360 car seat that lasts to 12 - what have you got?

[UnsureIsMyMiddleName]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a 360° car seat that does rear-facing and forward-facing, and is meant to last up to 12 years (like the Joie i-Spin or similar).

For those who have one - what did you go for, and are you happy with it?

Thanks!

Multi stage seats are notoriously a bit shit.
avionaut stardust is a good one, but generally you’re better off buying a toddler or ERF seat and a high backed booster later. The other downside is that lots of car seats have a 5-7 year lifespan before the plastic starts to degrade so if you pop your little one in at say 6-18 months you’ll need to buy a booster between 6-8 years anyway

I agree with @LeopardPrintIsNeutral. These seats also tend to be bulkier than designated stage seats.
Are you after one for your main seat or is it for a versitle spare? They can be a brilliant option for if you need to use it for different age groups (eg childminders or grandparents).

What are your current requirements?

Thanks for your replies.

What I'm looking for: a 360° rotating car seat that does both rear-facing and forward-facing, but ideally one where the actual seat detaches from the base (like my old Cybex). This will be our main car seat, as my daughter is 18 months old and has outgrown her Cybex infant 360 (rear-facing only). I really want to keep her rear-facing for as long as possible. She's quite petite and average height.

My budget is £300 max.

I'm not sure many 12 year olds still use car seats - or 10 year olds even. Prince George was 13 last week, can you imagine him in a car seat?

Are you after a seat which you can remove with the child in? Or one that can be belted or isofix? As far as I'm aware it's only infant carriers that are made for carrying the child out in.

If you want to rear face for as long as possible I'd go for a dedicated rear facing seat. These tend to have lower sides so easier to get the child in and out of and gets rid of the need for 360. I bought a seat that could rear and forward face for my first DC but I never used it forward so was pointless having that feature.

@Yamyamabroadthe legal requirements are 12 years old or over 135cm tall.

The other thing to bear in mind is that requirements might be quite different in a decade. I know half a dozen kids who are 11 and only one of them rear-faced beyond 12/15 months and that was seen as quite odd at the time. Now those who are ff-ing at that age would be the odd ones out

"The legal requirements are 12 years old or over 135cm tall."

In many EU countries the min height is 150cm (and 36kg), so many seats out there cater for taller, light weight children.

@Yamyamabroad

My DD2 is 12 next month. She is still in booster cushion car seat because she is not yet 150cm. I know that is higher than the UK minimum but we have followed Scandi laws for car seats since birth.

OP, why not focus on your current needs? Its not worth compromising on what you need now to facilitate having a high back booster for use years down the line. Hbb are relatively cheap anyway.
Why do you want a seat that detaches from the base? Most of them are isofix, so easily moved from car to car, and they're much too heavy to carry around.