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Original poster

help with carseats

26 replies

Ellaroo · 04/07/2002 20:32

Hello, hope someone can advise me on this. My daughter is 9 months old and nearly 21 lbs, so am now thinking of moving to the second stage carseat and think I have decided on the Britax Ranger as it is so light and portable (don't have a car myself, so it needs to be!). However, my worry is that it just uses the adult seatbelt and doesn't seem to use a 5-point-safety-harness as well, which a lot of the others do. Do you think this is a problem for a child this small and has anyone else got this carseat and used it with such a small child? It just seems that a child could maybe wriggle out if it's just relying on the adult seat belt...

OP posts:
SueDonim · 05/07/2002 07:30

I bought the Ranger for my five year old and wouldn't have used it for a baby, I must admit. Have you looked at the Britax Cruiser? That is even lighter and is snugger fitting, and we used that from about a year old for our DD. HTH!

Alibubbles · 05/07/2002 08:32

I have two Britax Rangers and wouldn't reccommend them at all. They are okay for a three years upwards who can understand
'DO NOT SLIP YOUR ARM UNDERNEATH THE BELT!!'

I found that they don't secure the 14 month old very well, and the 2.5 yrs, no matter how tight you think you have the belt, even with a mighty tite, they can still manage to climb out, or put their arm over the belt etc.

I have bought one from Argos, a speedline, faairly cheap aat £35 meets all the standards and is slimmer, might not suit a very sturdy child! but takes up less space that the Britax, works on the same principal but has a 5 point harness. It also dosen't come apart so easily, every time I move the ranger to the other car, the booster seat comes unhooked and is a real pain to put back together - there's a knack to it.
I have had cruisers too, but still feel they're not brilliant, no substitute for a harness. The Britax trio is probably what I would go for,- a booster with a back and harness but pricey - what price a child's life though?

Original poster
Ellaroo · 05/07/2002 20:21

Thanks for your advice - you have saved me £45 as I will definitely steer clear of the Britax Ranger. However, am still having a bit of a dilema and would appreciate any further advice. Has anyone had experience with the Speedway, Britax Club Class, Maxi Cosi Priori, or Britax Eclipse. How do these rate on safety, and ease of putting in out of car - which I will have to do very quickly as there is nowhere for taxis to stop in my road as it is very narrow with no parking! Where can you find safety reports on carseats (Which? seems to be a rather un-user friendly website). It also needs to fit most cars, as it will be used in all different ones seeing as I don't have one of my own! Thanks.

OP posts:
SueDonim · 06/07/2002 07:27

We also had a Club seat and I would think it would be far too heavy to take around with you more than once in a blue moon.

Have you tried doing a search on the internet under "Child Car Seats"? It should bring up some information for you. HTH!

Alibubbles · 06/07/2002 10:13

The one I have got is a speedway not speedline!! I think it's really good, I have been lknown to lift the baby out of the car still strapped into the seat and transfer to another car!! It is easy and light to carry. fairly compact. You can secure it with the seat belt two ways, either pernmanently threaded through the back or across the front in the normal position, as I do and use the harness as well.
It means you caould strap your child ointo it and then just pop it into a taxi and strap in with the seat belt. I got mine from Argos and going to get another

sb34 · 06/07/2002 10:25

Message withdrawn

Alibubbles · 06/07/2002 10:28

Go to here they have the speedway on offer for £29.95, also do a search in google.co.uk for speedway child seat and you'll see some reviews

Enid · 06/07/2002 14:31

We have the maxi cosi priori and its brilliant. Easy to put in, but quite heavy - depends how much/far you'd have to carry it. The best feature is the one handed seat recliner, you can do it while driving if you get to a quiet bit of road, shhh, dont tell anyone

Rara · 06/07/2002 15:13

I wondered about this for ages and did quite a bit of research. Finally decided on the Maxi Cosi one, only to find that it won't fit my car (Vauxhall Cav)! In the end we had to get two - one for each car bacause me and dh take it in turns to pick her up and blah blah blah; anyway we got a Britax Club class and an Eclipse. Both fairly heavy, altho club class slightly lighter, but I don't like the way the clubclass clip fits onto the seat belt. It has to be checked everytime we use it because it can come loose. Eclipse is expensive but really excellent. It's very sturdy and nice and high up so dd can be nosey out of the window.

Rara · 06/07/2002 15:15

PS I agree with Enid - definitely get one with a one handle recliner. Both ones I mentioned have this.

Original poster
Ellaroo · 07/07/2002 20:59

Thank you so much for all your advise. Can still not decide, but at least now I know what I DON'T want!

Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
Ellaroo · 07/07/2002 21:02

Sorry, spelt advice wrongly!

OP posts:
carrieboo · 07/07/2002 22:33

My friend has a child that constantly got out of his seatbelt only seat and so she had to buy one with a harness she found one of mothercares own seats that had a harness and was still v. light. Don't know what it's called sorry but I'm sure you'd figure it out if you went to look at them!

bells2 · 25/09/2002 13:37

Our daughter (coming up for 11 months) is rapidly approaching the stage where we will need to invest in a new car seat for her. Our son is 3 1/4 and I am assuming that we will need to buy her another seat rather than use his as I seem to recall that booster seats are only recommended for 4+ - is this right?

Lizzer · 25/09/2002 14:31

Hi Bells, I might be the person to talk to about car-seats but be aware I'm hyper paranoid after the crash (see missing persons thread.) I need a second carseat for dd (now nearly 3) and after the car-crash I realised how important they were and the one I had- Britax Freestyle - was fantastic in the crash but the 2nd one I use in my Mum's car is 9 yrs old and just awful, support wise, and I refuse to use it since then. I want to use a booster for her then eventually just move on to using that in both/any cars. The Britax ranger seems good (any comments?) and it says you can use that from 9 months - I think the same applies to all highbacked boosters (not just the seat bit itself) BUT they can only be used with the adult belt and, please heed my advice here, I would not want my 11 month old in that sort of seat after going through that crash. I really would spend that bit extra on one. I know it may seem a bit of a waste as its not for very long but when you see your child spinning round on the motorway you realise just how damn important things such as the recline position, 5 point harness and big head supports really are. Sorry don't want to scare you Bells but its just brought it all into focus for me. As I said, hyper-paranoid - but then its really rather true too

bells2 · 25/09/2002 15:21

Hi Lizzer. I read your account of your crash with absolute horror - it sounded terrifying. I guess my question really is whether by putting the 3 year old in a booster I would be compromising on safety to which I suspect the answer is yes.

Bozza · 25/09/2002 15:31

Bells I would have thought that one of the high back boosters which Lizzer does not recommend for your 11 month old would be fine for your 3 yr old. You can use it with the back for the time being and then once your DS is 4 take the back off. Also I think the age is really just a guideline and the weight/size of child is really the crucial issue.

Lizzer · 25/09/2002 15:54

Ah right, I'm with you now - the booster was for 3yr old... Yes, I'm thinking of the britax ranger one for dd - she used one on holiday borrowed from a friend and it seemed fine regarding the fit of the adult strap. I want to know how good they are on long journey's though as there's no recline position? Probably wouldn't use the booster for long journeys til next summer (when she's 3 and a half and too big for her proper seat) Anyone any comments as I'm just as stumped as you are one that one Bells??!

SueDonim · 25/09/2002 16:52

We've used a Britax Ranger at home since DD was 5 and it's fine, except that annoyingly, the back parts company from the seat bit sometimes when we move it from car to car. I think if I were you, Bells2, I'd use your DS's current seat for your baby and buy DS a new Ranger type seat. The Britax Cruiser is also good for older children but won't form a booster seat.

Marina · 25/09/2002 19:48

Bells, when ds outgrows his Britax Renaissance we are going to be getting him a Concord Lift-Pro, which is a group 2 seat that seems to us to offer better side-impact protection than most other British-made seats for the 4 + age group. We have a Ranger for use in my parents' car and would also not use it for long journeys. It's a good quality seat but the side head restraints just don't seem deep enough to me.

Tissy · 25/09/2002 20:03

Bells, the Britax Trio is suitable from 9kg, has its own straps (ie not the adult strap)and can convert to a booster when the child is large enough. You could put your baby into the car seat you already have, your son into the Trio, then when your baby outgrows the first car seat put her into the Trio and get your son a booster of his own (they're v. cheap, about £15 I think). The Trio is about £90 at John Lewis. You can check with Britax whether it is suitable for your car before you buy it- either by phone or on the Britax website.

bells2 · 26/09/2002 08:30

Thanks so much for the replies - really helpful.

monkey · 29/06/2003 20:21

Can I just re-activate this thread to ask a question (I also asked on a pg thread)?

I'm not sure about replacing my son's car seat. He is soon to be 4, is average height but quite light & has recently lost weight now down to just over 14k. His current seat - a Britax is 9 - 18 k, and the next stage one is 15 - 36 k.

All I have read firmly states that the weight is the important factor, but I have also read that car seats aren't safe/don't offer protection if the head is higher than the back of the seat.

So he seems to big for his current seat, but too light for the next. i want to keep him safe, but don't know if I should move him or keep him in his current seat - he won't reach 18k for years! or even 15 for that matter.

Thanks

monkey · 30/06/2003 10:42

Doesn't matter - found the number for Britax & asked them direct. just in case it helps anyone else with a long light child, they said as long as eye level wasn't above height of seat back, stage 2 seat was still ok to use, & not to move him up to next stage yet.

Dixie · 30/06/2003 15:50

I have a very similar query so not sure if the same answer would apply....

my yongest ds is a year old & only weighs 7.65kg the instructions for his car seat say it should be in the rear facing position until 9kg. Then it can go forward facing. however he is a very long baby & in the rear facing position his legs are all crunched up & he looks most uncomfortable. Does anyone know if its ok to put him forward facing even though his under the 9kg stated.

I have was going to contact the manufacturer but its a french company & I'm worried about the language problem I may encounter.

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