Baby seat/ capsule

[Dippy]

Dog,

I have ISOFIX in my car and am very pleased with it. Despite what Charles mentioned about the third anchor point (which is why there has been such a delay with the whole ISOFIX approval system), IMO properly used ISOFIX is safer than seatbelts.

The situation in Europe has been for a while that only ISOFIX seats made and tested by the car manufacturer are allowed. So I have used an Audi seat made by Hugepack. Maybe the Britax Duo is the first one that can be used in any car.

I have not tried the Britax seat, but I could believe that in some cars it may not fit as well as it should. However the Audi seat fits perfectly in my S4. It is a rigid seat which stays facing forwards and is rock solid. I have absolutely no doubts about its safety.

But of course it is only suitable for 9 months to 4 years. So when we had our second child, I looked for an ISOFIX baby seat. There aren't any! But what I found was that you can buy a strap with two ISOFIX hooks. I had to get mine from the US (they call it the LATCH system there). I used this strap to fix the front of a standard rear-facing baby seat to the ISOFIX points. Then I used the seatbelt just to hold the baby seat down at the top. The result was a setup which was again rock-solid, but also much easier to put the baby in and out of without having to release all the strapping, making my setup safer IMO.

I think you can retrofit ISOFIX. They really are just a pair of simple 'U' bolts after all.

[RobertH]

Not wanting to mislead people, I emphasise these comments are purely based on my experience.

we bought the Audi ISOfix with the front cushion. The problems we had with the TT were:

- Seat does point slightly upwards when fitted correctly
- the cushion raised where the belts fed to the fixed anchor points on the side and floor of the car
- when the cushion was removed, the upper belt has problems staying around the "wing" of the chair and not pulling stright upwards
- the seat was incredibly upright, not tilted back, which seemed uncomfortable for the children

We use this seat now in emergencies, but never as the default.

Whether the new ones you are looking at are better I really do not know. I have ISOFix again so maybe I will look again.

Hope this helps.


Robert.

[dog]

Thanks guys!
I have ordered the seats and they should be here any day now. Of course, I do have some time as my daughter is only 7 month old.
I have difficulty getting those U hooks for the cars, Audi is reluctant to supply them as ISOFIX is not approved over here yet.New zeland cars actually come with it just like Mercedes Renault and Subaru here. [img]images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] Buggered if I understand

[Dippy]

Just because NZ is close by doesn't mean that your legislative systems should be aligned. Don't forget that we don't run either of your countries any more. [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

As I mentioned before, the absence of a 3rd anchor point has really caused problems with acceptance of ISOFIX. I'd say that NZ must have approved it but your government hasn't yet.

This actually maybe a problem. You could probably import the parts yourself, but you'd not get anyone to fit them until they are approved.

[dog]

It's O.K. Australia is run by popular demand not by goverment!
[img]images/graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
I am going to fit them myself, I did a better job with the capsule than the official fiter anyway.
My understanding is that with the Duo I can use either the conventional or the ISIFIX attachments or both.

[Steve_Mc]

Well my lad is now due to move up a Group 1 forward facing seat from his current rear facing Britax Rock-a-Tot. I'd recommend the Rock-A-Tot as a starter seat, although I would mention that it isn't the biggest seat and my son has outgrown it fairly quickly.

As my car had ISOFIX fitted from the factory I've been exploring this option, albeit with caution reading the above posts. It seems however that ISOFIX seats have progressed since the Which test, and Britax have a new product on the market, the Isofix Duo Plus. Reading the Britax website, it says that it was awarded 4 stars in an NCAP test (I checked, and it's true, see here). The difference between the Duo and Duo Plus seems to be (from Britax website):

A patented ‘Pivot’ link ensures the Duo Plus Isofix limits the forward movement of your child’s head in a crash

I can only assume that this Pivot link has solved the problem of a missing third anchor point - it's hard to say if this true or not, but 4 NCAP stars would seem to suggest it might be true. So it looks like a Duo Plus for me - anyone got one yet (it's only been out a couple of months), or have any experiences to share?

Steve

PS I thought I'd add a new post to this thread rather than start a new one, to try and keep all the child seat info in one place.

PPS For anyone new to the car seat game, I found RoSPA's site a great resource to learn the basics in a totally objective way.

[Scotty]

[off topic]
We had a couple of Thames Valley Police at a TT rolling road event at AMD at the weekend. One thing that was said, among many others, was the fact that when they do their charity trips to Euro Disney (for kids affected by road fatalities), there are always a lot less fathers there than mothers. Last time out of 60 kids, only 2 had their fathers there.

Of course men generally drive more miles than women but they found that when people have their kids in the car, they drive sensibly but when they are alone they push on that much more.

It's worth a few seconds thought when you picture all those fatherless kids [img]images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[/off topic]

[kennyboy]

Just what do you guys/girls use in your cars?

We've got a Britax 'First Class' seat for our little'un

[dog]

I have the Britex Isofix Duo at the end. I do have the third anchor point belt as all cars in Australia are fitted with the m. Accidentally I have bought 3 extra anchors (just the hook, not the webbing) so anyone who wants some can have it. (it was only 10 dollars each.
These are the part numbers for the third anchor points
443 887 301 C 4PK x 3 - cap

N 010 241 18 x 3 - Bolt

443 887 269 x 3 - Brackets