Car seat recommendations

[shineshineshine]

I’m looking for a car seat which still has 5 point harness past 18kg.

My 4 year old is almost outgrowing his Joie 360 spin so it’s time to start looking for a new one.

I don’t feel comfortable yet going straight to the car seatbelt so would like a car seat with the harness style up to 25kg.

I am aware of the Joie Bold but would like to look at a few others.

Thank you!

Joie Bold is generally the best one with the 25kg limit but there aren't many places stocking it any more. The i-Bold is less use as the harness is limited to 105cm.

Do you know his height currently and is he outgrowing the seat by weight or height?

The only other 25kg harness ones forward facing are the Cozy n Safe Hudson, or a generic seat sold under the names Cozy n Safe Excalibur, Enfasafe Event FX, and Puggle Safe fit and Gro. (These are all the same model under the covers and tend to go in and out of stock).

You've got plenty of choice rear facing, though the seats are more expensive, and don't convert into high back booster. I could go through these if interested?

There are also a few with the newer R129 safety certification which have higher harness limits e.g. 21/22kg - but they tend to be limited to 105cm on the harness. Those tend to have a bit better safety/crash test results, though, so I could go through those if any use?

Thank you for all your information, it’s really helpful!
He’s currently 107cm and 17kg and forward facing in the joie spin so I think I may just go ahead with bold so that I don’t have to change again soon.

Well if he fits physically in the Joie spin, you can keep using it. It does have one of the largest harness heights of any 18kg seat on the market, and it could take a while for him to gain the last 1kg. How much longer do you think you'll want a harness for? If it's years, then it makes sense to try and find an R44 Bold somewhere in stock or go for one of the Cozy n Safe seats or a rear facing one. Whereas if you think he'll be OK in a seatbelt in about 6 months you might be best off just waiting.

The other thing is that the HBB modes in these longer harnessing seats aren't as nice as the ones where you only buy a HBB seat. So if you think you'll only harness a few more months it makes sense to buy the best HBB you can find instead since you'll be using that mode for much longer. There are some with an extra strap/hook thing on the lap belt which some people find reassuring, e.g. Britax Kidfix.