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First HBB for nearly 7 year old after ERF?

7 replies

Llamadramarama · Yesterday 21:07

We have an ERF Axkid minikid2 for my 6 (nearly 7) year old. She is quite petite so about 118cm and tbh I’m not entirely sure of weight but probably a little below average.

I’m anticipating she will outgrown her seat this year so am thinking of the next step - a HBB. Which ones are highly rated and recommended - considering we’ve ERF this long I’m keen on a safe, decent (good value) option?

OP posts:
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Anon501178 · Yesterday 21:18

We have this one and really like it...not the cheapest HBB but has isofix so sits firmly in place and isn't flimsy like some are.

www.halfords.com/baby-and-child/car-seats/all-car-seats/graco-energi-i-size-r129-2-in-1-harness-booster-seat---midnight-321747.html

hahabahbag · Yesterday 21:22

We had the graco but there’s no point buying one with a harness as they are designed for younger children. You need the model without a harness

AramintaBelle · Yesterday 21:31

I have the Britax Kidfix pro for DD age 6, it has a crotch guard thingy that the seatbelt can clip into while they’re still small to avoid risk of submarining under the belt that then tucks away when it’s not needed. Was also recommended the M version of the Kidfix, the Avionaut Maxspace and Axkid Nextkid.

BertieBotts · Yesterday 23:40

There is much less difference between different HBB models as there are between seats at the earlier stage, so you can't really go too far wrong.

Well rated brands are Cybex, Britax, Besafe, Joie, Recaro, Avionaut and Axkid - the usual suspects really. Maxi Cosi get variable results, but I also think they are fine, although tend to be a bit shorter in the full extension possibility. Graco Eversure is a clone of one of the Joie seats, I think i-Trillo, but the other Graco seats are more unknown in performance, and also tend to be more basic in comfort.

You do not have to spend a lot to get a good HBB, compared with ERF seats. It's possible (but not much choice) for £100, easy for £150 if you watch out for offers, and £200 is a fantastic budget which can get almost anything you like. Personally, anything higher than that is usually not worth it but there are occasionally situations where it is warranted.

Since this will hopefully be the seat you use longest of all, I would definitely recommend trying some out in a shop if you can manage it. Both for the fit/comfort to your DD but also in your car. The problem with some HBBs is that if you choose to use the isofix to fit it (which is optional, but convenient, and safer when the seat is empty) sometimes it can position the booster on top of the seatbelt buckle, which then makes it really difficult to do up. I find this is mostly an issue with our Joie one; in hindsight I wouldn't have bought it for car sharing, but in some cars it fits absolutely fine.

The other things to look at in relation to the car is whether the seatbelt retracts through the belt guides smoothly e.g when the child leans forward and then sits back again, rather than getting caught and staying slack, whether the HBB fits well with the shape of the car headrests (it can sometimes be better to reverse them, if possible) and if you can extend the HBB up to full size and it still fits inside the car, as sometimes you have issues in smaller cars with wider HBBs that they don't physically fit to extend to the maximum height.

In terms of child fit, you want to see whether it's comfy for your DD, whether she can comfortably sit to the back of it and it supports her legs well, and the leg rest looks like it will continue to support as she grows, whether the lap belt rests on her pelvis/top of thighs - it should not be halfway down the thighs or high on the soft part of her tummy. The guides which keep the lap belt in position are OK if they don't interfere with the position of the seatbelt, although they are not necessary if the belt guides are well designed and the child sits well.

Recline is not really a useful feature, as recline often gives a poor fit for the lap belt - it's better to look at whether the headrest will support their head well for sleep if this is a possibility. The shape of it plus how it fits with the shape/angle of seats in your car will determine this.

Anon501178 · Today 07:26

hahabahbag · Yesterday 21:22

We had the graco but there’s no point buying one with a harness as they are designed for younger children. You need the model without a harness

That one you can use with or without the 5pt harness....we have done both with our 4yo and 9yo

Llamadramarama · Today 12:27

BertieBotts · Yesterday 23:40

There is much less difference between different HBB models as there are between seats at the earlier stage, so you can't really go too far wrong.

Well rated brands are Cybex, Britax, Besafe, Joie, Recaro, Avionaut and Axkid - the usual suspects really. Maxi Cosi get variable results, but I also think they are fine, although tend to be a bit shorter in the full extension possibility. Graco Eversure is a clone of one of the Joie seats, I think i-Trillo, but the other Graco seats are more unknown in performance, and also tend to be more basic in comfort.

You do not have to spend a lot to get a good HBB, compared with ERF seats. It's possible (but not much choice) for £100, easy for £150 if you watch out for offers, and £200 is a fantastic budget which can get almost anything you like. Personally, anything higher than that is usually not worth it but there are occasionally situations where it is warranted.

Since this will hopefully be the seat you use longest of all, I would definitely recommend trying some out in a shop if you can manage it. Both for the fit/comfort to your DD but also in your car. The problem with some HBBs is that if you choose to use the isofix to fit it (which is optional, but convenient, and safer when the seat is empty) sometimes it can position the booster on top of the seatbelt buckle, which then makes it really difficult to do up. I find this is mostly an issue with our Joie one; in hindsight I wouldn't have bought it for car sharing, but in some cars it fits absolutely fine.

The other things to look at in relation to the car is whether the seatbelt retracts through the belt guides smoothly e.g when the child leans forward and then sits back again, rather than getting caught and staying slack, whether the HBB fits well with the shape of the car headrests (it can sometimes be better to reverse them, if possible) and if you can extend the HBB up to full size and it still fits inside the car, as sometimes you have issues in smaller cars with wider HBBs that they don't physically fit to extend to the maximum height.

In terms of child fit, you want to see whether it's comfy for your DD, whether she can comfortably sit to the back of it and it supports her legs well, and the leg rest looks like it will continue to support as she grows, whether the lap belt rests on her pelvis/top of thighs - it should not be halfway down the thighs or high on the soft part of her tummy. The guides which keep the lap belt in position are OK if they don't interfere with the position of the seatbelt, although they are not necessary if the belt guides are well designed and the child sits well.

Recline is not really a useful feature, as recline often gives a poor fit for the lap belt - it's better to look at whether the headrest will support their head well for sleep if this is a possibility. The shape of it plus how it fits with the shape/angle of seats in your car will determine this.

Great v useful thank you! We have a Ford fiesta and I’m leaning towards the Besafe fix fit 2 if you’d recommend that. I’ve read it’s comfortable but no idea how it’ll fit in our car. Unfortunately our nearest John Lewis hasn’t any in stock to test out.

OP posts:
Anon501178 · Today 13:40

The problem with some HBBs is that if you choose to use the isofix to fit it (which is optional, but convenient, and safer when the seat is empty) sometimes it can position the booster on top of the seatbelt buckle, which then makes it really difficult to do up. I find this is mostly an issue with our Joie one; in hindsight I wouldn't have bought it for car sharing, but in some cars it fits absolutely fine.The other things to look at in relation to the car is whether the seatbelt retracts through the belt guides smoothly e.g when the child leans forward and then sits back again, rather than getting caught and staying slack, whether the HBB fits well with the shape of the car headrests (it can sometimes be better to reverse them, if possible) and if you can extend the HBB up to full size and it still fits inside the car, as sometimes you have issues in smaller cars with wider HBBs that they don't physically fit to extend to the maximum height.

These are all really good points- in one of our cars the seatbelts buckles sit very low into the seat, with no stalk, and with the britax romer and a kinderkraft seat we have also used, due to them being quite wide and isofix DD was unable to strap herself in, which was a pain as she was old enough to but we always had to faff about helping, so we double checked that when buying the Graco one which luckily is fine as although well bolstered is quite slim.Also no issues with that or our Britax regarding the seatbelt retraction, but we HAVE had that issue recently with the kinderkraft HBB (maybe due to it being cheaper) which is actually really dangerous, so i have complained about it and requested a return as its within warranty.

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