Need help in the UK

paxine · Dec 25, 2007

Hi,
I have done a little research and feel that i would prefer my DS to RF for longer than is required in the UK.
He is a tiny little thing at 15 months (probably not even 19lbs yet) and very short in comparison to his peers (2nd percentile since birth).
I have found this website http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/shop/special.html
Which sells rf carseats from the Netherlands. I'd love opinions on what's available.
I'd also be willing to ship direct from the Netherlands. I like the look of the Maxi cosi mobi. If anyone knows where i could buy this from to be shipped to the UK i'd also be grateful :thumbsup:
I'm thinking i'd like to get one that will rf up to 25kgs that way i won't have to worry for a while.
He's in a Maxicosi cabrio at the moment

TIA

minismom · Dec 25, 2007

In the US it's illegal to use an imported seat, so I'm thinking most people here don't know too many details about the seats you are talking about. We were just discussing this on another thread (in the coffee break forum it's called "Would you use a Swedish seat") cause we all wish we could get our hands on those RF til 25kg wonderful seats. www.britax.se has some really cool seats, the RF ones seat further from the vehicle's seat and higher up so there's room for the child's leg. You're absolutely right to want to keep your son RF for longer. So you should find out if in the UK you can legally use an imported seat. Then you have to find out if those seats will come with instructions in English so you can figure out how to get a proper install (if you find out this last part please let me know too!). In the mean time, I believe the seats in the UK RF til 13kgs (that's what I remember seeing in the UK Britax website) so you can still keep your son RF in one of those. What's the RF limit of your maxicosi?
Wow, now that I took a better look at the webpage you sent, I see those seats in the middle, fix-way, hi-way, two-way and secura those seem to be the same as the ones I saw on the Swedish website. If they're selling them for delivery in England they must come with English instructions and be legal in the UK? I'm so happy to see that!
I hope someone here can give recommendations but most likely none of us here have seen any of those seats in person... good luck and kudos to you for keeping him RF! :thumbsup:

snowbird25ca · Dec 26, 2007

minismom said:
In the US it's illegal to use an imported seat, so I'm thinking most people here don't know too many details about the seats you are talking about. We were just discussing this on another thread (in the coffee break forum it's called "Would you use a Swedish seat") cause we all wish we could get our hands on those RF til 25kg wonderful seats. www.britax.se has some really cool seats, the RF ones seat further from the vehicle's seat and higher up so there's room for the child's leg. You're absolutely right to want to keep your son RF for longer. So you should find out if in the UK you can legally use an imported seat. Then you have to find out if those seats will come with instructions in English so you can figure out how to get a proper install (if you find out this last part please let me know too!). In the mean time, I believe the seats in the UK RF til 13kgs (that's what I remember seeing in the UK Britax website) so you can still keep your son RF in one of those. What's the RF limit of your maxicosi?
Wow, now that I took a better look at the webpage you sent, I see those seats in the middle, fix-way, hi-way, two-way and secura those seem to be the same as the ones I saw on the Swedish website. If they're selling them for delivery in England they must come with English instructions and be legal in the UK? I'm so happy to see that!
I hope someone here can give recommendations but most likely none of us here have seen any of those seats in person... good luck and kudos to you for keeping him RF! :thumbsup:

The UK & the US have different laws on seats. There is a set of standards known as EU, and many countries in Europe allow any seat with that seal. Some countries allows parents to import EU or FMVSS 213 seats. Selection is much more limited in some countries and seats are costlier, creating a difficult situation for many parents to restrain their kids the way they'd like.

Maxi Cosi Mobi may be the seat listed to 25kg's but from 18 to 25kg it can only be used as a booster. There are a couple users around here from the UK, I'm sure they'll be around to provide more info very soon.

CRS · Dec 26, 2007

I'm not from the UK, but I'm from New Zealand and have a Swedish seat for my eldest that I imported from Norway. My son (2.5 years) has a Britax Two Way Elite (this one here http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/shop/special_br_07.html) and I find it quite good, rear-faces till 25kg which was one of the deciding factors obviously and it's fairly easy to install. The only problem(s) I've ever encountered are a) some seat belts being too short to install my seat (though you can always resolve this problem by putting in new seatbelts that are longer) and b) only once I've had trouble finding somewhere to wrap the rear-facing tethers around, it was in some bmw convertible, though that problem is faced with most rear-facing swedish seats any way. Sorry I don't know much about the Maxi Cosi Mobi so can't shed any light on that one. But from the information I have looked at and all the questions I've asked people from Norway/Sweden etc, it seemed the Britax Two Way was one of the better ones as it seemed some of the "Swedish" ones didn't rear-face till 25kg (only 18kg), or cost an absolute fortune. It also seemed that the BTW lasted the longest height wise.

Oh and sorry I can't shed any light on the laws in the UK surrounding car seats as the laws are different over here but I can only imagine that you can PROBABLY use seats from all over Europe in the UK, although I'm not entirely sure!

paxine · Dec 27, 2007

Thanks everyone

I am actually very interested in the BTW and i guess it would be better if i bought from the UK company, in case there were any problems.
My seat belts are on the shorter side (honda civic - i think 00, newer version).
I did the peruse a website re UK car seat laws and it talked about appropriate carseats rather than specifics - i will look again. It's only recently they have become more stringent with carseat 'laws' and they are still lax IMO.
If anyone else would like to chime in feel free

CRS · Dec 27, 2007

paxine said:
Thanks everyone I am actually very interested in the BTW and i guess it would be better if i bought from the UK company, in case there were any problems.
My seat belts are on the shorter side (honda civic - i think 00, newer version).
I did the peruse a website re UK car seat laws and it talked about appropriate carseats rather than specifics - i will look again. It's only recently they have become more stringent with carseat 'laws' and they are still lax IMO.
If anyone else would like to chime in feel free

If you have a BTWE installed like this:

Then it's not sooo bad seatbelt length wise, it's usually when you get to the stage that they need more legroom and you have to "set it back" from the seat that you definitely need more seatbelt length. Though I have it set up that way above for my 2.5 year old and it's absolutely fine, no complaints yet and although his feet obviously touch the vehicle back seat, it's not too bad

paxine · Dec 27, 2007

Cheers! I think at the rate my LO is growing it may be a while before i have to set it back! Now to convince DH that RF is the best!

minismom · Dec 27, 2007

CRS said:
If you have a BTWE installed like this:

Then it's not sooo bad seatbelt length wise, it's usually when you get to the stage that they need more legroom and you have to "set it back" from the seat that you definitely need more seatbelt length. Though I have it set up that way above for my 2.5 year old and it's absolutely fine, no complaints yet and although his feet obviously touch the vehicle back seat, it's not too bad

It is so nice to see pics of the BTW!!! Can you please share more info? please please please! Like which car is it in the pics? And what is the top harnes slot? Measurements in cm is fine. Can you describe how big it is front to back, maybe compare it to another seat so I can have an idea?
How cool that the seat can be installed low like most RF seats until you need the extra leg room. That's so neat!
And just to check, is the BTW the only one of the Britaxes that can also FF? I saw on the Swedish Britax website they also have the Hi-way and fix-way seats and they all seem to have the same weight limits but from what I understood they don't FF. Do you know if I got that right?
And about installation, can you do standard seatbelt, with a top thether (RF too from what you said before) or are there any other parts that need to hook somewhere? Oh, and if you bought directly from Norway, did it come with English instructions? Please please share more! Thanks

CRS · Dec 27, 2007

minismom said:
It is so nice to see pics of the BTW!!! Can you please share more info? please please please! Like which car is it in the pics? And what is the top harnes slot? Measurements in cm is fine. Can you describe how big it is front to back, maybe compare it to another seat so I can have an idea?

Sure, you know what - It's only lunchtime here and I have to go out and clean the car later so I'll take pictures with the seat installed in different positions too. I've got lots of pictures of it with it's cover off and I suppose I could look for my measuring tape later on too and measure it up - I'll probably just do a car seat review on it up in the car seat review forum and when I do, I'll post the link here for you.

minismom said:
How cool that the seat can be installed low like most RF seats until you need the extra leg room. That's so neat!
And just to check, is the BTW the only one of the Britaxes that can also FF?

Gosh, my memory escapes me, I'm not entirely sure - I think so? Sorry I'm tired and it's been awhile since I did all the research. The Britax Two Way Elite is a rear facing seat, a forward-facing seat AND a booster seat.

minismom said:
And about installation, can you do standard seatbelt, with a top thether (RF too from what you said before) or are there any other parts that need to hook somewhere? Oh, and if you bought directly from Norway, did it come with English instructions? Please please share more! Thanks

There is no top tether (even for forward-facing). It is used with the vehicle seat belt and the two lower tethers when rear-facing and just the vehicle seat belt when forward-facing with or without harness, no top tether. The way the seatbelt is routed down the front I suppose it's not absolutely vital, I'll share pictures of what I mean later any way. And yes I bought it from Norway but no sorry it did not come with English instructions.

paxine · Dec 27, 2007

Here's a page with instructions for the britax seats. Unfortunately the BTW is not in English but i think you can get a good idea from the pics

http://www.britax.se/anvisningar.htm

Looking forward to the review

CRS · Dec 27, 2007

Scratch what I said above, I'm feeling rather ill today and have a bit of a temperature so am in no mood or position to do the review LOL - maybe in the weekend though

minismom · Dec 27, 2007

CRS said:
Scratch what I said above, I'm feeling rather ill today and have a bit of a temperature so am in no mood or position to do the review LOL - maybe in the weekend though

By all means, take your time. Thanks so much for answering the questions!
You mentioned it's installed RF with seatblet AND lower anchors, does that mean it won't work in cars that don't have LATCH?
When you do the review, please include if it's FAA approved, even if it will only fit FF.

QuassEE · Dec 27, 2007

minismom said:
You mentioned it's installed RF with seatblet AND lower anchors, does that mean it won't work in cars that don't have LATCH?

The lower anchors are sort of like two rear-facing tether like setups down along what would be the forward-facing beltpath area, which attach in a similar fashion to a rear-facing tether to the seat/seat track in front (or technically, behind) the carseat. Nothing to do with LATCH.

-Nicole.

CRS · Dec 28, 2007

minismom said:
By all means, take your time. Thanks so much for answering the questions!
You mentioned it's installed RF with seatblet AND lower anchors, does that mean it won't work in cars that don't have LATCH?
When you do the review, please include if it's FAA approved, even if it will only fit FF.

I really have no idea but I definitely don't imagine that it would be FAA approved. Not that I know for sure, I just don't imagine so. And the above poster is right, it's nothing to do with LATCH and yes the "lower tethers" are like two tether straps, one on either side of the seat that "tether" towards the front of the vehicle. It's quite hard to explain, but I'll put it in the review any way

minismom · Dec 28, 2007

Cool. I'm so glad to hear it doesn't require any special anchors on the vehicle!

paxine · Dec 28, 2007

CRS, could i ask where you bought your seat from? It may be cheaper for me to import.

Need help in the UK

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