Help ! ERF seat advice.

keiki2 · Aug 13, 2012

Hi everyone. The time has come to move DS up from his infant seat. The thing is I'm really not enthusiastic about moving DD (3 1/2 yrs and 31 lbs) into a FF seat in order to do this.

Am I right in thinking that all RF seats need to be used in conjunction with tethers ? Because that's what causes the issue with getting a second RF seat into our car. We only have the one family car so the drivers seat has to be adjustable for both DH and I. We have an 04 Mondeo estate and when our current TWE was fitted we were advised to use a bar under but attached to the seat. Could we attach the tethers under the seat runners ? I'm guessing not as surely when the seat is moved there is a risk of catching the tether and eventually wearing it through ?

Ideally we are looking for something that is

i) RF
ii) relatively slimline so that I can fit my rear into the seat between the two
RF seats when we need to take MIL with us somewhere. We currently
have a Two Way Elite.
iii) Doesn't cost a fortune. LOL But seriously funds are an issue so would
like to keep the price under £200 but obviously DDs safety is the most
important thing.

I did see somewhere that the Britax Marathon 70 could be used up to 44 lbs RF but I think that may have been a typo as most of the information I have read suggests 33 lbs RF. I also believe that it's necessary to use a Versathether ? But then I seem to be having issues finding somewhere in the UK that supplies these anyway so are they even available here ?

Would really appreciate any useful advice

newyorkDOC · Aug 13, 2012

I just asked AD about slim seats and he suggested the triofix or the duo logic which are 43cm wide. I've tethered to the runners without any problems. When you tighten then they move all the way to the back of the runner (and closer to the car seat). But AD also sells these loop things you can screw onto the runners if necessary.

Adventuredad · Aug 14, 2012

You have done a nice job in keeping your son RF to 3.5 years. Difference in safety is still huge at this age, actually even at 5 or 6 years as well, but we can't keep our kids RF forever

- We usually tether seats to seat rail or any solid point under front seat. Seat bight also works well but if seats has to be moved often it might not be practical. TWE is also supposed to be installed leaning against front seat.

- Attaching tether rings to seat rail is an easy option which is helpful but not required.

- Try using end of seat rail if possible which means front seat will not slide on top of the straps.

- Triofix and Duologic would be the most narrow seats at 43 cm as pointed out by Newyorkdoc. TWE is 47 cm wise. Both Triofix and Duologic don't use straps so installation is ultra fast. They can also be installed with Isofix or seat belt.

- Triofix is amazingly compact, the most compact RF seat available. Installation is also done in seconds regardless if Isofix or seat belt. Possible downside is that it only has one angle for recline. There is a workaround if using seat belt installation.

Triofix can be used 9-36 kg but only up to 18 kg rear facing since it's an Isofix seat.

- Duologic is alos compact needing 5-7 cm less space than TWE depth wise. It does need 5 cm more than the compact Triofix though. Advantage could be that it has recline adjustable in three positions while driving which works very well.