What seat for a 16m/o?

Hello,

I'm searching for the right seat for a 16m/o.

I've done some research (a lot on this forum, thanks and I'm now searching for a rear facing seat with isofix.

I've seen "akta graco duologic", "recaro polaric" and "volvo's britax fixway".

However, when I asked advice from a store in Sweden, they suggested non isofix seats, namely "Be Safe iZi Kid", "Brio Zento" and "Maxi Cosi Mobi", advising against the akta graco and mostly saying the others don't reach their safety standards.

I'm from Portugal, where information on these seat's (and a place to buy them) is nonexistant, the law here only requires children to face back till 9 months old!!!!

Thanks for any help you can give me.
Pedro.

aha... you're looking at swedish seats...

ADVENTUREDAD!!

seriously, I love the look of the Graco because it is designed similarly to the First Years Truefit, with a removeable headrest and it goes really tall.

But for not being able to compare them yourself in person, I'd pm Adventuredad if he doesn't see this and see if he can help you by providing you some comparison shots of the seats and give you his knowledge of them.

We have the Brio Zento, it is a great seat, easy to install with a really solid fit, the only issue we have with it is that the seat back isn't that tall and our son will be out of it before he is 3 but he has a really long torso.

Hi there,

I would have replied earlier but I'm done in Turkey at the moment. The store in Sweden probably suggested non-isofix because you can use the seat longer. Usually, isofix seats only have a weight limit of 40 lbs (18kg.) which would not allow you to use the Swedish seats to be fullest potential. Isofix seats are also usually quite a bit more expensive. Isofix seats are easier to install but are not safer compared to a car seat installed properly insalled with seat belt.

I constanly suggest the Swedish seats for one main reason. It will enable you to keep your child rear facing for a very long time. The Swedish seats allows rear facing until 25 kg. (55 lbs) which normally means your child will sit rear facing until 4-5 years. This is the way Swedish kids sit. This is the safest position for your child, there is a HUGE difference between a front facing and rear facing toddler.

I recommend the Swedish eats to everyone, even those who live in USA, canada, Australia, etc. where the seats is not certified and technically illegal to use (even thought it's far safer). The Swedish seats are certified for Europe, ECE R44, and of course legal and safe to use in Portugal.

The most common seats here in Sweden are Britax Hi-Way, Maxi Cosi Mobi, and Brio Zento. Some also use Britax Two-Way or Britax Multi Tech. The Two-Way and Multi Tech have the highest seat back and will usually allow rear facing longer. I use a Hi-Way and I'm very happy with it.

You can have a look at Britax Sweden to see the seats. The site is unfortunately only in Swedish. If you want to get a seat I will help you out. I can get a seat, package i,a nd send it to you. I do this for anyone that asks, regardless of location, since it means kids will be traveling much safer in the car.

Please let me know by PM or email if I can help you out with anything.

I just wantted to add if you look at the britax se site, some of the manuals are in english (and other languages).

Hello,

Thank you so much for your replies.

I should have asked sooner for your opinions...
I just ordered the Volvo/Britax seat before reading your replies

Do you know the Volvo seat? How does it compare to the others? Do you have any links for info? I found very little but I only speak so many languages

Main reasons for buying, in pretty much this order were:
- Volvo name/brand safety recognition (at least here volvo is well known for safety)
- Availability in Portugal (unfortunately, afaik, it's the _only_ RF car seat for group I in Portugal, and I even asked the Portuguese child safety association, that up until now didn't respond)
- Separate isofix base (I plan on buying a second one to put in the second car, so I don't have to keep switching all of the seat and installing it again)

Well, thanks again for your replies,
Pedro.

The FitWay isn't the best choice if you're looking to get the most for your money, but it's still a nice seat... If you were going to such expense as to buy a Volvo-branded Britax, you could well have imported one of the higher weight rear-facing seats to use and get a bit more for your money.

I believe the FitWay is rear-facing to 18kg? That's really not bad at all, but you may want to check the manual for any height limitations that may be reached before the 18kg mark. Based on this thread:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=46957
it may be tips of the ears, but I would be curious if your manual says otherwise... This does mean it's possible that the seat will be outgrown rear-facing prior to 18kg due to shell height.

We generally recommend keeping kids harnessed beyond the 18kg mark, and would advise purchasing another seat once the limits of the one you have are reached...Some of our Scans may not agree with this recommendation, but this is the current North American recommendation due to concerns over the maturity of young children and their (in)ability to sit properly in a booster at a young age.

-Nicole.

The recommendation "scans" follow is a belt positioning booster after rfing just as Quassee says. That usually works well for the Scans since the rear facing seat with high weight limit is used. With a weight limit of 25 kg. and quite high shell height it means most kids are going into BPB at age 4-5, sometimes later.

You might end up reaching the weight limit early since Isofix is usually only to 18 kg. and be forced into some uncomfortable decisions. Since Europe doesn't have forward facing seats with a harness past 18 kg it would mean a BPB. That's fine if your child is 5 years old (in my opinion) but a terrible idea if your child is 3 years of age.One reason why the Swedes feel comfortable with using boosters is the decision is usually not forced and the switch occurs at a relatively late age.

I don't know what the price is for the Volvo seat but they are usually a little pricey........ If you ever need to make this decision again it might be a good idea to look at the Swedish rear facing seats with 25 kg. weight limit. I don't think it would be much more expensive:twocents:

Best of luck

Hi,

Well, regarding cost, It wasn't that pricey €375

Considering the other options, ordering from sweden, it would go around €500, including delivery (from the store).

Of course then it would have to be a non-isofix seat and that would make it "usable" longer because of the 25kg limit of (at least) some of the seats.

Yes, the volvo seat is only up to 18kg, I don't know how it compares to the others, in terms of back height, but we portuguese are not that big

Question:
I just installed it in the car, but my car doesn't have a specific point to atach the straps in the back of the front seats. Do you have any experience with that? I'm considering putting the straps around the seat, coming back from the middle of the seat. (hope I make my self clear) It's one of the options in the manual.
Also, do you know of a place I can read about the actual task of these straps?

Thanks again for your replies.
Pedro.