Rear Facing Child Seat Advice

[scz4]

Morning all,

Looking for some advice & recommendations on a car seat for my little one who is now 8 months and growing out of her current seat.

It must be ISOFIX and it must continue to be rear facing (5 times safer than forward facing until 4 years old).

Does anyone have recommendation based on actual expereicne rather than magazine reviews etc?

I have a BMW 5 series touring, so no concerns about rear space, but the wife has a 2010 Mazda 3, currently with a smaller isofix rear facing seat the passenger seat has to be quite far forward. Perhaps the next stage are more upright?

G

[Skellen]

We have the BeSafe rear facing seats. We did a lot of research and they come out the best in tests and they are superbly made. Not cheap mind.

They can be used rear facing with isofix and then turned around later for when the kids are older.

One snag is you do lose a large section of the rear seat to them, but thats the case with all of them.

Don't know where you are based but happy to send photos or if local come and have a look.

[unexpecteditem]

These guys really know their stuff esp. rear facing: http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/. They're based Milton Keynes but have a helpline and do mail order.

[scz4]

Skellen said:

We have the BeSafe rear facing seats. We did a lot of research and they come out the best in tests and they are superbly made. Not cheap mind.

They can be used rear facing with isofix and then turned around later for when the kids are older.

One snag is you do lose a large section of the rear seat to them, but thats the case with all of them.

Don't know where you are based but happy to send photos or if local come and have a look.

Thanks for that.

When you turn it round for when they get older, is it still the same ISOFIX base?

How do you find tightening the strap with the seat in the car? My current one is really awkward (Jane), but then for it's designed to be removed at the young age group.

BeSafe were one of the makes which have popped up during my research. Definitely at the upper end of the price bracket, but that's fine, happy to pay for the safety of my daughter... especially considering the money I waste on cars

Unfortunatley I'm up in Aberdeen, so probably not close to you. I'll see if I can find a dealer\agent locally and try one out.

Would be interested in seeing some pictures. What sort of car do you have yours fitted in?

Graeme

[joewilliams]

We used a BeSafe as well, was very happy with it. No way would my son fit in one till 4 though - aged 2 and a half, his shoulders are beyond the highest strap setting.

[The Kraken]

I can't help you but there is a guy on here called Boobles who works in the child seat industry. He started a thread giving out advice on child seats.

Sorry, don't have the link but he is your man to ask.

Here you go.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by The Kraken on Wednesday 3rd August 10:05

Edited by The Kraken on Wednesday 3rd August 10:06

[oldcynic]

We used a Recaro Polaric for both our youngest daughters. Despite being especially small for their age we moved one to forward facing at about 2.5 years, the other at 2 years.

The seat was fantastic once it was in but also very cumbersome and needed serious rear legroom - fitted fine in my V70 and the wife's Alhambra but tried it in an '02 Octavia we owned for a while and it only fitted if the passenger seat was moved almost to the dashboard.

With hindsight I don't regret spending the money but I'm not sure I'd buy one again. We also had a number of problems with broken catches on the Recaro - a design flaw that has now been rectified but we had the seat replaced twice. I wouldn't dream of buying one online having seen how much space they can take - the Recaro officially fitted the Octavia (and technically it did - as long as the wife was willing to walk!)

You also need to be careful to check how the seat is secured. Prior to the Recaro we were sold another model but later found out the it relied on resting against a front seat for stability. In Car Safety Centre in Milton Keynes ended up selling us 4 seats for the price of one - their customer service is second to none.

[LooneyTunes]

scz4 said:

I have a BMW 5 series touring, so no concerns about rear space, but the wife has a 2010 Mazda 3, currently with a smaller isofix rear facing seat the passenger seat has to be quite far forward. Perhaps the next stage are more upright?

I've got the Recaro rear facing seat in my E60 too - it is bloody huge and does limit the extent to which the front seat can slide back (albeit still more than enough space in a 5). Doubt you'd get it in a much smaller car if you wanted the passenger seat to remain usable.

I like the seat now that little chap has worked out that wriggling out of the straps (which he did from time to time) isn't a good plan. Not 100% convinced that he should have been able to do so in the first place - and the outlet we did buy from reckoned there was no design flaw, yes it could be possible to wriggle out even if correctly adjusted, but we should discipline our child better! Yeah, thanks for that, reasoning with a one year old is really going to work...

Mrs LT had one too in her car, but changed it because she didn't like not being able to see what the child was up to.

Would I buy another one? Not sure. Would probably have a look at other brands first, but it was pretty much the only r/f one available when we bought almost 2 years ago.

[boobles]

scz4 said:

Morning all,

Looking for some advice & recommendations on a car seat for my little one who is now 8 months and growing out of her current seat.

It must be ISOFIX and it must continue to be rear facing (5 times safer than forward facing until 4 years old).

Does anyone have recommendation based on actual expereicne rather than magazine reviews etc?

I have a BMW 5 series touring, so no concerns about rear space, but the wife has a 2010 Mazda 3, currently with a smaller isofix rear facing seat the passenger seat has to be quite far forward. Perhaps the next stage are more upright?

G

Thank you "the kraken" for recommending me.


Hi, can I ask where you get "5 times safer than forward facing" please?

It's worth having a look at either of these two sites to get an idea of what will fit your car.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&am...

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&am...

Edited by boobles on Wednesday 3rd August 10:23

[scz4]

Thanks for the advice so far guys... just digesting it just now

Boobles, I've seen this on many website, but here's just one example: - http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php

With your experience, what would you say?

[scz4]

Is it worth signing up for the "Which?" review on car seats?

[scz4]

boobles said:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&am...

One of the Britax seats looks good and was recommended for the wifes car. Would you rate these?

Don't know why I have a bee in my bonnet about Maxi-Cosi seats, seems to be the default option for those who aren't interested in researching the topic so based on branding & "fashion"... (like Apple followers) but then again they could be a a great product... I just don't know There website doesn't offer much information.

[aizvara]

I'm interested in this topic as my son is just about to outgrow his current baby seat and the girlfriend is pushing for continuing with rear facing as that's what they do over in her home country.

scz4 said:

Don't know why I have a bee in my bonnet about Maxi-Cosi seats, seems to be the default option for those who aren't interested in researching the topic so based on branding & "fashion"...

No idea whether the larger Maxi-Cosi seats are good or not, but our current baby seat is maxi-cosi and I was under the impression that it came out top in terms of safety; I believe there was a Which? review amongst others. That's the only reason we bought it; couldn't care less about fashion or branding and had never heard of them before we started looking.

[boobles]

scz4 said:

Thanks for the advice so far guys... just digesting it just now

Boobles, I've seen this on many website, but here's just one example: - http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php

With your experience, what would you say?

Thats my test rig in them videos & I set them up (rear facing videos).

I agree that rear facing is safer but I don't know where anyone can state them being 5 times safer.

I gave them two links based on safety to be honest but not suggesting other brands are "un-safe".

[scz4]

boobles said:

Thats my test rig in them videos & I set them up (rear facing videos).

I agree that rear facing is safer but I don't know where anyone can state them being 5 times safer.

haha, that's cool, must be a very interesting job.

Not sure where they get that statistic from. I read over a 16 month period in Sweden there were zero deaths involcing under 6's which is pretty amazing, thanks to them keeping kids in rear facing seats. In the same period I think the UK had 24 young deaths I appreciate we have a population 6 times larger.

[Eponymous]

Hello.

We got the Britax Multi-Tech after going to the In Car Safety Centre in MK. We tried all the options and decided it was the best solution in terms of how long it would last, price and how it fitted in the car. It’s an A6 estate and the passenger seat can be in a fairly normal position, anything smaller would be a bit tight I think. The BeSafe needed the seat further forward and was just generally a bit massive. There was another Britax seat, but although it was cheaper, it just didn’t seem to offer as much protection. The only difficult thing with the Multi-Tech was attaching the tethers to the front seat, but that will depend on the car.

[Efbe]

scz4 said:

It must be ISOFIX and it must continue to be rear facing (5 times safer than forward facing until 4 years old).

those stats sound a bit odd.

range in weight/height of kids at 4 years old is huge. so you're telling me at their 4th birthday every 4 year old is exactly the same and needs turning around that day?

(yes I realise how young your child is now! I'm just questioning the statistic)

[scz4]

Efbe said:

those stats sound a bit odd.

range in weight/height of kids at 4 years old is huge. so you're telling me at their 4th birthday every 4 year old is exactly the same and needs turning around that day?

(yes I realise how young your child is now! I'm just questioning the statistic)

No of course not, in exactly the same way when the a baby hits 18 lbs it must move to the next level, these are just guidelines.

What I am saying, or rather relaying from what I've read, is kids up to 4 years old are much safer in a rear facing seat, after than the benefit isn't as great. I'm not saying it has to be the same seat either!! Again ages and weight are probably based on averages.

[scz4]

Boobles...

What's the general consensus on those seats which rely on having to make the car seat touch seat in front? Doesn't sound great to me.

This what one of the companies I spoke to said -

"The advantage of having either of these two is that you have to make the seat in front touch the child car seat, saving you an inch maybe more."

[boobles]

Not heard that explanation before.

Don't forget that the front seat will always travel in the same way as the child restraint during an accident, so there is no advantage in terms of safety.