use that much.
Ideally it would be for Newborns and able to be used until at least 2 years.
Thanks for any help on this as so many guides don't really seem to get into the nitty gritty!

OP posts:
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welshweasel · 12/02/2025 18:13

I'd get an infant carrier to start with - something like the maxi cosi cabriofix is a relatively cheap option that will still give a newborn a decent position. Once they grow out of that (by around 18 months) then you will have far more choice in terms of longer lasting seats - you'll be able to get something that will last until 6/7 or even longer.

BertieBotts · 13/02/2025 11:59

Get a long lasting infant carrier, like Britax Babysafe Core, or Cybex Cloud G, which can be fitted with seatbelt. The newer Britax seats including this one fit onto all the prams which use Maxi Cosi or multi-brand type (universal) car seat adapters. (So do Cybex). The Britax is cheaper whereas the Cybex is possibly more comfy if you're likely to use it as the seat on your pram, which I found quite handy to be able to do as a non driver if I was getting a lift somewhere.

In general, ignore the age ranges that are given by the manufacturer - they are not very helpful. There are two things which will tell you how long the seat will last:

  • The height limit - and it doesn't matter exactly what it is, but only if it's over or under 80cm. A height limit under 80cm (most commonly 75cm) is usually reached before a year of age. If you're likely to have a very long baby because they are measuring big and/or both parents are tall, then you might be unlucky and reach 75cm before 9 months. Over 80cm usually gets you to over a year and then their growth slows down so much that 83/85/87cm doesn't really make a difference as they will outgrow the seat physically first. Weight limits tend to be 12/13kg anyway which is massive. Babies rarely ever outgrow an infant seat by weight.
  • The physical size of the seat - babies outgrow a car seat either when their head starts to stick out of the top of it (doesn't matter about legs) or if it has a headrest which moves, when their shoulders don't fit under this any more. They also can't go more than 2cm past the top harness position. It's OK for their shoulders to be less than 2cm higher in rear facing seats though.

The Nuna and Joie seats with the isofix built into the seat aren't much use to you, because they have a 75cm height limit which is usually reached before a year old. It's a shame because I think the idea is good, though not really necessary given you can fit most infant carriers using the car seatbelt anyway!

If you want to, you could go into a shop and compare the length of the backrests of different seats to find out which is the largest - take your own tape measure. To adjust the headrests, there is often a little squeeze button/lever type thing at the top of the headrest. Or sometimes you open a compartment on the back of the seat to move the straps and headrest up and down.

It is quite rare to have an infant carrier seat actually last until age 2, although I would argue it's definitely possible. Most people switch around age 1 because their child wants to sit up more and won't be contained in a reclined seat like this. But I have definitely known people, esp without their own car, use these seats for longer and it can be done, as long as you get one with sufficient capacity.

BertieBotts · 13/02/2025 12:01

Maxi Cosi Cabriofix used to be great for this, agreed - I have personally known people to use that up to age 2, even close to 3 years! But the version you can buy now unfortunately is much smaller and has the 75cm limit on it. The old, roomy one is no longer sold.

BertieBotts · 14/02/2025 15:00

@MintTeaMama here is the other thread I mentioned.

Sunseeker83 · 14/02/2025 15:24

I wouldnt buy one that is solely isofix, they are an absolute faff to install if the car hasn't already got isofix guides on it, bits of plastic that hold back the seat material. Don't imagine most taxis etc would have them. As long as you are installing it correctly, a seatbelt will be just as safe, in some studies is more safe

InTheRainOnATrain · 14/02/2025 15:34

You want seatbelt install for use in taxis, not isofix. It’s a common misconception that it’s safer, it isn’t, it just removes the possibility of installing incorrectly but infant seats are super easy to install with the belt so that shouldn’t be a worry and any other benefits like a spin feature aren’t useful really when it’s not your own car and you’re reinstalling the seat each time. Infant carriers are lighter, can go on a pram frame (if you have a compatible pram and the correct adapters) and are simplest to install so you want to go with that style of seat and definitely choose the one that will last the longest because when they have to move into a toddler seat it because a massive PITA to transport the seat about, seriously cannot stress this enough, it actually caused me to buy a car! I had an old style cabriofix when mine were small - such a same the new one is smaller - but have heard the Cybex seats are the longest lasting available now so I’d look at the Cloud G.

MitchamMum · 14/02/2025 15:44

We live in London without a car so only use our car seat in taxis / uber and I've never considered using isofix. Seatbelt fitting is so easy. Just make sure you look up the short seatbelt method because occasionally we've had an uber arrive that needs it and i was super confused trying to get the car seat in! Peter Jones used to have a car seat plus seat belt that you could practice fitting a car seat into - not sure if it's still there! Maybe John Lewis Oxford St would do as well?

BertieBotts is the expert and their post has great advice. The only thing I'd add is avoid the maxi cosi pebble 360. We have it, have used it for 2 DC and it has annoyed me the entire time 🫠 If we used it frequently, I'd have replaced it but I couldn't justify it for the money.

Im in a FB group called Bumps 2 Boosters - UK car seat support. They have some infographics that explains the different height / weight limits of recommended seats. One i see recommended a lot is the avianaut pixel pro or avianaut cosmo, which seems quite reasonably priced compared to what I wasted on my pebble and lasts longer up to 87cm!

Mistigriff · 19/02/2025 20:56

BertieBotts · 13/02/2025 12:01

Maxi Cosi Cabriofix used to be great for this, agreed - I have personally known people to use that up to age 2, even close to 3 years! But the version you can buy now unfortunately is much smaller and has the 75cm limit on it. The old, roomy one is no longer sold.

thank you so much for this helpful thread! I'm also on the hunt for an infant car seat I can use as long as possible with a seatbelt and that I can clip onto my joie finiti pram with the bassinet adapters.

Do you have a recommendation on which might be the most comfortable and good value of the options you mentioned?

  • I find the CYBEX Gold Cloud G i-Size Plus on sale for ~150 pounds
  • Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix i-Size, Baby cheaper for 110 pounds, but I read that it's only up to 75cm so I'm wondering if I'm missing something as it's not >80?
  • BRITAX RÖMER Infant Carrier Baby-Safe CORE for 99 pounds
  • anything else that comes to mind!

I don't mind paying a little more for a comfy seat because my little one is not a fan of being sat in those

BertieBotts · 19/02/2025 21:32

Yes the Cabriofix i-size isn't very long lasting unfortunately.

I think the other one which is comfy would be Avionaut Cosmo, which I think is about £150? I am not sure how roomy it is compared with the Cybex or Britax.

It goes onto the same adapters as Joie.

Mistigriff · 20/02/2025 20:50

BertieBotts · 19/02/2025 21:32

Yes the Cabriofix i-size isn't very long lasting unfortunately.

I think the other one which is comfy would be Avionaut Cosmo, which I think is about £150? I am not sure how roomy it is compared with the Cybex or Britax.

It goes onto the same adapters as Joie.

thank you! I ended up getting the cybex cloud G, let's see how it goes! Thanks a lot for all the help

Mistigriff · 23/02/2025 11:38

Mistigriff · 20/02/2025 20:50

thank you! I ended up getting the cybex cloud G, let's see how it goes! Thanks a lot for all the help

I received my cybex cloud G it's really great. But unfortunately while it clips to my joie adapters it doesn't lock. If you lift up the car seat it will just come off, so that doesn't feel very secure.

Is that how it's supposed to be?

I tried a maxi cosy seat and I feel like it had clipped securely but now I'm not sure anymore!

BertieBotts · 23/02/2025 23:15

It's possible where there's a mismatch between the length of the adapters and the exact position of the locking mechanism that they won't match up exactly. You could try wiggling it a bit and see if you can get it to lock in. If it won't lock though, gravity will still hold it in to an extent, especially with the weight of the baby, but I can see that might not be everyone's preference to go along with.

If you have bought online you do have 14 days to return under the distance selling act.

Mistigriff · 24/02/2025 08:18

BertieBotts · 23/02/2025 23:15

It's possible where there's a mismatch between the length of the adapters and the exact position of the locking mechanism that they won't match up exactly. You could try wiggling it a bit and see if you can get it to lock in. If it won't lock though, gravity will still hold it in to an extent, especially with the weight of the baby, but I can see that might not be everyone's preference to go along with.

If you have bought online you do have 14 days to return under the distance selling act.

Aw thank you for confirming ! Bummer because it's really a great car seat but indeed I'd prefer something that locks into place just for peace of mind.

Since it worked in the shop with Maxi cosi, I'll get that. I see the pebble S is also 150 pounds and goes up to 83cm so hopefully it'll be as long lasting as the cybex even though the cybex says 87cm

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 24/02/2025 08:43

Sunseeker83 · 14/02/2025 15:24

I wouldnt buy one that is solely isofix, they are an absolute faff to install if the car hasn't already got isofix guides on it, bits of plastic that hold back the seat material. Don't imagine most taxis etc would have them. As long as you are installing it correctly, a seatbelt will be just as safe, in some studies is more safe

Was coming on to say this. You just need to make sure you know how to secure the seat with the seatbelt. If you're not fixing the seat permanently in a car then Isofix is a nightmare - the attachments will make the seat very unwieldy to carry and it's a massive pain getting an isofix base in and out of a car as they are designed to go in and stay in.

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