RF seat, no tethers

[Ploddingalong679]

Hi there,

I'd be really grateful for some recommendations. I'm looking for a RF seat for my 6 month old (7kg, 64cm). I have a toddler who is in an axkid mini kid 2, but I find the tethers really restrictive. I have him behind my seat, which is fine as I'm short, but I'd like an isofix (v safe) option for the second seat.

I have a 2013 Nissan Note, so not heaps of space. I'd quite like an isofix spin seat.

I've had a recommendation for a besafe izi twist, does anybody have any experience with this seat? It's not one I've come across before.

Thank you :)

Love the Besafe izi twist, and if it's on offer for £309 still then it's a good bet IMO, though do check it in your car before purchase as it is a bit bulkier than some other spin seats. It's really sturdy and the harness fits really nicely and the ability to adjust the angle independently of the seat it's on is great especially if you have tilted back seats and low isofix points.

Axkid have just released a newer seat without tethers if any use, I don't know if it is cheap though.

Britax Spinfix or Axkid Spinkid might be worth a look if you're wanting a plus tested one. And I believe the Britax Spinfix/Dualfix are the same seats mechanically, the Spinfix versions just lack the ability to lock into the forward facing position. So you could look at Dualfix without the plus test, if you want to save some money.

@BertieBotts thank you so much for your reply, I'm afraid I missed it until now! So informative, as ever. I'll definitely take a look at the axkid spinkid and the britax dualkid- thank you.

I had my heart set on the spin function as I thought this would make the loading and unloading process a lot easier. Since my original post though I have read that they can actually be more difficult as the child gets older, and you don't gain much by having the spin function, whilst also meaning the seats are more bulky. Do you mind me asking if you have any recommendations for a Swedish tested isofix seat, but without the spin (hoping to make it a bit less bulky by going for a spinless option).

I've just had a quick Google for the axkid seat with no tethers, the minikid core. This looks absolutely perfect. I cant see that it's being sold yet, unfortunately (looks like it will sell for rrp £330ish which would be great). 🥲 back to the isofix options I go.

The only two Swedish tested isofix seats without spin are Axkid One and Joie i-Prodigi. I understand the Axkid is a bit less bulky than the Joie though there's not a lot in it. There is also Tinyseats 2 which is not plus tested.

Actually maybe the Klippan KISS which the in car safety centre have on discount? That's an older model and I don't know much about it. They could probably advise if you call or email.

Spin can add bulk in that the child tends to be higher up, which can be a good or bad thing, and the whole seat tends to be very heavy which limits the weight capacity and makes it a bit of a workout to move between cars. Personally, I still have my 3.5yo in a Joie spin seat, we don't find it a problem. It was a bit of a pain when we had a Suzuki Swift because the gap between the car seat and the door opening feels very small as the child gets taller. But we have an SUV style peugeot 5008 now and it's fine despite the height.

In what way are you worried about bulk? Is it front to back space?

That makes a lot of sense. I guess more so front to back bulk as the middle seat is pretty much unusable anyway between the two car seats. And I'll only ever really be moving the seat every now and then to clean the car (probably a lot less than i should 😄), so I don't have to really worry about the weight of transferring it. If there isn't much in it between spin/nospin, then I may as well enjoy the use of a spin seat.

Thank you for your replies, they have helped narrow down my search massively. I've spent so long reading old posts/Google/Facebook groups i was feeling really overwhelmed with all of the choices. Surprisingly, as this was never a top contender, I'm now seriously considering the britax dualfix pro m (it doesn't look as bulky as the besafe izi twist, and I like the ease of recline too) with the axkid spinkid as my number 2. Thanks again for your help @BertieBotts.