Are isofix bases easy to install?

[ddoodle55]

Hello ladies,

Just wondering if isofix bases are easy to install? We are expecting our first baby soon and have ordered the cybex cloud car seat with the 360 base.

The base itself is quite expensive so wondering if anyone had any thoughts on whether it's feasible to only have one base and swap it regularly between my car and DH car?

When I go back to work I will be dropping baby off at DGP for childcare and DH will be picking up so it would be getting changed over between cars basically everyday.

Thank you! X

They are really easy to install, a bit more pfaffy to uninstall, i'd not look forward to unclipping ours every day, but you don't need any tools etc just a lot of tugging snd jiggling

It's not hard, but I wouldn't fancy doing it everyday. It will do your head in. Especially as you'll have to take time to remove it when you drop off when your probably against the clock to get tot work, and at the end of a work day, DH will have to take time to fit it when he just wants to get home.

Have a look for a second hand one and have one in each car.

If working full time I would leave it in the grandparents car during the week and use the seat belt in your cars to save faff each morning if the infant seat can be belted in.

We used to swap over between cars. It was easy enough, but a faff (but in our cases exacerbated by the fact the cars weren't parked next to each other.) Not sure how your seat works, but with our maxi Cosi we eventually moved to having a base in each car and then swapping the seat over so we didn't have to faff with the base as well

I personally wouldn't want to do it and I would probably buy a more long term seat over a second base once your back at work due to how much the base costs. I didn't like the cybex sirona so wouldn't recommend that when the time comes.
Just getting out the door for work is enough some days so making it as easy as possible is recommended.

I'm keen on extended rear facing so would buy a seat that would last from when you go back to work until 25kg plus rear facing. Research extended rear facing it's more uncommon but safer for children.

Car seats are quite easy to install with a seatbelt. Just use the isofix in one car, seatbelt in another. I wouldn’t fancy moving it daily, they are big and heavy.

Thanks all, very glad I asked. DH was convinced it was a 2 minute job lol.

We've got the Cybex Cloud Z2, I'd say it's easier to belt into another car than swap the bases every time (but that may just be me!).

Depending on when you're going back to work you could buy the next size up? We're currently using the Cybex in one car and have bought an Axkid for our main family car. We switch pick ups a lot but didn't want to be leaving the seat at nursery. We would need to buy the next seat up soon anyway (high centile for weight so Cybex won't last until 2y).

@ddoodle55 Is it possible just to swap cars instead? Saves the faff of switching the base. As others have said, it’s not hard, it’s just a bit of a pain. I used to move our next size isofix seat between our car/childcare care every other day and it drove me nuts 😅

Yes good point about getting a more long term seat with base - I stupidly didn't realise the cloud is only up to 18 months! Which is why i def don't want to buy another base for it when it's so short term

That's what we did went from the cybex to an Axkid (daughter hated the cybex - loves the Axkid)

What did you think of the cloud? Did you find it sturdy enough just seat belted in without the base? Had considered doing that as well but wasn't sure how safe it was

Yes you're defo right about getting another seat in the next size up!

I also second what @Lavender2021 has said. If you’re looking at a second seat then I would do some research on extended rear facing 😊 loads of options for rear facing until 25kg or 36kg depending on your preference 😊

No unfortunately not! Yes sounds like I would be making my life unnecessarily difficult 😂

Most next size up seats the isofix doesn't come off or seat belt.
I personally like rear facing seats and they come in a range of brands and price points.

Age on seats is only guide always go on height and weight. My daughter would have gotten to over 2 in the cybex cloud Z but hated it but a friends child got to about 1 years old due to being high percentiles.

I’ve got the Cybex Cloud and have had it without the base when needed and it’s rock solid, no movement at all. My only complaint about it is it is HEAVY. Very sturdy and safe though so I can’t fault that. My LO is coming up 7 months and is already almost 10kg so I’m struggling to see how it will last until 24 months/13kg. Wish I’d gone straight for the Sirona in hindsight….

The sirona is a terrible seat for a newborn. We had problems with headflop and fit issues at 7 months old in the end we brought a better seat.

I’ve never used a baby seat with an isofix belt. They are not needed! Once you know how to strap them with a belt it’s an easy one min job.

Oh really? What did you go for? As I said we have the Cloud at the minute. LO was only a 5lber but is now a chunk and rapidly approaching the weight limit at 7 months so I need to start thinking about changing the seat soon, ideally keeping the base. Thanks!

The only seat that fits the base will be the sirona unfortunately.
At that young age I would miss out the 18kg weight limit seats if already near 13kg and go for one of the extended rear facing 36kg weight limits as it will last longer and cost less overall.
You can look at the red book to see roughly when they will hit 125cm to see if you need a 25kg or 36kg seat as they both have the same hight limit.
Axkid, Besafe and Britax are popular brands and your normally have to find independent retailers to buy them. Axkid have a find a retailer page.

I had the Cloud Z for my first and thought it was great.

I think it depends on how new your car is as to how easy the base is to swap - my mums car has visible isofix connections, so it's fairly straightforward to connect / disconnect, whereas the isofix connections in my car are hidden so you have to pull the fabric of the seat up to try and connect them each time - to the point now I exhaust all options before taking it out, because it's such a hassle to get back in!

For what it's worth I do like the Sirona.

I should also say, post Cloud Z, that I bought a Joie 360 for my mums car as an alternative to the Sirona, so we wouldn't need to switch car seats in and out the cars all the time - and much prefer the Sirona in my own car to the Joie 360 in hers.

If you get the next size up for the Cybex seat, the base will work on that too. So you can expect around four years of use with the Cybex base.

It is quite simple to install and uninstall but it would be a pain doing it everyday. Personally, I find the Cybex base easy to take out or install, but placing the car seat on top takes a good few goes for me.

I can see this. We had the Cloud Z and now the Sirona. We now have a newborn in the Cloud Z too and the Sirona doesn’t look like it would have been able to support him for a long time.

Being able to put the Cloud Z on a pushchair is helpful too, which you can’t do with the Sirona.

The Sirona has very little insert options so doesn't fit until bigger then it has a shorter shell then other 18kg seats so can be outgrow before 105cm if they have a long body. We couldn't get enough recline to stop headflop when pulling away at junctions when sleep!