Do I really need the isofix base?

[Alanares89]

Hello :)

I’m 35 weeks and I have everything and more in for my first babys arrival, but not the isofix base, and now I’m thinking do I really need one? I got the cybex cloud which is a great car seat with lots off saftey features on it anyway. I’m in the process of buying my first home and I am so cash strapped it’s unreal, I was all for the isofix base but now I’m thinking if I could save £100 then that could help me towards the house.

Please no comments back saying your choosing your child’s saftey over a household good! I know as long as the seat is secured with a belt then the seat is secured the best way it can be!

Did anyone else not bother with the base?
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I wouldn't buy a second hand base - a complete false economy as there's no point having a new safe car seat if you fix it to a second hand base which you don't 100% know the history of. It completely defeats the point of not using a second hand car seat.

Isofix is no safer than belted when fitted correctly and infant seats are really simple to fit.

In fact my 4 and 2 year old are both in extended rear facing seats which are fitted by belt only - I purposely avoided Isofix as they have a weight limit. By not having Isofix my children have seats which will last them to 25kg.

I won't be using a base for our newborn who will go into their infant seat as they really are not hard to fit - it takes 30seconds after a few practises.

I wouldn't waste the money on it and practise fitting your seat and see how you feel. Maybe even put a bit of weight in it to feel how it realistically feels with a baby in 😊

@kmreeve be very careful.

Just like car seat won't show obvious signs of stress from an impact a base won't.

They do fail - they have moving parts which release / hold the seat as well as the Isofix brackets which secure to the car.

A new car seat is no use to your baby if it's not secured into the car.

@Alanares89

We have the cloud car seat. We have the base in my car but use belts in DP’s car. As it’s such a chunky seat the belts only just go round it. I can’t actually strap it in myself as I can’t pull the belt tight enough.

I’d try fitting it in your car if you haven’t already to see if it is ok before deciding.