Car seats

[Meepmoop]

Hello,

I'm looking to move on from our current car seat which is a maxi cosi pebble with a base.

I'm not worried about having one that has a base as I rarely take the car seat in anymore as DS is very heavy.

I've had a look around and I'm a bit lost as to what is best to get. Which car seats would you recommend?

Thank you

Rear facing is 5 times safer than forward facing and is recommended until at least 4 years old when they can go into a high back booster.

You haven't said how old your DS is and what he weighs? If he's taller/heavier than average, the 18kg seats that are widely available won't last until he's 4 so you would be much safer and it would be much more economical to buy a 25kg seat now. The Axkid Minikid and Britax Two Way Elite are two very good seats that are worth starting with.

If your DS isn't tall and won't weight more than 18kg at 4 years old (track it in his red book), there are lots of rear facing seats to choose from. You could choose an isize seat that fits well in your car or something like the Joie Stages is a good budget option. But do check he's not going to grow out of these by height or weight!

I bought an 18kg rear facing seat after my first infant carrier. It turns out it was a complete waste of money because both of mine need 25kg seats so we have the Minikids and the Britax is our spare.

The facebook group 'Car Seat Advice Uk' is worth joining and having a read through.

In car safety centre are great. Visit if you are local or email for advice.

I have the same one and I think my next one will be the Joie every stage fx. It is rear facing for longer and lasts them until they no longer need one. Its a bit pricier than one solely for the next stage but pays off in the long term. The every stage always seems to get positive reviews on here and the fx is the new isofix version

You already have the maxi cosi pebble with isofix? I had the same and after loads of research just upgraded to the Maxi cosi pearl

Rear and forward facing, uses same base, lasts up to 4 years, one of the safest seats around

I also have axkid minikid, love it, so sturdy and good quality.

Op The Every Stage FX and the Maxi Cosi Pearl are good rear facing options but they do only harness to 18kg which is why you must track his weight in your red book before you buy.

I think the Pearl also has quite a short shell which means it's often outgrown by height before you reach the weight limit so do track the height as well. If he's tall, you need a seat with a tall shell.

I've also read that there can be issues with the Every Stage (FX or normal) fitting when the headrest is fully extended so if you look into this option, make sure you get it properly fitted and tested rear facing to its full height so that you know it fits.

Obviously the advice is to rear face for as long as possible but if you were to ever forward face, the Every Stage scores really badly in tests forward facing and is classed as very unsafe FF so best not to go for that one. Not sure about the FX but I'm not sure Joie have made that many changes to it.

After lots of research and trying a few different seats in my car I've bought a GB Vaya for DD. It's got the best recline I could find on an ERF seat, which is important to me as the rear seats of my Honda jazz seem particularly sloped.

The swivel seat makes it easier getting DD in and out.

Britax two way elite. Rear faces up to 25kg, will fit almost every car. Best value car seat around in my opinion.

I wish I had known this before I bought one of the isize ones for DS who is 99th centile for height and 91st centile for weight and blindly believed it would last him until 4. He didn’t make 3 in it, it was more expensive than the TWE and actually the TWE is more comfy anyway.

Does anyone know if you can have the britax 2 way elite in a car with side airbags? Thanks

@pina yes. I think most cars have side air bags now

We just upgraded from what you have to a Jané Gravity. It’s rear facing to 105 cm (they say that’s 4) and swivels 360 degrees which is really helpful for putting him in and out. Very happy with it. My DH researched exhaustively and this came out top for him.

Jessie 4 years is a very vague guide - it's 18kg or a guide of 105cm. The 105cm depends on whether your child carries their height in their torso or legs. Leggy child and the seat will last longer, height in their torso and you won't get to 105cm. Difficult to judge when you have to buy these seats!

All so confusing OP but the most economical and long lasting choices will always be the 25kg seats.

We’re all short arses in our family teaamd biscuits he’a 19 months and still wearing 9 to 12 month trousers. I think we’ll be fine!

There are advantages to being short! My DS would outgrow an 18kg seat at 2.5yrs, we made that expensive mistake with my DD so we've learnt our lesson!