Question Consumer Reports/Awards on Canadian car seats

spring · Jan 27, 2014

Hello everyone,

I will be soon moving to Canada from Europe and need to buy all new car seats (which I quite sad about as I love my current "plus" tested ones). And I will need to buy these seats based on reviews before I arrive.

As I am one who is crazy about researching before buying, I would like to start somewhere but not sure where.

Are there any Canadian consumer reports or Awards that are given to the best car seats, that I can register with to find the results. In Europe this is quite common to find out the details (if you pay for them) on how the seats perform in car crashes or in usablity. They usually test the car seats in worse conditions then the European standards. Does this exist in Canada?

Thanks
Sarah

1mommy · Jan 27, 2014

I'm not sure about consumer reports, but here is a list of Canadian seats compiled by the folks here at Car-seat.org, keep in mind that all seats pass the same testing so this isn't necessarily a reflection based on safety but these people work with these seats as a CPST (child Passenger Safety Technician) so they have a good idea on what works for ease of use and what quirks each seat has.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=254422

Pixelated · Jan 27, 2014

The Canadian system is pass/fail and results aren't published in a comparable way between manufacturers.

Generally we would recommend you rear face as long as you can and we now have many seats that can easily accommodate all but the largest of kids to age 4+, and then harness until your child is 40+lbs and mature enough to remain seated properly at all times. Install them properly, use them properly, and ensure they fit your car and budget and that's the highest standard you could aim for really. Choose seats with longevity, and with features that you like/need and make it easier for you to use properly.

Do you know when you'll arrive? How do you plan to acquire the seats? Do you know what you'll be driving when you're here?

We can certainly suggest some seats for you if you can share your child(ren)'s age, weight, height, shirt/onesie size, and any other relevant info.

Are you moving here permanently? Will you be driving a Canadian-plated vehicle? What province/territory will you be in?

spring · Jan 31, 2014

Thankyou for the replies.

To answer the questions;

I will be arriving in July, still need to buy a car (I know buying the seat first is the wrong way around, in the begining I will probobly be borrowing a car from a family memeber, until I have time to buy a new one) But I will need car seats for when I arrive at the airport, and will just order and ship to a family members house before hand.

My children will be 6 weeks old, and 3 years old when we move (he is on the small side).

The move is permanent, and will be moving to Ontario. Are car seat laws different by provience?

I currently use a Besafe izi kid, for my 2 and half year old, which is plus test and rear faces with isofix till 18kg (4+ years), which has both anti-rebound, and leg rest, so there are no straps, which I like. I am really sad not to be able to bring it with me.

I would like both the infant seat and the child seat to be latch (isofix), safe, and of a good quality so that its not a pain to use.

Again, thanks for you help.
Sarah

Keeanh · Jan 31, 2014

Hi!! Welcome!!

This forum is the best place on the internet for Canadian car seat info

As Jen said, our system is pass/fail. Here's a great starting point:
http://vicarseattechs.com/our-favourite-seats/infantchild-seats/
(Which happens to be Jen's website

)

Do you have any idea what type of vehicle you're going to get? I'm just wondering if front-to-back space, or 3-across ability are considerations.

All Canadian seats have to pass a rather strict rebound standard without straps or leg props.

Each province is responsible for their own motor vehicle laws, so yes the laws do vary to a small degree.

ISOFIX (called UAS in Canada) is such a messy business in North America that we have a 200-page manual to explain it all. And the rules might change in Canada due to the US to making the limit 65lbs seat + child. Hopefully someone else has more details than I do LOL. Regardless, I wouldn't be swayed too much with fancy UAS technologies. For example, as cool as the Foonf's rigid UAS is, you may never be able to use it. I can't be bothered with any of it and always install my seats with the seatbelt, haha.

Pixelated · Jan 31, 2014

Another question - are you wanting an infant seat for the 6 week old, or would you prefer to go straight to the next stage in a seat that will fit a baby that small, and last a good long while?

Are you probably wanting a seat with an anti-rebound bar then, since that's what you're used to? We don't have any with foot props. As Keeanh said above all of our seats have to pass an anti-rebound standard but some do it with the anti-rebound bar, which some parents do prefer.

Am I correct in thinking you will want your 3 year old rear-facing still?

Do you have any particular budget in mind?

Question Consumer Reports/Awards on Canadian car seats

spring

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1mommy

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Pixelated

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spring

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Keeanh

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Pixelated

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