Question Is the TWE the only option?

newyorkDOC · Oct 1, 2011

I'm asking for a friend. Her DD is 5 and is about to outgrow her Evolva 1-2-3. They live in Greece. She would like to keep her DD harnessed (but I've explained the whole Swedish theory about not harnessing older kids so now she's on the fence about it). The nautilus in Europe doesn't harness past 18 kg. So is the TWE her only option? I know its the only seat in Europe that harnesses to 25 kg.

I think she's looking at the TWE but also considering a kidfix. I honestly don't know if her DD is booster ready though.

I don't know her DD's height or weight. She's apparently super tall (avg height of an eight year old according to the Greek growth charts) but super super skinny.

lenats31 · Oct 2, 2011

The TWE is the only option that is readlily available and doesn´t break your wallet.

TechnoGranola · Oct 2, 2011

Would she still fit in a rear-facing Swedish seat? The Multi-Tech is nice and tall and has a 25 kg rear-facing weight limit I think? And by the time she outgrew it rear-facing, she'd be ready for a booster. You said she is very tall though so maybe she wouldn't fit. Someone with more knowledge of the Multi-Tech and taller rear-facing seats would have to chime in on their height limits for rear-facing.

InternationalMama · Oct 2, 2011

Yeah, if she's willing to ride RF then there are other options that harness to 25 kg. The Multitech actually has the same shell as the Evolva 1-2-3 so she could see how much room her DD would have rear-facing using her current seat.

You can RF in the Multi-Tech until the tips of the ears of even with the top of the shell.

newyorkDOC · Oct 2, 2011

Oops I forgot to say her DD is FF already. She lost the argument with her DH so their kids turn at one as Greek law actually permits turning earlier.

Although at 5 I wouldn't have problems with FF a child.

I guess I was wondering if it's worth it spending the money on a TWE since it'd be used FF. She says the kidfix will actually cost her 200 euros anyway as amazon.co.uk will not ship a car seat to Greece so she will need to buy locally. So at that point I basically said to her that if she really prefers harnessing then I think the TWE is her only choice considering her DD's height. I know about the tip of ears rule (my own DD rides in a TWE) but don't know how tall that translates to in this seat.

I doubt the MT will work since it's the same shell as the evolva. Plus it only harnesses FF to 18 kg just like the EU nautilus. Since her kids are FF I don't think it'd worth importing a MT if she can find a nautilus and if her DD even fits in a nauti harness anymore.

I just don't know if I'm overlooking other options. There's no EU equivalent to the frontier 85 right?

InternationalMama · Oct 2, 2011

There are some special needs seats that harness longer, but they are *a lot* more expensive than the TWE. I think you can see the seats over at http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/ under special needs.

The MT would only make sense if she wanted to re-RF in order to get more extended harnessing time.

I guess since the Evolva can be used as a booster she could try it as a booster and see how her DD does with it. Some five year olds are fine in a booster. If she's not mature enough for a booster she'll know she needs to import or pay the high prices.

ETA: If she knows anyone in the US maybe someone can send her a Ride Safer Travel Vest. A lot less expensive than shipping a seat over, but kind of a pain to use on a daily basis.

newyorkDOC · Oct 3, 2011

Actually I also mentioned the RSTV and offered to lend her mine to try it out. Her problem is that stuff gets stolen from customs in Greece. So she can only reliably receive shipments from the EU. I'm in italy so shipping is not a problem. She'll be IN the US at the end of the month but doesn't want to bring a frontier back with her bc she would have to check it. She already uses two radians from the US so she has no problems using seats that are technically illegal in the EU. I think her radians are about 3-4 years old bc age bought them around sept 2008.

That's a good point about trying out the evolva as a booster. I'm going to mention it to her. Thanks!

Oh and I'm also going to strongly suggest an RSTV for her 3 YO DS bc he rides in a "school bus" that's more like a van IMO with only a seat belt bc the school doesn't allow car seat installs. I don't think he's taller than the seat back so the top tether shouldn't be an issue.

InternationalMama · Oct 3, 2011

newyorkDOC said:
]Oh and I'm also going to strongly suggest an RSTV for her 3 YO DS bc he rides in a "school bus" that's more like a van IMO with only a seat belt bc the school doesn't allow car seat installs. I don't think he's taller than the seat back so the top tether shouldn't be an issue.

Yeah, if he's riding in a van he really needs to be in some kind of harnessed seat. But does the van have shoulder belts? The RSTV requires either a shoulder belt or lap belt and top tether and most EU cars do not have top tethers so I think you will need a shoulder belt to make the RSTV work.

They have two sizes of the RSTV, but it sounds like both her kids would be in the same size so I would get one of those when she's in the US. It sounds like it will definitely be useful one way or another.

Adventuredad · Oct 3, 2011

Seat shell of MT is a little taller than TWE but TWE will last a little longer. Normally about 3-5 cm longer.

MT will last far longer than TWE in forward facing kode but harness limit is 18 kg. There is no difference in safety between keeping a 5-year old harnessed and in a high back booster. I personally think MT is a little heavy to use FF.

MT will normally last to 125 cm of height rear facing and TWE to 130 cm. This can be a little shorter or longer depending on a child. TWE is the only EU seat which will harness FF to 25 kg. I prefer this one to MT FF since it's 30% lighter.

Leche Mami · Oct 3, 2011

I'm confused now. Does the child not fit in the Radian either or are those being used by other children?

FrauDrA · Oct 3, 2011

Adventuredad said:
MT will normally last to 125 cm of height rear facing and TWE to 130 cm. This can be a little shorter or longer depending on a child. TWE is the only EU seat which will harness FF to 25 kg. I prefer this one to MT FF since it's 30% lighter.

Do you happen to know the limits for the Storchenmühle Starlight? (Same as the Recaro Young Sport, but different fabrics.) That's what we have in Germany for visits to Oma and Opa, and I suspect my eldest will have outgrown it. (And if I remember correctly, it doesn't RF, right? I want to keep #2 RF as long as possible, and since he's much smaller than his big brother, we've got a while yet!) We aren't planning a trip until next year, but this thread has me wondering.

newyorkDOC · Oct 4, 2011

The radians are in another car. They need seats for 3 cars (mom, dad, grandparents' cars). So she needs at least one more seat assuming she moves her 3 yo DS into the evolva and uses his radian for her DD in the second car.

Also she said her DH doesn't like the upward angle of the radians. I don't know anything about them. Can you adjust the angle when FF?

InternationalMama · Oct 4, 2011

FrauDrA said:
Do you happen to know the limits for the Storchenmühle Starlight? (Same as the Recaro Young Sport, but different fabrics.) That's what we have in Germany for visits to Oma and Opa, and I suspect my eldest will have outgrown it. (And if I remember correctly, it doesn't RF, right? I want to keep #2 RF as long as possible, and since he's much smaller than his big brother, we've got a while yet!) We aren't planning a trip until next year, but this thread has me wondering.

I don't know about possible height limits for the Starlight, but it is 18kg in the harness and then it becomes a booster. Typically the booster is known to have good belt fit, if your oldest is booster ready.

InternationalMama · Oct 4, 2011

newyorkDOC said:
The radians are in another car. They need seats for 3 cars (mom, dad, grandparents' cars). So she needs at least one more seat assuming she moves her 3 yo DS into the evolva and uses his radian for her DD in the second car.

Also she said her DH doesn't like the upward angle of the radians. I don't know anything about them. Can you adjust the angle when FF?

Does she ride in all those cars frequently? If there is one that she rides in only occasionally you could start booster training in that car as booster training is usually a process.

newyorkDOC · Oct 4, 2011

InternationalMama said:
Does she ride in all those cars frequently? If there is one that she rides in only occasionally you could start booster training in that car as booster training is usually a process.

I got the car set up wrong before. It's mom/dad's car (1), maternal GMA's car (2), then paternal GPA's car (3). Dad does the drop off in the morning and GMA picks up in the afternoon. They spend a couple afternoons per week with the GPA so I'd say that it's probably too frequent a use to do booster training in the third car also bc they are Greek and care little about using the car seat at all much less booster training. It will have to be mom or GMA that booster trains I think.

So far I have suggested splitting the radians into 2 cars, passing down the evolva to the DS, then buying either a TWE or a Kidfix. Actually come to think of it, they will need another seat for the DS as he is about to outgrow his current seat (Britax First Class Si). So maybe she should go for the TWE and booster train in that, then get the kidfix and pass the TWE to her DS assuming he fits in his Si long enough to get the DD trained.

Leche Mami · Oct 4, 2011

The TWE doesn't have a booster mode to my knowledge.

If I needed my child in a booster, I would want it in my car where I can keep a proper eye and remind/enforce the rules for booster riding even if that was the car most often ridden in.

newyorkDOC · Oct 4, 2011

I'm pretty sure it does. Granted DD is still harnessed RF as she's only 2y9m but I remember having a convo with AD when I was choosing the seat and I think he was saying it was better to get a lightweight dedicated booster regardless. Also it came with a positioning strap thing for the regular seat belt which I hope I can find if I ever need it

.

Leche Mami · Oct 4, 2011

newyorkDOC said:
I'm pretty sure it does. Granted DD is still harnessed RF as she's only 2y9m but I remember having a convo with AD when I was choosing the seat and I think he was saying it was better to get a lightweight dedicated booster regardless. Also it came with a positioning strap thing for the regular seat belt which I hope I can find if I ever need it .

Thanks. You are right. I see it in the manual now. I'm not sure I understand when one would ever actually use it in booster mode though as it doesn't go to any higher weight in booster mode than it does harnessed. I would think tips of ears rule would be the same also. I guess it would make sense if your friend wanted it in her car to booster-train but I'd probably want to booster train in the booster the child would actually end up sitting in since they can feel different.

I was however just shocked with the following words in the manual "Never use Two-Way Plus in seat equipped with side impact airbag."

I never noticed that before. We use this seat in the front seat with the airbag disabled but the car does have side curtain airbags.

newyorkDOC · Oct 5, 2011

Oh jeez. I never saw that! We have side curtain airbags too. I wonder if moving it to the center position is ok. I had asked Toyota about eventually disabling them if required by the car seat and they said it wasn't possible.

I think I even asked AD about it after we bought the car... Going to go look up old emails now...

ETA:

OK well I think that the manual means not to use it in a front seat with an active airbag. SRS stands for supplemental restraint system and, according to wiki, includes airbags but it's not necessarily only airbags (I think). I found the email when I asked AD about the side curtain airbags and he said they don't need to be turned off. I don't have torso protection though so I don't know if that would influence the impact on the seat (if you did I mean). Mine only cover the windows so it shouldn't even touch the seat in crash (assuming car is not rolling anyway).

lenats31 · Oct 5, 2011

The sideairbag is not an issue

Question Is the TWE the only option?

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