Gemany now with LATCH

[joyride]

Britax-Roemer - the german division of Britax - introduced the first car-seat with TopTether in Germany.

http://www.britax-roemer.de/neuheiten.php?lang=en&nid=75

http://www.britax-roemer.de/upload/produkte/produkt_to_dessin/8_31.jpg

RÖMER SAFEFIX plus TT - 9-18kg (20-40lbs) FF only :o

http://www.britax-roemer.de/upload/produkte/produktgebrauchsanleitung/44.jpg
Tighten the strap of the TopTether until the green tension indicator is visible and the TopTether lies against it tightly.

Joy

[Morganthe]

My question is where & what would it tether to in a German car? Or have they started making top tether hooks in recent years? :scratcheshead:

[mykidsmylife]

My question is where & what would it tether to in a German car? Or have they started making top tether hooks in recent years? :scratcheshead:

I was just gonna ask the same thing... We had a 2008 Ford rental and there was no tether hooks for it... Hmmmm....

[Adventuredad]

I wonder as well. I've never seen that in a German car but I've not seen any 2009's yet

[joyride]

Good question - I have seen some newer with Tether-Anchors , but I doubt that every car will have one, there is no regulation for. But you can retrofit a majority of cars, because the same frame is used for "overseas" (US). Was no problem to get Tether-Anchors in my german Audi A4.
Joy

[lil96]

I have them inmy car 2008 touran, or at least it is some sort of thing that looks just like it. I thought there were some other tethering car seats too? I still prefer the leg to a tether, because with the leg there is no tightening down and possibly loosening.
A quick question I know what LATCH stands for, but wouldn't it still be considered an ISOfix seat? because ISOfix is a fixed width and latch is not? can someone explain it to me?

[o_mom]

I have them inmy car 2008 touran, or at least it is some sort of thing that looks just like it. I thought there were some other tethering car seats too? I still prefer the leg to a tether, because with the leg there is no tightening down and possibly loosening.
A quick question I know what LATCH stands for, but wouldn't it still be considered an ISOfix seat? because ISOfix is a fixed width and latch is not? can someone explain it to me?

LATCH = Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren

Basically LATCH is any lower anchors plus top tether. The lower anchors are always a standard, fixed width in the car. On the seat, the attachments for LATCH can be rigid or flexible. ISOFIX, AFAIK, only refers to the lower anchor portion.

[joyride]

ISOFIX, AFAIK, only refers to the lower anchor portion.

Under the name ISOFIX, only sytems with lower anchor and rigid connection are admitted.
Joy

[lil96]

LATCH = Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren

Basically LATCH is any lower anchors plus top tether. The lower anchors are always a standard, fixed width in the car. On the seat, the attachments for LATCH can be rigid or flexible. ISOFIX, AFAIK, only refers to the lower anchor portion.

I know what it stands for, the second part of what you answered is what I was looking for. Isofix can include top tethers. The difference is the names, whether it is universal, semi universal, car specific etc. I think if I understand everything correctly it is still an Isofix car seat with a top tether, not a Latch seat, because Latch= approved for USA?

[o_mom]

I know what it stands for, the second part of what you answered is what I was looking for. Isofix can include top tethers. The difference is the names, whether it is universal, semi universal, car specific etc. I think if I understand everything correctly it is still an Isofix car seat with a top tether, not a Latch seat, because Latch= approved for USA?

I guess you could put it that way. From what I can tell, ISOFIX only requires the lower attachments and an anti-rotation device. In the past, only the lower attachements were required. That is where the 'semi-universal' and 'vehicle specific' categories came from as they only worked in certain vehicles/configurations. Now that the standard has been upgraded to include anti-rotation, it is more similar to LATCH for the 'universal ISOFIX'.

[southpawboston]

more and more EU cars are getting spec'd with top tethers, even though they are not required like they have been in the US for years. IIRC, it is still voluntary in the EU. i am not sure whether this will become a requirement that gets phased in over time or if it will remain optional, or if it will replace the "front foot". as far as international standards go, the whole ISOFIX/LATCH thing is a big mess.

a side note about LATCH versus ISOFIX and the whole top tether (TT) debacle:

while the US has TT's, we don't have "front feet" like many EU carseats do. the front foot, which is an adjustable foot which braces the front of the CR against the floor of the car, effectively recapitulates the function of a top tether, which is to reduce forward excursion by reducing (or nearly eliminating) forward rotation of the CR. it is the anti-rotation device. AFAIK, no US seats come with a front foot (although i would LOVE to have one).

ISOFIX + top tether = LATCH, with one distinction:

ISOFIX seats have rigid lower anchor connectors, not a lower anchor belt like US LATCH seats have. but a vehicle equipped with ISOFIX + top tether is identical to a LATCH equipped vehicle. is that a confusing mess, or WHAT??!! :eek:

the term "LATCH belt", which is commonly used on this site and even in carseat manuals, is a confusing and dangerous misnomer because it really only applies to the lower anchors, wheras the term LATCH refers to the complete system of lower anchors plus top tether. it should be called a "LA belt".

[o_mom]

. AFAIK, no US seats come with a front foot (although i would LOVE to have one).



The BabySafe had one. From what has been said in the past, one of the sticking points is that the standard US test bench doesn't have to have a floor in front of the seat, so no standard place to put a foot. I will say the foot prop is a great idea and would solve many problems of older cars w/o TTs.

[QuassEE]

Absolutely--I had a BabySafe and I still have a BabySafe base. Light seat, dead weight for a base. One of the base's flaws was that the footprop pin would mis-align and make the footprop freesliding. The other seat flaw was a $300 pricetag. It came out about 6m after the Companion and as a result of the price, it didn't have a chance.

It's still sold in Europe as the CosyTot.

-N.

[southpawboston]

right... i knew there was one or two in the past, but currently there are no US seats sold with a front foot. as o-mom said, the beauty of the design is that it doesn't rely on a car having an attachment point for it... it's universal.