Any one recommend a baby car seat with ISOfix that has a good safety rating and wont get too hot. $700 range
Looks like newborn+ baby car seats with ISOfix only come in 0-4 years but from a lot of the reviews I've read babies only get to age 3 or less before they need a bigger seat.
This is a list from BB
https://www.babybunting.com.au/car-seats.html?cat=440&isofix…
looking at them in store they all look about the same size
any i should stay away from?
Thanks
Hi Smiley, thanks for your comments. which is better Capsule with 6 month to 8 year seat or 0 to 4 year seat?
The rules about ISOFIX in Australia is just stupid.
ISOFIX is only for up to 4 years old, and you hardly find one with rigid ISOFIX here, although it is much safer. I had a Britax Safe-n-Sound Trufix (not longer available) which sit rock solid. I was so disappointed when my kid needs to move on to a bigger seat and there is no ISOFIX available. Yet they say using an overseas car seat is illegal. What a joke.
Nuna Pipa Klik baby capsule has a rigid ISOFIX which has the highest rating in www.childcarseats.com.au , but they are not easy to find and only for up to 6 mths old.
Mother's Choice Adore AP ISOFIX looks pretty good as well.
Not sure about stupid bit, it's not just meeting the Australian standards. Although you can do a phd on ISOFIX in https://www.childcarseats.com.au/faqs
So much for "Australian standards". It's an excellent safety feature that was out for over 20 years. It's simply just bureaucracy.
They must have some really good reason for not approving any isofix seats for > 4 yrs old.
Not sure if ISOFIX or not but in the child restraint fb group I'm in, the Britax Graphene and the Ezylove Baby switch (I think this is 6m+ though) comes really highly recommended due to extended rear facing. They say you want to rear face until ideally 4yo due to the risk of internal decapitation in an event of a crash. But with a budget of $700 you could really have your pick of the bunch.
Don't go for Maxi Cosi though as they have really low markers and you are most likely to have to change the seat earlier. I bought a Maxi Cosi capsule when I just found out I was expecting and now my bub has reached the marker when she's just under 4m and I have no in-between to use until she's 6m -_-
Edit : oops just realised I basically said the same thing as Smiley82 haha
Go with the Infasecure, its half price at the moment. These are great seats. Also some of the highest rated.
I got 4x Graphenes at the pregnancy and baby expo at $419 each. (Twins and two cars)
The twins are currently using a capsule and they're 9 weeks old. But they hate it. They're ok when in the car but once it's out they don't want to be in it. Too squishy and hot. So .. goodbye capshles - as soon as baby bunting gets my Graphenes in stock
Is the size difference between the Graphene and Millenia, is it just the width of the seat? The footprint doesn't appear to be that much smaller other then width wise.
Car seats are an information minefield, so I'll try to summarise briefly. For more info, there are some great facebook groups - I recommend 'Car Restraints. is your child restrained correctly'
The price difference largely comes down to seat functionality, fabrics and size of the seat.
Rear facing depth is a big one - it is best practice to keep your child rear facing as long as possible, however some seats are very deep in rear facing mode, rendering the front seat unusable, if it fits at all. If this is your preference, and depending on your vehicle, a compact rear facing seat is your best choice.
The Britax Graphene is an excellent seat, compact rear facing depth, easy adjust harness (press a button and move the harness up a notch, versus having to uninstall the seat and rethread the harness each time it needs to be moved up). And Isofix.
If size isn't an issue (i.e. if you have a big car internally), the Millenia is the similar seat to the Graphene, without the compact depth. It is often mentioned for having head-flop issues in forward facing mode.
In terms of how long your child will last in the seat - each child is different, and it really depends where your child has their height. Car seats work on torso high, so even a tall child can last in a seat if their height is in their legs and not their torso. While seats are sold as 0-4, they can be outgrown at 2.5-3, or still fit at 4-5, depending on the child.
Dorel seats (including maxi cosi) are known for having lower height markers than Britax and Infasecure seats. What this means is your child will reach the marker sooner in these seats. This is often mentioned and is seen to be a bad thing given the price paid for many of their seats.
I love Britax seats, so would recommend the Graphene, or the Millenia. The Millenia is a very big seat though, so I would recommend trying it in your car before purchasing (you can ask to do this at Baby Bunting). The difference between the normal versions and the + versions is usually just fabric inclusions. The Brava is a slightly cheaper version of the Graphene.
If buying from Baby Bunting, you can buy from their ebay store and use ebay coupons and click and collect instore to save some $$.
Hope this helps! Ask if you need any clarification, or join the group if you want to do more research.